I'd be super disappointed if my E-trike ended up banned because of the activities of turnkey turkeys who ride e-bikes like douchebags. Couple of things to chew on - Most of those speeders are already riding bikes that shouldn't be there. Go to any pile of similar looking e-bikes with similar decorat...

Will it work? For the most part, yeah. People underestimate road bikes with skinny tires; you can actually make a decent cut through rutted playa, it just takes a lot of effort. A lot more effort than everyone else. Is it a good idea? Not really. Honestly, if you can retrofit some larger tires on it...

It sounds like they are talking about Gate, specifically, and having volunteered with the department since 2013, it's pretty much on-the-money. The department has had a longstanding issue with there being a verifiable set of cool kids who get semi-preferential treatment. It was significantly worse w...

Don't try for this through a camp or art project is my recommendation, and don't expect to be welcome to come super-duper early your first year volunteering. I think the earliest you could get would be a week early for a first-timer on a crew without a referral from a member, but even then, I am und...

The dirty secret about BLM land is that, for the most part, we can go out and do what everyone just did, pretty much whenever. We can do it this weekend, even. We can do it next weekend. It's BLM land, the rules are pretty open, and despite the reputation that the BLM earns at Burning Man itself, th...

AFAIK people are poofing propane and it's okay. I have not asked, but I have seen videos of poofing. I'm also hearing that this is the best group of BLM anyone has ever met, they are incredibly cooperative, friendly, and happy to be out there. I wish the bulk of the BLM who worked our event had this...

This actually did technically happen for a few years. I want to say it was '15 and '16, but my years might be off. I visited them on my perimeter shifts! It was called "Dumb Burning Man" and they basically made the choice to bring their set-up right to the tip of the exclusion zone. They could never...

I got a report - for all intents and purposes, it appears that last night felt like BRC. There's a critical mass of people out there now, a few art cars, at least one sound camp, a lot of bars, artwork etc. It's spread out from the 2019 city site to a few miles north. There are some serious set-ups ...

I know a few folks out there right now. It's currently perceptibly emptier than that other things that happen in the desert outside of Burning Man... I thought long and hard about going. I have a camp of folks out there who kept their time off that they normally do, so they'll be there for a while. ...

Yes. They are excellent. Good customer service, well-built bicycles. I got a Worksman Folding E-Trike for 2019. I ran that thing into the ground, and I absolutely mean it - I beat the fuck out of it. Other than taking care of the battery, I rode that thing all day and night, and on one drunken night...

I’d recommend self-identifying as a Burner first & see if that helps foster an open conversation. [snip] Identifying as a POC first frames your perspective and (believe it or not) limits your objectivity. I had to walk away for a few days before I could adequately respond to this, and honestly I st...

But when it comes to race, people on playa tend to get uncomfortable, defensive, they tend to clam up or they tend to attack someone for bringing it up in the first place. Ding ding ding ding ding ding I wish I had a large bell I could ring right now, like a clock tower bell. Sing it from the top o...

If your bike is entirely pedal-powered, then yes, it is allowed. You can have a fifteen-wheel pedal-powered item. The rule about quadricycles is specifically regarding powered ones.

If your bike has any kind of assist, then it is technically not allowed.

Your mileage will vary drastically. In 2013, I was able to use a Kodiak tent, sans shade, with a bucket cooler, and it was comfortable. We could nap mid-day. The trick was, it took a few minutes for the tent to cool down, and we had to sleep naked and with no covers, with the cooler blowing directly...

If you figure out how to sneak into the back zone of staff camps (GPE, Rangers, etc) or have someone who can escort you back there, they have the same map that's used for the MOOP map posted. It's usually in an area you're not supposed to go, so, good luck!

It's gross. It's really gross this year. I have a feeling a lot of crappy burners are in for a surprise. "But its been so flat and nice!" duney as fuck once the chips break. the chips can be sharp... yeah, sharp.. The only part of the playa that's packed is parts of deep on the 2:00 side, and a chun...

2017 again. Potato chips. It was still moist-ish through July. Expect a crackly top-layer that breaks down and turns into dunes upon dunes.

Per the TCS, the current Sheriff of Washoe is on the record stating that he wants the event to end. They don't care about the money. Look, maybe you don't care about your fourth amendment rights being violated, but as someone who has been harassed by BLM out there for absolutely nothing, I really do...

I would argue that they know exactly what they are doing, with the end goal of shutting the event down permanently in the Black Rock Desert. There is just no fair way to read the EIS for Burning Man. They impose odious requirements in so many different parts that it's difficult to attack them all, a...

Just for reference, here is the EIS from 2012 that was extended through last year. https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/nepa/28954/37412/39212/Burning_Man_DOI-BLM-NV-W030-2012-0007-Final_EA.pdf 343 pages. Ouch! Can you give us the 2 page William Barr synopsis. Burning Man is an event...

I've been on both sides of this, and have recently gone sober because I'm getting bored of the asshole clenching I have to do between Reno and BRC, and as a person of color who has been harassed over nothing at BRC, I'm tired of it. (Fun note: None of the times when I've been "dirty" have ever been ...

The symposium this weekend was interesting, but most interesting to me was the bit where they talked about the EIS. I wish the Borg made this more clear, but I believe it was Playground who straight-up said that this is a "defcon whatever the highest number is" emergency for the overall health of th...

The health and safety report is pretty damning of Burning Man, in general... but they editorialize the fuck out of the incidents. They are clearly pumping their numbers if they're comparing shit to EDC, because at EDC, the cops there just don't give a rats ass about what you do. I've been to EDC in ...

It's interesting to note that playa area where Burning Man takes place was once the dumping ground for junk cars, appliances and household trash for the locals. It was a party area where thousands of beer bottles and cans were just tossed on the ground. Burning Man was instrumental in cleaning this...

I just spent a few hours going over this report and reading it. It's very frustrating, and makes me feel like I'll need to take Monday, April 8th off from work to make a multi-hour drive to hopefully comment my distaste with many sections of this proposed SRP. I'm saving my ammunition for the eventu...

Huh. Looks like the Treasurer for the borg attended, and was in support of it.

Plot thickens?

This is exactly what we need in that Trump may well be exactly what America needed. In a somewhat roundabout way, I kind of agree here. I think this was a big slap in the face, especially considering that the BORG just came out and said "hey, lets talk about this," started the dialogue up again... ...

I gave Entheon a pass. [snip] Not my kind of people, but they did have a spirit, goal, the whole Nuevo Hippie crystals, meditation, naked yoga crap ... [snip again] This brings up a further question though - are turnkeys excused if they bring a substantial gift to the playa? If so, most turnkeys ar...

I think it's worth noting that MW has been doing this for years, basically since they first gathered a real crowd at Burning Man. While they weren't the first major art car to go to a festival, they were a staple of EDC for a few years, and have since gone on to do tons of international festivals, a...

I think it's worth noting that: 1. This is a disgusting example of where we've been going for a while by tolerating camps that directly enable these kinds of people to attend the event. "Spreading the BM Ethos" be damned, the people responsible for this probably attended and clearly missed the entir...