Playa Climate Prediction Center

[junglesmacks]

What about the links in this thread? Something to be said for comprehensive.

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=9151

[Bob]

What about the links in this thread? Something to be said for comprehensive.

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=9151

Looks fancy, but it's meant to be an overview and does not discuss the source rock or the mineralogy of the clay- and silt-sized sediments actually present in the Black Rock lakebed. Doesn't describe the sample locations or method of sampling at all. Clay deposits vary a lot, from glacial clay which acts more like silt, to very high plasticity clays (eg Bentonite) used in drilling muds.

[AntiM]

Note in the last video how all the bikes are staying put, or being walked. Unlike the douche-twaddles in the middle video... once a big whiteout hits, get OFF your wheels.

[BBadger]

Nope he's arguing because he's a fundamentalist. just like any radical adherent to any religious. it all comes down to Our way or the highway, and the need to remain pure. along with the doom, and who is ruining it for the rest of us. and then if you have any opinion and choose to voice it you are encouraged to vanish yourself. leaving him free to claim and preach his version of true.
and it is pretty disrespectfull, but it's what they do.
yes the amount of years you have made it to the desert is an achievement.

Oh how good of the sidekick to chime in! No, really, I'm just giving you a solution to your problem of feeling so offended/annoyed by my posts, just as you chose to express last time. If it were the other way around you'd already be plonked and then you'd "vanish".

Namaste and all that dude.

[teardropper]

While you have been a little annoying, using silly examples, I've not wanted to plonk you - till now. You changed your signature, just let it go.

It's OK...

[BBadger]

I changed what?

[gyre]

The playa looks like every dried lakebed I've ever seen.

[aknod]

Softer than 2008?

[Savannah]

Softer than 2008?

Hard to imagine, isn't it?

[aknod]

[quote="Savannah"][quote="aknod"]Softer than 2008?[/quote]

Hard to imagine, isn't it? [/quote]
Makes me want a hovercraft. Wait, more dust. DOh.

[Savannah]

Softer than 2008?

Hard to imagine, isn't it?

Makes me want a hovercraft. Wait, more dust. DOh.

Your quotes should work if you go to

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[motskyroonmatick]

I'm certain the playa surface will be a nightmare this year. The only ones who will rise above it will be the people who are there for the people. I'm in. I've got 4 modes of transportation and I love people.

[Elorrum]

trike. fingers crossed.

[Bob]

Back in '98 or '99 I witnessed the maiden voyage of someone's hovercraft -- just a sheet of plywood sitting on an inverted inflatable raft, with a couple of leafblowers mounted on top to provide nominally frictionless levitation, and a long rope yanked by helpers to give it a vector. Loud, stupid, and perfect. Wouldn't work on a really dusty playa, it'd just dig itself in.

[Foxfur]

Yeah, the Saturday was probably 30-40 mph all day. Goggles and bandanas over Mem Day rare but we used 'em. First time bad reaction to playa. Sunday night sneezing a lot, razorblade throat Monday morning with coughing for a couple days. I've never had any kind of reaction to the dust. Probably step up the sophistication of breathing filter system for BM.

Last year the weather was quite civil. I, too, would like to see a good whiteout. Tip: carry a compass. It'll keep you from going in circles - maybe hit a nice bar.

Last year, in preparation for dust storms which never materialized, I made waypoints on my GPS at every radial spoke by riding along the esplanade and at the man and the temple. Though not needed for dust storms I did use it a few times at night while on deep playa to help point other burners in the right direction to their camps. I will do the same this year and offer to accompany severely lost burners who are disoriented or inebriated.

[ygmir]

Yeah, the Saturday was probably 30-40 mph all day. Goggles and bandanas over Mem Day rare but we used 'em. First time bad reaction to playa. Sunday night sneezing a lot, razorblade throat Monday morning with coughing for a couple days. I've never had any kind of reaction to the dust. Probably step up the sophistication of breathing filter system for BM.

Last year the weather was quite civil. I, too, would like to see a good whiteout. Tip: carry a compass. It'll keep you from going in circles - maybe hit a nice bar.

Last year, in preparation for dust storms which never materialized, I made waypoints on my GPS at every radial spoke by riding along the esplanade and at the man and the temple. Though not needed for dust storms I did use it a few times at night while on deep playa to help point other burners in the right direction to their camps. I will do the same this year and offer to accompany severely lost burners who are disoriented or inebriated.

*runs out to find Foster Brookes disguise*

[FeetOfClay]

if the playa turns out to be as soft as predicted, is it actually better NOT to bring a bike? i know bikes enable u to go further and see more, but i don't know if i have the leg strength to pedal through sand (or a sand analog).

i can walk and walk for miles...did a 1/2 marathon last year. ever forgo the bikes in soft years?

[gyre]

It's hard to walk in soft dust, but possible.

The Big Surly coasts across this stuff.
Everything else depends on the bike weight and tires and surface.
Sometimes you reach surface under the dust.
If you don't, power won't help.

[Savannah]

if the playa turns out to be as soft as predicted, is it actually better NOT to bring a bike? i know bikes enable u to go further and see more, but i don't know if i have the leg strength to pedal through sand (or a sand analog).

i can walk and walk for miles...did a 1/2 marathon last year. ever forgo the bikes in soft years?

I did not touch my bike in 2009, just because I didn't get around to it. I literally left it in the van the whole week, even though the surface was adequate. However, they are quite a nice option to have, so they should be brought when possible. It's virtually always worth it. I will personally always either bring one, share one, or schedule access to one if at all possible, but I would not despair for a minute if I found myself parachuting in without a bike.

It's not as impossible as biking on beach sand, but biking on soft playa can be arduous. There were a few times in 2008 when I just got off and walked the damned thing. It was easier!

[theCryptofishist]

If bringing a bike is going to be a real piece of trouble and you're willing to gamble, don't bring it. If it's just a minor annoyance, having more options is better.

Yeah, typical Fishy, no answers, just a decision tree kelp.

[Savannah]

If bringing a bike is going to be a real piece of trouble and you're willing to gamble, don't bring it. If it's just a minor annoyance, having more options is better.

Yeah, typical Fishy, no answers, just a decision tree kelp.

[FeetOfClay]

thanks! not too much trouble to bring one: better bring it and keep my options open

[SnowBlind]

thanks! not too much trouble to bring one: better bring it and keep my options open

That's what I would do too. We didn't have bikes our first year, and I really wished we did. While I do like to walk sometimes, because I just notice so many more things that I just speed by on a bike, I wouldn't want to be totally without. Especially stuff on the deep playa is annoying to get to without a bike.

[dragonpilot]

The area within the BRC hexagon is 6.1 sq miles. From the 2011 outer ring road at 9:00 to the outer road at 3:00 is about 2.5 miles...

Leave your bike at home!

[junglesmacks]

Leave your bike at home!

That's just silly talk.

[gyre]

Hey, you couldn't possibly do more than thirty miles a day, going different places out there.

[junglesmacks]

I figure that on an average day.. I cross the playa from 9 - 3 (or the equivalent) at least 3-5 times a day by bike and a possibly more than that by foot at night.

[Bob]

The area within the BRC hexagon is 6.1 sq miles. From the 2011 outer ring road at 9:00 to the outer road at 3:00 is about 2.5 miles...

Leave your bike at home!

Hexagon?


Good year to leave your favorite bike at home, in any case. It's walkable for a healthy person.

[jcliff]

Ok everybody, it's cool....I got this all worked out. The fittest among us need to be conscripted on to bike work crews for the first few days of the Burn to plow well-worn bike paths amongst all the art. Those of us who are less fit, or have a propensity for falling off our bikes when we hit a playa snake, will stay close to the city limits for the first couple days. Super-fit people....I'm not sugar-coating this. It's going to be a rough Burn for you. Just remember that this is a Community! We have to lend our efforts where they will be best served. I myself am a great bartender. While you are out plowing trails through hellacious playa traps, some of us will be slaving away mixing up delicious cocktails for those that have to stay behind. In a bad year...everybody has to take one for the TEAM!

[FIGJAM]

There's no "Eat Me" in teeam!

Oh wait!