NOTE: All timestamps are in the future because WE are in the future. The care takers of Midnight Ridazz.com reserves the right to remove, edit, move or delete anything for any reason. None of the opinions expressed on these boards represent the Midnight Ridazz nor can anyone purport to speak on behalf of Midnight Ridazz.
YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN YOUR FELLOW MIDNIGHT RIDAZZ IN DEFENDING THE LAST FREE PLACE IN AMERICA - LOS ANGELOPES AUTONOMOUS ZONE.
LAAZ IS LOCATED IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS-FREE BORDER REGION OF IMPERIAL COUNTY, CALIFORNIA AND IS FLANKED BY THE SALTON SEA, ALGODONES DUNES, BAJA MEXICO AND AN ACTIVE BOMBING RANGE. THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT AND IMPERIAL COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ARE ALL ACTIVE IN THIS AREA, AND YOU AND YOUR VEHICLE MAY BE SEARCH AND DETAINED INDEFINITELY.
LAAZAZZ, AS ITS RESIDENTS ARE KNOWN, ARE RADICALLY SELF RELIANT, BRINGING ENOUGH FOOD, WATER AND TOYS TO LAST THE ENTIRE WEEKEND.
LAAZAZZ CUSTOMS AND RITUALS MAY DIFFER FROM YOUR OWN, SO OUR CITY-STATE MAY NOT BE FOR THOSE WHO FIND LARGE FIRES, FREAK BIKES, EXPLOSIONS, LASERS, LEDS AND HEAVY BASS OFFENSIVE.
IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO SURVIVE A WEEKEND AT THE END OF THE WORLD PLEASE APPLY FOR A PASSPORT HERE;
Donate as much as you feel is appropriate. Five dollars is suggested, but if you can swing more, then donate as much as you'd like. If money is an issue, we strongly encourage people to find another way to contribute.
It would be great if we didn't have to cover the costs out of pocket. If everyone chips in, we can have more party in our party.
Im so glad I found a baby sitter for you sonny. I told her to let you stay up 1 hour later, read you a story and leave your pokemon night light on. Try not to wet the bed its costs extra for her to clean it up.
Roadblock responding to a comment by andres84
01.26.12 - 7:59 pm
If everything goes as planned for me I'll be building a small mini stage out of some recently acquired found materials.
A bar or shade structure would sure be great if anyone has materials or wants to help build any sort of temp structure. I'm heading out there in exactly ONE WEEK on Thursday night to set up the stage and there will be a small crew getting who knows what else ready, pre partying, and reserving the baller tent spots up on the summit of the location. Anyone wanting to help build stuff and/or wanting to spend an extra night in the desert can come early, but productivity will be in the air! My favorite part :)
The forecast is predicting HOT so having a bar or shade structure would be pretty awesome if anyone has something and wants to contribute.
Please donate $5! Nobody wants to be stepping in a poop!
You must have valid LAAZ issued identification to enter the Los Angelopes Autonomous Zone.
You AND your guest(s) must register at www.angelopes.com
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER.
I wasn't even there but I just donated because LaHarr is one of the best guys on the bike scene. He is always willing to lend a hand, I've NEVER seen him pass by a stranded rida, the last year we were in Ridazz Camp at BM he probably fixed about 1253 piece of shit bikes, AND he's always helping smooth things out with people who have issues with ridazz, especially law enforcement!
I say DO NOT PAY THE FINE....goes on his record and nobody wants that shit on their record....Fight the citation and put up a hellofa good fight....Did any of the dj equipment get returned?
there was never any real case against us other than the DJ booth. People gather for camping together all the time... this was no different, it was invite only, we paid for porta potties to keep the area clean... the speakers were facing a bombing range for which jet fighters made more noise than we did....
So fucking happy to have you there when the BLMshowed up. You completely put the cops at ease right off the bat-- they were laughing in minutes. Well, I honestly feel kinda lucky that I am involved in all of this with the court date and all because that means more chances to make some rock tacos at slab hot springs
Record? Big fucking deal. It's just a Federal misdemeanor. My Federal public defender had one and it didn't prevent him from being a lawyer.
If LaHarr has the time and money to fight a US Attorney who will be completely biased against Contra Sea (unless he is very very very lucky) along with a judge or magistrate who will believe every fucking lie the BLM rangers will tell in court then more power to him.
Unless they find this thread. And they will be looking.
The BLM charged 10 hours of investigation time for my case at $80 an hour, which ended up being the bulk of my restitution. They even subpoenaed Ryder for my rental truck agreement. Believe me, they want that cash, and they will get it.
Ok, on the bright side of things, if LaHarr had a good rapport with the rangers then they could end up just doing a $250 infraction, no need to go to court if he pays it, and no potential misdemeanor on his record.
The last time this happened to me the ranger called me on the first Thursday after the event. He told me he was just going to write me a $250 infraction.
BUT his supervisor, because of my previous interactions with him, overrode the rangerand I got this in the mail a couple of months later.
we took photos of the grounds after it was cleaned, and it WAS spotless.... We had every intention of doing so anyway as witnessed by the fact that we had portapotties... but we gave it an extra combing just to be sure...
Roadblock responding to a comment by toweliesbong
02.13.12 - 4:02 pm
we said there was a trip happening on this site but that does not make it public. you had to sign up and emails were sent to a private group with the location of the event
larsenf responding to a comment by jonnyboy
02.13.12 - 4:49 pm
You cannot believe the stories I heard in court. The BLM is out of control. Their regulations are completely open to the interpretation of the rangers. And then whatever the ranger tells the US Attorney is taken as the word of God.
Yes, I think if someone like you or LaHarr called them it would help, especially if the rangers seemed cool out there. I mean, I think these guys would rather deal with a bunch of fun loving partiers who aren't running into each other with their dune buggies and quads and killing each other.
And it is up to the ranger and their supervisor to decide what to submit to the courts. If they do just an infraction, it's $250 and no court date. That's nothing. Permit and insurance and all that would be more.
yeah I agree that with this thread alone it would probably stand up as public, there was no facecrack event or social bullshit network blasting. Now angelopes are thinking, "If only we hadn't posted this on Ridazz" ahahha
But then I would not have met and hung out with certain awesome people, so I have no regrets.
Seriously though, this thread is the only record of it being public... Just sayin...
jonnyboy responding to a comment by toweliesbong
02.13.12 - 5:20 pm
actually I would be more worried about the angelopes.com page... they zeroed in on the Los Angelopes spraypaint tag on the DJ booth...
I'm sure they also know about this page too...
I don't want to delete the thread because this site is like a diary of bike love in Los Angeles to me and I want to browse it when I'm 60 years old and enjoy the memories.
and like I said via email, I'm completely sad to see that the over all effect of what is happening is that groups and ideas go "underground" and become exclusive, thus cutting off chances for movements to happen. Judging by moontribe's website, they went underground in 2009... or transfered to facebook. either way I would probably not have discovered them were it not for towlie's comment.
Roadblock responding to a comment by jonnyboy
02.13.12 - 6:12 pm
also, it looks like it's not that difficult to get a permit....
we would fall under this type of permit it seems...
any drawbacks to this?
5.Organized Group Activity and Event Use – Organized group/event permits are for noncommercial and noncompetitive group activities and recreation events.
Examples: A large scout camp out, a fraternity activity, a large family reunion, or a dual sport event.
Objectives of the BLM recreation permitting system are to satisfy recreational demand within allowable use levels in an equitable, safe, and enjoyable manner while minimizing adverse resource impacts and user conflicts. In issuing recreation permits to recreational users of public lands, the BLM authorizes permittees use of the lands and/or related waters for permitted purposes. This represents a privilege to use public lands and/or related waters which is subject to the terms and conditions of the permits.
Recreation permits are managed in a manner which is consistent with management objectives determined in resource management plans, recreation area management plans, or in their absence, through recreation management objectives resulting from analysis of resources and visitor use for each area.
Good question, I didn't want to spend anything so I never bothered to check it out.
I deleted the calendar entry here but left up a one line note on my site about going camping that weekend. It truly ended up being just a camping trip with friends but when the US attorney presented the case to the judge she and the ranger made it sound and look like a planned and advertised "event".
I still think it's BS, I wrote my congressperson and the congressperson for the area out there. I ended up getting a letter back from the head of the BLM and from reading the case he clearly thought I was some bicycle event producer.
The funny thing was the ranger and the US Attorney just couldn't believe that I had 22 friends to camp with. I feel sorry for them.
The prosecutor can talk up any type of gathering as falling into one of their "event" classifications. The BLM bureaucracy should spell out some sort of requirements.
An "event" could result in litter and degradation of the land. There are many groups of recreational vehicle enthusiasts who use these lands regularly to enjoy their buggies and whatnot, sometimes that stuff can tear it up. That's pretty much their exposure, damaged lands left behind by careless users.
Evidence of a clean campsite afterwards should help demonstrate there was no negative impact to the public lands. Perhaps a permit can be issued retroactively?
Insurance is not always required, like a person can drive a car without insurance in California legally if they have demonstrated evidence of financial responsibility ($X in the bank, letter of credit, etc.) and that same principle applies here, and this method is defined by the BLM here.
What level of insurance or financial responsibility should they reasonably expect of a camping trip? Should be pretty low, and the portable toilets and clean site left behind all help demonstrate there was no negative impact.
Hey everyone! Thanx for the compliments. I'm tearing up over here.
Aside from the drama I had a blast! Can you believe they called us organized?
Is anyone else hungry?
I'll keep yall appraised of any fines and court dates here.
I just got off the phone with one of the rangers who was there that night. He said that it really helped that we were cooperative and that the place was cleaned up after we left.
In the future we, according to him, simply need to get a permit that runs about $100...
I have the name and number of the permit specialist. we just need to call next time and make it happen.
Thanks again to LaHarr for stepping up. You are a god.
Thanks to everyone who cleaned up. We usually leave no trace anyway, but this time it was really important.
Roadblock responding to a comment by Angie Lopez
02.15.12 - 2:05 pm
Also any lawyers out there who might have some advice as to how to speed up this process, considering the amount of equipment confiscated by the rangers as "evidence" (for which I would have thought the photos would be enough), expensive equipment that most of us cannot afford to replace, and would be hard pressed to do without (personal laptops, mixers, etc) for the months it's going to take this to get dealt with, we would appreciate advice.
Basically any know how as to how we can game the system a bit in our favor to get our shit back would be greatly appreciated.
The permit was actually looked into beforehand, but the website says:
" MAKE SURE THIS APPLICATION CAN BE TURNED IN 180 DAYS PRIOR TO THE EVENT OR ACTIVITY"
Just like that, in all-caps. Generally speaking, the website is difficult to navigate. The ermit process needs desperately to catch up with the present and become streamlined so that the public may gain use of public land. BLM.com gets a Yelp review of 1 star.
After reviewing the "Do I need a permit?" questionnaire, (below), it seemed pretty reasonable to operate without a permit.
----
DO I NEED A PERMIT?
Preapplication Interview Checklist:
Are you charging a fee?
Do you expect to make money on the event or is the fee to cover expenses?
Will there be a competition?
Will you advertise?
Will you mark a course?
Will you be expecting vehicles at your event? (How many?)
Will your event involve public lands?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you may need a permit from the BLM. Please review the How To Apply page and contact the appropriate BLM Field Office personnel.
Unfortunately not in the eyes of the law. Any notice published for public viewing is an advertisement, pre-Internet that meant fliers and newspapers, now it includes websites.
But the most important thing is the interaction with the rangers, they will be ones reporting to the US Attorney, and then they will be the ones filling the missing blanks to the attorney, too.
There was no competition, there was no commercial aspect, the porta potties were there only to lessen your impact, the only thing they have on you guys is stuff that's on the web. And it seems like a decent defense attorney and hopefully a lenient US Attorney could get anything outrageous dropped down to just infraction level.
It still sucks that they have a lot of your equipment, though.
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Ridazz Roulette!
Foiled again!