California Dreaming

The Lyrics of the world famous song “California Dreaming” by the Mamas and the Papas could well describe Booby Roots mindset while he is spending time in Germany every summer riding for German manufacturer Rose Bikes. A typical German summer is very similar to the standard California winter: stormy grey skies and plenty of rain. We decided to check out the California winter for ourselves in Bobby’s off-season home in Southern California.


I jump of my bike and sprint towards the landing of the Trick Step Up. Bobby is not responding to my shouts. When I reach him he is clearly in pain and covered head to toe in dust. He is holding his ribs and grimacing under his full-face helmet. “I am okay.” he gasps and starts brushing the dust of his jersey. What just happened?

After telling me nonstop about the awesome riding conditions and great weather in his home in California, he invited me over to check it out for myself. He lives about 90 minutes east of Los Angeles in Pinyon Pines. His house is about 15 minutes into the mountains outside Palm Desert and only accessible via the “Pines to Palms” Highway. It is one of the most dangerous highways in the United States, with numerous fatalities each year. This fact doesn’t keep Mr. Root from drifting through all the narrow turns with screeching rubber on his way home. His full-on driving causes quite a bit of tear on the tires of his pickup, but he is somehow still surprised why they keep wearing down so fast…

A large tract of land surrounds his house with lots of potential for outdoor activities. It is so remote that he barely knows his neighbors. He doesn’t really want to either, since most of them fall into the “Hillbilly” category. On the plus side, it is very quiet and a considerably cooler compared to the city.
Bobby bought the place five years ago and moved in with his family and his dogs, which roam free on the property and occasionally start fights with the neighbor’s dogs. Most of the time, they just hang out and enjoy playing with Bobby’s two kids, Valeria and Noah. His wife Sara is originally from Mexico, which means there is always great Mexican food to be had at Casa Root. They have been happily married for twelve years.

With a heavy heart, Bobby leaves behind his family for about four months each year to fulfill his duties as a sponsored Rider. During the season, he travels to various photo shoots and events all over Europe and also holds riding clinics in Germany.
Bobby is mostly known for his world record wheelie stunts and his appearances in the “New World Disorder” bike movies. I didn’t realize until my trip that besides wheelie antics and freeriding he also has an untapped passion for dirt jumping.

Our first order of business after my arrival was a stop at the hardware store to buy some wood for a nice 12 ft radius ramp. After a few hours of work we finished up our project and Bobby was itching to try it out right away. We got going on a proper landing and after a couple more hours, it was go time! After quickly putting on some kneepads and skinny dirt jump jeans, Bobby guinea-pigged the jump and without warning-or previous experience on such jumps, he attempted a 360! Regular newcomers to dirt jumping would probably start out with a lot of straight airs and maybe a simple trick like a one hander, but apparently, Bobby’s approach to new challenges is a little different. Which brings us back to the beginning of our story…


“I gotta try again!” Bobby proclaims after he picked up his Rose Slope style Bike. After crashing a couple more times, he nails the trick. Lots of hugging and high-fiving ensues, because that was his first 360 on a real dirt jump. Unbelievable! It wouldn’t be the last new trick Bobby would stomp during my trip.


The landscape in the southern California desert changes every few miles and there are countless single trails, which he rides regularly on his enduro bike. He spends even more time on the “Project X” downhill track, which is about 20 minutes away. The track is about 9 miles long and has some of the most diverse and challenging terrain I have seen. Some sections are definitely comparable to world cup dh tracks, so it is no surprise that Aaron Gwin and other local racers are riding there on a regular basis.


To ride this track fast, you need both endurance and mental toughness. Bobby knows the different lines and jumps like the back of his hand, he pins it all the way. Even the last part, which cuts through a super narrow canyon and has no margin for error, is a full speed affair for him. He hits every jump perfectly and even nails the 40ft doubles despite howling winds. While I try to remember his pointers on how to properly adjust for the side winds in the air, I keep wondering why he never gave serious racing a try. He certainly seems to have the skills for it.




Like most Americans inhabiting the desert, Bobby owns a big pick up with a trailer. This will be helpful for out next adventure, as we are going camping. We load up the truck with supplies and the big wooden ramp from our dirt session a few days earlier. We even manage to squeeze in his family plus his buddy Todd who tags along for the trip. Our destination is Ocotillo Wells, which is a big desert recreation area where Bobby and Todd usually go to ride motocross.
When I say camping, I have to add that Bobby defines the word a little more “American” than I am used to. He doesn’t care much for the basic tent and sleeping bag affair, so we are stopping by a hardware store yet again to get a big generator for our trip. How else could we keep the Xbox and Beamer running for most of the night? That way we can always hunt down virtual zombies with our game controllers in case it gets boring at night.

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After our arrival in the stunning moonscape scenery of Ocotillo Wells, we decide to use the last daylight to find a suitable spot to put up our wooden ramp. Our virtual Zombie hunting session will have to wait a little.
Finding a good spot turns out to be harder than I thought. After what feels like an eternity, I find the perfect spot with a big landing and a suitable run in. Somehow I forget to mention to Todd and Bobby that we will have to do a little bit of digging so the ramp will fit the landing. We find out soon that the seemingly soft ground turns into solid rock pretty quickly, so when we finally crawl into our sleeping bags with blisters all over our hands, it is well past midnight.




The next day begins around 5.30 am. Bobby is already up and singing at the top of his voice. After a short breakfast and a longer struggle putting in my contacts with dusty fingers, we head out to the jump. It turns out to be perfect and we both session it for most of the morning. Bobby busts out his newly learned 360. After a few crashes he sticks it on this jump as well. Ocotillo Wells a popular destination for all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts, so several motocrossers and ATV riders stop by to watch us jump. After I get a few good pictures it gets windy. Really windy. Sandstorm-like windy.


Our little camp is about to blow away, so we hastily pack up and throw everything in the trailer. When we head out, the ground underneath the car suddenly starts sliding. The truck is leaning sideways and about to turn over. It even makes those creaking movie noises that are associated with imminent disaster. The family carefully exits the car. I try to keep Bobby from slipping out the window. We all manage to exit safely and luckily, the truck stays in place. A short time later, two nice gentlemen stop by in their tricked out Jeeps and help us pull the truck back on the road. That was a close one!

It stays stormy the next few days so jumping our bikes is out of the questions. With lots of time on our hands we decide to get going on a dirt line in Bobby’s backyard. Our goggles shield us from the howling winds while we scope out the terrain and decided on where to put the jumps. There is dense brush everywhere, but the ground underneath is nice and soft. We head back to the hardware story while Sara goes to the neighbor to borrow his little digger. It turns out one of his neighbors is a nice guy after all.



The forecast calls for more stormy weather for the next few days so we get to work. After four days the storm tapers off and our little project is nearing completion. Instead of the dense brush, we are now looking at a complete dirt line and even a wooden start ramp. It is finally time to ride again and we start our well-earned dirt session. Once again, Bobby shows his talent. Despite never seriously hitting dirt jumps before my trip, he stomps tuck no handers, superman seat grabs and Tabletop one footers. Not bad at all.





We head back to Ocotillo Wells for one more day of shooting, but then it is time to say goodbye. Bobby will head to Germany a few days before me, right into the rainiest spring in recent memory and a long way from his hot and sometimes windy winter home. When I arrive in Frankfurt, the lyrics “California dreamin’, on such a winters day” keep ringing in my head.

(words, photos and video by Fabio Schäfer)

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