About Me

Doug Barr                                aka: ‘Simple Man’ and now ‘Rubicon Ronin’

Contact me at:  TheOtherRubicon@charter.net

A little background…

I bought my first wheeler in 1985, after more than a year in the Polygoats 4-wheel drive club at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, without a vehicle. It was a 1947 CJ-2A.  The club never saw it, but I was now officially a wheeler.

Lake Tahoe has been a family destination, summer and winter, all my life. The family has had a cabin in North Tahoe since 1966, 200 miles from what was then my home and just 16 miles from the Tahoe end of the Rubicon Trail.

In 1996, I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sparks, Nevada to take a job with the Sparks Fire Department; now I’m just an hour from the cabin and the world-famous Rubicon Trail. In April of 2019, I retired from the Fire Department after 23 years of service.

Over the years, I have owned and wheeled a number of vehicles.  Some have come and gone but some are still around.  My current daily driver is a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, yes, that means a Hemi!  Here’s the list and I still have those with an asterisk.

• 1947 CJ-2A
• 1952 Willys PU
• 1983 CJ-5
• 1998 XJ
• 1986 Suzuki 230 Quadsport
• 1988 Wrangler
• 1984 CJ-7
• 2002 Polaris X Edge 700
• 2003 Chevy Tahoe
• 1985 CJ-7
• 2002 Chevy S-10 w/ Z-R2 package
• 2012 Chevy Colorado w/ Z-71 package*
• 2009 Kawasaki KLX250s
• 2006 Jeep TJ Rubicon Wrangler*
• 2001 Jeep TJ Sahara Wrangler
• 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT*

Me on the Fordyce Trail, Sierra Trek, 2017

Clubs I’ve been involved with over the years:

• Lake Tahoe Hi-Los: Past President & Past 1st VP    2004 – present
• Tahoe Donner Four Wheelers    2015 – present
• North Tahoe Trail Dusters: Past President & current VP    2000 – 2020. Sadly, the club folded.
• Hills Angels, Reno    2008 – present
• Tahoe Sierra Snowmobile Club    2011 – 2015
• Comstock Wheelers, Reno    1996 – 1999
• Poly Goats, Cal Poly, SLO    1984 – 1987

Organizations

• CA Off Road Vehicle Association (CORVA)
  • Field Representative: 2016 – 2020
  • I was the local OHV representative for the Lake Tahoe area, specifically the West Shore and greater Rubicon Trail area
• Rubicon Trail Foundation
  • Rubicon Trail Foundation: Director    2004 – 2011
  • Rubicon Trail Foundation: Vice President    2008 – 2010
• Friends of the Rubicon
  • FOTR: Liaison with Tahoe National Forest    2001 – September 2014
  • FOTR: Liaison with Placer County    2001 – 2012
  • FOTR: Placer side Representative    2001 – 2010
  • FOTR: Medical Team Leader – For the very first project
• Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC) – Life member
• California Four Wheel Drive Association (C4WDA, Cal4)
• California Off-Road Vehicle Association (CORVA) – Life member
• Nevada Four Wheel Drive Association (N4WDA) – Life member
• International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA)
• Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association (TAMBA)
• American Motorcycle Association (AMA)    1998 – present

My CJ-2A when it was running, crossing a creek on the way to Pine Needle Flat off Highway 4.

My CJ-5 making my way down the Big Sluice of the Rubicon.  I think this was my first time all the way through.

My XJ parked overlooking Owens Valley on a trip to Saline Valley.

The 2002 Chevy S-10 w/ ZR-2 package

My old trail rig at Observation.

The latest project, 1985 CJ-7, dead stock, for now.  Chevy S-10 ZR-2 and CJ-7 in background.

The current daily driver. A Chevy Colorado w/ Z-71 package and 2.5″ lift on the Rubicon at Miller Lake.

The new Rubicon Wrangler: poser shot at Observation

The latest and definitely the fastest, 2015 SRT.

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