Death Valley Noobs Rally
March 2009
March 2009
I discovered on the Adventure Rider Forum that a large group of primarily Southern California riders had been holding a gathering called the Death Valley Noobs Rally for a few years, and I decided to ride down from Camas, WA and join them. The rally originally started as a much smaller group of relatively new riders that met one year in Death Valley to practice off-road riding and explore Death Valley. It has since grown to an annual affair where more experienced riders will help both new riders learn some off-road skills, and show those riders new to Death Valley all of the riding opportunities within the park.
I hadn't actually met any of the riders before joining them in Death Valley, but as is usually the case with motorcyclists, they were a great bunch of guys and gals, and I left Death Valley with many new friends that I have experienced countless rides with ever since.
I left in the snow from Camas on a Monday to ride down to Las Vegas. My original plan was to ride dirt roads through the Cascades and into Nevada, but Mother Nature screwed that up. Instead, I simply slabbed it down I-5 through snow, sleet, and rain, eventually stopping in Stockton for the night. The next day was better and I made it to my Mom's house in Vegas. Wednesday, I took my GS in for a service at Las Vegas BMW, and had them install some TKC-80 knobby tires for the riding in Death Valley
Thursday, I left Vegas with two riders that were renting BMW's from Las Vegas and also heading to Death Valley although they were not taking part in the rally itself. We had a good ride together to DV though, and then I continued on to Panamint Springs. Although most of the rally participants were camping at Panamint, my old bones enjoy a bed and I had reserved a room at the small motel at Panamint.
I hadn't actually met any of the riders before joining them in Death Valley, but as is usually the case with motorcyclists, they were a great bunch of guys and gals, and I left Death Valley with many new friends that I have experienced countless rides with ever since.
I left in the snow from Camas on a Monday to ride down to Las Vegas. My original plan was to ride dirt roads through the Cascades and into Nevada, but Mother Nature screwed that up. Instead, I simply slabbed it down I-5 through snow, sleet, and rain, eventually stopping in Stockton for the night. The next day was better and I made it to my Mom's house in Vegas. Wednesday, I took my GS in for a service at Las Vegas BMW, and had them install some TKC-80 knobby tires for the riding in Death Valley
Thursday, I left Vegas with two riders that were renting BMW's from Las Vegas and also heading to Death Valley although they were not taking part in the rally itself. We had a good ride together to DV though, and then I continued on to Panamint Springs. Although most of the rally participants were camping at Panamint, my old bones enjoy a bed and I had reserved a room at the small motel at Panamint.
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I woke up Friday morning ready for some riding in Death Valley. I ate breakfast at the restaurant, and then headed across the street to the campground and introduced myself to Gary, Dan, Rob, and Nate. They were finishing up what look to be a pretty good breakfast by their resident chef Rob; and getting ready for a ride so I asked to tag along.
They wanted to minimize the amount of pavement, and so decided to take Saline Valley Road north to Hunter Mountain. A little ways before actually reaching Hunter Mtn, I had my "senior" moment for the day. I was stopped and decided to take a picture of a great view of Panamint Valley while sitting on my bike. But I leaned to far over to the right, and before I knew it the bike had reached it's critical tipping point and down it went. We reached Teakettle Junction, then headed to what is known as the Racetrack, a (usually) dry lake bed infamous for its "moving rocks" - large rocks that leave trails in the lake bed and they move around in strange patterns.
After the Racetrack, we went down a technical, rocky Lippincott Mine Road, and then back to Saline Valley Road to head back south to Panamint. At the junction of Saline Valley Road and Hwy 190, a KTM rider pulled up and mentioned he was low on gas so I offered him some from the extra bottles I was carrying. I mention it now because it becomes important on Saturday.
Anyways, it was an awesome first day of riding in Death Valley, and of course we enjoyed the BS session at the end of the day!
They wanted to minimize the amount of pavement, and so decided to take Saline Valley Road north to Hunter Mountain. A little ways before actually reaching Hunter Mtn, I had my "senior" moment for the day. I was stopped and decided to take a picture of a great view of Panamint Valley while sitting on my bike. But I leaned to far over to the right, and before I knew it the bike had reached it's critical tipping point and down it went. We reached Teakettle Junction, then headed to what is known as the Racetrack, a (usually) dry lake bed infamous for its "moving rocks" - large rocks that leave trails in the lake bed and they move around in strange patterns.
After the Racetrack, we went down a technical, rocky Lippincott Mine Road, and then back to Saline Valley Road to head back south to Panamint. At the junction of Saline Valley Road and Hwy 190, a KTM rider pulled up and mentioned he was low on gas so I offered him some from the extra bottles I was carrying. I mention it now because it becomes important on Saturday.
Anyways, it was an awesome first day of riding in Death Valley, and of course we enjoyed the BS session at the end of the day!
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Saturday: It's going to be another day of adventure riding. Of course, it starts with a good breakfast! Then we get geared up, fuel the bikes, and start gathering for the day's long ride. We plan to ride Saline Valley Road to the Warm Springs, and then continue to Steel Pass, Eureka Dunes, Crankshaft Junction, Ubehebe Crater, the Racetrack, Lippincott, and back to Panamint Springs - at least that was the plan.
Our group of seven is soon heading north on Saline Valley Road. It's a fun road on the GS, where you can really open it up; so while Aaron is herding the cats (making sure everyone is making the right turns), I race on ahead. We get over South Pass, and regroup at the junction to Lippincott Road. We continue north on Saline Valley Road.
The next stop should be the Warm Springs. The big bikes take the lead, with Aaron leading followed by myself and Jim. We see Aaron stopped to take our picture and he waves us by. Unfortunately, Aaron didn't realize that Jim and I did not know where the turnoff to the Warm Springs was, and we flew by and kept heading north. Jim and I stopped about 4 or 5 miles past the turnoff, and thought we should wait for the others to catch up. We backtracked to the cutoff to the cutoff to the Warm Springs and caught up with everybody else at Matt's truck (Matt had driven out to the Warm Springs to have extra gas for us before heading up to Steel Pass).
We're all set to head up to Steel Pass. The road up is pretty rough - a combination of loose gravel and boulders - some small, some large - some round, some sharp. It makes for an interesting ride on the big bikes. Our group of seven had met up with another group, so now there was about 12 heading up to Steel Pass. Since I had been out in front for most of the ride so far, I decided that maybe I would ride sweep to help the slower riders if needed - and I figured I couldn't get lost that way.
Just a little ways up Steel Pass, Jason's bike was having shifting problems, and his bike seemed to be stuck in 3rd gear. This was too tall a gear for the conditions, so his bike would stall, and then he would have problems starting up again from 3rd gear as well; but to Jason's credit he kept trying to forge ahead. We were losing time to the riders ahead. I finally decided to ride ahead and catch his brother Jeff who had the tools. I caught Jeff and he turned around to help Jason, and I continued to catch up to Joel to let him know what was going on.
Talking it over with Joel, we decided that one of us should head back and convince Jason and Jeff to turn around and head back to Panamint Springs. The other would try to catch up to the riders ahead, who we are sure are wondering what going on by now. Joel let me continue on, since he would have more opportunities to ride Steel Pass in the future (since I live so far away). I continue up Steel Pass, now trying to catch up with the riders ahead of me. I'm not trying to go exceptionally fast, but quick enough to hopefully catch the riders ahead. I probably hadn't gone but a mile or two before my front-end feels like it is just bashing into every rock on the trail. My first thought is that I had blown the front shock on the GS Telelever front suspension. So I stop and take a look, and it's not the shock. My front cast wheel has a pretty big dent in it, and the tubeless tire has lost all air.
Now I have a conundrum. I'm assuming that Joel, Jeff, and Jason are heading back to the Warm Springs and then Panamint. Being a virgin to Steel Pass, I'm not sure whether it might be shorter to continue forward or go back. I decide to continue, figuring someone up ahead will be waiting. So with the front flat, I continue. Now I realize how much the air in the front tire aids in suspension, because it feels like I don't have any. I feel every little rock I ride over, and the cast wheel is getting more out of shape with every turn of the wheel. Luckily, the tire seems to be holding the bead, but I'm having to go pretty slow.
I get another few miles, and haven't seen anybody, and I again wonder whether I should turn back - but decide to continue on no matter what. About another mile up the road, I catch Vern on his big GS 1150. Apparently, he's been stuck for awhile. He ran into an area with really loose gravel, and his big 1150 GS just keeps sinking up to the axle. He's pulled it out once or twice already, tried again but just can't get through this section of loose gravel. His rear TKC tire just doesn't have enough tread left to dig in and not spin in the gravel. But I'm happy to have come across somebody.
We talk it over, and decide to make the the wise decision and turn around. We get our bikes turned around, and start heading back to the Warm Springs. I now get to look forward to riding the 12 miles or so of Steel Pass back to the Warm Springs on my flat front tire. But just before starting up our bikes, we hear he sound of motors heading our direction, and 3 angels show up (Joe, Dave, and Jim). They had ridden up Steel Pass earlier in the day, and were now riding back down. Apparently, they had come across Aaron and Jim at the top of the pass, who I'm sure were wondering where we were.
My front wheel now has 3 or 4 spots on both sides where there's a pretty big gap between the edge of the cast wheel and the tire. Vern said each spot looked like a taco. I pretty much figured I would be riding back to the Warm Springs on the front flat, and then probably have to wait to get trailered out. Joe mentioned that he's had some luck before with tubeless tires and cast rims in pounding the wheel back into shape - at least enough to get the bead set and hold air again. Nothing to lose at this point.
So we get the wheel off, and start pounding away with the biggest rock we could find. When that proved not to be enough, we searched and found an even bigger rock, and continued to pound the rime to try to make it as round as possible. Slowly, the wheel got back to a reasonably round shape. We tried inflating it with my air pump, then Joe's air pump, then CO2 cartridges; but just couldn't get enough air into the tire fast enough to set the bead.
So Dave volunteers to let me have one of his tubes. You see, Dave was the KTM rider I met the the junction of Saline Valley Road and Hwy 190 the day before, and offered my spare gas to. Anyways, we soon have the tube installed, it holds air, and get the wheel installed back on the bike.
We've now spent a long time at this, and Dave is anxious to get going again and heads down the trail. I was getting all my tools collected and put away, so Vern and I ended up following everybody else. What a difference having air in the front tire makes! But we don't get more than about 1/2 mile down the road before we see that Joe is stopped. Son of a bitch - he's got a dinged up front wheel and a flat. Again, it's off with the front wheel, find some big rocks, and try to pound it back into shape to hold air. Dave's up ahead, and we know he's got one more spare tube so Jim takes off after Dave, while Joe, Vern, and I are working on the front wheel.
We get Joe's wheel reasonably round, but still couldn't get air in fast enough to seat the bead.
Our group of seven is soon heading north on Saline Valley Road. It's a fun road on the GS, where you can really open it up; so while Aaron is herding the cats (making sure everyone is making the right turns), I race on ahead. We get over South Pass, and regroup at the junction to Lippincott Road. We continue north on Saline Valley Road.
The next stop should be the Warm Springs. The big bikes take the lead, with Aaron leading followed by myself and Jim. We see Aaron stopped to take our picture and he waves us by. Unfortunately, Aaron didn't realize that Jim and I did not know where the turnoff to the Warm Springs was, and we flew by and kept heading north. Jim and I stopped about 4 or 5 miles past the turnoff, and thought we should wait for the others to catch up. We backtracked to the cutoff to the cutoff to the Warm Springs and caught up with everybody else at Matt's truck (Matt had driven out to the Warm Springs to have extra gas for us before heading up to Steel Pass).
We're all set to head up to Steel Pass. The road up is pretty rough - a combination of loose gravel and boulders - some small, some large - some round, some sharp. It makes for an interesting ride on the big bikes. Our group of seven had met up with another group, so now there was about 12 heading up to Steel Pass. Since I had been out in front for most of the ride so far, I decided that maybe I would ride sweep to help the slower riders if needed - and I figured I couldn't get lost that way.
Just a little ways up Steel Pass, Jason's bike was having shifting problems, and his bike seemed to be stuck in 3rd gear. This was too tall a gear for the conditions, so his bike would stall, and then he would have problems starting up again from 3rd gear as well; but to Jason's credit he kept trying to forge ahead. We were losing time to the riders ahead. I finally decided to ride ahead and catch his brother Jeff who had the tools. I caught Jeff and he turned around to help Jason, and I continued to catch up to Joel to let him know what was going on.
Talking it over with Joel, we decided that one of us should head back and convince Jason and Jeff to turn around and head back to Panamint Springs. The other would try to catch up to the riders ahead, who we are sure are wondering what going on by now. Joel let me continue on, since he would have more opportunities to ride Steel Pass in the future (since I live so far away). I continue up Steel Pass, now trying to catch up with the riders ahead of me. I'm not trying to go exceptionally fast, but quick enough to hopefully catch the riders ahead. I probably hadn't gone but a mile or two before my front-end feels like it is just bashing into every rock on the trail. My first thought is that I had blown the front shock on the GS Telelever front suspension. So I stop and take a look, and it's not the shock. My front cast wheel has a pretty big dent in it, and the tubeless tire has lost all air.
Now I have a conundrum. I'm assuming that Joel, Jeff, and Jason are heading back to the Warm Springs and then Panamint. Being a virgin to Steel Pass, I'm not sure whether it might be shorter to continue forward or go back. I decide to continue, figuring someone up ahead will be waiting. So with the front flat, I continue. Now I realize how much the air in the front tire aids in suspension, because it feels like I don't have any. I feel every little rock I ride over, and the cast wheel is getting more out of shape with every turn of the wheel. Luckily, the tire seems to be holding the bead, but I'm having to go pretty slow.
I get another few miles, and haven't seen anybody, and I again wonder whether I should turn back - but decide to continue on no matter what. About another mile up the road, I catch Vern on his big GS 1150. Apparently, he's been stuck for awhile. He ran into an area with really loose gravel, and his big 1150 GS just keeps sinking up to the axle. He's pulled it out once or twice already, tried again but just can't get through this section of loose gravel. His rear TKC tire just doesn't have enough tread left to dig in and not spin in the gravel. But I'm happy to have come across somebody.
We talk it over, and decide to make the the wise decision and turn around. We get our bikes turned around, and start heading back to the Warm Springs. I now get to look forward to riding the 12 miles or so of Steel Pass back to the Warm Springs on my flat front tire. But just before starting up our bikes, we hear he sound of motors heading our direction, and 3 angels show up (Joe, Dave, and Jim). They had ridden up Steel Pass earlier in the day, and were now riding back down. Apparently, they had come across Aaron and Jim at the top of the pass, who I'm sure were wondering where we were.
My front wheel now has 3 or 4 spots on both sides where there's a pretty big gap between the edge of the cast wheel and the tire. Vern said each spot looked like a taco. I pretty much figured I would be riding back to the Warm Springs on the front flat, and then probably have to wait to get trailered out. Joe mentioned that he's had some luck before with tubeless tires and cast rims in pounding the wheel back into shape - at least enough to get the bead set and hold air again. Nothing to lose at this point.
So we get the wheel off, and start pounding away with the biggest rock we could find. When that proved not to be enough, we searched and found an even bigger rock, and continued to pound the rime to try to make it as round as possible. Slowly, the wheel got back to a reasonably round shape. We tried inflating it with my air pump, then Joe's air pump, then CO2 cartridges; but just couldn't get enough air into the tire fast enough to set the bead.
So Dave volunteers to let me have one of his tubes. You see, Dave was the KTM rider I met the the junction of Saline Valley Road and Hwy 190 the day before, and offered my spare gas to. Anyways, we soon have the tube installed, it holds air, and get the wheel installed back on the bike.
We've now spent a long time at this, and Dave is anxious to get going again and heads down the trail. I was getting all my tools collected and put away, so Vern and I ended up following everybody else. What a difference having air in the front tire makes! But we don't get more than about 1/2 mile down the road before we see that Joe is stopped. Son of a bitch - he's got a dinged up front wheel and a flat. Again, it's off with the front wheel, find some big rocks, and try to pound it back into shape to hold air. Dave's up ahead, and we know he's got one more spare tube so Jim takes off after Dave, while Joe, Vern, and I are working on the front wheel.
We get Joe's wheel reasonably round, but still couldn't get air in fast enough to seat the bead.
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Jim finally catches up with Dave, and they return with Dave's last spare tube. In a flash, Joe has the tube installed, it holds air, we get the wheel installed, and we're good to go. Dave's got another surprise for me too! I had lost my Spot tracker earlier in the ride up Steel Pass. It must have bounced out earlier, and Dave found it along the trail.
Jim had continued down to Warm Springs after catching up to Dave, and now the rest of us are heading down to Warm Springs as well. Vern and I arrive, and see Jim, Then Joes shows up. Then ... Well, then Dave doesn't show up!
Jim's the most rested, so he takes off back up Steel Pass to find Dave and the rest of us wait. We wait and wait. It's getting later and later. After about 20 minutes, there's no sign of Dave or Jim. We're not sure if it's another mechanical problem or if Dave has perhaps fallen and injured himself. Joe decides to ride back up as well. It's about 6:15pm. Joe tells us that if it's any kind of medical issue, either he or Jim would hightail it back to the Warm Springs. If he's not back by 7:00pm, then Vern and I should head on back to Panamint, and let Matt (who was planning to spend the night at Panamint although his truck and trailer were at the Warm Springs) know. If Dave, Jim, and Joe could make it back to the Warm Springs, they may just try to stay at Matt's truck until help arrives.
So Vern and I are hanging around the Warm Springs. The springs are looking inviting, but we don't know what the situation with Dave is and if we will need to take off in a hurry so we stay dressed. In the meantime, there's naked women (cougars not playmates) running around and getting in the pools. Unfortunately, there's naked men running around too.
Around 7pm, Vern and I decide that we better take off for Panamint. We know were going to be riding in the dark. We go ahead and find Lizard Lee (the caretaker at the Warm Springs) and bring him up to speed with the situation - he's got a satellite phone just in case it's needed.
Then we head on our way back to Panamint. We get a ways down the Warm Springs Road, getting close to Saline Valley Road when we see a couple of riders coming our way. Looks like GSA's but they don't bother to stop to talk to us, so we keep on going. Turns out, one of them, Jeff, would take a spill before reaching the Warm Springs and get's hurt pretty bad - he get's airlifted out later that night (actually about 3 or 4am the next morning).
The ride back back to Panamint was fairly uneventful - and actually quite a bit of fun. It's quite different riding at night with limited vision. Vern and I rode a lot of the ways side by side so I could take advantage of Vern's better lighting. We came across one couple in a car that were lost, and trying to find their way to the Warm Springs and we gave the directions the best we could.
We also ran into Matt, who was heading back to his truck and trailer at the Warm Springs. Knowing some of us hadn't showed up at Panamint, he figured it was best to head back in case anyone was stuck at the Warm Springs.
We finally made it back to Panamint right at 9:30pm. I head directly to the gas station/store because Vern and I have to change rooms that night at the hotel and I need to get a new key (and get our luggage that was being stored in the store). I arrive just as their locking the door for the night. They open back up, give me a key to the hotel room, and I get our luggage.
Then, having stories to tell, and hot dogs to eat, we hung around the campfire - and wondering what happened to Dave, Jim, and Joe. Just about the time, we are thinking of turning in for the night, Jim shows back up at Panamint.
Turns out Dave had a flat on Steel Pass just after fixing Joe's flat. With one of his spare tubes in my bike, and his 2nd spare tube in Joe's bike, Dave was trying to get patches to hold. They finally did get it fixed enough to hold air and continue on, trying to make it back to Panamint.
They passed the accident scene on Warm Springs where Jeff was injured. They passed Matt who was heading back to the Warm Springs (and I think eventually trailered Jeff's bike back home). Then both Dave and Joe had yet another flat. So they had sent Jim back to Panamint to get Dave's truck.
Now I owe these guys BIG TIME, so I volunteer to go back with Jim to help out. We reach Dave and Joe at about the intersection of Saline Valley Road and Hwy 190, and get their bikes loaded in the truck. We finally get back to Panamint about 1:15 or 1:30am.
Well, I came to Death Valley for an adventure and I have to admit that I certainly accomplished that!
Jim had continued down to Warm Springs after catching up to Dave, and now the rest of us are heading down to Warm Springs as well. Vern and I arrive, and see Jim, Then Joes shows up. Then ... Well, then Dave doesn't show up!
Jim's the most rested, so he takes off back up Steel Pass to find Dave and the rest of us wait. We wait and wait. It's getting later and later. After about 20 minutes, there's no sign of Dave or Jim. We're not sure if it's another mechanical problem or if Dave has perhaps fallen and injured himself. Joe decides to ride back up as well. It's about 6:15pm. Joe tells us that if it's any kind of medical issue, either he or Jim would hightail it back to the Warm Springs. If he's not back by 7:00pm, then Vern and I should head on back to Panamint, and let Matt (who was planning to spend the night at Panamint although his truck and trailer were at the Warm Springs) know. If Dave, Jim, and Joe could make it back to the Warm Springs, they may just try to stay at Matt's truck until help arrives.
So Vern and I are hanging around the Warm Springs. The springs are looking inviting, but we don't know what the situation with Dave is and if we will need to take off in a hurry so we stay dressed. In the meantime, there's naked women (cougars not playmates) running around and getting in the pools. Unfortunately, there's naked men running around too.
Around 7pm, Vern and I decide that we better take off for Panamint. We know were going to be riding in the dark. We go ahead and find Lizard Lee (the caretaker at the Warm Springs) and bring him up to speed with the situation - he's got a satellite phone just in case it's needed.
Then we head on our way back to Panamint. We get a ways down the Warm Springs Road, getting close to Saline Valley Road when we see a couple of riders coming our way. Looks like GSA's but they don't bother to stop to talk to us, so we keep on going. Turns out, one of them, Jeff, would take a spill before reaching the Warm Springs and get's hurt pretty bad - he get's airlifted out later that night (actually about 3 or 4am the next morning).
The ride back back to Panamint was fairly uneventful - and actually quite a bit of fun. It's quite different riding at night with limited vision. Vern and I rode a lot of the ways side by side so I could take advantage of Vern's better lighting. We came across one couple in a car that were lost, and trying to find their way to the Warm Springs and we gave the directions the best we could.
We also ran into Matt, who was heading back to his truck and trailer at the Warm Springs. Knowing some of us hadn't showed up at Panamint, he figured it was best to head back in case anyone was stuck at the Warm Springs.
We finally made it back to Panamint right at 9:30pm. I head directly to the gas station/store because Vern and I have to change rooms that night at the hotel and I need to get a new key (and get our luggage that was being stored in the store). I arrive just as their locking the door for the night. They open back up, give me a key to the hotel room, and I get our luggage.
Then, having stories to tell, and hot dogs to eat, we hung around the campfire - and wondering what happened to Dave, Jim, and Joe. Just about the time, we are thinking of turning in for the night, Jim shows back up at Panamint.
Turns out Dave had a flat on Steel Pass just after fixing Joe's flat. With one of his spare tubes in my bike, and his 2nd spare tube in Joe's bike, Dave was trying to get patches to hold. They finally did get it fixed enough to hold air and continue on, trying to make it back to Panamint.
They passed the accident scene on Warm Springs where Jeff was injured. They passed Matt who was heading back to the Warm Springs (and I think eventually trailered Jeff's bike back home). Then both Dave and Joe had yet another flat. So they had sent Jim back to Panamint to get Dave's truck.
Now I owe these guys BIG TIME, so I volunteer to go back with Jim to help out. We reach Dave and Joe at about the intersection of Saline Valley Road and Hwy 190, and get their bikes loaded in the truck. We finally get back to Panamint about 1:15 or 1:30am.
Well, I came to Death Valley for an adventure and I have to admit that I certainly accomplished that!
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Sunday: After assisting Jim in retrieving Dave and Joe after midnight Saturday, I finally got to bed after 1:30am. But as I usually do, I wake up early Sunday anyways and grab a shower. Vern wakes up a little later, gets his shower in and then we head to the restaurant for breakfast - a final chance to reminisce about the rides over the last few days.
Joel's interested in seeing what my front wheel looks like, so we walk over to my bike and he takes a few pics.
I take my time in geting packed up, and I'm finally ready to leave about 11:30am. I head over to fill up at the gas station and see Vern there. He got packed up quite a while before I did, but he's apparently been over at the campsite saying goodbyes. I fill my bike up with gas, say goodbye to Vern and then I head over to the campsite to say goodbye to the remaining few that are still getting packed. I hit the road about noon, heading east on Hwy 190.
My original thoughts were to just ride straight back to Vegas as I'm not too sure about my front wheel, but it seems to be riding just fine. So as I reach Stovepipe Wells I say the heck with it, I'm going to stop and get a single-use camera (since my digital is not working) and see a few more sights of Death Valley. I check the air pressure in my front tire, and it seems to be holding fine. I figure as long as I stick to pavement I should be OK because if I do get a flat, I can probably get help if I'm on the pavement. And besides, it's a beautiful day for a ride!
So shortly after Stovepipe Wells, I head north towards Scotty's Castle. Not really a castle, it's a pretty large Spanish style villa basically in the middle of nowhere. There's quite a story to the place, but you can look that up on your own. Almost as soon as I park, an older guy come over and starts talking to me about my bike.
Next time, I'll stop long enough to take the tour of Scotty's Castle, but I'm anxious to keep riding and seeing more sights.
Next stop - Ubehebe Crater, a large volcanic crater not far from Scotty's Castle.
I make it just another quick stop, and then I'm on my way to Rhyolite - a ghost town just outside the eastern boundary of Death Valley.
Rhyolite's an interesting place, with some rather unique artwork dotting it's landscape.
After Rhyolite, I'm hungry and decide to head to Beatty to get some food. I forget the name of the place I ate at, but I had a good pizza there and some interesting conversations with the locals. It was getting late so I decided to get a room at the Super 8 (or Motel 6 or something like that), and continue on to Vegas on Monday.
Joel's interested in seeing what my front wheel looks like, so we walk over to my bike and he takes a few pics.
I take my time in geting packed up, and I'm finally ready to leave about 11:30am. I head over to fill up at the gas station and see Vern there. He got packed up quite a while before I did, but he's apparently been over at the campsite saying goodbyes. I fill my bike up with gas, say goodbye to Vern and then I head over to the campsite to say goodbye to the remaining few that are still getting packed. I hit the road about noon, heading east on Hwy 190.
My original thoughts were to just ride straight back to Vegas as I'm not too sure about my front wheel, but it seems to be riding just fine. So as I reach Stovepipe Wells I say the heck with it, I'm going to stop and get a single-use camera (since my digital is not working) and see a few more sights of Death Valley. I check the air pressure in my front tire, and it seems to be holding fine. I figure as long as I stick to pavement I should be OK because if I do get a flat, I can probably get help if I'm on the pavement. And besides, it's a beautiful day for a ride!
So shortly after Stovepipe Wells, I head north towards Scotty's Castle. Not really a castle, it's a pretty large Spanish style villa basically in the middle of nowhere. There's quite a story to the place, but you can look that up on your own. Almost as soon as I park, an older guy come over and starts talking to me about my bike.
Next time, I'll stop long enough to take the tour of Scotty's Castle, but I'm anxious to keep riding and seeing more sights.
Next stop - Ubehebe Crater, a large volcanic crater not far from Scotty's Castle.
I make it just another quick stop, and then I'm on my way to Rhyolite - a ghost town just outside the eastern boundary of Death Valley.
Rhyolite's an interesting place, with some rather unique artwork dotting it's landscape.
After Rhyolite, I'm hungry and decide to head to Beatty to get some food. I forget the name of the place I ate at, but I had a good pizza there and some interesting conversations with the locals. It was getting late so I decided to get a room at the Super 8 (or Motel 6 or something like that), and continue on to Vegas on Monday.
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Monday: Monday morning rolls around, and I decide to head to Vegas via Badwater since I haven't seen that yet. So I head west from Beatty, and back into Death Valley. There's a lot more haze this morning in DV than the past few days.
I stopped in Furnace Creek for breakfast. After breakfast, I continue south and decide to take Artist's Drive, a short 1-way loop road. It brings you a couple of areas where the minerals provide a colorful palate to the landscape. In person, the colors are a lot more vibrant than what appears in my pictures.
A little further south, and I finally reach Badwater - the lowest elevation in the US at -282 feet below sea level. It's interesting, but doesn't really lend itself to be a great picture spot (especially on such a hazy day).
After Badwater, I just continued on the pavement back to Vegas, through Shoshone and Pahrump. The tube in my front wheel is holding up!
I stopped in Furnace Creek for breakfast. After breakfast, I continue south and decide to take Artist's Drive, a short 1-way loop road. It brings you a couple of areas where the minerals provide a colorful palate to the landscape. In person, the colors are a lot more vibrant than what appears in my pictures.
A little further south, and I finally reach Badwater - the lowest elevation in the US at -282 feet below sea level. It's interesting, but doesn't really lend itself to be a great picture spot (especially on such a hazy day).
After Badwater, I just continued on the pavement back to Vegas, through Shoshone and Pahrump. The tube in my front wheel is holding up!
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After getting back to Vegas from Death Valley, I spent time with family there; so I didn't leave for home in Camas, WA until Monday, March 23. I decided to take the coastal route back north, so I left on Monday morning to head west towards the California coast.
I left Vegas heading west and directly into Red Rock Canyon, a beautiful National Comservation Area just outside on Las Vegas.
Red Rock Canyon has a great scenic drive that runs through it. I've taken it before so I didn't bother to ride it this time, but if you haven't been there before then I would recommend it. It has a lot of great photo opportunities and some great hikes.
I hit Hwy 160, and turned west towards Pahrump but again took the Old Spanish Trail towards Tecopa Springs.
Just past Tecopa Springs, I hit Hwy 127 and turned south so that I could pass by the Dumont Dunes OHV area (it brings back good memories from my younger dirt biking days in SoCal); then hit I-5 in Baker and turned south towards Barstow. In Barstow, I took Hwy 58 and headed west towards the coast. On Hwy 58 I rode through the desert, then over the Tehachapi Mtns, down into the valley and through Bakersfield. Continuing west on Hwy 58, I went through the oil patch areas towards McKittrick. Somehow, just past McKittrick, I missed the turnoff to continue on Hwy 58 and ended up on Hwy 33 which took me further south then I wanted - but oh well. Eventually, I reached Maricopa and headed west again on Hwy 166. This was a very pretty and twisty drive through the Los Padres Forest, and eventually to Santa Maria and then Guadalupe, where I reach Hwy 1.
Heading north, I pass through Oceano and Pismo Beach and finally stop to take some pictures of the ocean in Shell Beach.
I continue north again past Morro Bay to Cayucos, where I need to get gas and decide to spend the night. I stayed at the Shoreline Inn which was was right on the beach. I got a picture of the Cayucos Pier at sunset from my room.
I left Vegas heading west and directly into Red Rock Canyon, a beautiful National Comservation Area just outside on Las Vegas.
Red Rock Canyon has a great scenic drive that runs through it. I've taken it before so I didn't bother to ride it this time, but if you haven't been there before then I would recommend it. It has a lot of great photo opportunities and some great hikes.
I hit Hwy 160, and turned west towards Pahrump but again took the Old Spanish Trail towards Tecopa Springs.
Just past Tecopa Springs, I hit Hwy 127 and turned south so that I could pass by the Dumont Dunes OHV area (it brings back good memories from my younger dirt biking days in SoCal); then hit I-5 in Baker and turned south towards Barstow. In Barstow, I took Hwy 58 and headed west towards the coast. On Hwy 58 I rode through the desert, then over the Tehachapi Mtns, down into the valley and through Bakersfield. Continuing west on Hwy 58, I went through the oil patch areas towards McKittrick. Somehow, just past McKittrick, I missed the turnoff to continue on Hwy 58 and ended up on Hwy 33 which took me further south then I wanted - but oh well. Eventually, I reached Maricopa and headed west again on Hwy 166. This was a very pretty and twisty drive through the Los Padres Forest, and eventually to Santa Maria and then Guadalupe, where I reach Hwy 1.
Heading north, I pass through Oceano and Pismo Beach and finally stop to take some pictures of the ocean in Shell Beach.
I continue north again past Morro Bay to Cayucos, where I need to get gas and decide to spend the night. I stayed at the Shoreline Inn which was was right on the beach. I got a picture of the Cayucos Pier at sunset from my room.
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Woke up Tuesday around 7am, got packed up and ready to leave by 8. Going to keep riding north along Hwy 1 and hit Ragged Point for breakfast (upon the recommendation of my DV roommate Vern). The Ragged Point Inn is located in Big Sur about 15 miles north of San Simeon. It looks like a beautiful place to spend the night, but I'm just eating - had a great breakfast of French Toast and bacon.
I stopped plenty of times to take some pics of the coast - it's just beautiful. The weather was beautiful, but surprisingly all along Hwy 1 I saw very little traffic, and almost no motorcycles. I basically had the road to myself. Finally made it to Fort Bragg to spend the night.
I stopped plenty of times to take some pics of the coast - it's just beautiful. The weather was beautiful, but surprisingly all along Hwy 1 I saw very little traffic, and almost no motorcycles. I basically had the road to myself. Finally made it to Fort Bragg to spend the night.
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I'm going to make it home today, but also knew that I'd probably run into some weather. Once again I was up early, had a quick breakfast in Fort Bragg and hit the road a little after 8am. I took a few more pics of the coast from Hwy 1 along the way.
Eventually, Hwy 1 starts turning inland to meet up with Hwy 101. It's very pretty as the road winds through the coastal mountains and forests. Then I take Hwy 101 north, and decided to ride part of the Avenue of the Giants through the Redwood forests.
I had two close calls after this. Coming into Eureka, I came around a corner and spotted about 3 deer in the southbound lanes of Hwy 101. I slowed right down and moved to the right. Sure enough the deer jumped over the barrier between the lanes but luckily right behind me instead of in front of me.
Then I had a much closer call just north of Klamath, CA. There's an attraction just north of Klamath called the Trees of Mystery, and right along the highway are giant statues of Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox. I wasn't planning to stop so I was in the leftmost northbound lane to keep heading straight. I noticed that there were quite a few cars in the southbound turn lane to turn across my path into the attraction so I slowed a little bit, and thought I actually made eye contact with the driver of the first car in the left turn lane so I was pretty sure she was waiting for me to go past. But at the very last moment, she decides to turn left directly in front of me. Brakes on, sharp dive to my left to miss her (probably my less than a foot), and then another sharp dive to my right to get back into the northbound lane and miss the other cars in the southbound turn lane. It was the closest call I've had in years!
Just north of Crescent City, CA, I turned onto Hwy 199 heading northwest towards Grant Pass, OR. This is another very beautiful road for motorcycles, but unfortunately this is where it started raining and I would spend the rest of the day riding in the wet - from sprinkles to a few short downpours, but mostly just a light rain.
In Grants Pass, I jumped onto I-5 and basically slabbed it north to Portland, and onto home in Camas, WA.
It was a great couple of weeks from leaving in the snow to head south, some great riding days in Death Valley with a bunch of new friends, and ending up riding in the rain to home!
Eventually, Hwy 1 starts turning inland to meet up with Hwy 101. It's very pretty as the road winds through the coastal mountains and forests. Then I take Hwy 101 north, and decided to ride part of the Avenue of the Giants through the Redwood forests.
I had two close calls after this. Coming into Eureka, I came around a corner and spotted about 3 deer in the southbound lanes of Hwy 101. I slowed right down and moved to the right. Sure enough the deer jumped over the barrier between the lanes but luckily right behind me instead of in front of me.
Then I had a much closer call just north of Klamath, CA. There's an attraction just north of Klamath called the Trees of Mystery, and right along the highway are giant statues of Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox. I wasn't planning to stop so I was in the leftmost northbound lane to keep heading straight. I noticed that there were quite a few cars in the southbound turn lane to turn across my path into the attraction so I slowed a little bit, and thought I actually made eye contact with the driver of the first car in the left turn lane so I was pretty sure she was waiting for me to go past. But at the very last moment, she decides to turn left directly in front of me. Brakes on, sharp dive to my left to miss her (probably my less than a foot), and then another sharp dive to my right to get back into the northbound lane and miss the other cars in the southbound turn lane. It was the closest call I've had in years!
Just north of Crescent City, CA, I turned onto Hwy 199 heading northwest towards Grant Pass, OR. This is another very beautiful road for motorcycles, but unfortunately this is where it started raining and I would spend the rest of the day riding in the wet - from sprinkles to a few short downpours, but mostly just a light rain.
In Grants Pass, I jumped onto I-5 and basically slabbed it north to Portland, and onto home in Camas, WA.
It was a great couple of weeks from leaving in the snow to head south, some great riding days in Death Valley with a bunch of new friends, and ending up riding in the rain to home!
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