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Descent into Death Valley
by Dale S. Smith
5.25.06
Greetings,
I would like to share with you a long ride I took last week. Leaving
Ashland
on May 22nd I spent 6 days on the road and traveled just a shade less than 1,500 miles. My destination was
Death Valley
and the Nevada Hog Rally. Why
Death Valley
of all places? Years ago my wife, children and I spent several spring breaks in the National Park hiking and exploring. We learned to love the area. My bike, by the way, is a 2002 Softail® Standard with shoebox-sized saddlebags and a small Memphis Shades windscreen with about 25,000 miles on the speedo.
My route was Susanville via McCloud, south to
Reno
and finally
Carson City
where I spent the first night at a fairly pleasant new casino called the
Pinion
Plaza
. The ride was essentially uneventful with only two deer encounters and two bees in the helmet. The temperature varied from 40s to almost 90 degrees. There was some snow along the road between McCloud and Susanville.
The next morning saw me at
South Lake Tahoe
by about
8:30
for breakfast. The ride from
Carson City
was beautiful but I was a bit concerned about ice on the highway. The road was unfamiliar with the expected blind curves and there were warning signs for ice. With the temp about 40 it was enough to make me nervous. Especially since I know of a recent biker death on that stretch. The road from
South Lake Tahoe
to
Minden
Nevada
was gorgeous: the valley was very green with the spring explosion in the fields. Then onward via 395 over the pass to
Mono
Lake
and finally Bishop. The highest point was about 8300 feet above
Mono
Lake
. Some threatening weather but I managed to dodge every raindrop. I had dinner at a place called BBQ Bills, which was rather good. Caught a movie and spent a restless night at the Day’s
Inn
: Air conditioner sounded like it was a Mac Truck.
I was on the road early the next morning heading for the turn off from 395 to highway 136 at Lone Pine. 136 was perhaps the most incredible stretch of the whole trip as the road first dipped into the
Panamint
Valley
then climbed to about 5000 feet before the final descent into
Death Valley
. As the road descended the temperature rose. Fortunately it was essentially all down hill and I was very easy on the throttle to avoid over heating. I arrived at Stovepipe Wells at 1030 AM with the thermometer telling me it was about 110. The air smelled and felt like the inside of a sauna. I got a nice air-conditioned room and spent the day in the pool. The pool was sparkling clean and there were very few people about. (TOO HOT!) The temperature peaked at about 118 degrees. Under a sun-screen motorcycle cover the thermometer on the bike was pegged at 130 degrees. As the afternoon wore on the wind picked up. At
10 PM
the temp was about 100 degrees. The park employees informed me that typically the only people in the park at this time of year are Europeans or world travelers. This seemed to be true. I met a father and son from
Holland
, a couple from
Denmark
, a couple from
England
, two women from
Thailand
and an Italian family. I think I was the only American visitor there.
It was still about 100 degrees at
8 AM
when I departed for Scotty’s Castle. The narrow highway to Scotty’s Castle climbs gently with plenty of scenery. A rule of thumb is the temperature changes about 5 degrees with each thousand feet of altitude. The turn into the narrow valley where the mansion is was a strange experience...one moment in hot, dry desert air and the next moment, a zone of moist, fragrant air smelling of the tropics. Did the castle tour with a biker from
Reno
and linked up with this 70-year-old fellow on a Buell from
Corpus Christi
for the final 70-mile ride to Beatty NV. He led the way and I did my best to keep up. In order to avoid future tongue-lashings I will not divulge velocities attained. As with every Rally there were folks from all over the country. Spent the evening visiting and sharing stories. I stayed at the El Portal Motel, clearly not an upscale establishment but the AC was perfectly quiet and the fridge nice and cold. Unfortunately there were no planned early morning rides and since the forecast for the next day was for more record breaking temperatures (even for
Death Valley
!) I was not eager to return. There were no rides planned for anywhere other than
Death Valley
.
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The next morning dawned clear and I discovered that a number of people were pulling up stakes even as others arrived. I did not feel like spending a couple of days just kicking around... if the pool had been open, I might have spent a bit more time but I pulled up stakes as well. Highway 95 to Tonopah is majestic in its desolation. Be Careful refueling...not all nozzles click off when the tank approaches full. The weather appeared more threatening as I traveled north through Hawthorne and Fallon. Just outside of Fallon I pulled off the road for a bit to wait for a shower to pass. I sheltered in an abandoned homestead.
Reno
was a little weird, dealing with rather fast traffic on a wet and grooved road surface...made things feel a bit squirrelly. 395 to Susanville seemed long because of a severe crosswind probably approaching 50 MPH...made it tiring.
The Night’s
Inn
in Susanville was adequate and the Mexican restaurant across the street was surprisingly good. The next morning dawned cold with a beautiful rainbow in the West...right were I was heading. I decide to take the southern route to Red Bluff expecting it to be warmer. It was cold. Over the mountains it was just barely 40 degrees with the constant threat of rain. Up I-5 there was steady rain from
Redding
to about Weed. I stayed fairly dry tucked in close and maintained temperature...never really getting too cold. I arrived in
Ashland
about 1230 no worse for the wear. The scooter ran perfectly, not a drop of oil used, and I was in good shape. Even with the low Bad Lander seat my butt never got unduly sore and the shoulders never really cramped. I never needed one ibuprofen.
Something should be said about riding solo. You can leave or stay when and where you want. Eat wherever it pleases you. Drink as much beer as you please. Drive as slow or as fast as you desire. And, with meeting new friends every day, you never really get too lonely... besides; the wife is just a cell call away.
Ride Safe
Dale S. Smith
The Secret Highway to Eugene
by Robert Mumby
5.19.06
For Southern Oregon No. 1 HOG Chapter's Long Ride in April, nearly a dozen of us took farm roads and old highways from Winston to Lorane while two hardy souls pushed on to Crow, Veneta and Eugene. We had an excellent lunch at Tullys Restaurant, in the 19th Century town of Oakland. We then took roads twisting through farms and forests to the King Estate Winery north of Lorane on the Old Territorial Highway. The wine-tasting room/restaurant is in an enormous chateau on a hilltop; there is nothing like it closer than Napa Valley. A great day ride that would have been better and longer only if we had gotten an earlier start
Bikers Do Have Heart
by The Wick Family
5.6.06
Our family would like to thank everyone for all their hardwork and efforts on our behalf. We had a good time today and Conner was thrilled with his ride and all the gifts. I am so glad he was feeling good enough to be a part of this. Great music! What a great community we all get to live in.
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