antmakka
Well-Known Member
Day 3, May 9[SUP]th[/SUP] – 445miles - 13hr
My Endomondo tracking app went a bit crazy and made 3 separate tracks, non of which included the whole day, so I had to resort to the iPhone image.
Today we spent the day switching between Arizona and Utah (which meant switching time zones as well). Roads were fantastic, which meant we didn't even think about taking any pictures, we were just enjoying ourselves too much. That was until we realized we had to hit I-15 for a couple of hundred miles in order to get to Vegas. For some reason known only to himself, Gordon (route planner) thought that Vegas would have lots of tent campsites to chose from. Vegas doesn't do non-RV camping. So after a brief discussion we headed west in order to eat into some of tomorrow's miles. After about another 50 hot and tiring miles we saw a sign for a motel - 2 hours away. It was already 8 pm and we weren't looking forward to 2 more hours of highway riding. Luckily Barry noticed a small casino which had a motel hidden around the back. A misunderstanding with the reception desk resulted in us getting a room each, for a total of $120. For that price we could have stayed in a big room at the Luxor or MGM Grand. Oh well, off we went to the hotel bar for some well earned beers.
Day 4, May 10[SUP]th[/SUP] – 172miles – 6hr 37m
We awoke to find we were next to Creech Air Force Base. This is the home for training UAV pilots, so as we packed our bikes a steady stream of Predator drones were either taking off or landing just half a mile away. Within seconds of taking off you struggle to see them, so small and well camouflaged, that I never managed to get a decent photograph.
I was really looking forward to today as we were heading into Death Valley. Our plan was to get there in the morning to avoid the midday heat. With almost split-second timing, we arrived at Death Valley pay station at 12:00. As usual, too much faffing about in the morning meant we were going to do desert sections of our route during the hottest part of the day.
Parking my bike, I didn't notice the lot had a gradient. Can you guess what happened next?
Gordon, in the foreground, has just rushed over. Not to help me, but to make sure his GoPro is recording the moment. How can I ever thank him? Well the crash bars did their job and my panier suffered some small scuffs, but thankfully I managed to hold onto the Tiger until the last moment so the impact was not too bad.
We soon got going and headed into the National Park.
Deeper into the valley we go, down to 60ft above sea level. Barry and I ride on ahead while Gordon takes way too many pictures.
The midday sun is toasty during a water break.
Not content with just one of us dropping our bikes, Barry decides to stop in some soft sand. He tried to get it upright before Gordon arrived with his ever active GoPro, but no luck.
This was drop number 2 for Barry. He dropped it in the snow on his first day. Only minor bike damage but his helmet visor needed duct tape to keep it closed.
Looking back as the way we'd come.
We passed some people camping in the middle of Death Valley and even a cyclist riding through it. For us it was time to head out the other side. We stopped in Lone Pine, the first town north of the exit and pulled up outside a biker bar called Jakes Saloon. Tempted as we were to have a cool beer, next door was an ice cream parlor. As we were all comfortable with our manliness, we headed inside for what turned out to be the largest 'single' scoop ice cream I've ever seen.
We started to look for camp grounds and found one in Bishop. It was the first site on our trip that didn't have wi-fi, but it did have a nice little bar, so you have to prioritize.
(Part IV to follow)
My Endomondo tracking app went a bit crazy and made 3 separate tracks, non of which included the whole day, so I had to resort to the iPhone image.
Today we spent the day switching between Arizona and Utah (which meant switching time zones as well). Roads were fantastic, which meant we didn't even think about taking any pictures, we were just enjoying ourselves too much. That was until we realized we had to hit I-15 for a couple of hundred miles in order to get to Vegas. For some reason known only to himself, Gordon (route planner) thought that Vegas would have lots of tent campsites to chose from. Vegas doesn't do non-RV camping. So after a brief discussion we headed west in order to eat into some of tomorrow's miles. After about another 50 hot and tiring miles we saw a sign for a motel - 2 hours away. It was already 8 pm and we weren't looking forward to 2 more hours of highway riding. Luckily Barry noticed a small casino which had a motel hidden around the back. A misunderstanding with the reception desk resulted in us getting a room each, for a total of $120. For that price we could have stayed in a big room at the Luxor or MGM Grand. Oh well, off we went to the hotel bar for some well earned beers.
Day 4, May 10[SUP]th[/SUP] – 172miles – 6hr 37m
We awoke to find we were next to Creech Air Force Base. This is the home for training UAV pilots, so as we packed our bikes a steady stream of Predator drones were either taking off or landing just half a mile away. Within seconds of taking off you struggle to see them, so small and well camouflaged, that I never managed to get a decent photograph.
I was really looking forward to today as we were heading into Death Valley. Our plan was to get there in the morning to avoid the midday heat. With almost split-second timing, we arrived at Death Valley pay station at 12:00. As usual, too much faffing about in the morning meant we were going to do desert sections of our route during the hottest part of the day.
Parking my bike, I didn't notice the lot had a gradient. Can you guess what happened next?
Gordon, in the foreground, has just rushed over. Not to help me, but to make sure his GoPro is recording the moment. How can I ever thank him? Well the crash bars did their job and my panier suffered some small scuffs, but thankfully I managed to hold onto the Tiger until the last moment so the impact was not too bad.
We soon got going and headed into the National Park.
Deeper into the valley we go, down to 60ft above sea level. Barry and I ride on ahead while Gordon takes way too many pictures.
The midday sun is toasty during a water break.
Not content with just one of us dropping our bikes, Barry decides to stop in some soft sand. He tried to get it upright before Gordon arrived with his ever active GoPro, but no luck.
This was drop number 2 for Barry. He dropped it in the snow on his first day. Only minor bike damage but his helmet visor needed duct tape to keep it closed.
Looking back as the way we'd come.
We passed some people camping in the middle of Death Valley and even a cyclist riding through it. For us it was time to head out the other side. We stopped in Lone Pine, the first town north of the exit and pulled up outside a biker bar called Jakes Saloon. Tempted as we were to have a cool beer, next door was an ice cream parlor. As we were all comfortable with our manliness, we headed inside for what turned out to be the largest 'single' scoop ice cream I've ever seen.
We started to look for camp grounds and found one in Bishop. It was the first site on our trip that didn't have wi-fi, but it did have a nice little bar, so you have to prioritize.
(Part IV to follow)
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) but i have to say again what awsome country you ride in and again great pic's , what a great way to see the country side 
