Death Valley

Death Valley
Stopped for a coffee at a tiny gas station come general store. Having just left Vegas I wasn't surprised to see 'Slots' and 'Adult entertainment' written on the external wall.






It wasn't until I got talking to Captain Birdseye (wearing a battered stepson though) that I discovered that the adult entertainment was a brothel. A brothel! Cherry Patch Ranch II (I wonder what happened to the the first one?).


If I weren't a nice reserved Englishman I would have paid to have a picture taken with one of the 'girls'."Course, this side of the raod is in a different town" he said. "That's because the town council decided they didn't want a brothel in their town. So this side of the highway is called xxx".











"They don't mind having more that one wife around here, but won't own up to buying one... he he he".






The captain told me about his life history growing up in the Bayous in Alabama, his visits to England and the fact that his family was originally from Bristol and London (together :o). "I told Harry here, the cider over there is great. Knock your dick into the dirt it will!"


If want you to hear something interesting talk to the loud eccentric person :o)I had been speaking to the lady behind the till when he came over to help. He said there was only one place en route for gas in Death Valley (not true actually as usual!) and then he got to chatting.


Apparently I need to get a 2 gallon tank for the early stages of Route 50. His mate (the one who had moved his armchair into the coffee area, sunk into it and far as you could tell hadn't moved out of it in years), thinks there could be one section without fuel for 200 miles... Hmmm.

























What a day! Spent most of it sailing, or least it felt that way. Crosswinds of 35 MPH had Roci leaning at 30 degrees just to go in a straight line. Much more disconcerting was leaning the bike the wrong way round a bend! Wierd....









Started at 3000 ft and rode down for mile after mile until I was at minus165 feet at the base of Death Valley. Stopped at Furnace Creek. God, it was hot. The reader with the smart mouth (you know who you are) will say "the clue is in the name Mike". Never the less... Stovepipe Wells was the next place (again, the clue etc...).Death Valley. Mile after mile of barren salt flats... Its beautiful in its own way but I just wanted out by the end.

Then started up the first of 2 big climbs. 20 miles straight up 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 5956 feet. Then straight back down again 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Then back up all over again. On and on riding through 100 degree heat and then 50 degrees with Roci being blown from one side of the road to the other. Really hard work but one of the BEST days....



Then just as you think the day has nothing more for you, you get shot blasted by 15 miles of sandstorm... There was a guy in the gas station in Furnace Creek on a KTM covered in sand. I thought he had been off roading with Ewan and Charlie. Turns out he had just come from where I was heading.



Then bam! there in front of you is the Sierra Nevada covered in snow. Wow, wow, wow....