They say experience leads to wisdom, however early Tuesday morning, my experience taught me I was lacking in motorcycle maintenance as I prepared to ride off to meet my friend, Bruce in the blooming desert of Southern CA. My battery was as dead as the proverbial doornail. I hadn’t ridden the bike for weeks and should have had it on a trickle charger, but noooooo, instead I delayed my departure by a couple of hours, while I let the Bandit charge. Should of, would of, could of, oh well, so much for wisdom!
When I finally got off, it was much later than anticipated, however, when traveling by motorcycle, schedules are best left back to those whose jobs require punctuality and boredom. My job of motorcycling is one of leisure and relaxation.
I schlogged down Hwy 99 to Hwy 178 out of Bakersfield and went directly to Ridgecrest, where I was meeting Bruce for the first time, in person. Up to this moment we had been “forum friends” only. We were about to jump into “real” friendship territory. We both had the time available and the desire to see Death Valley in the spring, in all its blooming splendor, so had planned an impromptu trip, exploring the area for a couple of days. Then to my delight, I was also given the opportunity to join Streetmasters: Precision Cornering Workshop at Willow Springs Track. This was going to be a GREAT week.
A long overnight at Motel6 and a quick breakfast saw us on the road to Trona (mars?) and the back entrance to Death Valley via Wildrose Pass.
The scenic smokestacks of Trona
Undefined piece of equipment, but oh what glorious colors!
Bruce scoping out the view
The view in its glory
Bruce and his mighty RT in BW
First signs of the bloomin’ desert, a Creosote Bush
Choices
The long and not so winding road
This shot reminds me of Spy VS Spy ah la Mad Magazine
Wildrose is an awesome way to work into Death Valley. It has nearly everything stimulating for a rider. Goat abounds on this baby, so if you are afraid of chattering teeth, another entrance may be desirable. Some of the road surface is just plain missing and dirt and hard-packed gravel is your only route. But you can’t beat the visual vantages and fun!
When we first entered Death Valley, descending from Wildrose, the sight of all the distance ochers and yellows was awesome. The valley is definitely in bloom this year, with the recent rains followed by warm temperatures.
We rode many of the sights.
Zabrinski Point
Artist’s loop
Artist’s pallet
Our overnight found us in Beatty, NV due to availability and rates. You couldn’t beat the lodging at Atomic/Phoenix Inn. The rooms were dynamite, wifi, newly remodeled and priced right at around $50 per night. They love motorcyclists and give a “biker” discount of $8 per room. It’s both quiet and secure.
Our host and the motel office’s quirky glory
We ended up eating both dinner and breakfast at the Ensanada Grill, who Mexican dishes are first rate. Bruce got several food shots, where I got only our breakie. The service was great and the meals excellent! Our waiter was amazing, not only in his wait skills but as a singer and all around entertainer. Hopefully this guy will go far!!
Bruce’s
Mine (over medium…perfect!)
Colorful mural in “downtown” Beatty
We got a bit of a late start and decided to alter our plans a bit, due to a noise in my chain. I had forgotten my chain lube and the town of Beatty didn’t have anything even passible to use. So, we cut a day and headed south to Palmdale where I was overnighting with another Girly Rider, Marion (California Girl). I knew that she had a garage and the knowledge and ability to get my chain issues handled. As it ended up, it took two of us to get the damned Bandit on the center stand, though Streetmaster Walt, assures me it’s easy! We got it lubed and it was find afterwards, but I am getting ahead of myself.
We rode into Rhyolite, a ghost town that Bruce had never visited and when near Death Valley, Rhyolite is a must! The Goldwell Open Air Museum is truly special as is the history of the area. “Starting as a two-man camp in January 1905, Rhyolite became a town of 1,200 people in two weeks and reached a population of 2,500 by June 1905. By then it had 50 saloons, 35 gambling tables, cribs for prostitution, 19 lodging houses, 16 restaurants, half a dozen barbers, a public bath house, and a weekly newspaper, the Rhyolite Herald.” It’s difficult to believe, given there are so few buildings or skeletons of building left now.
Bruce got plenty of shots, but as I have visited several times prior, I spent my time visiting with the local historian and caretaker, Riley McCoy.
Photo taken by Lisa Elmaleh
Here are a couple Rhyolite shots that I took last fall.
After leaving Rhyolite, we headed to Blackwater, DV, drinking in more of the wildflower glory!
Amazing acres of Desert Sunflowers.
Desert Sunflower and Sand Verbena
Desert Dandelion
Miles of Desert Sunflowers as we approached Badwater
Last stop in the valley was Shoshone for lunch. There was some sort of drama unfolding there so the service was sketchy but the food good. We headed to Palmdale and Bruce on to Lancaster. We had a long full day of riding and by the time I arrived at Marion and Cris’s home, I was done. Cris plied me with Merlot and I called it a day!
The following day was spent here lifting the Merlot fog before meeting the Streemaster’s gang for dinner.
Luckily a good night of sleep brought me back to my game and my day with Streetmasters was well justified. Walt and Nancy run a tight ship and I quickly discovered that I was not going to slide in any way shape or form. I realized just how complacent my riding had gotten but soon Walter had me whipped into shape, stiffening my neck by the end of the day, I was totally “looking through the curves” with my chin up. No more lazy riding for this girl!!
The day was AWESOME. I highly recommend this day of riding track to every experienced rider who feels the need to perfect skills or just plain resharpen. This class is worth its weight in gold and Walt and all the instructors are amazing riders. I was in awe of some of the machine handling and left with newly adjusted skilz along with many others several on HUGE Goldwings, maneuvering the track like pros. While half the group was on the Horse Thief Mile, the others were on the paddock practicing slow speed maneuvers, quick stops, cone weaves and u-turns, all necessary real-world riding skills. I had truly the best day ever! Thank you STREETMASTERS.
Thank you Bruce Laidlaw (Turkus) for these wonderful shots!
Look at that headturn!
I was sooooooo jazzed by the end of my riding course that I had to continue riding ever though it was nearly 5ish, so I headed for the poppy reserve. Wow!
Upon returning to the motel, I discovered that Saturday evening was party central at the Town House Motel. There was no less then 50 all-age party prone in the pool, hot tub and sitting areas, eating, drinking and reveling. I went next door for an amazing Mexican meal and retired early, settling in with earplugs!
I was on the road early Sunday morning with the intention of going all the way home the scenic way. I routed point to point, but had my dad, who is in the fog of dementia, call me a number of times with issues. I spent at least an hour of ride time, dealing with his dilemma. By the time I left Tehachapi, I had settled to ride Caliente-Bodfish road after all the wonderful reports I had read. It was amazing!! I got full on practice of delayed late apex turns, from my day at Streetmasters and did well. Walt would have been proud. Not only full on head turns but great entrance and exits from the blind corners. I finally noticed what he has told us regarding perspective and the horizon either opening or closing. It was a revelation!
I met a few other riders on both Caliente Bodfish, Hwy 155 (an awesome road when fogless), M109 Old Stage Road and M296 Yokohl Rd. The goat, tight corners, gorgeous scenery and wildflowers, totally made up for the long schlog up 99 to home!
Caliente Bodfish
In the purple…
Old Stage Rd
My favorite photo of the ride
And to close this most awesome ride
I arrived home at nearly 8ish, tired but content to my wonderful husband and a delicious dinner. Even the boring 99 couldn’t dampen my spirits. In the illustrious words of my pal Frenchy, it was the best ride ever!!!
Here is a map of the last day’s roads and a [URL=”http://tinyurl.com/y38wdqc”]link[/URL] to the interactive google map.
