Being primarily a solo rider, the thought of travel with an old friend was both stimulating and daunting. I knew it would be wonderful to share some riding with my friend, Dave, but I also knew that I would have to make some compromises to my usual mode of travel. I decided at once that whatever would change in my routine would be worth it in the end over miles of friendship! For your reading pleasure check out, Dave’s “Im outa here” blog.

Through many conversations we had a route somewhat planned and mapped, but both of us learned by the time we left Sacramento that the best laid plans can sometimes be flushed unintentionally leaving only a churning bowl of water.

As we left Sacramento the weather was not being our friend. The temperatures dropped and there were snow flurries over the Sierras. Hwy 395 south was pretty but chilly, to Lee Vining which is where we jumped the southbound ship to ride east over Hwy 120. 120, the awesome bypass with wide open road, nice twisty bits and the ever fun whoop de whoops, put one big ol’ smile on my face and I could only imagine that Dave was doing the same. Once we reached Benton we traveled south on Hwy 6 to Bishop and stopped for a quick bite at the ever famous Erik Schats’s Bakery, then carried on to Big Pine. We gassed up and took on Hwy 168, one of my absolute favorite “cement that grin on your face” roads. From there everything was a bit rote until Beatty, where we overnighted.

Mono Lake area

Hwy 120 E

Hwy 168

Miles of endless Hwy 266 to Lida Junction

The Ensenada Grill was closed and I was not only surprised but disappointed as well. We both decided that lunch in Bishop would suffice for the evening and got some snacks and a bottle of Scotch. Oh ya… Life is good.

Tomorrow we take on Death Valley and look forward to the sunshine and warm rays!!

Route

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