Death Valley

     Death Valley is not called the valley of death for nothing. In summer you can feel the hand of death on your shoulder. With the summer temperatures, a mechanical breakdown is no inconvenience, it's a life or death crisis. In winter death may not be so close, just don't do anything stupid.

We stayed at Stovepipe Wells Inn, which is about at sea level. Furnace Creek is about thirty miles away and is 190 feet below sea level. From Stovepipe Wells we took side trips around the valley.

    Scotty's Castle is about forty five miles from Stovepipe Wells. Scotty's Castle was built by a Chicago millionaire named Albert Johnson. In winter you can see the full beauty that Johnson saw, I doubt he was there much in summer it's just too hot.  

 We also took a side trip to Ubehebe Crater. It's a volcanic crater and one of the windiest places I've been. It's near a place called The Race Track, where rocks move across a dry lake bed leaving tracks. No one has ever seen these rocks move or filmed them, so while there are theories, no one really knows. 

I think that Death Vally is most beautiful at dawn and sunset.

Wildrose Canyon

     We turned from Panamint Valley into Wildrose Canyon, which is a gravel road. At the top of the canyon we decided to take a side trip to the Charcoal Kilns.

     After leaving Panamint Valley the road starts to climb. The gravel road to the Charcoal Kilns climbs steeply and the charcoal kilns are at about 6800 ft.. The road was closed just past the kilns due to snow but goes to Telescope Peak (11331 ft).

     The Charcoal Kilns were built in 1867 to provide charcoal for the mines and smelters in Death Valley. To make charcoal, the kilns were filled with Pinion Pine logs which were then set on fire and closed up to cut off the oxygen.

     The kilns were only used for 3 years and then abandoned.

     We left the Charcoal Kilns and headed back down the mountain to Highway 190. The Electra Glide breathed a sigh of relief now that it was back on pavement. We headed over Towne Pass (4956 ft.) and into Death Valley.

Panamint Valley Roads

     After leaving Tehachappi, we rode through Trona, the town that, but for the mineral wealth of the Searles Dry Lake, would be a ghost town. Trona is the name of the town and the mineral that is mined there, Trona Na3H(CO3)2·H2O or trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate. I feel smarter just saying this stuff.

                                                                                                                                                   

After leaving Trona, we head over a pass at Pioneer Point and down into Panamint Valley, this is where the wild burros live after they escaped from mining trisodium whachmacallit over in Trona.

If you love long, straight roads that head to a vanishing point, I recomend the panamint valley it has the best. 

Looking South.....

Looking North.

Death Valley Trip

Winter is a great time to visit Death Valley.  Getting there is the challenge, it is cold most everywhere else in the state. Crossing the Sierra  Nevada  Mountains in winter is a real challenge on a motorcycle. The two all season passes, Donner and Carson, lead to Highway 395. 395 runs along the eastern side of the Sierras and at high elevations, so that's a really cold ride.


The only real route is down Highway 5, then east over Tehachapi Pass. The ride is about 365 miles from home to the town of Tehachapi. We left in the afternoon and got into Tehachapi around midnight, when we arrived at our motel the temperature was a chilly 27 degrees.

You can see, in addition to the heavy leathers, there are power cords dangling. Hell yeah, we got electrics!.

Real Old School

     My friend Ryan is going old school.  He bought a high wheel bicycle.  It's a reproduction of the style of bikes that were first produced about 1870.  The high wheelers were almost gone by 1890, when they were replaced by the modern style bicycle, called the Safety Bicycle. 

     The photos show Ryan riding the high wheeler.  Many of our common phrases come from the nineteenth century and the phrase associated with the high wheel bike is "taking a header." During the heyday of these bikes many people died taking a header.

     So the bikes were almost gone by 1890, but "almost gone" is not gone.  And certainly not forgotten.  High wheelers are still made, and still ridden, real old school.

Torq-Thrust Motorcycle Wheels

     At the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis last summer, I saw this bike with a Torq-Thrust car wheel.  American Racing first started making this wheel around 1963 and it was one of the most popular wheels ever made, but it is a car wheel.

     After I took these two photos I must have gotten distracted or something, because I didn't walk over to the bike and see how the owner adapted this wheel to his motorcycle.  I wish I had taken some closeups or at least looked at the other side of the bike.

     Anyway this wheel looks great on the bike and represents mechanical genius.

Hatt's San Quentin Toy Run 2010

Ho Ho Ho, its December, time to go on Hatt’s San Quentin Toy Run and visit Santa Claus. Santa is there and some of his helpers, we have presents for the good girls and boys.  The weather outside is frightful but it’s still delightful. 

First stop is Pier 15 in San Rafael, a new starting place but a good one. Pier 15 is on the Bay, tide is high, but tis the season for high tides. It’s a little rainy but tis the season for rainy, it’s freaking December isn’t it.

Next stop is San Quentin Village where we drop off the toys for the kids. We’ve all brought some toys but there are a couple of extra pickups trucks full of toys too, everyone grabs a few extra toys to put under the tree. I feel good that Hatt and his people have come up with so much for the kids and I know that this is going to be one of the best SQ Toy runs ever.

We then ride to San Geronimo Valley Golf Course, a brilliant choice, the back bar windows look onto some beautiful forest scenery.

Then on to the Rancho Nicasio Bar and Restaurant another good choice. This year we  bypass Pt. Reyes Station, with the filthy Western Bar and old, whiny, town bitches.

Our last stop is Los Guitaros Restaurant in Novato.  The food was delicious.  Really good.  Great choice for a last stop, Bret.  Much better than in years past.  I also had some good luck.  I won the low hand of the poker run.  This was the best San Quentin Toy Run yet.

More on the Stampede

     Twenty six people started the 2010 Stampede.  These are the finishing times as near as I can tell.  Wess said, "There's a ton of stories surrounding most of these people and the ride. I've been riding motorcycles for over 40 years and without exception, these are the most dedicated motorcycle people I have ever met. Most I've known for a few years through the Smoke Out West, but until I rode up in North Carolina I really didn't get it. Now I do."
     I've read a few of the stories but for the most part this race is unknown, run by anonymous people who do it for reasons that are kept to themselves.


1st      Charlie The Nomad                                  50:00
2         Mr. Miyagi                                               53:03
3         Buck Blankenbaker (aka – Sharkboy)         66:00
4         Medusa Mike                                           68:44
5         Grampaw
6         Jim Snell                                                75:03
7         Wes Keysor                                            76:23
8         Eric Barnett                                            77:32
9         Nick Robinson                                         77:53
10       Andrew Jaramillo                                     78:54
11       Mack                                                      83:39
12       F. Bomb                                                  89:20
13       Dan Coen                                                90:30
14       Jason (The Canuck)                                 99:26
15       Friesz                                                    100:53
16       John Dollar                                            102:03
17       Fred (Quang tri)                                     107:25
18       El Butche                                              141:48
19-26 DNF

The Stampede

     The Stampede is a cross country race for choppers. The rules are simple: rigid frames (no rear suspension), no windshields, no fairings, no hard saddlebags, no rubber mounted engines, no chase vehicles.  I've been fascinated since I first heard about the Stampede a couple of years ago.
     Wes lives in Tuscon, Arizona but I usually run into him at the Laughlin River Run and this year at Sturgis.  When I learned he did the Stampede this year and finished 7th, I wanted to know more.       
     Wes' time for the 3050 miles from Santa Monica, California to Rockingham, North Carolina was 76 hours and 23 minutes.  Wes sent me the photos and comments below.

Santa Monica Pier @ 0600 - F-Bomb & Friend. F-Bombs girl friend, Lori, was killed last year during the race. She was hit by a semi in AZ. Shes remembered as the Queen of the Stampede.





Santa Monica Pier @ 0600 - Miyagi. Finished 2nd.

 


Santa Monica Pier - Booze Fighter Mack - Riding a strutted Sportster with questionable license and registration. Finished 11.




Santa Monica Pier @ 0600.




Santa Monica Pier @ 0600 - Sharkboy, Snell, Wes.




Santa Monica Pier @ 0600




Hotel in Santa Monica. Two days before the race the courtyard of this little motel in old Santa Monica was taken over. The manager finally went ape-shit. I negotiated a peace arrangement and we moved the bikes to a lot behind the motel. This was a good example of life-style clash. Keep in mind these guys were doing repairs to their bikes, everyone, with the exception of Snell, had ridden between 400 and 3000 miles just to get to the start.




Leaving for Santa Monica, Tucson @ 0300.




North Carolina, 3048 miles later. 

Another California Bun Burner Gold

     I checked the list of Iron Butt Association Cerified Rides and they had finally updated the list, http://www.ironbutt.com/rides/RidesLogin.cfm .  I was surprised to find that someone else had completed a 1500 mile in 24 hour ride completely within California.

     Brook Rice completed his Bun Burner Gold on June 26.  With a little research, I was able to contact him.  He sent me the link for his ride report.   http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=ltf9311pcdi8dbvurthc33iit6&topic=54362.0

He also sent these photos of himself on his Ducati Multistrada 1100s.

Chilly Billy Memorial Run

This was the 5th annual Chilly Billy Poker Run.  I've got to say that it was a lot of fun.  The Rip City Riders Motorcycle Club sponsored the event raising money for Hospice by the Bay. 

The Poker run started at the local Harley dealer in Cotati, California.  The weather was overcast and cool, I was really surprised when I looked out and it was raining.  It rained for about 15 minutes, stopped and didn't rain again.  By afternoon the weather was clear and hot.

One of the stops on the poker run was at Pt.Reyes Station in Marin County. 

Last year the run ended up at Penngrove City Park.  This year the run ended up at the Petaluma Fairgrounds.  Several hundred bikes showed up, as well as custom cars and vendors.  The Raffle bike was a 2011 Street Glide, in denim black.  I sure would have liked to win that bike. 



There were a lot of cool bikes, not all Harley's.

In search of the bar

I would say that Rip City Riders hit a home run this year.  The food was good, there were plenty of vendors, the car and bike shows had really nice machinery, add in a large turnout of really nice people and I would say I'm already looking forward to the 6th annual CB run next year.