Trip number three to Death Valley in as many months! I know the road, I know the scenery, I know the potholes in the road but I still enjoy the drive.
My friend, Gill was along on this trip. She was over for a week to run the L.A. Marathon with me. We were
Arriving later than expected we pulled into the empty space by the Hall's RV around 4:30 p.m. Kurt was out riding his KLR, Jaimie was taking a shower and Bill was waiting to welcome us.
After much discussion, we decided to ride the West Side Road out to our turn off. Neither Bill or I was very fond of the road but Kurt hadn't had the "pleasure" of riding it yet. So after a restful breakfast at Furnance Creek we headed out along the washboard track.
Kurt took the road like a native. We were eating his dust and I was riding much faster than I thought possible to try and keep up with him. It was exciting and a bit scary but I knew that my riding was improving.
The road up the valley was horrible! Just heavy, thick sand that sucked all the power out of your engine. My bike was weaving like an old drunk. I was afraid to stop since getting going again was a tricky issue. I just hoped that nothing would run across my path. It was a real workout to keep the bike straight and upright in this stuff.