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January 2006 Death Valley Ride "Excited Chatter" and route planning thread


graydude

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The Snow Loop got it's "name" (?) from a previous ride where the group got some unwelcome, if not entirely unexpected snow in the pass north of Death Valley. I wasn't there, but I think it's a variation on the out-and-back ride to Lone Pine for lunch except instead of retracing your steps, you head north on CA-395 and go back east over whatever that most southern pass is north of DV and back down through Goldfield (say "Hi!!" to Jim, the bartender from the Exchange Club! smile.gif ), Beatty and back. The stretches from north of Goldfield to south of Beatty are kind of open and straight, but the rest of the "loop" is SO worth it!! Besides, the long, boring, straight stretches go by pretty quickly at warp speed! blush.gif

 

 

 

Just a reminder:

 

Anybody wanting to leave SoCal on Fiday morning, is more than welcome to ride with the Dry Town Crew! thumbsup.gif We usually leave the SDSU area by 07:00 eek.gif , meet up with the North County contingent for breakfast in Santa Ysabel around 08:00 and then take the yummy back roads out through the desert (Montezuma Grade, Box Canyon, through Joshua Tree National Park, lunch in 29 Palms, Amboy Rd, Kelbaker road etc.). We should be able to be at the Longstreet for the reception in plenty of time! thumbsup.gif

 

You're also welcome to join up with us wherever at any point on the route. We'll be on Com: 2/0 en route, but be advised: we don't usually dawdle too long on the road! dopeslap.gif We do however stop for a proper breakfast at the Apple Country Restaurant in Santa Ysabel (across from Dudley's Bakery! smile.gif ) and lunch at Ed Chada's in 29 Palms (a few blocks east of the Chevron station.). thumbsup.gif

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Dennis Andress

Sorry ya'll, my parents are riding Amtrak home to Texas. I do have some left-over shoe leather post roast that you could try. And I could show you Mom's inovative method of making an extra cup of coffee from the drippings of the espresso machine.

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I hope that everyone is as excided as I am about this MLK Birthday ride to Death Valley in 15 days. I NEEEEEEEEEED this ride so i can dry out. Its been raining here everyday since, since, since....seems forever.
eek.gif

 

Since about mid-December it looks like! dopeslap.gif

 

Tank, I feel for you, buddy! Looking at the weather stats for your area, you've had . . . THREE TIMES OUR AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL . . . IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS!!!!!! eek.gifdopeslap.gifblush.gif

 

Oh, bring your bathing suit so you can sit out by the lagoon to catch some of the rays you've been missing! It'll probably get over 70 during the day and you've got to be getting low on Vitamin D by now! grin.gif

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During all this rain i've been trying to embroyter a calender on an old grease towel marking the 13th of January which is 14 days away... pretty crummy job as the #16 wire i'm using is tearing the fine fabric grin.giftongue.gif

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Tank,

 

The Snow Loop Ride consisted last year of Going north on 395 to Big Pine just past Big Pine we turn on 168 and in 100 yards or so you see the sign Chains Required which of course we ignore ooo.gif head north east to Oasis make a right and connect with 266 and then find 95 and head back towards Beatty from there into Amargosa Valley.

 

Beautiful Ride great scenery the whole way, the snow made the images a great contrast to the dessert floor view of the day before. The Ice was not bad last year the bikes broke through the top crust and had a solid road below. thumbsup.gif

 

Last year just 2 of us made this ride maybe this year maybe more folks will go on the ride, maybe less folks on the ride, who knows but I will give it a try, and if the ice is to hard then I guess I’ll have to find some chains in the middle of nowhere. blush.gif

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Tank,

Ice picks and crampons are welcomed. With you in for the Snow Loop Ride we are guarantied at least as many will make the run as last year grin.gif see you in Amargosa Valley soon thumbsup.gif

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Well, its Official, as of 12:01am this sunday morn, the road crews have 13 more daze to clear a path to Death Valley for my RT. That goes for all the compass points............. Happy new year

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Who's riding from the farthest point??????.....San Antonio is 1337 miles.....

 

 

GrayDude sign us up for the slow tour........

 

Larry and Louise

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Holy blueskyes, water has stop dripping from the sky. A beautiful day on the coast. People smiling all over town....they musta heard that i was leaving town for a week in 11 1/2 days

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Who's riding from the farthest point??????.....San Antonio is 1337 miles.....

Depending on the circuitous route Steve Reinig is going to have to take to get around the snow in the passes and the sections of CA Hwy 101 (the low route) that have been washed into the sea by these recent storms, he might give you a run for your money! grin.gif

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Lone Pine I believe is the furthest. grin.gif

Must be. I'm heading over your way end of this week, in fact. Can't make the group ride due to work, but I have this week off so I'm making the trip myself anyway. Lone Pine Thursday, Furnace Creek for lunch Friday, out to Ridgecrest Fri. night and back to the coast Saturday.

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Hey Walt, if you are spending the night in Lone Pine on Thursday, let me know and we can get together for dinner if you like. Or, I work in Ridgecrest and can meet you afterwork on Friday. My home phone is 760 876-4477. Cell phone is 760 920-1100. Enjoy your trip, I think the weather will cooperate this weekend. George

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Hey Walt, if you are spending the night in Lone Pine on Thursday, let me know and we can get together for dinner if you like. Or, I work in Ridgecrest and can meet you afterwork on Friday. My home phone is 760 876-4477. Cell phone is 760 920-1100. Enjoy your trip, I think the weather will cooperate this weekend. George

Hey thanks George. I'm not sure what time I'll be getting in though. I'll be staying at the Comfort Inn. if you see a strange red R1200RT in town, it's most likely me!

I'm a teacher, and my schedule tends to be a little on the 'flexible' side when I'm away from the bell system wink.gif

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Hi Walt, I am also a teacher crazy.gif. Let me know if you want to get together for dinner. Ride safe.

Sure..

lets hook up. I should be in town by 6:00 for sure.

pm'd with cell#

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The advantage to being a long way from the Longstreet and DV is you have have the bike ready to fly. My problem is that it is only 2 hours away and I haven't even started.

 

Bike is DIRTY blush.gif and the new V1 hasn't been hooked up yet. New XM antenna hasn't been mounted.

 

You guys make me feel guilty dopeslap.gifdopeslap.gif

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The advantage to being a long way from the Longstreet and DV is you have have the bike ready to fly. My problem is that it is only 2 hours away and I haven't even started.

 

 

Amen. Hell I haven't even decided what to ride yet, let alone pack anything. eek.gif

 

Mike I'm curious what route you take to get there?? Do you hit the shortcut Hwy160- Bell Vista??

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The advantage to being a long way from the Longstreet and DV is you have have the bike ready to fly. My problem is that it is only 2 hours away and I haven't even started.

 

 

Amen. Hell I haven't even decided what to ride yet, let alone pack anything. eek.gif

 

Mike I'm curious what route you take to get there?? Do you hit the shortcut Hwy160- Bell Vista??

 

You guys are welcome to meet me in Mojave on Friday for breakfast and come in via the westside if you want to make it a little longer ride. grin.gif

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Gleno...

I live in the extreme NW part of the Valley (as do a couple of the others) and will take 95 north. We will decide before we leave if we will take 160 (down past the w**** houses) then head towards the Opera House thru Ash Meadows or just go up 95 to the junction and take 373 to the Longstreet.

 

This group is not a fast bunch, but you are more than welcome to ride over with us.

 

Mike

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This group is not a fast bunch, but you are more than welcome to ride over with us.

 

Mike

 

I'm pretty pokey. If you'll wait for me at the stops, I'll ride with your krew. When are you leaving.

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Gleno can do pokey. He led me to DV 2 years ago and we got there the same day. grin.gif

 

However, this year, I plan on coming home on the motorcycle I ride there. dopeslap.gif

 

OTOH, a new Gixx every 2 years isn't a baaaad plan. eek.gifeek.gif

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BeniciaRT_GT
Leaving a bike on those DV-area roads can really drag a guy's ass down.

 

Damn Greg, right in the chops!!! blush.gif

 

Now that had to hurt!!!! dopeslap.gifdopeslap.gifdopeslap.gif

 

Oh, and that butt might have hurt too, but I remember his foot was even uglier than those normal ugly stubs!!!

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Wow!! That's a pretty painful pic that I'm really glad to see as a reminder right now. Thanx Greg. Haven't seen that inna long time bro.

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Gleno..

The plan is to meet at the Town Center Lounge (on Sky Pointe Dr. Turn East on Ann Rd from Hiwy 95 and left on Sky Pointe. That is the first left on Ann from the Ann Rd exit) for lunch about noon. Love to have you join us.

If there is anyone else who wants to ride with us... just show up or PM me.

Mike

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About a week,Gleno. Just anuff time for the road crews to clean and repair the roads after the stroms. Because of a UPS truck bearing boxes,,, My RT is once again in pieces, hahahaha, Cus I had the rear wheel off, I clean it, Sure look funny bright and shiny

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Well, I just about thought my Friday was going to be consumed by a wiki demonstration. Got some email out of the blue yesterday about a meeting I missed yesterday (why people don't do email notifications from our Calendar system, I don't know), with a follow-on meeting Monday, along with a presentation on the 13th. "The 13th, you've got to be kidding," I said loudly to myself.

 

Well, not kidding, but not a problem. Whew. I guess it must've been February 13.

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Steve_Reinig

I am finally letting myself get excited!!! New Pilot Roads installed today. I-5 looks doable both via cams and weather forecast. So I will start the long trek south on Wednesday hoping to meet up with group in Bakersfied Friday for the ride over. I can't even begin to express how wonderful it will be to out of the wet, gray, and oh did I say wet, wind, frost, snow and debris on the road and did I say wet... Tank knows in spades!!!! Would like to ride in the tour and or find loop back to Bishop and then Lone Pine etc. Many fond memories as a kid hiking and climbing in the Sierra. Looking forward to meeting all of you interesting characters. I only wish more of the PNW hoons were coming. So Jamie do I need to ride around the valley before checking in to get the most miles travelled award. I will look this up on S/Ts tonight. Ride safe everyone!!

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Hi Walt, I am also a teacher crazy.gif. Let me know if you want to get together for dinner. Ride safe.

Hey George! Thanks so much to you and the wife for the visit and hospitality Thursday evening. I definitely owe you one! I ended up having a great trip. Weather in the valley was absolutely perfect. I hope it holds up for the gathering next weekend.

This was Crowley Point on Friday am:

meatcrowley.jpg

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To Jamie, Joe, Steve, Bob. YOU WIN. I GIVE UP !!!!

 

I'M GOING !!! IN IN IN Just 1 though.

 

I'm meeting Steve Thursday morning at 10:00am at Starbucks on hazel and greenback. We will take an easy ride and meet up with people in Bakersfield.

 

So where am I going ? Let's get together Greg and enjoy your neck of the woods. grin.gif

 

See ya all there. thumbsup.gif

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Would like to ride in the tour and or find loop back to Bishop and then Lone Pine etc.
Which tour would that be, Steve? There are (almost) as many options as there are riders . . . and it looks like there's going to be bout 100 of us! eek.gifgrin.gif

 

There is so much to see in the valley and surrounding areas it's hard to know where to start. For those who have never been to DV before (especially for those bringing non-riding SO's!), I would suggest starting at the Visitors' Center down by Furnace Creek. That will give you a good overview, explain some of the unusual geology and history of the area and give you some insight into where you might want to spend more time. There are also so many neat things to see: wildlife refuges, great hiking, HUGE sand dunes, salt pans with bizarre crystalline formations, other natural history, geological wonders, ghost towns, etc., etc., as well as great twisty roads!

 

AFAIK, Todd "graydude" is going to be leading a smell-the-roses photo tour, "JohnK" is going to be leading the "Snow Loop Tour", I plan on giving "Dinkee" a quick ride to Lonepine for lunch Saturday (or Sunday), grabbing an early dinner Saturday, the show at the Amargosa Opera House, then a late-night hike out on the salt flats at Badwater under a full moon! thumbsup.gif

So Jamie do I need to ride around the valley before checking in to get the most miles travelled award.
grin.gif Steve: I would suggest that you and Larry and any others looking for mileage bragging rights get your odometers verified right before you depart "a la" Iron Butt style rules and then we'll all verify your mileage when we compare your odometers after you arrive! grin.gif

 

We'll have to work on some sort of prize for the winner--or at least a nice certificate for the craziest person to ride halfway across the country to break bread with a bunch of other crazy people in the middle of nowhere! grin.gif

 

Everybody have a great ride out, but watch out going between Baker and Shoshone as there are NO bonus points given for Performance Awards! blush.gifgrin.gif

 

Hey, Tank!! How many days left?? grin.gif

 

Y'all Ride Smart and Ride Well, now . . . y'hear?! clap.gif

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YOU WIN. I GIVE UP !!!!

 

I'M GOING !!! IN IN IN Just 1 though.

 

 

 

 

Bill..rt4me That is most excelent news,thou Donna will be missed. I'll see ya in Bakersfield in six days.

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Jamie

 

How do I verify mileage "Iron Butt Style"???????

 

Larry

 

Good question, Larry! grin.gif

 

For those of you who are contemplating doing an actual Iron Butt ride on the way out here, or even on the way home: Leslie and I are "official" witnesses for the IBA (for the "extreme" rides as well) and for a standard Saddle Sore 1000 you can use anyone there. You'll probably see lots of IBA license plate frames in the parking lot there at the Longstreet! cool.gif If you take care of your start witness, any one of us would be honored to sign off your finish! Conversely, if you want to start at the Longstreet, we can sign off your odometer on your way home!

 

Leslie and I did our first SS-1000 two-up just on a lark on the way home from the "Original Village Idiot's Death Valley Daze-VIII Ride" in 2003. I did bring print-outs of the forms in my tankbag (just in case! thumbsup.gif ), but I had just proposed the hare-brained idea before we left and we hadn't really decided anything yet. It was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey on the way out of the valley, but we had a BLAST doing it and even with a fairly new bike and a brand-new seat, it was not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be! But beware--these rides can be addicting! Though Leslie got her own IBA number and certificate for pillioning on that ride (much harder in many ways blush.gif ), that was the beginning of her downward slide into motorcycling madness! grin.gif

 

Rules for the Saddle Sore 1000 are here.

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I was just on the phone with the Longstreet Casino.. saturday nite and the place seemed to be ROCKIN. Slotmachinesclangin and some guy on the carryokaaa singing Elvis's "You ain't nothing but a hound dog". Anyways, Tom, if you get there before me the room will be avalable to you, just give them your name

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Looks like we'll be heading west on Tuesday....I think we'er gonna see Joshua Tree NP and stay at the Hotel California Wednesday night......

 

That leaves all day Thursday to get into trouble.....Any ideas???????

 

 

Larry and Louise

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