Death Valley 2021

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 March 11th through March 14th.

 

Every year this trip has suprises and unexpected problems, This year was no exception,

Along on the trip this years were:

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Tony Baas, Pete Duryea, Bill Flannery, Jerry Gilbert, Mark Goodrich, Sam Halgren, Mark Harding, Kieth Hollcroft, Craig Littlefield, Tom Lovlien, Lewie Marshall, Jim Mulhall, Jim Philips, Heinz & Eva Platten, Mike Ripley, Sam Rua,  Wil Smith, Dave Swain and Mike Zidek.

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Photos by Bill, Craig, Heinz, Eva, Mark, Mike, Lewie, Sam and Kieth. I hope I didn't miss someone.

Some comments from those on the ride

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"This was a great ride for me with a terrible ending. We were riding Saturday morning in the valley. The weather was perfect and we had a great group of compatible riders. We had a few new people along this year.  We stopped at the Furnace Creek golf course snack bar. When I got off the bike I was dizzy. The resort paramedic  came over and checked me and my heart beat was 161. They called for a helicopter and took me to the Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas. I figured I would be released after they zapped my heart and it returned to normal. It would be 6 days later, 3 operations, 6 stents and a defibulater before I got out of there. I feel fortunate to not died and I am now rebuilt and good for another 20 years and 200,000 miles. Next year has to be better."

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Craig 

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Heading west out of Nipton, California we were confronted by a cobalt sky with sheets of precipitation making it to the ground.  Our road put us right into the worst of it.  We decided to make the left hand turn to go to Cima and then down to Kelso and back north to Baker.  The weather looked not so threatening in that direction.  However, before we were able to make the turn, the cold rain caught up with us.  We hunkered down on our fuel tanks and rode into the deluge.  Within a short time, the rain turned to sleet, then snow - accumulating snow!  We were riding on a fresh blanket of about 1” of snow on the road, trying to make no sudden movements - just keep up the momentum going.  After only about a mile or so, the snow abated and it was just sleet and rain to Cima.  By the time we got to Kelso, it had stopped raining and the sun was peeking out.  We enjoyed a dry and sunny ride to Baker and on to Shoshone and Death Valley NP.  A bit of snow greeted us at Dante’s View.  Quickly heading to our cozy rooms in Beatty, naturally, we had to run into the day’s last downpour right over Beatty.  The skies just had to get the last laugh, I gues

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Sam Halgren

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A highlight for me, it was getting up early and riding West out of Laughlin over the mountain pass shortly after sunrise. The scenery was absolutely spectacular, the roads were in perfect condition and there was a wonderful sense of serenity, solitude (not a single other vehicle was on the road..) and a feeling of being one with the mountains and environment. I stopped several times along the way just to take in the special moments and felt both honored and humbled by the experience.  

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Bill Flannery