Departure: 3:30 A.M Sunday, Oct 9, 2005;
Distance: 1599 miles: 708 miles day one; 490 miles day two; 401 miles day three.
Temperature range: 18F to 96F.
Return 3:00 P.M. Tuesday, Oct 11, 2005

Highlights:

• Ride to Death Valley: 708 miles in rain, then cold, then heat.
• Extraterrestrial Highway: I now have a favorite road in Nevada.
• Utah State Highway 14: one of my favorite Utah paved roads.
• Utah State Highway 12: another of my favorite Utah Paved roads.
• The DL650 V-Strom: does everything I want it to do and does it well.

Narrative:

Ride to Death Valley: Some times long rides, even on Interstate highways and through unpleasant places such as Las Vegas, can at least give one a sense of accomplishment. This 708 mile ride to Death Valley was such a ride. I left home on my DL650 at 3:30 Sunday morning, October 9, in hard rain. In Delta, Colorado, I met friend Jamie, also on a DL650. Jamie is less than half my age but we have compatible aggressive riding styles which we both are inclined to moderate on long trips, striving for pace rather than speed. The rain quit soon after Grand Junction and by time the sun came up, somewhere beyond Green River, we had clear skies. I-70 gains considerable altitude in central Utah and our temperatures got as low as 34 degrees, making my Gerbing's heated gear appreciated. After a very good breakfast in Richfield the temperature begin to rise as we descended down into desert. By St. George it was warm. I dislike I-15 but we wanted to make time and that's what Interstates are good for. At Las Vegas we took NV160 to Parumph, expecting to find friends Billy (CBR600RR) and Gene (CBR1000RR) doing a track day at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park. We arrived during the track lunch break (for some reason track lunch breaks are usually from 1:00 to 2:00) and, after paying a reasonable fee for pit passes, rode a couple slow laps around the paddock looking for but not finding our friends. Jamie made a call and discovered Billy and Gene had ridden Saturday but not Sunday. By then track activity had resumed and we spent an hour or so watching riders from various vantage points. Interesting. Nice track.

At 3:00 P.M. or so we resumed our journey, topping up our fuel tanks in Parumph then riding 70 miles or more to Furnace Creek in Death Valley. By the time we reached the Furnace Creek Inn, the temperature had risen to 94 degrees. We camped in strong, gusty winds at the campground near Furnace Creek -- 96 degrees when we arrived -- where we needed our tents to keep out of the wind and needed the wind to be cool enough to sleep in our tents.

Monday morning Jamie and I had breakfast at the Furnace Creek Ranch restaurant, then went separate ways: Jamie riding on to Ventura, CA, then up the coast through California, Oregon and Washington, over to Vancouver Island, across British Colombia and eventually down through Montana, Wyoming and home to Colorado -- a grand trip indeed; me to head north to Tonapah in Nevada before heading east and therefore missing both Las Vegas and I-15 but at the cost of not making it home in one day.

I had never heard of this highway, or had forgotten if I had. When I stopped for fuel in Tonapah, a sheriff's car pulled alongside. I first thought I had been observed speeding but the uniformed officer only wanted to talk about V-Stroms. After we exchanged a few opinions about the DL650, he asked where I was headed. "East to Ely," I replied. "After that?" he asked. "Eventually to I-70 and home to Cedaredge, Colorado," I explained. "You wanna go to Cedar City," he said. "Take US6 east to State Highway 375, then take 375 to US93 and US93 to Caliente. Then go up to Panaca and east from there to Cedar City. What's your range?" he asked. "Over 200 miles," I replied. "It's nearly 200 miles from here to the next gasoline station," he warned. I thanked him. He said, "Have a good ride."

I had intended to ride US6 to Ely and the officer's suggestion did not immediately change my mind. In the noisy service station, I had not understood all the officer said and anyway, he never told me why I should follow his directions. Later, though, when I stopped to do a minor chain adjustment I had forgotten before leaving Death Valley, I did get my atlas out to study the Nevada map. That's when I pieced the route together as described above, finally understanding the officer's directions. What got my attention was the name attached to NV375: Extraterrestrial Highway. I was intrigued. My map indicated the intersection was still ahead. If I followed the sheriff's suggestion, not only would I see a road I had never been on but from Cedar City, Utah, I could ride UT14 east, another favorite of mine. UT14 would take me to US89 which in turn could take me north to UT12, yet another of my favorite roads. I had considered riding UT12 on my return trip; now it seemed the obvious choice, especially since it meant I wouldn't get on an Interstate again until nearly Green River Utah.

I now read that NV375 was officially designated "Extraterrestrial Highway" in 1996 for the many UFO sightings along this lonely road, presumably because of it's proximity to the secret government aircraft test facility widely known as "Area 51." NV375 heads south and east from US6, beginning about 50 miles east of Tonapah. NV375 itself is 96 miles long. If you start from Tonapah (with a full tank of fuel, hopefully) you will ride 112 miles before seeing the town of Rachel which is much too small to be called a town and has no gasoline. Continue on to the end of NV375 and you intersect with US93 and NV318 nearly 150 miles from Tonapah and, if you are continuing east on US93, there is still no gasoline unless you happen to know you can buy fuel 5 miles south of this intersection at Ash Springs. Otherwise, it's another 44 miles on to Caliente, the first town of any size and the first gasoline pumps you will have seen in more than 190 miles. This is the longest, loneliest road I have ever been on and it's all good pavement. The 96 miles of NV375 alternates between incredibly long, straight highway across expansive wide valleys and twisty climbs over low mountain ranges into the next wide valley. The terrain is vast, empty, dry-lake flat in the center of valleys, rising gently towards low, rugged mountains made shades of blue by distance. One valley has a sizable Joshua Tree forest on it's southern side. I visited with a flaggirl at a road construction project where NV375 ends. She said she had been on all the roads around except for NV375, had heard there was nothing to see out there, would probably never travel it. I told her it was my favorite road in Nevada.

      

Utah State Highway 14: After changing my route to travel NV375, I had considered spending the night in Cedar City but after the widely spaced and very small towns of Nevada I found Cedar City much to big, busy and noisy. I bought fuel and continued on east on UT14 even though it was getting late. I've been over UT14 from Cedar City to US89 several times. Although only 41 miles long, this road climbs quickly from Cedar City towards Cedar Breaks through a lovely canyon and beautiful mountain forests. From the 9,900 foot altitude at the summit, one has a delightful view of the Zion Park area to the south. On this evening the sun was setting and temperature dropped with altitude to the low thirties. I didn't want to waste any daylight while stopping to don heated gear so I rode with no liner and only unlined deerskin gloves. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable ride and almost too soon I found myself on US89, headed north toward the small town of Hatch where I stopped at the first motel and restaurant I found. This motel and restaurant (I don't think I ever saw the name) was an imaginative if somewhat haphazard do-it-yourself combination of old and rustic new structures. Such establishments once were common in the west on well-traveled secondary roads but now are mostly replaced by chain hotels and Inns in developed areas. My room was okay, my meal only fair but I much prefer such places to the newer, bigger, "nicer" places.

Utah State Highway 12: Red Canyon in early-morning sunlight, near the west end of UT12. I left Hatch at 7:30 A.M. with the temperature at 18 degrees Fahrenheit. I had made no concession this trip to cold riding except for my Gerbing's heated Jacket liner and gloves. That was enough and I didn't suffer while riding another 8 miles north on US89 to UT12, then another 22 miles east to a good breakfast at the Hungry Coyote in the town of Tropic where the sun was up and the temperature a rather balmy 31 degrees. UT12 is another of my favorite Utah paved highways and I frequently visit the eastern end -- Boulder Mountain, the town of Boulder and as far west as Escalante -- but I see the western part of UT12 less frequently. All of UT12 is pretty and I'm glad I was able to ride the length of it.

The DL650 V-Strom: Purchased April 26, 2005, this DL650 has traveled 14,137 miles in less than 6 months. It has been from North Carolina to California, from Texas to Wyoming. It has traveled hundreds, perhaps thousands of miles of unpaved roads, occasionally at very high speed. It has been used as a sport bike on more than one occasion. It's been used for touring and camping. For all of these miles, all of these uses, this DL650 has performed very well indeed. I'm frequently reminded of Clement Salvadori's comment after testing a DL650 for Dual Sport News: "I can't think of anything I don't like about this motorcycle." And I can't summerize it better. (More information at DL650.)