DV Ride 2015 - The Road to Lone Pine

DV Ride 2015 Day 1 – The Road to Lone Pine

          I had been looking forward to The Southern California Victory Riders’ Death Valley Ride for some time; planning my calendar around it, getting my bike fit for the ride (see my previous post), keeping watch on the weather, and scheduling my personal meet-point with Kevin and Steve. The day came and I was excited but it did not come without some personal misgiving with our family party for my granddaughter’s birthday at the American Girl store in The Grove having been scheduled on the same day as our departure. Fortunately I’ll make up a little for my absence on her actual birthday while being able to see her ballet performance.

          Steve and Kevin picked me up on an off-and-on from the 210 freeway at Pennsylvania Avenue; I folded into line between the two of them and we made the quick hop up to the meet point off Highway 14 for the first half of the day’s ride. At that point we joined their two Visions and my Cross Country with our two couples; Jed and Sue on their Vision/Cross Country set, and Tim and Bev on their Vision/Vegas set. I really enjoy observing this group ride together and it is especially gratifying having been so warming accepted by them. The two couples led the way up the 14 to our planned breakfast stop in Lancaster while keeping in nice tight formations and looking exceedingly comfortable with each other as well as between both couples. I noted that Kevin and Steve also ride with the same ease that comes with having put a lot of miles on the road together. The analogy of them as a third couple was only enhanced when they ordered the same meal for breakfast.

          I have to confess though that I felt off my game when Kevin hailed me on the intercom to tell me that the lid on my left bag had flipped open and stuff had flown out just after we got back on the 14. Turns out it was one fingerless glove that I was not partial too and a microfiber towel that I keep in the bag for little clean-ups; not a big loss except for the time, keeping the others ahead of us wondering, and taking a hit to my rider’s ego - especially after I’d written up a similar incident in this very blog. D’oh!

          We continued on up the 14 with a stop in Mojave for fuel to roll on to the point where we took a two-lane road over to Randsburg where we met the trio from the Inland Empire area; Vicki on her F6B, Tim on his red Cross Country, and Brad on his tricked out Cross Roads and beautifully done. Randsburg, formerly Rand Camp, had a population of 69 as of the 2010 census and is an old mining town, gold having been discovered there in 1895. These days most stores are open on weekends for tourism, many of them closing during the heat of summer. Randsburg is a destination place for the OHV set. The films South of Suez in 1940 and Cowboys and Aliens in 2011 were shot in Randsburg and that probably says as much about the town’s surroundings and current state as anything else. We walked the entire main drag of the town a couple of times during our stay. The group gathered in the White House Saloon for lunch as our first full-team event for the ride; the saloon is a worthy establishment for an old mining town and the meeting place for such a fine group of riders. (Randsburg photos are shown below)

Quick stop off the 395

Once we left Randsburg and hit US Route 395, previously known as the El Camino Sierra, the ride became more about the winds than anything else, the ominous clouds that were letting go of rain and snow on the Eastern Sierra Mountains notwithstanding. The five of us that rode the year before to Tombstone were reminded of the more than 200 miles we put in during heavy winds; I felt better equipped this trip than the year previous, a benefit of my continued education. We did have a few rain drops blown over to the highway but they evaporated so quickly that the sensation of riding in the rain never took hold.

As I watched and learned the wind patterns from the riders in front of me I was struck by how little Bev’s tear-drop taillight heeled over in comparison to the bigger bikes with full windscreens, hard-bags, and ‘wind management’. A few of the others theorized that it was because of her lower profile and having fewer flat surfaces to the bike that she was affected less by the heavy cross-winds. However, I suspect that Bev is Wonder Woman and that her Vegas is equipped with an invisible field akin to the airplane that she surely flies when she’s not riding. Tim would argue that other aspects of Bev lend credence to my suspicions as to the identity of her alter-ego. Bev will deny it but what self-respecting super hero, other than Tony Stark/Ironman, would admit to being a super hero?

Y’all keep the iron side up and lean into it baby!

Our bikes in Randsburg

Randsburg shops.
Trucks must be the required vehicle for locals

Randsburg P.O.

White House Saloon and Floozy House
My people's (as Vicki would say) place

White House Saloon Sign

Tim powering down a worthy chili dog from the saloon
prepping for a day riding sweep