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Published: April 2nd 2008
Death Valley
Telescope Peak, 11,049' and snow. Badwater Basin, -282' and salt. The third and final day of the Seattle-LA run dawned clear and warm. The overnight low in Death Valley was 66F. Watching the dawn with coffee and granola bar began a relaxed morning. Struck camp and rolled out about 0900, headed for LA.
The route ran South out of Furnace Creek, a side loop around Artist's Drive, and along Badwater Basin.
A nice surprise for those who love twisty roads, the Badwater Road South out of Death Valley follows the East margin of the valley, along the foot of the Amargosa Range. A steady series of alluvial fans running out from gullies in the eastern slope are hugged by the roadbed, keeping the grade out of the playa valley bottom. These fans are frequent and the road was a blast, despite the marginal surface.
After a hydration stop in Shoshone and the final two-lane stretch to Baker for fuel, the freeway portion of the day began.
Three words about the freeway traffic in LA: THEY HAUL ASS! While I was never the fastest vehicle that day, the faster traffic carried me at the flow at 80 to 85mph. For every Prius in
Badwater
Who knew the lowest spot in the U.S. was backed up against a rocky cliff? They're walking off onto the salt playa. Seattle, there's a hundred Escalades and Excursions in LA burning gas like there's no tomorrow! Driving in this traffic on a fast bike was fun!
I arrived at Jill and Norm's in Woodland Hills about 4pm, making about 300 miles. Sunshine and palm trees. Welcome to LA.
That evening we headed downtown for dinner and a special show, and Jill and Norm treated me to a round of gas can roulette. It seems they like to see how close they can get to running out of gas before they fill-up. Apparently they've shaved it too close enough times that they own a fleet of gas cans. Of course this night, when we ran out of gas (At the bottom of a freeway off-ramp- they're GOOD!) they determined that the entire gas can collection was at home in the garage. No worries Mate, AAA soon came and we were on our way.
We joined friends Marc and Grace for the evening and I was delighted to find they were hardcore riders. Although I have to pass on Marc's invitation to join him next week for a track day at Willow Springs (too far from home
The Finish Line
Jill and Norm's in Woodland Hills. Three days and 1,650 miles. to bin the bike) they've provided me with intelligence on the roads I will enjoy this next week. This is their country and they know the good routes. Great folks!
Following dinner we went to a private club, the Magic Castle and had a remarkable time.
Sunday morning in Woodland Hills was slow and pleasant, but I got packed up, said goodbye to my good friend Jill and headed for Anaheim. Jill and Norm live just off Topanga Canyon drive, so I rode over the hills and down into Malibu. The GPS routed me through the maze of LA freeways, getting me directly to the hotel in Anaheim. Did I mention they haul ass on the freeways down here? 50 miles today, for a total run of 1,650 miles Seattle to LA, the scenic route.
I blew up my air mattress to sleep on the floor of a friend I'm rooming with. Plenty of clean towels, though. The balance of this week will be spent at the Anaheim Convention Center with several thousand Operating Room Nurses, and back on the road Thursday April 3rd.
Stay tuned.
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