Solo Chick Nicomama Gets Dirty With Jack in Death Valley

[nicomama]

I'd say we're all a little tired of the blinding glint off of shiny Jack B. Nimble, my trusty DRZ. So, I thought I'd get my newly befriended inmates at the Death Valley March Noob ride to help wipe that shiny grin off Jack's face, or big Baja light for that matter...



Actually, Jack must have gotten a feeling that his shine was soon to be dulled, because just the day before he started getting dirty from the inside out.

It's a good thing I unscrewed his gas cap to see if I needed to gas up Thursday afternoon before my morning launch to Death Valley to meet up with the ADV group. Lo and behold, I discovered black gas in the tank...



What the?!! Quite the mystery to be sure. Well, the adventure started early. So, I called up my buddies at Suzuki of Van Nuys and told them about my dilemna. They said, "Well, bring that baby in and we'll see if it's Texas tea, Jed Clampett style."
Good ol' Ben and Boyd had a look-see in the tank to verify that when I said "black gas" I meant it...



I think Ben drew the shortest straw, I mean tube, because he was stuck sucking down gas to get the syphoning started, about 10 times poor guy...



The mystery was never solved, but getting rid of the tainted gas was easy thanks to Ben and his sucking power. If you live in the San Fernando Valley and have a Suzuki or want a Suzuki then this is the place to go. They will absolutely treat you right. Thanks to Ben and Boyd I was off and running with peace of mind.

Friday morning I jetted out of town on a clean-running, shiny Jack at 10:30a. I hit some nasty side wind on the 14 Hwy through Gorman and finally scooted in sideways at a 45 degree angle at a Mojave gas station. After paying the cashier, I heard another solo chick rider ask me if I were going to Death Valley. After answering yes with a smile, this great gal introduced herself as Cathy/Sopascat. I flipped! I had gotten to know her through my ADV ride reports and was going to look for her in Death Valley.

We ended up riding the rest of the way together...



Had to stop for a photo op of the dusting of the Black Mountains in the background past Trona...



After just over 4 hours from leaving L.A., we pulled into Panamint Springs campground to look for our spots.

Keith/Airborndad so generously offered for me to share he and his son, Justin's site with them, #54. I pulled right in to my weekend home and started setting up camp...



More enthusiastic riders started trickling in...



I found my buddy Louis, who had his beemer loaded for long loop to Texas and back after our Death Valley weekend...



After a nice hot shower, I cruised the neighboring sites and met Clint next door and Ben, who was working on Clint's suspension...



Voila. Done...



This was my first ADV group ride, so I had a ball getting to put faces with names and bikes. Cruising around the campground was like being at a motorcycle show. All the bikes were amazingly set up...




It sure was fun checking out all the aftermarket mods...



Cathy was all-too generous in offering to cook up the feasts for the hungry riders both Friday and Saturday nights. Here she is almost sampling the chili...



Let's not forget Steve/Dirt Diver, who brought some of the delicious food and manned the grill so attentively...



You didn't have to ask us twice to grab some of that delicious grub. We were salivating just smelling those juicy burgers on the grill. Here I am with Trish and Dave/Mrs.Sgt Smoker and Sgt Smoker having a good ol' time and ready to dig into feast number one, burgers, chili and chips, mmm...



Finally, this all would not be possible if it weren't for our beloved chief and event organizer, Joel, who not only organized this 100 rider event, but continues to pull this together with pizazz year after year to make the noobs feel welcome and give the old guys reason to come together and celebrate this blast of an industry we call dualsporting/adventure riding.

Thanks from the bottom of our hearts, Joel...



More to follow, guys.

[RockyNH]

Wow!! You just posted Nicole!! Looking forward to this one.. was gonna email and ask when you might report.. but now I know!!

[GB]

You sure get around to beautiful places...

[Steelybeast]

Looks like a good start to a fun trip.

Can wait to see the ride pictures.

[RedDogAlberta]

Oh God. Another "where are the women like this around here?" topics. I don't know to like her or hate her anymore.

[Questor]

You lucky folks...
You've got nice places to ride, good people to meet, and warm weather...

Around here all we get is solitary confinement indoors, and 37 degrees and rain... for months.

Well, at least we've got ADVenture Rider, and large screens.
Thanks for showing us the good life.
Q~

[SauS TaR-TaR]

Originally Posted by nicomama

It sure was fun checking out all the aftermarket mods...

[Thorne]

[rockjohn]

Nicomama gets dirty with Jack, sounds like dusty porn. Love your RR can't wait.

Any new gear on this ride ?

[Kath]

In

[Eggroll]

Nicole,
Nice to meet you and your good looking DRZ.
The rack you designed for your bike is really
a piece of art.

Like your pictures and the comments on your post.


Eggroll

[Ks-Rydr]

Once again, I'm enjoying one of your RR's .... Keep the pictures coming.

[jeff_in_rc]

Here is another RR from nicomama that is well worth sticking around for! IN!

[Memnok]

It was nice to meet you! Maybe next time we will get a chance to ride together. Here is a photo from Sunday's last bit of riding.

Nicomama, AorbornDad, and GroundedSon ( ) pulling out of Panamint Springs headed to Darwin Fallis:

[rwpeebles]

Thanks, Nicole. This is a great start.

Will we get one on Overland Expo too? (Sorry to be greedy, but it's fun to look forward to "coming attractions" on ADV.)

Memnok -- thanks for the Nicomamma action shot - hard to come by.




rw