Fat Chicks and Mopeds

[crashmaster]

Thanks xjon. Well dont know why I dont take a pic of her face, maybe I just prefer her butt.

The journey continues..........




I wound up taking the west side road headed south out of Death Valley. Its basically a fast graded dirt cruiser, but I was putt putting along enjoying the scenery. There are plenty of opportunities for interesting side trips off of this road, but I decided that yesterday was enough work. I was sore. You know how your body feels after months of not lifting weights, then you hit the gym with a vengance? After doing squats with the bike all day yesterday, I was moving like an 80 year old arthritic invalid. I happily resume my putt putt pace down the graded road with a big ass smile on my mug.








I hit the slab again then backtracked up the super fun twisties to the Badwater Basin tourist stop, just to take a few tourist type shots and enjoy the day. One question regarding the sign. Now I'm not a math wizard, but I'm fairly certain that 282 feet does not equal 855 meters. Stupid Americans, cant even convert feet to meters.







Today the temp is a comfortable 90 degrees. At 120+ degrees, this place approaches frying pan like conditions.














While all that white looks like snow its actually regular old table salt. Have a taste, its a little gritty though.








My girl decided it was time for a nap at the old ruins. Cant say that I blame her. I'll blame it on the kickstand. In reality, I fell over when I was getting off the bike. I'm a short bastige, and can only dab one toe once I climb aboard the 990. Nope, I dont think that the S model suspension mod is for me.......













Fun twisties were the standard fare for the rest of the day to Pahrump, NV where I got a hotel room, hosed off my stanktified body, and hit the rack for about 10 hours straight, ahhhhhhhhh......

more later...........

[Moraflex]

My girl decided it was time for a nap at the old ruins. Cant say that I blame her.

To avoid this little mishap, purchase a 4 gang electrical box cover. Tie a string onto it. When you stop in soft sand toss it down and put the stand on it. Then pull it back up by the string when leaving. Packs nice in the side pocket of your tank bag...Or get a tourtech stand expander thingy. I have both options.

[Wout67]

great report, and awesome pics. What kind of camera do you use?

[Stuntman]

Great RR! Keep it coming.

[Incredulous]

The first thing you notice is the stench of the plant. The second thing you notice is the town has one of those "not quite right" vibes and has an eerie and somewhat surreal feel to it. Its hard to describe, but in summary its not a nice place to visit, and I wouldnt want to live there. However if you are ever in the area, I do recommend you stop, and take a look around, it gets you thinking.

Broke down in Trona around 12:30 AM on my way to death valley one night. Turned out to be a loose sparkplug that fell out (stealerships don't get to touch my truck any more ) that I was able to fix after the engine cooled a bit. But I had a very sinking feeling when I realized I may have had to spend the night there. Kinda spooky.

For those of you that know the place. I was just across the steet form the lone gas station at the only bend in the road.

Crashmaster, great RR, keep it coming .

[Moraflex]

We fried a thermostat coming up the grade from Panamint valley. Spent 1/2 day there in some old timers garage fixing it. Used his tools and everything. I guess it helps that my friends Grandpa was a partial founder of Trona. We mentioned the name and we had instant friends.

[crashmaster]

Originally Posted by Angus McGee

great report, and awesome pics. What kind of camera do you use?

Thanks Angus. I use a Canon 40D. The only lens I took with me was the Canon 17-55 IS. Its not an L lens, but it seems to be to very sharp and well corrected, good versatile walkaround lens.

Next trip I'm going to mount the camera to one of the Gobis so I can snap off a few shots while riding, well that is until the camera itself snaps off.

[crashmaster]

Originally Posted by Kilgore

Broke down in Trona around 12:30 AM on my way to death valley one night. Turned out to be a loose sparkplug that fell out (stealerships don't get to touch my truck any more ) that I was able to fix after the engine cooled a bit. But I had a very sinking feeling when I realized I may have had to spend the night there. Kinda spooky.

For those of you that know the place. I was just across the steet form the lone gas station at the only bend in the road.

Moraflex, great RR, keep it coming .

Yeah there is just something about the place, like its half dead. Any place with old abandoned houses seems a little spooky though. guess thats why where no one lives in a town, its called a ghost town.......

[sdswingr]

that sign says 85.5 meters, not 855.
Great ride report

[crashmaster]

Originally Posted by sdswingr

that sign says 85.5 meters, not 855.
Great ride report

Ah ha! Thanks! Now that makes more sense. Well I am in my 40's, guess its time for a pair of cheaters.

[Wout67]

Originally Posted by crashmaster

Thanks Angus. I use a Canon 40D. The only lens I took with me was the Canon 17-55 IS. Its not an L lens, but it seems to be to very sharp and well corrected, good versatile walkaround lens.

Next trip I'm going to mount the camera to one of the Gobis so I can snap off a few shots while riding, well that is until the camera itself snaps off.

We were looking at that one, and the Nikon D40. We ended up with the Nikon since it was a little cheaper. The clarity of the photos looks great! I'd be a little reluctant to mount it on the bike because I'd be afraid the vibrations would mess up the inner workings of a rather expensive camera.

[crashmaster]

Originally Posted by Angus McGee

We were looking at that one, and the Nikon D40. We ended up with the Nikon since it was a little cheaper. The clarity of the photos looks great! I'd be a little reluctant to mount it on the bike because I'd be afraid the vibrations would mess up the inner workings of a rather expensive camera.

Yeah, I wold probably only do it for short sections of slab and graded road. These mid-level DSLR's are pretty tough hombres though, I think I would be more worried about shaking one of the elements loose in the lens.

[crashmaster]

Checking over the bike in the morning, I find fuel leaking from the left tank. I had emailed paochow about it and he had graciously offered to send me a couple of new o rings for the fuel pump as that is where I suspected the problem was coming from. You dont find help like that everyday! Thanks paochow, you rock dude! Well the leak is not too bad. In the aviation business, we wouldnt even call it a leak, just a fast seep. Sign it off, kick it out of the hanger and back on the line. The hell with it, I dont feel like pulling the tank, I'm just going to ride. I figure if I feel something warm around my left boot, then I will start to worry about it.

After some deliberation, I arrive at the conclusion that its time to head in the general direction of casa del crashmaster, through Mojave, then onto Joshua Tree for the night. The nice thing about travelling mid week outside of the summer months is that you can go into the normally busy parks and have them basically to yourself.






But, not so fast, gotta stop in Baker for one the world famous gyros at the Mad Greek. Man I gotta tell you, I've had gyros all over the planet and these rank right up with the finest in the world. I think Big Dog put it best.

"Where to eat????? Café's are a sure thing. When you see an eating establishment----note carefully the name of it-----have you seen that name before???? -think hard-----you have!!!! Move on down the road quickly before anybody sees you."


Thanks Big Dog, true words of wisdom........







and into Mojave, no entrance fee required...........







The old post office at Kelso Depot, artsy fartsy shot.......







Mojave mountains. Beautiful place Mojave is.

[crashmaster]

Kelso Dunes in the backround, I take off on a dirt two track. I have aboslutely no freakin idea where the hell it goes. I dont have a GPS or a map. Come to think of it, I was at the visitor center and didnt grab a map, oh well, I dont care. No map, but over 10 gallons of fuel and plenty of water. All roads lead to somewhere right? Well then, that somewhere is where I am going.




Fun stuff. Easy riding, picturesque, not sure where it goes, and dont really fucking care to be quite honest with you.








As all good things must come to an end, and at the end of this I wind up back on Kelbacker Rd, leaving the beautiful (and free I might add) park. Well, we do pay more than enough taxes to keep these things going. I love Mojave, campgounds, plenty of off-roading, being in the MOFN with no one else around, highly recommended.





I leave Mojave, and pick up the old Route 66, right into Amboy, CA. Gratuitous shot of the post office here. Yeah, it still works, got a letter from there a few weeks ago. This section of old 66 is awesome, no people, some of the old structures, and all of the old hospitality........no one around.







Roy's on old Route 66. Accept no subsitutes.












The lava fields around Amboy crater........To be continued............

[tommo2]

The pics be fine.