2014 DV nOOb Rally, Mar 27-30

Said it before, I will say it again.
Stop whining and make the time, easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
So lets just do it, you can blame it on me when your wife yells at you..

wow.....that pic is bleeding orange.

hi matt, good to hear you're back. we better hurry up and post our RR before you do. yours has all the thunder and packed with front page materials...

Thanks, Joel and everyone else who helped! Wow... Death Valley is INCREDIBLE! I can't wait to go back and ride some more! Here's a few pictures form our ride:

That pic was from several years ago when the pond was fairly big and cleaned out.
You probly wouldn't wanna dunk your face in it now, pretty overgrown and murky.

BTW, don't listen to Dave. He couldn't find it even if I gave him tracks to follow

-M

Lotsa character in those pics Benny
Well done

-M

hmmm.... perhaps I should take a detour this weekend

Panamint Springs Resort sent me this picture. They were very happy to have us and for seeing that we handled this event for 4 days without a single major issue....well except for the black dog that got lost. It was the busiest 3 day weekend for them for over a year, big help in the business too.

That would explain why they left the bar open for us late on Saturday


Sent from my iPhone

Greetings all,

It's now Thursday and I'm still wiped out. What an awesome week.

I need to get a hold of Patrick ( standing behind FZcruzer in this pic) but didn't get his adv handle.
Patrick - pm me with your addy if you want to redeem your raffle prize cycle gear gift cert. You probably noticed by now that the envelope awarded did not actually contain the gift card due to it staying in my pocket when I handed the envelope to the awards desk at the raffle. Stupid envelope..

Thank you for a great event.

Special thanks to Mr. Joel and everyone who helped.
Also thanks to you Mr. Jimmy Lewis my riding skill has improved a lot over that weekend although I need a lot of practice. I also would like to thank my classmates.

I was out there to promote Sena product but I was very surprised how many riders already use Sena products. Thanks to all those use and support Sena products.

As for riding I only did one day of riding because on second day I was taking Chris around Death Valley to show him around since it was his first time out there. I will put riding and driving report together later.

Again thanks everyone.

I believe Patrick's ADV ID is NotSoFar
Hey Patrick did you make it back alright? It was nice meeting you and Jeff.
Thank you for being a very nice neighbor.

We ran into you guys in Ballarat on Saturday. Good meeting you guys.

Thanks Easeyrider!

Thanks!

Likewise! I gotta say, your bikes looked a lot more fun in the dirt

thanks jay for coming and sena for supporting this event in a very special way.

i heard from damado that you did good by applying the skills you learned from jimmy lewis especially on lippencott.

is that pic from the 70's?

pleasure meeting you doc and christian (panama passage). for well travelled adventurers, it means a lot to us for you guys coming to this event. yes, DV is a great place and relatively easy to get to.

Thanks Ersin! Your iPhone will take some pretty damn close quality photos too though!

Chris and Rob, that is awesome you got your kids out to go ride. It's a very special activity to share. My Dad got me on the back on 2up when I was still in elementary school and got me on the dirt bike at age 12, and it was a very fun and significant part of my childhood and life to this day.

Keep the great RR's coming everyone!

NOTE: All of my photos are viewable on Flickr…just click the photo to be taken to the full size page.

Saturday I had a ride lined up for Darwin, Olancha Dunes, and Salt Tram but due to various reasons (injuries, change of plans, mechanicals, etc) my entire group bailed. So it was just Mike and I left, and we were still plenty happy to head out there and enjoy the ride at our own pace. We headed up towards Darwin and made a quick stop at the China Garden, where you can find fishy’s in the desert.

As we jumped back on the main trail, we saw BigTodd charging through, with Arnie, Todd Lite, and Ben in tow. We decided to join forces, so while they went to check out the fish for themselves, Mike and I headed towards Darwin to wait for the group.

Here we are waiting at the Darwin Post Office.


Before Todd and the crew showed up, Luke (Eggroll) and his crew (including another Isaac) showed up. They were also planning on riding up to the Salt Tram!!! After Todd and crew arrived, we realized they were not planning on going to the dunes and the gas station, so Mike and I continued on as we would need the gas.

We took the dirt route, which parallels 190 to the south and ultimately ends about 10 miles east of Olancha. This is a very fun section of road, with a section full of Joshua Trees. Mike and I kept discussing how awesome riding through the trees was over the Sena, which was working great.

We stopped for a quick break, with the Sierra’s looming in the horizon.


I was busy taking photos and then BOOM, first blood was drawn!!!


The first official nap for my 690. The wind blew it right over the kickstand. A small scratch on the right side fairing was the only damage, and it’s not really obvious, so not a big deal. At least the tension of the first fall is gone now!

While stopped, a few guys from Eggroll’s ride caught up. Sorry, I don’t have names here.


Just about at the dunes and 190….


Olancha Dunes were a lot of fun, though very windy so you would get sand blasted as you crested the ridge. Here we are stopped on the ridge, though there is no sense of elevation here.


A bit dusty, as she should be.


Mike then proceeded to get a little stuck on the ridge.




After the dunes we went to the gas station in Olancha, and met up with Todd, Todd Lite, Arnie, and Ben again. Mike and I topped our tanks off and then I led the entire group out to the start of the Salt Tram.


The crew in tow.


At the turn off for Swansea Grade, which is the harder way up to the Salt Tram, we split in half. Todd and Mike and I continued up the hard way, while Todd Lite, Arnie, and Ben went back south a few miles to take Cerro Gordo road up to the ghost town (and in the direction of the Salt Tram).

Swansea Grade road is very washed out. Around 100 years ago it was a stagecoach road, but recent flash floods have ripped this road into nothing. Here, BigTodd regains his traction. The photo never does justice. What appears to be the best line is also closest to the cliff.


Victorious, BigTodd carries on.


We continue up the loose and rocky washes, and into the forested section of the mountain. It’s very beautiful riding here, though I did not snap any photos here.

We got to the top and got on the ridge to ride to Salt Tram. We skipped the amazing overlook of the Sierra’s and Owen’s Valley, along with the cabin, so I will pause here and share those photos.
Going up Swansea, you make a hard right at the top (at a fork) to get to Salt Tram. If you continue left, you crest the hill to see this view of the Sierra’s… (photo from last year).


And the Owen’s Valley (photo from last year).


And the cabin at the top, with a great view of Mount Whitney (photo from last year).


Ok, back to the ride. There was a little snow on Swansea Grade as we got within a few miles of the Salt Tram, but very little snow on the trail. No troubles yet.


Mike and BigTodd.


Another shot of Mike and BigTodd, with Saline Valley in the background.


Finally we made it to the Salt Tram! There was one lone bike parked outside, and who did we find in the cabin but Jimmy Lewis! We chatted with him for awhile as we ate our lunches/snacks. Jimmy’s a pretty cool dude.

To think they built this 100 years ago, just to haul salt from Saline Valley, over the ridge, down to Owens Valley, and then on a mule train and then railroad to get to Los Angeles. Saline Valley is down there.


Next time you ride in Saline Valley towards the hot springs, keep an eye out for some stubby looking posts sticking out of the valley floor….they are the remains of the supports that help up the cable buckets. Here is an old picture of them…I spotted them the day before, and they look like they are half sunken.


It’s a long way up here by cable…


There was still a bit of snow on the surrounding ground.


Mike relaxes, just under the reach of the wind.


Here is the next cable station down, towards Saline.


We headed back down towards Cerro Gordo (the ghost town), and ran into some 20-40 foot long sections of snow. Not a big deal for the bikes. We later heard from Jimmy Lewis that some people at Cerro Gordo were advising those coming through that the road to the Salt Tram was not passible…. maybe true for 4 wheels, but not for 2 wheels. Our other half of the group (Todd Lite, Arnie, Ben) had decided to go straight down the backside of Cerro Gordo Road rathe than to the ghost town.

As we neared to the ghost town, we were treated to this great view of Owens Valley and the Sierras.


BigTodd is all about it.


Mike leads us on.


We then headed down the backside of Cerro Gordo Road, towards White Mountain Talc Road. Jimmy warned us it was pretty loose and washed out. He was not joking. This was loose deep gravel/small rock stuff, with lots of bigger rocks dotted around. Very tiring stuff to ride, and with a tail wind we were also working up a sweat.

One section of rocks threw Mike for a loop, but at a very slow speed so there was no harm done.


BigTodd provides a helping hand, also known as a human trebuchet down the road.


Further down the road, I was overheating and stopped to shed a layer. This stuff is no joke, the photo does no justice. Deep gravel and rocks to buck you around.


We initially missed the carin that notes to turn right up the hill to White Mountain Talc Road, but after going down the road a few hundred yard, you can look back up and the road we missed becomes very obvious.

White Mountain Talc Road was fun, almost like a roller coaster. 40-55mph but it felt so much faster and more relaxing after having just come off of the loose Cerro Gordo Road.

We turned back onto Saline Valley Road and regrouped.


It was required that we stopped for a few photos at the park sign. BigTodd and Mike.


Mike and I.


For those GPS nerds, here is the info for that day.

GPS tracks, in red.


Elevation profile.


That evening, Jimmy Lewis also showed us the correct way to ride a 1200GS.


Sunday morning we were going to ride but were way to beat and sore, and decided to pack it up and get back to LA so we would still have time to unpack and relax. Be sure to grab milkshakes from the Panamint gas station for the road!


Thanks to Joel and everyone for organizing this great ride, and to all the riders who showed up to have a great time. This ride is always a blast, and it’s a lot of fun to see all of the old familiar faces as well as new faces.

Cerro Gordo, Salt Trams, and White Mountain range is just magical. Great pics!
So far that's my favorite ride up there.

Maybe next year we'll take a group to WhiteSpot Mountain - another featured attraction I was introduced to by Johngil.

Also from 2012...Johngil and I on TE630's...






Looking south through Death Valley

BTW, nice road there!!