The whole wide world is mine.

Yeah Jim, I was thinking of you. Plenty of bike pictures this time.

Thanks Te Hopo, Klay, Sod, Jim..you guys are keeping me going on this one.

Rob,

Just another fine ride report of Larryboy's keepin' us entertained.
Thanks for stringing together a good one

I like your bit about the Husky soaking up the forces as you hammered through the trench.

Thanks, Phil!!














Well, I got up this morning and a coyote had stolen my entire coffee can that I cook in..Canola oil and all..the bastage didn't spill a drop so I couldn't track down the can. He snagged a few coffee cans around camp last night. I was saving the Canola oil to dump on my chain.


Oh well, lets finish off the grub.




I tried to leave just enough grease to cook the eggs...they turned out awful and I didn't eat them.




I went down to Dans camp and filled up on gas and some more water. Cool guy, he has a screen name here..I hope he pops in. He does some riding with KtmNate whom I've never met and we live in the same town. I bid Dan happy trails and headed out for the day.

Today was another base camp day so I could turn the wick up a little since I was wasn't packing as much stuff. I stopped here because I thought I might have pinch flatted the front. It was okay, I'd just been railing a little hard in the rocks for the pressure I was running. I forgot my tire gauge this trip..I counted to 20 fast on the front tire and 20 slow on the rear when I aired down on the first day out.




Can you say Lippencott Grade?
















I did a bunch of stopping this year to make up for the "I don't have a clutch tour" last year.

The fan had been kicking on quite a bit coming up the grade. I noticed the coolant near the Racetrack.




I thought it was this splice in the overflow tube going to the reservoir.




I figured it would just have to purge until it leveled out. Wrong..I went another 100 feet and coolant blew all over me.




I got to looking at it and started to panic a little. A little reminder that I have on the bike calmed me down.




Hey look!! A racetrack!!!




Okay I feel better now, let's see if we can patch this up without begging for a ride.




It's down there somewhere.




The culprit.




I stole a clamp from elsewhere on the bike and used some zip ties on the easy to get to spot.




Okay, back in business!!! Whew!!


I stopped down the road a few minutes and broke out the tools again to plug a tire on a jeep. You're advised to carry two spares for a four wheeled vehicle on this road..I gently reminded them.

Sacramento Dan here. Ok, I'll verify that Rob is the real deal adventure rider. I had my KTM 640E in camp but didn't ride it much since the friends I was camping with are not riders, and I was kinda goosey about getting too far in the outback by my lonesome (particularly since I had already ripped a shock off the jeep). Then, in rides Larryboy who has been all over heck and gone solo. Don't get the big head now Rob, but I got to tell the others that this guy is so pleasant and humble that I had to drag the stories out of him - I added another name to my short list of adventure riding heroes. Providing a little petrol to give him another day in the desert was my pleasure. Rob, keep up the fun reports and keep ridin. dan

Rob borrows gas from Sacto Dan, Rob saves jeep, musicians entertain Rob, coyotes steal from Rob, water left in cabin for Rob, Rob leaves note and cleans up for the next guy, Rob fixes own bike, bike carries Rob through danger ...

Now I know why I don't go to the movies any more, this is great stuff!

Hay Rob: Love reading your most recent trip report that inspired me to start riding Death Valley.

I just got back from a day ride to Mengel Pass, to the difficult part, and only 10 miles of Pleasant Canyon.

I met up with four other advriders from this site and we rode to the difficult part of Mengel Pass. I easily rode down the hard part but needed help to ride back up.

Scruffy recommended Pleasant Canyon so I started up from Ballarat about 2:45 p.m. and turned around an hour later after riding only 10 miles because it was getting late and the temps dropped to 42 degrees. I hope to go back to Pleasant Canyon and do the whole loop but probably not solo.

How would you compare the difficulty level of the hard section on Mengel Pass to the hard sections riding west into South Park Canyon?

I can't wait to read the rest of your report.

What a great ride. I cant wait to get out to DV.

Your ride report and pics really made a great read and added to places that I want to visit.

Thankyou for the ride Rob, this is fantastic.

I couldn't agree more.

Thanks a lot for the report!

So often I have plans to get out and ride. But for one reason or another the opportunities just pass and go unused. It's reports like yours that motivates me to try harder to seize the moment and get out there. Thanks!

Aww shucks... :kicksdirt: ...thanks everybody!!!


Mengel to South Park? I've needed help to get up Mengel on a loaded KLR..I worked myself into a lather getting Phil up the hill and lost all confidence. I have a hard time rating trails...South Park is the hard section on Mengel for 10-12 miles without letting up. It's pretty tough. Yet easy to me...see? I can't rate trails. Take a buddy or two and go ride it.

I went down the road to Teakettle Junction. A super cool couple was there on their bikes. She on a BMW 650 and he on a Big Strom. I hopped off the bike and started jabbering like I hadn't talked in 5 days. They looked at me like I was a crazy loon...I am. They asked about routes that were different than the way they came in. I broke out the map and showed them the way through Hidden Valley out to Panamint Springs..she showed a little trepidition about the difficulty level. I assured her that the only trouble spot was a stretch of sand that could be up to a mile long depending on how many jeep convoys had been through. I snapped a pic of them with their camera and they one of me. I wish I could remember their names. They mentioned having seen some of my scratchings in the geust book at Warm Springs..I highly suggested that they see Darwin and go to the Geologists Cabin for a night.




I ripped pretty fast on my way out to Panamint Springs 80-90 MPH(Don't tell Mrs. Larryboy )..I wanted to see if I could shake the zip ties loose.




You can see the sand section down in the bottom of the valley.




I read once that you should try and get some sky in every picture to help show distance and perspective..it seems to work? If only I could get the shakes out of every picture.




Dang, it's nice out there.

Good, then I'm not the only one who's done this.
It's cool that you recognized what you were doing differently.
I would sometimes feel like an idiot later.
Comes from riding solo for a while...I think.

fantastic journey, and some great pics.......

I even apologized..I didn't stop yammering though. Mid-sentance I said, "Oh, if I smell like coolant...It's because I'm covered in it." Oh look a map.

I made it out to Panamint Springs and gassed up at $4.45 a gallon. I've been drinking a Redbull in the mornings so I don't have to be bothered with making coffee. I bought a Redbull and a pack of hose clamps. The gas station dude is into ghost towns and was surfing for info on his laptop.
I went next door to the beer and grub place. Got myself a big Fat Tire Ale at the bar and ordered a chilli dawg, onion rings and a dinner salad. I think I spent $50 in about 30 minutes..I need a job that pays like that.
I started back towards the springs..it took everything I had to keep from taking the old toll road over to Darwin, but I was going to be riding in the dark already and really wanted to soak in the hot springs on my last night in the desert.




I saw the couple on the bikes on my way back in. She pulled up with the biggest smile I've ever seen.."That was totally do-able!!!!" He pulled up a second later and thanked me for the route tips. I wonder if they post here?




I was thinking that I hadn't been through the South Pass into the Saline Valley, but I recognized a water crossing from a ride with Bicycle Phil. No pic of the water. I saw a dead Kit fox in the road..no pic..poor little guy. I was taking it a little easier on the throttle since I'd had a run in with a coupla Rovers on my way out..stick to your side of the road..jeez.




I made it back to camp and Perris came running over..he'd been worried about me. He had dinner cooking and invited me over. The Thanksgiving crowd was starting to filter in and the atmosphere was starting to change ever so slightly. Call me uptight, but I'd rather sit in a tub with a bunch of naked guys and talk about trails than soak with naked women..they make me nervous. I didn't soak as long as I wanted to because I wasn't comfortable.

Goodnight.


Day 6 later.

Righteous.

Thanks Rob. I talked to a Jeeper on the way up Pleasant Canyon and asked him about South Park difficulty. He was in a fully outfitted CJ with a winch and 35" tires and he said he rode through there last year and wouldn't do it again for all the beer in California.

After hearing his report, now I have to go and check it out just like Mengel. There sure are a ton of places to have an adventure in Death Valley. Just bring along a buddy or two or ten to help if you get stuck I guess.

Gotta love having those zip ties along and now it looks like a few hose clamps would be a good idea as well.