Death_Valley_Page

I cruised along at 90 mph, ignoring the cold, or trying to ignore the cold. About 40 miles into the road, it gradually dropped back down into a large open expanse where the Silurian Hills and Avawatz Mountains reside. I didn�t see this vista Northbound yesterday since I was facing uphill. It was just beautiful in a desert sort of way. I stopped to take pictures. Before my hands froze solid I put my gloves back on again and rode away towards Baker.

About 20 miles from Baker, my gas gauge read halfway. I decided enough is enough and 20 miles was not a long distance for half a tank. So, I cranked up the Busa�s throttle and set cruise control at 120 mph. A couple of times I hit 150 mph. I was fully tucked in by now and just watched the desert landscape go by serenely. 120 mph felt fast although the seemingly endless straightaways made it look slow. At each curve marked 40 or 50 mph, I had to slow down to 100, lean the bike, then accelerate back up to cruising speed. At these speeds, I could literally see the gas gauge go down every few seconds. Within 20 miles, my fuel went from half to near the red zone! But at least now I was in Baker.

I topped up my tank at the Chevron�..AGAIN. Then, I went in the mini mart for my hot chocolate. The same girl at the cash register yesterday was there again. She gave me the same look.

As I was drinking my hot drink, an old man walking to his car commented on how beautiful my Busa was. I thanked him. He hopped into his car and proceeded to drive off. I heard this loud bang, screeching tires, and loud honking. The old man had driven his car clear off the curb and slammed his car�s chassis against the hard sidewalk while cutting right into the path of an oncoming truck. The truck braked hard and honked his very loud air horn! I laughed at the stupidity of that old man and kept on sipping away at my hot chocolate pretending to get warm. It wasn�t working. I had to put my helmet on to keep my head warm. I happened to look in the direction of the World�s Largest Thermometer, which read 39 degrees! Damn! Another lady parked next to me, and when she came out of her car said, �You must be cold!� Yes I was.

I rode out of Baker back on I15 heading for home and my teeth were literally chattering. I put my jaws together and I could feel my teeth shaking. I laugh about it now but back then, it wasn�t funny. An Oldsmobile Alera passed me and I fell in behind it for a tow. We were both moving at about 100 mph. Large trucks lined up in the slow lane. Sometimes the trucks would pass slower traffic and they would get on the fast lane.