Death Valley Day 3

Ride: Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells
Distance: 25 miles

Well, the weather was good while it lasted. Last night the winds came up and this time it was clear the weather was changing - and not for the better. So rather than heading down to Badwater and then Stovepipe Wells, I just packed up and booked for Stovepipe Wells.

Clouds coming in

As this was another "shakedown" ride, I got to see how the rig (and it's pilot) would do in strong(30-35 MPH) headwinds (and crosswinds). I think we passed the test - the only uncomfortable moments were when one of those giant, flat faced RVs got a little too close (no shoulders on the roads here) and smacked me with a bow wave of air that (like me) probably just wanted to get out of his way! 

But most of the drivers were more than courteous and gave me plenty of room - which I occasionally needed with the gusty winds! Got back to the truck just in time for the rain to start. Now I was the one who didn't mind being inside a comfortable, climate controlled vehicle.

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Death Valley Day 2

Ride: Mesquite Springs to Furnace Creek
Distance: 52 miles

The winds did come up from the north last night, but not too bad and I was only shaken awake a couple of times. Coffee'd up, fed and rolling by 730. After the 2 mile grind out of the campground (uphill and into the wind - nice warm up). I set sail for Furnace Creek. With a 20 mph tailwind and heading downhill, I averaged about 25 mph for the first 20 miles - nice!

I can't get enough of the open road views

Mesquite was in bloom

While waiting for campground kiosk to open after lunch, I ran over to store and grabbed a drink.

It was about 85 F - shade felt great!

The visitor center had a super swell (filtered) water bottle filler so the water didn't taste like borax - a big plus for a water connosuer like me. Met some more nice people in camp and then got down to cooking up a little dinner - pasta and herbs with smoked trout. This paired nicely with a pale ale from the Furnace Creek general store. Simple pleasures :)

A fine pale ale is best enjoyed in a semi- clean plastic cup

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Death Valley - Day 1

Ride: Stovepipe Wells to Mesquite Springs campground (side trip to Scotty's Castle)
Distance: 54 miles

Lots of wide open road

Made a last minute decision to do another mini tour - this time to Death Valley. California may have its faults (no pun intended), but beautiful places for weekend bike tours is certainly not one of them. Left the peaceful Pine Avenue Compound at 430 and after a very nice drive via CA 190, was at Stovepipe Wells at 8:00. A little final packing and I was rolling at 830.

Nice rest spot

Was a bit worried about the wind as a dry front was supposed to be kicking some north winds up, but all I had was a tailwind! No complaints from me...... Although it will probably come in tonight and blow me out to Vegas!

Easy riding, courteous drivers and (of course) the surreal beauty of the valley kept me smiling :) and before I knew it, I had knocked out 40 miles and was at the campground (there was a pretty good 2500 ft. Grind at the end that had me glad I that brought 3 water bottles).
I found a site and had camp set up in short order. When I went to pay for my site, I got a nice surprise:

That works for me

To celebrate my windfall, I took a quick ride up to see Scottys Castle - while taking a break there, this coyote cruised through looking for some tourist handouts!

Wiley working the tourists

Scotty's handy work

Signs with numbers and arrows help tell the story

Met some nice folks in camp (steve and terry from Portland) chatted for an hour or so about camping, running and the drought. Nice people. The crescent moon was paired up with a couple planets (Mars and Venus I found out later) which made for a just evening sky show. Fell asleep with a pack of coyotes howling and barking their evening plans amongst their pack.

Can't see the smaller planet (Mars)

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Shakedown Ride

It was finally time to take the touring rig out for a weekend shakedown. Luckily, I am close to some very scenic touring areas that are perfect for riding in January (provided there are no storms coming in). Add the fact that the best mom in the world (sorry everybody else) lives in Oxnard - which is right along the Pacific Coast Route, and it was easy to come up with a mini tour:

Oxnard to El Capitan state park

Thursday January 29th

I rolled into mom and Larry's house on Thursday, with plenty of time to get things sorted and visit. Was treated to a fantastic dinner and a great sunset.

Friday January 30th

The morning started out with another reminder of how thoughtful mom is:

Thanks mom!

And breakfast was perfect for loading up for a ride, although I think Larry was a little disappointed he couldn't cook me up some bacon and eggs.....his favorite.

Steel cut oats and toast (being prepared)

If the wheels fell off today, it wasn't going to be for lack of good calories! After some last minute packing and what not, I was ready to roll.

All shiny at the start

I followed a combination of the ACA Pacific Coast Route, the Ventura and Santa Barabara county bike trail systems, Google maps, and common sense. The combination worked reasonably well, and I only had a couple of scenic detours.

Near Ventura

I pedaled through some really nice communities including one of my favorite towns - Carpinteria. I stopped for a break at Carpenteria Bluffs Nature Preserve. Looked like a nice place for peaceful hike - and everyone I met there smiled :)

Nice place - definitely worth a visit

About halfway between Carpenteria and Santa Barbara I met and rode with guy named Jim. He lives in Vermont but has been spending a few months every winter in Carpenteria for the last few years or so. Since the east coast just got hit with a huge snowstorm, and we were pedaling along the Santa Barbara coastline enjoying a beautiful view of the ocean in 68 degree weather, I surmised that Jim knew a good thing when he found it. We hung together until just north of Santa Barbara, when he turned to head back. Nice guy.

North of Santa Barbara, I rode through Hope Ranch - an uber exclusive community that most likely includes a large percentage of citizens from the "1%" - maybe even the "0.5%". I've never really wanted to be rich, but for brief moment while I was riding though there, I did start to daydream a bit......

Lunch stop in Hope Ranch

Just keep following these

Decided to brave it and take the part of the route that went through UC Santa Barbara. Things were surprisingly quiet and I was leisurely admiring the campus, when classes let out at 1:50 (I should know better working at a university.....). I was immediately immersed in a sea of youth on beach cruisers, skateboards and fixies - all doing their own thing. Fortunately, they avoided me, and I was clear of the maelstrom in a mile or so.

All of the bike friendly roads and paths were gone now, and it was time to ride on the 101 freeway for 7 miles or so. Oh boy. The shoulders were plenty wide, so safety wasn't that big of an issue, but the roar of traffic was a bit unnerving. Since it was the end of the day, I just put my head down and pedaled like hell until it was over.

And then I was at El Capitan State Beach.

Cozy camp in the trees

After getting camp set up and taking nice HOT shower, I went down to the beach to sip some wine, and watch gray whales (according to Charlie) spouting a short distance off the coast. Not bad, eh? Also caught a very nice sunset - 2nd night in a row :)

Great seats, eh buddy?

Saturday January 31st

Up and packed and ready to roll before the sun has had a chance to warm things up (old mountaineering habits are hard to break......), so I roll down to the beach to find some sun.

Not in a hurry to leave this spot

Once the sun is sufficiently up, it's back to highway 101 to start the return journey. This time, I plug in some music from the iPhone and road noise is no longer an issue. Nice. I basically reverse yesterday's route and manage to get lost less frequently. Lots of roadies with serious looks and matching outfits riding today - not nearly as nice as Jim was yesterday. Of course I met some friendly riders along the way too, and they more than made up for the occasional road weenie.

A quick stop for lunch at the polo club (whadddya mean I need to be a member?), and I was back in Oxnard in time for (surprise) another great meal at moms!

Right before they released the guard dogs.....

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