Spring 2003 Death Valley Ride [Page 5]
Jessica rode over from Beatty Sunday morning to meet us as we headed off to Panimint Springs for Breakfast. We left at 8:30 daylight time having remembered to spring forward an hour the night before. Jessica and Fred stopped with us to say good-bye as they were both heading home and had already had breakfast. Carl, Jerry, Tom and Gloria, and I had breakfast then I took off for Paso Robles. They were going to Darwin Falls and then return to Stovepipe Wells.
I took Ca 190 to US 395 at Olancha. I didn't need gas and had only been on the bike 40 minutes or so since breakfast so I continued down 395 to 14 and then picked up 178, again, heading toward Lake Isabella. I stopped for gas and a cup of coffee in Mountain Mesa, just east of Lake Isabella. After the rest stop I got back on 178 for a wonderful ride along the Kern River. There was very little traffic until I left the river and started toward Bakersfield. I kept on 178 until it turned into 58 and then followed 58 until another rest stop at 58 and I5 (Buttonwillow).
Leaving Bakersfield meant leaving traffic and straight roads behind. I saw perhaps a dozen vehicles on the 70 or so mostly twisty miles between I5 and Paso Robles and half of those were going in the opposite direction. The weather was neither too hot nor too cold. Perfect.
I may have been alone in Paso Robles, but that didn't stop me from enjoying
afternoon snacks and beer. It wasn't quite hot enough for the pool, so
I read for a bit before having dinner. After dinner I read a bit more
before going to bed. No alarms. I'd start the ride home whenever
I awakened.