February 17 – 20 2012
Another excursion to the desert!
I look forward to these runs. My holiday schedule at work goes to none between January and the Memorial Day weekend. So, it’s good to be able to get away, and only spend a couple of days worth of time off to do this.
Another excursion to the desert!
I look forward to these runs. My holiday schedule at work goes to none between January and the Memorial Day weekend. So, it’s good to be able to get away, and only spend a couple of days worth of time off to do this.
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| Motel 6 - Beatty, Nevada |
The joke is “there is no plan!” The reasoning is two-fold. Some riders like to have a structured environment. At 6pm, everyone goes to dinner, at 9am everybody needs to be ready to ride, that sort of thing.
This is considered a “ride-in” and it’s not like that at all. Everyone meets here, then we’ll make those decisions on where to go and what to do. By now, many are regulars – they’ve been here a couple of times already, so they have a pretty good idea.
There’s another saying that’s true. “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!” Well, we kinda have that same thought here in Beatty. I’ll let you in on a little secret. Not much.
Saturday’s ride – much the same as before. No pictures...I'm getting lazy.
One area that I really enjoy is a route that takes us to the north end of the park. By the time we get there mid-afternoon, the typical park crowds start to thin out - just a bit. Some of them aren’t staying in the park, some are doing just a drive-thru, but it can get noticeable. Especially if you are headed away from civilization, as we are.
The road that leads to the area called Scotty’s Castle from ‘civilization’ is nearly 50 miles long. It’s beautiful – and desolate.
The main group decided they were going to go back early. I volunteered to take the lead out to Scotty’s. There were about eight of us, having a great time, chattering on the CB’s, and really, um, not paying a lot of attention to pace.
Looking on the map, there’s a ranger station just a couple of miles ahead, so I begin the ‘back it down’ process. I have two more turns to rip thru, then it’s approach the pay station. I get thru these turns, then hear those words you never want to “bike down! bike down, but not one of ours!”
At the time I went thru the turns, approaching from the opposite direction were two older BMW motorcycles. One of them had failed to negotiate the curve, and had an unplanned excursion in the desert.
Yes, some of those rocks are bowling-ball sized – and bigger!
So, I rode to the ranger station and called for help. At Scotty’s Castle (I didn’t know this…) there’s an aid station.
Amongst our party was a retired motorcycle officer, trained in dealing with situations such as these.
The rider was severely injured, but was awake during all of this. He was wearing some quality gear; helped with some of the injuries, but gear can’t help broken bones on some of these rocks. There’s a sunken area for drainage; he’s laying in that area.
The rider was taken out, and transported by air ambulance to the nearest hospital, in Bishop – a 50 mile flight. The ride back to Beatty was at a much more sedate pace – everyone was shook up a bit.
Saturday evening discussion at the watering hole was a sobering reminder of how simple things going wrong out here can have devastating results.
Sunday? Today, it must be “The Road” again! The route is interesting. Fifty, sixty miles of valleys, then two stretches of around fifteen miles each of twisties. Between them, another twenty mile stretch of valley. They’re quite different in how they had been laid out, and were most likely originally wagon roads leading into these wilderness regions.
Not many photos this time around. I didn’t charge my battery – d’oh!
Another ride home Monday…and back to work on Tuesday. Ugh.
20180206
This is considered a “ride-in” and it’s not like that at all. Everyone meets here, then we’ll make those decisions on where to go and what to do. By now, many are regulars – they’ve been here a couple of times already, so they have a pretty good idea.
There’s another saying that’s true. “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!” Well, we kinda have that same thought here in Beatty. I’ll let you in on a little secret. Not much.
Saturday’s ride – much the same as before. No pictures...I'm getting lazy.
One area that I really enjoy is a route that takes us to the north end of the park. By the time we get there mid-afternoon, the typical park crowds start to thin out - just a bit. Some of them aren’t staying in the park, some are doing just a drive-thru, but it can get noticeable. Especially if you are headed away from civilization, as we are.
The road that leads to the area called Scotty’s Castle from ‘civilization’ is nearly 50 miles long. It’s beautiful – and desolate.
The main group decided they were going to go back early. I volunteered to take the lead out to Scotty’s. There were about eight of us, having a great time, chattering on the CB’s, and really, um, not paying a lot of attention to pace.
Looking on the map, there’s a ranger station just a couple of miles ahead, so I begin the ‘back it down’ process. I have two more turns to rip thru, then it’s approach the pay station. I get thru these turns, then hear those words you never want to “bike down! bike down, but not one of ours!”
At the time I went thru the turns, approaching from the opposite direction were two older BMW motorcycles. One of them had failed to negotiate the curve, and had an unplanned excursion in the desert.
 |
| Accident scene - Scotty's Castle Road |
 |
| Accident scene - Scotty's Castle Road |
Yes, some of those rocks are bowling-ball sized – and bigger!
So, I rode to the ranger station and called for help. At Scotty’s Castle (I didn’t know this…) there’s an aid station.
Amongst our party was a retired motorcycle officer, trained in dealing with situations such as these.
The rider was severely injured, but was awake during all of this. He was wearing some quality gear; helped with some of the injuries, but gear can’t help broken bones on some of these rocks. There’s a sunken area for drainage; he’s laying in that area.
The rider was taken out, and transported by air ambulance to the nearest hospital, in Bishop – a 50 mile flight. The ride back to Beatty was at a much more sedate pace – everyone was shook up a bit.
Saturday evening discussion at the watering hole was a sobering reminder of how simple things going wrong out here can have devastating results.
Sunday? Today, it must be “The Road” again! The route is interesting. Fifty, sixty miles of valleys, then two stretches of around fifteen miles each of twisties. Between them, another twenty mile stretch of valley. They’re quite different in how they had been laid out, and were most likely originally wagon roads leading into these wilderness regions.
Not many photos this time around. I didn’t charge my battery – d’oh!
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| Stop at Lida Pass, Nevada |
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| Sierra Nevada mountains, Big Pine, California |
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| Awaiting the rest of the riders - near Big Pine, California |
Another ride home Monday…and back to work on Tuesday. Ugh.
20180206
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