Big-D
Well-known member
Had a great time meeting up with people I had met before and folks I had met for the first time. I am really glad I decided against trailering, because just like last year, this storm kind of fizzled out allowing the ride to take place in nice weather. It was a bit cold in the mornings, but overall, no complaints. The accommodations at the Longstreet Inn & Casino were great also. the rooms were well equipped and clean (at least mine was) and on the lower floor making access to the bikes easy when carrying our gear back and forth. I'm content because I was located close to our designated "Bar" rooms (where we had two) rooms 102 and 104. The Cafe served filling breakfasts each morning and the restaurant upstairs was comfortable and the steaks were perfect. Our service could have been a little better as they were a little slow getting the food out, but taking into consideration that they probably thought "what kind of nut will ride out here in this kind of weather" and then we all showed up. Making them a little understaffed to handle all of us. And the restaurant had only been open a few days, the waitresses were new and they tried real hard. So overall, I had a great time as the the staff (what they had) were all very friendly and the food was plentiful and tasted great.
The roads in and around Death Valley were in good shape considering the storm that had just blown through. They (DOT) were out in full force clearing away mud, dirt and debris that had accumulated in the roads. There were areas that still had small rocks and a bit of sand that would get your attention in a hurry, but overall, the roads and conditions were good. Nothing major that I heard of, except poor DCarver ended up sicker than a dog from eating supposedly a hamburger from Denny's and a somewhat minor mishap of throwing his V-Strom down in the dirt to see if it would get scratched a little and he wanted to test his strength sense they was no one in the immediate area to help him get her back up on her wheels. And I wanted to congratulate Bob (Toecutter) on his excellent mileage he was able to get out of his FJR! :blink: .
It was really nice to see Orestes arrived safe and sound from England riding BeemerDon's FJR (no he didn't ride Don's FJR across the Atlantic, although he probably would have attempted it). He bought with him a bottle of liquor that tasted a little like acetone mixed with sugar that Adam (GalaxyBlue) was trying his hardest to get everyone to sample. The designated bar rooms worked out perfectly because they seemed to be better stocked than the bar in the Casino. It was nice to see nothing could stop Richard (Fairlaner) from showing up even though he drove his Audi A8. Of course his car made a great pace car as he guided our little group back to the barn from Scotties Castle at a smooth cruising speed of 120+mph. I'm glad Richard was leading because he made a really good jack-rabbit just in case there was radar in the neighborhood. And I must say it was thoughtful of Richard to volunteer to take the ticket for us all had he got caught. He was a real trooper!
On this same ride back to the barn, it became apparent that DCarver (Lone Ranger) and his side-kick Toecutter (Tonto) brought with them a bit of unfortunate consequences because while DCarver was trying to keep his stomach from rejecting its contents and his ass from doing the same, Bob was playing Dodge-Truck with some guy in an old pickup truck. We happened up on the lone guy in a old pickup as he be-bopped down the highway at about 45 mph (of course it was already dark by this time and the fact we were still moving at 100mph, the pickup probably didn't see us until Richard ripped passed breaking the sound barrier in his Audi with Adam, Bob and myself hot on his heels. Of course Bob was in the path when the truck decided to suddenly put on his left turn signal and immediately start his turn as Bob was rapidly approaching. Luckily, the truck driver did the right thing by delaying his turn and of course Toecutter is now reassured of his quick reaction time, everything worked out good. I noticed the pickup stopped immediately after finalizing his turn, probably to check his shorts. Come to think of it though, I think Bob may have performed that same check once we made it back to the hotel, which, by the way was only a quarter mile or so from where this close-call took place.
The day turned out very good. We all a great time (even Gregg with two G's Thomas), rode some fun roads, managed to get up to speed on several occasions, saw some beautiful scenery and even had the opportunity to fulfill many of our Los Robustos requirements and needs. I think the bikes were pretty evenly split between BMW's and FJR's. I do want to mention how Dave (Niehart) Black managed to do a fine job of hiding his trailer so as to not divulge the fact that he too trailer-ed his bike. Besides, as I stood talking to Niehart while he performed a thorough job of cleaning his bike with hotel towels (seems he and I are the only ones that appreciate a clean FJR), I thought his FJR looked a little too clean for someone that just rode all the way from Seattle. And lets not forget Johnny80's. I know he had business in Vegas, but I still was under the impression he was going to ride, yet when I saw him, he seemed to have had a little to many change of clothes to have carried all that stuff on his FJR. So I still don't know if he rode or drove. SkooterG showed up, which was another big surprise. We all stopped at the Sunset Station Hotel & Casino in Henderson to have a little lunch before continuing on, where SkooterG quickly announced he had forgotten his wallet as we sat down to order the seafood special. I'm not sure but he may have requested a little financial assistance from Papa Chuy to once again take care of his bastard son. Skooter did mention he had some cash as he pulled three quarters and a small handful of nickels and pennies from his pocket.
On Sunday morning as everyone started their journey's home, the skies were clear and the air was cold. We said our good-byes as riders pulled away heading in several different directions, some stayed behind to weather another day in Death Valley, while others anticipated their long journeys. My little group consisted of BeemerDon & Rena, SkooterG, Dave (Orestes) Clarke, GalaxyBlue and myself as we headed towards Pahrump, NV with SkooterG running on fumes. Once everyone refueled, we took a nice detour to ride though Red Rock Canyon, which had been closed due to snow the day prior. It was a beautiful place to take some pictures, but the cagers were also out in full force. Once we exited from Red Rock Canyon, Don, Rena & Greg made a beeline towards Vegas, while Adam, Dave Clarke and myself headed for Henderson and towards Hoover Dam to snap a few pictures of the new bridge being built to protect Southern Californias water supply. Somewhere along the way, Adam pulled off the freeway (looked like he was headed for a BestBuy store) as Dave and I continued on to Hoover Dam, Kingman and then Lake Havasu. I had invited Dave to stay at my place while Don & Rena enjoyed Bette Midler in Las Vegas before Dave was to hand the keys back over to Don and jump on his flight back to England. As a new storm heads its way across Lake Havasu, I sit looking at my poor dirty FJR wondering when she'll get the washing she so much deserves.
It was great seeing people I already knew and making additional friends I had the opportunity to meet for the first time.
I have included a link to the pictures I took during this ride at the bottom of this ride report. I tried to get everyone in some pictures. I was going to post a few pictures, but I had just bought a new camera and even after reducing the file size, the pictures were way too huge to post individually.
Enjoy,
Dan (Big-D)
[SIZE=18pt]Photo Link Below[/SIZE]
Photo Link
The roads in and around Death Valley were in good shape considering the storm that had just blown through. They (DOT) were out in full force clearing away mud, dirt and debris that had accumulated in the roads. There were areas that still had small rocks and a bit of sand that would get your attention in a hurry, but overall, the roads and conditions were good. Nothing major that I heard of, except poor DCarver ended up sicker than a dog from eating supposedly a hamburger from Denny's and a somewhat minor mishap of throwing his V-Strom down in the dirt to see if it would get scratched a little and he wanted to test his strength sense they was no one in the immediate area to help him get her back up on her wheels. And I wanted to congratulate Bob (Toecutter) on his excellent mileage he was able to get out of his FJR! :blink: .
It was really nice to see Orestes arrived safe and sound from England riding BeemerDon's FJR (no he didn't ride Don's FJR across the Atlantic, although he probably would have attempted it). He bought with him a bottle of liquor that tasted a little like acetone mixed with sugar that Adam (GalaxyBlue) was trying his hardest to get everyone to sample. The designated bar rooms worked out perfectly because they seemed to be better stocked than the bar in the Casino. It was nice to see nothing could stop Richard (Fairlaner) from showing up even though he drove his Audi A8. Of course his car made a great pace car as he guided our little group back to the barn from Scotties Castle at a smooth cruising speed of 120+mph. I'm glad Richard was leading because he made a really good jack-rabbit just in case there was radar in the neighborhood. And I must say it was thoughtful of Richard to volunteer to take the ticket for us all had he got caught. He was a real trooper!
On this same ride back to the barn, it became apparent that DCarver (Lone Ranger) and his side-kick Toecutter (Tonto) brought with them a bit of unfortunate consequences because while DCarver was trying to keep his stomach from rejecting its contents and his ass from doing the same, Bob was playing Dodge-Truck with some guy in an old pickup truck. We happened up on the lone guy in a old pickup as he be-bopped down the highway at about 45 mph (of course it was already dark by this time and the fact we were still moving at 100mph, the pickup probably didn't see us until Richard ripped passed breaking the sound barrier in his Audi with Adam, Bob and myself hot on his heels. Of course Bob was in the path when the truck decided to suddenly put on his left turn signal and immediately start his turn as Bob was rapidly approaching. Luckily, the truck driver did the right thing by delaying his turn and of course Toecutter is now reassured of his quick reaction time, everything worked out good. I noticed the pickup stopped immediately after finalizing his turn, probably to check his shorts. Come to think of it though, I think Bob may have performed that same check once we made it back to the hotel, which, by the way was only a quarter mile or so from where this close-call took place.The day turned out very good. We all a great time (even Gregg with two G's Thomas), rode some fun roads, managed to get up to speed on several occasions, saw some beautiful scenery and even had the opportunity to fulfill many of our Los Robustos requirements and needs. I think the bikes were pretty evenly split between BMW's and FJR's. I do want to mention how Dave (Niehart) Black managed to do a fine job of hiding his trailer so as to not divulge the fact that he too trailer-ed his bike. Besides, as I stood talking to Niehart while he performed a thorough job of cleaning his bike with hotel towels (seems he and I are the only ones that appreciate a clean FJR), I thought his FJR looked a little too clean for someone that just rode all the way from Seattle. And lets not forget Johnny80's. I know he had business in Vegas, but I still was under the impression he was going to ride, yet when I saw him, he seemed to have had a little to many change of clothes to have carried all that stuff on his FJR. So I still don't know if he rode or drove. SkooterG showed up, which was another big surprise. We all stopped at the Sunset Station Hotel & Casino in Henderson to have a little lunch before continuing on, where SkooterG quickly announced he had forgotten his wallet as we sat down to order the seafood special. I'm not sure but he may have requested a little financial assistance from Papa Chuy to once again take care of his bastard son. Skooter did mention he had some cash as he pulled three quarters and a small handful of nickels and pennies from his pocket.
On Sunday morning as everyone started their journey's home, the skies were clear and the air was cold. We said our good-byes as riders pulled away heading in several different directions, some stayed behind to weather another day in Death Valley, while others anticipated their long journeys. My little group consisted of BeemerDon & Rena, SkooterG, Dave (Orestes) Clarke, GalaxyBlue and myself as we headed towards Pahrump, NV with SkooterG running on fumes. Once everyone refueled, we took a nice detour to ride though Red Rock Canyon, which had been closed due to snow the day prior. It was a beautiful place to take some pictures, but the cagers were also out in full force. Once we exited from Red Rock Canyon, Don, Rena & Greg made a beeline towards Vegas, while Adam, Dave Clarke and myself headed for Henderson and towards Hoover Dam to snap a few pictures of the new bridge being built to protect Southern Californias water supply. Somewhere along the way, Adam pulled off the freeway (looked like he was headed for a BestBuy store) as Dave and I continued on to Hoover Dam, Kingman and then Lake Havasu. I had invited Dave to stay at my place while Don & Rena enjoyed Bette Midler in Las Vegas before Dave was to hand the keys back over to Don and jump on his flight back to England. As a new storm heads its way across Lake Havasu, I sit looking at my poor dirty FJR wondering when she'll get the washing she so much deserves.
It was great seeing people I already knew and making additional friends I had the opportunity to meet for the first time.
I have included a link to the pictures I took during this ride at the bottom of this ride report. I tried to get everyone in some pictures. I was going to post a few pictures, but I had just bought a new camera and even after reducing the file size, the pictures were way too huge to post individually.
Enjoy,
Dan (Big-D)
[SIZE=18pt]Photo Link Below[/SIZE]
Photo Link
