We left Lone Pine at 7am; it was already 30C!!
The road headed straight into the centre of death valley which is the lowest point in the US at 75m below sea level, in addition, the heat is always hectic but the area is currently experiencing a record heat wave with temperatures as high as last recorded a hundred years ago and by 09h30 we were riding through temperatures of 46C which felt like the inside of a pizza oven!!! At these temperatures, riding with a visor open is so uncomfortable because it literally feels like the skin on your face is roasting!! In addition, the metal of the bike heats up to such a degree that even holding the handle grips is uncomfortably hot notwithstanding the rubber of the grips and the gloves I am wearing!! The water in the bladder becomes as hot as freshly boiled water and your eyes dry out so its no wonder that hotels advise people NOT to drive through death valley at this time of the year!! …ah well! Box checked!!
The heat aside, the ride through the area was one of the most beautiful we have witnessed thus far! Notwithstanding the starkness, dryness and heat, the views were majestic and made me realise that no one place on earth holds title to “the most beautiful” because even a place like death valley has the ability to take one’s breath away!
We are spending the next two nights at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and found an incredible deal on Booking.com for the penthouse suite so we are living the high life!!
Days ride…
The profile of our ride showing the section through death valley below sea level..
A seldom seen but equally impressive view of Vegas by day!!
Dad
July 9, 2013 at 4:43 am
At last –good WiFi and +++++ time to comment.Amazing start to last leg of journey .dont think I could have gone more than a kilometer in Death Valley .did you see people frying eggs on the road??? .Enjoy LV .Booking .com really has incredible deals .Great shops in the Venetian with sales all the time but fortunate for you no place to store .take care –love Pete
Andrew DJ
July 9, 2013 at 6:15 am
Death Valley looks just like the Karoo! I remember driving through it even though I was only 10 at the time. Party it up in Vegas and put some money on 20 for me!
Martin Banner
July 9, 2013 at 9:13 am
Wow Rui, this all looks amazing. I haven’t visited your site for a while, but it looks like you are really making the most of your great adventure. I love that part of the USA, particulalry the incredible diversity. Ride safely and have a ball!
Paul & Paula
July 11, 2013 at 6:33 pm
The photos are a great accompaniment for the commentary. Feels like we are there with you (shame that we are not)!
Walter
July 13, 2013 at 5:01 pm
Hello, this is Walter from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in San Francisco. I’m glad to have met you and your wife and like I said before, I’m soooo jealous of your trip! Hope you made it out of Las Vegas okay. If the heat doesn’t get to you the casinos will! I have a couple of pictures to send to you. Let me know a email address I can send them to. I tried pasting it here but wasn’t able to. Ride carefully and looking to read more of your trip especially to Alaska.