The Breakfast Club: Death Valley 2018

Thursday–Monday, Oct 4–8 2018

Carl writes:

Pictures start here

After Marc, Russ and I had breakfast at the Black Bear Diner in Tracy, Russ and I continued into the mountains and got wet … and cold. We saw 41 degrees at Tioga Pass, but no snow. Getting into Bishop at about 1:30, we had sandwiches at Schot’s Bakery. All the while, we were keeping tabs on Tim O’Rourke who was getting a late start from San Mateo and coming via Sonora Pass.

About 7 PM, Russ and I were having dinner at Whiskey Creek and we received a text from Tim saying he would meet us there shortly. After a good dinner (albeit with slow service for Tim), we retired, agreeing to meet at Jack’s Waffle shop the next morning for breakfast. Actually, only Tim and I had breakfast, as Russ had to depart early in order to attend his 50th high school reunion in Cupertino … from back in the day when the Prune Yard really was a prune yard and smart phones had rotary dials.

After breakfast, Tim and I rode the 150 miles to Stovepipe Wells via Lone Pine. This was Tim’s first real opportunity to put his new DCT 170 HP 1200cc VFR through it’s paces. I saw Tim for a little while, then he disappeared quickly up the hill. After about 10 minutes, I was humming along nicely on a beautiful desert morning when I saw a bike pulled to the side of the road. Yep, it was Tim. Turns out he was playing with the various suspension and performance options and the bike’s computer became confused and displayed the Check Engine light. After a few minutes of scratching our heads and checking the manual, Tim decided to give the bike a try. It fired right up and off we went. Phew!!

Stovepipe Wells was as nice as I’d ever seen it … clear skies, no wind and temps in the high 80’s. Waiting for our room to become available, Tim and I went to Furnace Creek for a disappointing lunch in the make-shift cafeteria near the golf course. The main Furnace Creek Ranch facility remains under construction … maybe their coffee shop will reopen by next year.

Back at Stovepipe, we got checked in, spent some time exploring the saloon’s beer selection, had a decent dinner and made some new acquaintances. The following morning, Tim and I were having coffee and watching the sunrise when Derrick Bouvier (sounds like Beaver) pulled up in his pickup truck. What a treat! We had breakfast together and took a ride / drive to Ubehebe Crater. After that, Tim and I headed back to Stovepipe Wells and Derrick took the cut-off to Beatty. Great to see you, Derrick.

After a (surprisingly decent) sandwich from the general store, Tim and I set our sites on Badwater. The wind was beginning to pick up, and some really interesting clouds made for some fun photo opportunities. While at Badwater, I met a couple of young riders on a pair of Kawasaki Versys. We talked about some of our experiences, and one of the guys told me about riding and hiking with his dad.

When Tim and I got back to Stovepipe, we saw a few familiar faces … Pete and Ginny … and a few of their friends. AND it didn’t take long to connect the dots that the young riders I met a Badwater were Pete’s son and one of his pals. What a small world! We yakked about this and that for a while and then Tim and I went to the saloon. AND THEN THE DUST BLEW IN …

It was fun to watch (from the bar) the dust blow in across the valley. I was glad the bikes were parked on their sidestands a blocked from the wind by a pair of big pickup trucks.

We had a short ride back to Bishop on Sunday, so got a late start. Pete and Ginny were already gone, and the Young Riders were just about to depart. There was still some dust and wind, but nothing to the degree of the prior evening. Tim and I fought the wind all the way to Lone Pine and breakfast at the Alabama Hills Cafe. We had another great breakfast and shared a table with some fellow travelers. Then on to Bishop into what felt like a 50 MPH headwind. Good to have a faring.

At Bishop, Tim discovered a discount (hiking) gear exchange … and found a good use for his spare duffle bag. We also had dinner at the Bowling Alley … voted best restaurant on town by the locals. It did not disappoint.

For breakfast the next morning, Tim treated himself to leftover french toast and steak from his prior day’s meals. I had instant oatmeal and some bananas Tim was kind enough to pick up for me. Thanks, Tim!

The ride from home Bishop included the usual manic traffic west of Tracy. And who did we run into again, but Pete and Ginny. And then we lost them during a jam-up in Livermore. And by 3 PM we were home, and another Death Valley ride was a fond memory.