1,035 miles - 18 hours and 57 minutes.  (from my house it was 1,133 miles, 21 hours, 30 minutes.)

After completing my 6th SS1000 last August (and 4th for 2003), I had decided to take a break.  Well the SS bug bit me again and off I went.

It started out with a co-worker of mine, Michael.  He recently got a good deal on an older ZX-7 and had restored it to working condition.  He was interested in getting out for a good long ride.  Another co-worker, Scott, a long time Harley rider who recently sold his Harley and bought a VTX 1800, was also interested.  So I planned a route and picked a day.

I had been up Nevada's Extraterrestrial Highway (NV-375) as far as Rachel several time when my Dad lived in Las Vegas, but I had never went further.  I also had heard about US-95 through Hawthorne from my Dad, who now lives in CA, but uses US-95 to visit friends in Las Vegas.  So I planned a route that took me into over new roads.  This would also be a new experience for me, a long ride with others, and a ride with cruisers.

I did put out the offer for anyone to join us on the ZRXOA message board, but I kind of buried it in a couple of threads.  I wanted to keep the group small.  I was imagining the delays 10 riders all trying to use a single bathroom would cause, along with gas stations with just a few pumps.  Scott did advertise on the CA VTX Riders board.

When the day came, we did end up with another VTX rider, Lee.  So it was a nice cozy group of 4.  We had planned to start from Michael's house at 4:00 AM.  His house is 49 miles from mine, so I needed to get up even earlier.  Lee was coming from Walnut.  He had about 95 miles to get to Michael's house.  I was right on time when disaster struck.  I was sloppy and had wheeled the bike in the alley, facing down slope.  I had it out of gear to warm up the engine.  I went to swing my leg over the tailbag and missed, nudging the bike forward and bang - it fell off of the kickstand.  I had recently added frame sliders, which were a saver, since only the left mirror was loose.  So I had to open the garage, tighten the mirror, and got going at 3:30, arriving a few minutes late.  It turns out that Scott had given Lee bum directions to Michael's house, so he was also a bit late.

We got on our way at 4:15.  Gassed up at a nearby Mobil (more on this later).  Then off onto the highway (CA-14, then CA-58).  Scott led to Kramer Junction.  I picked up the lead after, since I knew the back way through Barstow (old CA-58) to I-15.  The sun was up by the time we got to Baker.  I took off the windbreaker and liner and toughed it out with just the Phoenix Jacket (textile mesh).  I should have waited a bit, the big thermometer in Baker was still reading in the 60's.  It was a bit chilly until we dropped into Primm Valley and entered Nevada.

Traffic through Las Vegas was fairly light.  We stopped at Craig road on the north side of town for gas.  After a few more miles of the superslab, it was onto 2 lane highways.  First we went north on US-93.  We then stopped at the next gas station we saw since Las Vegas, in Alamo, after covering 90 miles.  Then it was off to the start of the ET highway (NV-375).  We stopped for photos at the sign at the south end of the highway.  Then it was on to Rachel.  Rachel is the closest town to Area 51, so it plays up the alien angle to an extreme.  We arrived in Rachel at 10:45.  Dead on with our original plan.  A stop at the Little A'le'Inn is a must see.  I snapped the photo on the right there.  Scott was a bit more used to his cruiser runs.  While they can cover some distance, they also take more breaks than I was used to.  I knew we could make good time for the trip, so it was okay to take a "longer than I would have taken" break.  Scott did have a few beers to slake his thirst.  I seem to have a 'single-track' mind and just want to get on the bike and ride.

We were on the road again at 11:20.  It would be 109 miles to Tonopah and then next gas station.  Riding in Nevada can be a lonely journey.  Still, I love it.  I could spend several days on the roads in Nevada.  The roads are well kept up and the speed limits are reasonable.  After Tonopah it was up US-95 to Hawthorne, the site of a large Army Munitions Depot, and a Naval Undersea Testing Facility.  It seems weird to see a Naval facility in the desert, but Hawthorne is on the south side of Walker Lake, which is quite a good sized lake.  Along the road to Hawthorne we did pass the Wild Kat brothel, which offers free coffee and showers to the passing truckers.

At Hawthorne, Scott ran into I problem that I had several years ago on my first SaddleSore 1000.  I had warned Michael about the need to carry several credit cards if you want to pay at the pump, but I didn't warn Scott.  Chevrons are numerous out in the west.  Every podunk town has one.  But Chevron will cut off a card from pay at the pump after a few uses in a single day.  This was our 3rd Chevron and they had cut us off.  I calmly grabbed a different card and continued (I was carrying 4 - I usually only use the Amex, and carry a Visa as a backup, but for this trip I also took out my emergency use only Visa from the safe and carried the ATM/Visa card as a fourth) on with my transaction.  Scott had to go inside.  (By the end of the trip, I think I was at 7 Chevrons for the day, and had to use my fourth card at the last one.)

US-95 continues up the west side of Walker Lake.  Past the lake, we turned left onto US-95 Alt to Yerington, NV.  Yerington would be the northernmost point of our journey.  After gassing up and getting a critical receipt to mark our location, we cruised south on Main Street (NV-208) through town.  Yerington has quite a nice main street with some casinos.  We followed the GPS's routing, leaving NV-208 for NV-340, then NV-339, back onto NV-208, then NV-338 to California.  I recently upgrading my GPS, replacing the old Garmin GPS III+ for a Garmin GPS V.  It fit in the same mounts and takes the same power plugs.  The GPS V does do routing, which was quite handy.  There were a few features that I lost, but overall I was quite pleased with the new GPS and I am glad I upgraded.

NV-338 and CA-182 leave the west fork of the Walker river and then follow the east fork to Bridgeport, CA.  This part was fun.  I had been waiting for a decent string of twisties all day.  I was leading so I was able to be run at a decent pace.  Michael, having only ridden for a few months, hung back with the VTX cruisers for a more leisurely pace.  I didn't want to get too far in front, so I held back a bit from the pace that I normally would have traveled at.

The weather had been quite pleasant in Nevada, but as we went into California, we went under some clouds.  We had been over 5,000' since Alamo, but as we climbed to the high point (7,000') at Bridgeport, it started getting to be quite chilly.  From Bridgeport it was south on US-395.  Looking forward to a dinner stop in Lee Vining, and marveling at the beautiful snow on the Sierras, found me leading the group at a brisk pace.  As we started to descend the grade into the Mono Basin, I rounded a nice sweeping lefthander, and then it happened.  A CHP in a bronco was coming up the grade.  He immediately did a u-turn and passed the other three, pulling in behind me with his lights on.  The others hung back as I continued for what seemed to be forever to find a wide spot to pull over.  The CHP and I pulled off into the dirt and the others continued on.

The officer started out with a lecture about deer in the area, having to scrape up the pieces of a guy on a 'crotch rocket' the other night, how he won't ever ride a motorcycle, how he hates paperwork, and finally topped it off with how he rarely pulls motorcycles over because they are hard to catch, but since one hit a deer the other night, he thought we should pay more attention.  By then, the 'no-see-ums' had found us.  I guess he didn't want to stand outside any longer, so he quickly finished with another remark about the deer, hating to do paperwork, and then told me to go join the others, keep the riding safe, and enjoy the rest of our ride.  I 

The others were at the Chevron as you enter town.  I had originally planned to eat first, then gas at the Mobil when you leave town, although none of the others knew that.  So I blew by the Chevron, went by where I planned to eat and didn't see them, so I went to the Mobil to look.  They weren't there either.  As I pulled out of the Mobil and was heading back into town, Michael comes by and leads me to the Chevron.  They had seen me blow on by earlier and sent Michael to get me.

Gas and then dinner.  I was thinking of a place called Bodie Mike's, but it was closed and it's outdoor patio was torn up.  So we went next door to a coffee shop called Nicelys.  I had a good bowl of chili.  This was another bit of a departure from my norm for me.  I rarely stop for a full meal when riding long distances, preferring to stop when the day is over.

We left Lee Vining at 6:05.  I put my liner back on, since it was a bit chilly.  (Lee Vining is about 6,500'.)  Not wanting to lead, I took a position at the rear.  I didn't lead for the remainder of the trip.  A quick photo stop at the south junction of the June Lakes Loop.  Snow was close to the road here.  US-395 heads south along Crowley Lake and then descends a long grade into Bishop.  It was warm in Bishop at 4,100'.  I unzipped the liner at the gas station.  I also swapped face shields since the sun was getting ready to set.

Next was a stop at Coso Junction for gas.  Lee could have saved about 50 miles by going down 395 from here, but instead he opted to continue onto the 14 with us.  We then did a brief stop in Mojave for Michael to fix his contact lenses.  Then it was on to Quartz Hill and the finish.  Scott opted to get gas at a gas station near the freeway and to see Lee off for the rest of his trip home.  Michael and I went back to the Mobil were we started the trip.  After getting gas, I discovered that the receipts from this Mobil station had no TIME stamp!  Major error.  We went to a nearby Chevron and got a few pennies of gas.  Unfortunately, there was no way to correct the error of the morning.

I did turn in the documentation for myself, Michael, and Scott, in a single envelope.  I sent along a letter explaining our error and asking for forgiveness.  The rest of our trip was documented properly and hopefully the IBA will allow it to stand.  Lee will not have a problem because he got gas near his house on his way home, making his trip well over 1,000 miles without the morning Mobil stop in Quartz Hill.

6/22/04 - The trip was approved!