I knew before we walked outside it was going to be brisk and the possibility of rain along part of my route was highly likely. But unlike driving to Salt Lake City where I knew it was going to be cold and rainy the entire ride, the Las Vegas route would break into sunshine and warmer temperatures around Tonopah. So we loaded the trailer and then we layered up the best we could. Lori having the heated suit did not have to many worries, me on the other hand was a bit worried about the hands. It was just 39 degrees and cruising at 65-70 mph the wind chill would be around 7 degrees. Even with my Gerbing gloves, this was extreme. Now add rain, and it is a bad combination.
Luckily, we pulled out of Reno there was no rain but the skies looked like they could break open at anytime. What was even more impressive was the view of the mountains that surrounded Reno from about 5000 feet and up were covered in a fresh blanket of snow. It was an amazing sight to see in combination with clouds and sun trying to peak through. I wish we had taken some pictures of this, but we didn’t.
We made our first run about 135 miles as we passed Lake Walker and entered Hawthorne. Along this route we ran into rain and sleet but they were so brief that my gloves never got wet. Lori actually dipped off into a nap until the sleet started pinging her helmet and woke her, so I can only assume she was cozy. My fingers were approaching numb so we stopped for coffee, gas, and a warm up for me.
When we finally reached Tonopah the wind gust were approaching 30 – 40 knots and were most impressive just trying to walk across the parking lot. We stopped here for lunch and gas and then jumped back on the road to where I hope in the next few miles, we would break the cold. As soon as we left the town limits we were hit broadside with one of the strongest cross wind that I have ever experienced. No clue to it’s strength, but my initial lean did nothing to stop it from pushing me 4 feet across the lane. As I approached the center line I just gave it more lean, let off the throttle and was just about to hit the back brake when the bike finally started moving right. It felt as if someone was pushing me on my shoulder and I couldn’t stop it. I think it spooked Lori a little too, but since there was no traffic on coming or behind me, I have no idea why it bothered her.
As we rolled into Beatty the weather had finally calmed down and warmed up to the point that I could change back to summer gloves. Since this entire leg was long and tiring, I decided that Death Valley was a no go and we just cruised into Las Vegas for the night.
Tomorrow we have another long day in front of us to make Moab where we will stay for 3 nights, maybe 4. I’m considering renting ATV’s or a Jeep for riding the country side or desert. The weather for most of this leg should be perfect until we hit the northern edge. There we might find temperatures in the 50’s which is fine compares to high 30’s and low 40’s. I see no rain in the forecast.
Todays run was 443 miles, and our total is now 6487.
Click here for todays pictures:
Tomorrows route is pictured below:
The Picture below shows what we have completed and what we have left. The Red is complete and the Green is what is left.
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