.....But I have a friend who has a friend who was going to run his Old BSA at Bonneville in the BUB Speed Trials. It's a '55 650cc bike, which is all the more dear to my heart since I owned, and rode one when I was a Junior in Highschool at age 15. I still remember that bike as being the best bike ever. The speedometer didn't work, but I'm guessing that its top speed was in the low 90s. The kicker was that Jeff Boyle, the bike owner, had an extra pit pass that I was welcome to. That did it. I couldn't resist...besides I'm an old budget racer. My racing was off road buggies and such, but racing is racing. It's all the same problems or disease.
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
I'm retired so time isn't an issue for me, but my rider fiend Mike isn't. He felt that he could get away for a few days. He'd never been to Bonneville, but wanted to go see what the lure of the salt really was all about.
The BUB meet was from the 28th of Aug to Sept 1st. We would leave the Saturday before and make a 2 day ride thru Las Vegas to Ely Nv, then on to Wendover Nv/Ut. Wendover is in NV, but the salt flats are 5 miles away in Ut.
To that end we agreed to meet At Chaparral Cycles in San Bernadino. Mike lives in Los Angeles so Chaparral is a good meetup location. A benifit is that there are bikes to drool over while waiting. Neither of us was late. We made the connection at 10am.
Mike generally rides a Honda V4 Sabre like I do, but he had loaned it to a friend who totaled it in Seattle a month ago. So he was going to ride his very nice Harley. His Harley is a very clean bike, but it has no windshield. That's tough on a long trip. Still Mike wanted to go, and that was what he had to ride. Here's Mike's ride
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
It was already hot at Chaparral so I watered down my Cool Vest, and put it on under my shirt before Mike got there. Cool Vests drop your riding temperature at least ten degrees. It would really be a help along about Baker Ca.
Mike took the time at Chaparral to buy a Wrist Rocker to give his hand a bit of relief during the hours ahead....then we were off.
Mike wanted to keep his Harley around 70mph. Air cooled engines don't to too well at elevated speeds in Hot country, so we agreed. In order to make it easy, he would lead, and all I had to do was keep up.
There's not much to be said about I-15 to Vegas since I've ridden it so often, still it's exciting to be beginning another ride/adventure. It's always elevates my heart rate to hit the road. Mike was hyped as well.
I enjoy the low and high desert scenery. I was raised in Ohio till I was twelve. It took 20 years to get over 'green is beautiful'. I'm completely converted now to 'Brown is beautiful'.
I've ridden a good deal in the east, and looked out from the Blue Ridge Parkway at the rolling green Mtns. That's beautiful also, but I don't need more than a glympse back there to be satisfied, and furthermore the trees are always getting in the way when I want to see something. No sir, for me it's the western scenery. I guess it's how you are wired.
So we played in traffic on I-15 till we needed gas in Baker. Ho boy, it was hot. We had enjoyed the extra couple thousand feet of temp drop as we rode up to Hesperia at 4000 ft, but we dropped back to 900 at Baker, hot and more hot. At 12 noon in Baker it was 110 degrees.
My cool vest was a big help. Mike decided to put his cool vest on. That made it livable for him as well. We climbed the Baker grade back to nearly 4000 ft into some cloud cover cause by the monsoonal Thunderstorms that we have this time of year. That brought the temps back to a 100 degrees. Not too bad.
Gassing in Baker.....those clouds would prove to be a good thing.
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
Here's some scenery shots along the way. Forgive me but I can't keep my hands off the camera. Around every turn there is more beauty.
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Dropping down to Stateline Nv on I-15
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
The temps dropped because of the cloud cover from T-storm activity in the area.
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We gassed again in Vegas and enjoyed a soda and some cold water. Mike was emptying his Camelback between fuel stops. I just drink a quart of water at fuel stops. That saves me the Camelback hassle.
We set our site on Ely Nv on Hwy 93 out of vegas. Next gas would be Ash Springs 90 miles out. We again gained some altitude, and the cloud cover stuck with us. Riding thru that country was beautiful, and we look forward to the county springs at Ash Spring. There is the neatest little springs/pool there for a mid ride cool down.
The springs are right across the hwy from the gas station. You'll never see them unless you know they are there. It was Saturday so the pool was busy. I found a place to get in the water for a good soak. I didn't have a swimming suit so I went in fully clothed. Mike had a suit that no longer fit him, he oped out of the dip. So I shortened my soak, and we hit the road again toward Caliente.
The completely wet clothes were great in the heat. Mike hadn't been through here before. We rode over a 6000+ summit on the way to Caliente which provided us some serious twisty work.
That 50 miles to Caliente brought us to 5pm. We hadn't eaten much so we went to the Branding Iron for dinner. That felt so good we decided to stay the night. I'm normally a free camper, but Mike sprang for the room. I couldn't argue with that.
They wanted 69 bucks, but we got them don't to 60 with wifi. Nice room at the Shady Motel right on the main drag across from the old railway station. That left us 250 miles to do tomorrow.
We blasted straight through Vegas and headed north on Hwy 93. Somewhere a few miles before Alamo.
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That the Caliente, Nv Train Depot from the old days. It was sprinkling when we rolled in with a bunch of Thunder in the nearby Mtns. Notice whose bike is covered. LOL
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
We left our comphy motel in Caliente. It would be a great day to ride.
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| From September 4, 2011 |
We left in the Morning about 8:30. Pioche was 25 miles away, we figured to have breakfast there. Pioche is a historic, turn of the centry mining town. They had a twenty year run with silver, and a violent past to go with the easy money. They claim that their Boot Hill holds 90 deaths attributed to violence. We had a great breakfast in a cafe that has been in business since the 1890s. They serve more biscuits and gravy that a man can eat in one sitting. After gassing we rode through town and photoed some of the features... Then on To Ely.
Pioche
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
Gassing with old building in background.
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Main drag Pioche
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Overlooking town
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Mining processor still in good shape
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Back on the road toward Ely, 120 miles away with no gas in between.
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
That area has a lot of sight seeing. There is a whole mtn range between there and Saint George Ut....and then another Mtn range on the west side of 93. There is Cathedral Gorge, there's Miller's Point, there's Beaver Lake state Park. I made mental notes of all those places and vowed to see them on my return trip.
But as we were on a mission to get to Bonneville, we passed all those distractions, and pressed on. There were still squalls in the mtns along side of us. We were traveling in what's known, there abouts, as the 'Great Basin'. It's 60 0r 70 miles long and has it's own Natl Park on the north end with a 13000 ft peak. That's another thing that I have to see. The list is getting longer.
The problems with heat were over as we rode in cloud cover and at or above 6000ft. At the north end of the great basin we were driving straight into a squall. We figured on getting wet as the road snaked right and left, but always it was in front of us. Seemed like we would at least hit the edge of it, but at the last minute the road took a hard left up over a 7000 foot pass and clear of the wet. Living right I guess, or 'luck beats good'.
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Thunderstorm activity in the distance....dodging right
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Dodging left
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We gassed again in Ely, and began the final push to Wendover and the Salt Flats. I was thuroughly enjoying the ride, as I leaned back on my pack behind me. My wind screen with the throttle lock engaged made it easy to take pictures at ever new turn.
Mike not so much as the wind in his face kept a constant pressure on his arms. About 50 miles out of Wendover he stop and announced to me that we were swapping bike for a while.
I enjoyed being cool for those 50 miles. The Harley ran good, and the cruiser riding position was fine for that short stint into Wendover....but having said that, there is only one position with those forward controls, and the wind on my chest would do me in in a few hours. That bike is not for me....but I was cool for a short time.
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We missed the last squall, but there were T-storms all around.
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Just look at that golden foreground...
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That's 13000+ ft peak
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Epic Harley shot...it doesn't get any better than this.
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
Getting closer to Wendover
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Finally Wendover.....
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
It was now Sunday afternoon and I had believed that there was no racing at the Salt on Sunday. We got another Motel room for 2 nights and hunkered down till the morrow. BTW, with the recession and all, there is no shortage of motels even on prime weekend nights. Bad for them....good for me.
I got on the internet at the room and found out, low and behold, they did have racing today, Sunday.....and further more, my boys ran today, and had a catastrophic engine failure with the BSA. Crapola, that didn't sound good. I was getting second hand info, but my pit crew experience may have been over before it started. Well, there is still lots to do on the salt during a meet even if you aren't involved.
Mike and I settled for peanuts and other junk for dinner. There wasn't anything to see in town race wise so we went to bed early knowing that tomorrow would tell the story, actually many stories.
Our motel didn't have internet in the room, only at the offic, so in the morning we went to McDonnadls for beakfast and a quick internet catch up on any BSA news with my netbook.
Turns out that the pistons hit the head and broke the barrel skirts off the barrel.....but he had a spare barrel, and thought that he had everything he needed to get it running again, with more clearence, today. Cool.
I've been to one other Bonneville meet. There are all manner of racers at the salt. I love the little guys stories. Well, while we were at Micky D's we met a little guy, and got our first story. These 2 middle plus aged guys brought their Honda 50 out to run in the 'Run what cha Brung' class. They'd gotten 48 out of the little 50, and had a ball doing it. The smiles on their faces, as they told their story, said all you need to know. They ran on Sunday and would be home on Monday.
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
Here's the fire breathing Honda 50.
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
Mike and I were all the more excited to get out to the course. We figured to just go out, and look for my BSA guys, and see what was out there racing as we walked through the pits.
We got to the Salt where admissions were charged. I picked up my pit pass at wilcall and Mike bought his way in. It's $20 per day or 80 for the week. Mike figured on only one day, I figured to stay several. Mike's has one of those pesky jobs.
It's five miles out on the salt to the pit area....there was a bunch of offcial tents/shades, and about a 100 different pit setups.
Mike and I are semi restoring a CX650 Honda. The first bike we saw was a CX500 with it's owner standing by. We got his story. The guy's from Minnesota near Mike's roots. He bought his CX500 for $200 and tuned it up. He brought it and a Ducati 900, out here and has been setting records with both bikes. That's the way to go racing....straight to the top.
We wandered thru the pits looking for our BSA and talking to anyone who would talk. Must have been at least 10 conversations about all manner of bikes. We saw the dual Vincent streamliner, the Brough Superior bikes, some trikes, some electric bikes. There are probably 20 or 30 classes of bikes to hold a record in.
Most everyone has time to talk about what they are doing. Mostly they aren't in a hurry to make a starting time. Hell, they have four days to get their runs in. It's a very laid back format.
We didn't find the BSA so I made a call to the number that I had. I'd never met Jeff, and with the trouble he's had yesterday I didn't know that he was even there. He answered the phone and told me where he was. When we got to the pits we saw a sorry looking Bezer with 2 nekid, aluminum, rods sticking up out of it's crankcase.
Jeff was easy to get to know. Within a few minutes, we were up to speed on his problems. It wasn't like he needed me or Mike to help, but we would be a little help and good moral support.
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
Did you know that BSA meant 'Birmingham Small Arms'?
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
Jeff doesn't have a lot of parts for his BSA, but he's owned it for 30 years or more. He has a set of .010 over pistons and a while back had the oppertunty to pick up a standard barrel for the bike. He had intended to get the barrel over sized for that set of pistons, but never got around to it. As an after thought he threw that Barrel in to make the trip from Colorado. So as his old barrel was broken on Sunday, he did have a replacement as well as a bunch of gaskets.
Not long ago, Jeff came by a set of stock lengthed aluminum rods for his motor. He's been worrying about the strength of his stock rods so he put them in the motor. It should be a straight swap. NERT!! It turns out that because aluminum expands with heat at a rate of nearly 10:1 versus Steel, that he needed more deck height than with the steel rods.
Luckily, his old barrel was the only thing hurt yesterday. They were going to use the rest of Monday putting the engine back together with a couple thick gaskets under the barrel. They'd get some run around time in tonight, and make a timed run in the Morning on Tuesday. Cool.
Mike and I took the oppertunity to go down to the staging area and watch the goings on.....and talk to the folks that would talk. As we pulled up to a staging area, we were apoached by an excited old geezer. Now, I'm 70 so when I call somebody old, they are really old. We didn't know what he wanted, but, as it turned out, he just wanted to talk.
This guy's name was [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMK1XVGI_mc"]Bud Schmitt[/URL]. He's the guy that built the first, and maybe only dual Harley motored bike back in '53. He raced it at Bonneville in '55 and broke Rollie Free's record at 157 and change. Wow, what a legend.
Bud went on for twenty minutes about himself, and that they are here running a VRod this week looking to run 170. He gets to ride the bike every 3rd run. Google the guy, he's very interesting, and he's not slowing down one bit. He camps out at the 'bend in the road' BLM camping, in a tent, and rides a 250cc Rebel around the salt. Did I mention that Bud is 85 years old? Let me say again, "what a legend".
That's the kind of thing you run into at bonneville. The new guys and the old guys mixing and sharing accomplishment, as well as speed secrets. It's just a great experience. I must say that the action is slow, and even watching a 2 or 3 hundred mph run isn't much of a visual. The sound is thrilling and prolly says more. When that streak you're watch sounds like a banshee, you can't help but get off a little.
Here's some of what the the salt had to offer....first was the entry fee to spectate...
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It was 5 miles to the pits
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Mike still looking good....but the salt sticks to everything....beware.
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This guy bought this CX500 for 200 dollar, and he is setting class records with it.
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This guy clocked in the 130s
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Jody Perewitz made a 203 mph run.
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That's her on the left
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Ed runs an XS750. A budget racer. He was great to talk with.
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Moto Guzzi
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A blown Indian flathead
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One of the three Brough Superiors...I never heard of them running.
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Racing in Style....nothing wrong with starting at the top.
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Burt's trailer's Hollywood stunt double
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The dual Vincent Streamliner.
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twin Kawasaki 2 smokers
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unfinished bike for sale
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one of many Harleys....there is prize money for the fastest American bike
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owners from Tiawan and Phoenix. Those wheels drop down electrically.
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That was the last pit stroll shot
Mike and I finished up the day on the salt back at Jeffs pit in time to see a test run out back of his pit. The bike stopped some 1000 yards from the pit. The rider began waving his arms for assistance. Crap what now, was on Jeff lips.
Closer inspection showed an aluminum, mounting boss pulled out of his gas tank. $11 dollar a gallon racing fuel was running all over the ground. You could see it all over Jeff's face. How am I going to get this welded up? I knew he'd come up with something. There was no give up in jeff. This was only Monday....if he had to he could drive to Salt Lake City for repairs. The meet wasn't over till 2pm on Thursday.
Mike and I left the salt thinking that the engine problem was fixed. Nothing left to fix but the small stuff.
Jeff was upbeat when I got to the pits. In my estimate he had a good plan. He was nearly finished with the repair by 9:30. Nothing now to do but make a run.
Now if you're ready to make a run it will take at least 2 hrs to get the first run in, and another hour to make the return backup run. So if the engine holds up on the first run then it should be easy to make both runs today.
BTW, the record that they were going after is 'unfaired, Vintage (pre '56), 650cc'. The current record was somewhere in the 92+ speed. Jeff felt confident that he could out run that if the little things would go away.
So his rider/son, Corbin, got in line.....time went on...and on. Lot's of waiting. Corbin got the go ahead around 1pm to make his run. Cool. He sounded good till he was out of sight. The radio came in that he'd done 108, wow, that was good. Jeff got in the pickup to go see him in impound where you wait to do the backup run.
I got there a little later to find no one there. They were in the pits. The first run didn't count because they broke the torque arm on the rear brake. Those kinds of repairs weren't allowed in impound So the first run was canceled.
The new plan was to make the repair, and get back out there before the racing closed down at six PM. We all jumped into getting the brakes bleed and build a new torque arm plus go to a leaner jet in the carburation as the last run had appeared to be rich (a good amount of black smoke). It was 4:30 when we got back to the line for racing.
Six oclock, the cutoff time) came with us still sitting at the line. It was disappointing, but in the big scheme of things it was probably a blessing. We at least got a promise from the officials that we could be the first off the line in the morning. Hummm....that would be in cooler air. That's a good thing.
Time ran out for Jeff and Corbin
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
I took a bunch of pictures. Here they are.
Looking Elegant on Salt
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The salt even makes my bike look good.
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I was there
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Notice how my bike is such a chick magnate? two gals sitting next to and one headed that way.
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That's a 200+ mph electric bike running streamlining.
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That Electric bike took off his streamlining and ran for another class record.
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This is the Vincent that was the BSA's competition.
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That gal is still hanging around my bike. She was worrying me. :)
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Note that all salt is not smooth....still fascnating, though.
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Beauty at the flats
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Gal drivers are desirable at the flats. less weight and generally less wind resistance.
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A V-Belt driven blower on this Harley
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Another gal waiting her turn...
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A humorous signage on this bike....
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Mike's bike after he followed me thru a wet patch of salt. You will never see it that dirty again.
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Hot bike one...
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Hotter bike two....
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That's a very small Asian man. Although he doesn't speak English, his size makes him a very popular rider.
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The guy driving this sidecar rig has no legs....but it isn't slowing him one bit.
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Waiting.......
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One of many streamliners....
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One of the best looking bikes.
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Nice....
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Click on picture for Video
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This guy ran about 170
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We all packed up for the night. I had lost my room mate so I spent the night camping at the 'Bend in the road' next to Bud Schmitt. But first I went to town for a can of spaghetti and meat balls for dinner. That and peanuts ought to take care of me till morning.
When I got to the campsite, I pulled in next to Bud with a little space so as not to crowd him. He was quick to welcome me.
I told him that I'd Googled him, and saw his 10 minute Utube video about his career. He told me that one of the salt flat dignitaries was picking him up in a few minutes to go into town to do another news story for the local publication.
I mentioned that I usually write summat up about my trips. He said that he writes a page every day about his life and travels, and that he puts out a book every year. BTW, Buds a Harley guy. He said his books are 300 pages long or so. He laughed about that and then said he tells the Harley guys not to buy his book because their attention span isn't long enough. Then he laughs again, and says that the reverse psychology usually gets them to buy his book.
Yep, Bud is still sharp as a tach. I'd love to know more about the guy.
Soon Bud was picked up and I was left to cook my Spaghetti..... Here's my cooking set up. That board is fashioned so that it is level on the back rack when the bikes on the side stand. I use a homade alcohol stove....I like to keep it simple.
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I turned in pretty early.....I was excited about the next day, but even so I slept well.
I heard activity in the morning in Bud's camp. I hollared to Bud, "What time is it, Bud?" He answered, "5:30". What the hell was he doing up at 5:30, I wondered?
I let it go to 6:30 then I got up and packed up, and went out to the starting line. Jeff and the boys got there as I did. Sure enough the official remembered their promise to let Corbin run first.
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Click on Photo for Video...
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Corbin didn't get the go ahead till nearly 8am, but we heard over the radio that he was clocked at north of 116.....now if the bike would hold all its surprises till after the return run was completed. Fingers crossed.
Jeff ran to impound and I waited there for the return run. I waited and waited...nothing. I talked to our commpetion, the 650 Vincent, who was struggling in the 105 range. He hated hearing that we had run off a 116, but we wished each other good luck.
I decided to go back to the pits to see what had gone wrong. The bike trailer was there but no one else. I called jeff who answered and told me that they had done the return run which was 112 into a small head wind. I don't know how I missed them, but I was happy.
I wished Jeff good luck, and said my goodbyes. Damn, I'd had a good time, and gotten quite a race thrill as Jeff became a World Speed record holder.
It was about 11:30.
Before I left the salt, I went back out to the starting line and told the Vincent rider that the BSA made his back up run and the 2 averaged 114. At lease he knew where he was, and what he had to beat. He was such a nice guy that I felt a little sorry for him. I don't like to see anyone lose.......but in the big picture, there are no losers at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
My work at the Salt Flats was finished. Hummm......I could still get quite a few miles toward the trip home today.
I rode into town and went to the car wash to wash the salt off the bike. Some places where the tires trow salt it was a couple inches thick. I then went for Breakfast and Email session at Micky D's.
I rode out of Wendover at 12:30. My Bonneville was over.
I had envisioned a 3 day ride back to Oceanside while I smelled the roses on the way home, I'd maybe take some of those side roads that I'd seen on the way out.
I saw on a triple AAA map that there was a ghost town about 30 miles west, and north some 15 miles. I thought that I'd head over there and then south from Wells Nv. Well I don't know where AAA got their info, but I couldn't find a ghost town and damned near ran myself out of gas looking for it. Actually it was a bit of stupid fuel management, but at any rate I did get to fuel in Wells.
As I gassed up, I realized that my heart wasn't really into a lengthy sight seeing ride home. I think I was reacting to a let down from the emotion of my race (kinda) having been run. I began to formulate a new plan.
The monsoonal cloud cover was gone. It would be doubly hot to go thru Vegas. I decide to go west to Battle Mountain on I-80, then South to Tonopah and Baker, Ca to home. That would keep me at altitude during the day's heat, and I'd adjust the plan as the evening approached.
As I approaching Battle Mountain.....
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I gassed up in Battle Mountain and set my course for Austin Nv a tank of fuel away...about 90 miles of great road, little traffic, and wonderful scenery.....and I felt good about the ride home.
...along the way....
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It was going on about 3ish, I felt good so I wondered just how far I'd get tonight. Tonopah was another 200 miles. That would be about 7pm. Well, I'd see how I felt when I got there, and then make a plan for the night.
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...Finally Austin......
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
Last time that I was in Austin, I was coming home from St Jame Bay Canada a few years back, and I got a speeding ticket in town. As I gassed up the gas station owner told me that the new Highway Patrol guy was a real prick compared to the one that I had to deal with. I vowed to tow the line till I cleared town. :evil
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
Back on the road....I was trying to keep in the 80mph range, so as not to attract attention, the speed limit was 70. I was entertaining the Idea of driving thru the night to avoid the desert heat. I wondered if I could do that.
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
I arrived in Tonopah at a little after 7pm. The sun would be in my eye if I went to Bishop, so I headed south toward Beatty and Baker. I was tiring but I figured that I'd be good into the early evening, and then get a nap somewhere. Here's the last picture before I lost daylight
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| From BUB/Bonneville 2011 |
Driving Through the Night I had most of an hour's daylight left as I drove south toward Beatty. The temps were mostly 80s. Once in a while you'd go though a 15 or 20 degree temperature change for some reason.
I've learned that the desert doesn't cool down significantly when the sun goes down. If it's 110 in the day time it will be 105 till midnight. So I knew that I didn't want to drop down to Baker too early.
Also, I was tiring, as I rode along. I reflected on the moment. Have I told you how much I like riding bikes??? or in particular my big Sabre. It's not the fastest bike anymore, but it's no slouch either.
I also like it because I've fixed everything on this bike at one time or another, and know how to keep it going. I gave up keeping up with the technology when bikes went to computers, fuel injection, and in tank fuel Pumps. How the hell would you fix one of them new fangled bikes, I'd like to know? :rofl
As the day faded into night, and I began to feel fatigue taking over my body, I began to look for a place to take a nap. After Beatty, I needed to turn off 95 onto the road to Baker. Musta been about 9pm and I had most of an hour's daylight left as I drove south toward Beatty. The temps were mostly 80s. Once in a while you'd go though a 15 or 20 degree temperature drop for some reason.
I've learned that the desert doesn't cool down significantly when the sun goes down. If it's 110 in the day time it will be 105 till midnight. So I knew that I didn't want to drop down to Baker to early.
Also, I was tiring, as I rode along. I reflected on the moment. Have I told you how much I like riding bikes??? or in particular my big Sabre. It's not the fastest bike anymore, but it's no slouch either.
I also like it because I've fixed everything on this bike at one time or another, and know how to keep it going. I gave up keeping up with the technology when bikes went to computers, fuel injection, and in tank fuel Pumps. How the hell would you fix one of them new fangled bikes, I'd like to know? :rofl
At the 95 to Baker junction I pulled into the rest stop and laid down on a picnic table for a half hour. I laid down on the seat, and with my helmet on for a pillow, leaned over against the table top, took a short nap.
Soon I was on the road again. I rode past Amargosa Junction, from [URL="http://www.amargosa-opera-house.com/aboutmarta.htm"]Marta Becket Fame[/URL]. I've watched her show twice. She is as amazing as Bud Schmitt.
There are some fairly abrupt turn on that road to Baker, and I noticed that they were surprising me as they'd come up. That's a bad sign for sure. I surely wouldn't make it all the way home to Oceanside in my present condition.
A place to sleep would be harder to find once I got to Bakers. I remembered, from a Barstow to Vegas rally that I'd run, that there was a pole line road about 11 miles before Baker where I could get off the road for a nap.
I almost missed that road, but I did get off the road there. I put my two 1' sq pieces of Carpet pad down for a bed. One for my shoulder and the other for my hips.
It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough as tired as I was. I slept from midnight to 2:30. I checked my watch when I woke up. That should hold me till I could get home, and the temps at 2:30am were quite reasonable.
I was able to get through the Pamona/Riverside traffic at about 6am with no hassle. I pulled up at my house around 7:30am.
My darling heard me drive up, and handed me a cup of coffee when I walked in the door. I spent a half hour telling Dee my story, then I moved to the couch for a much needed rest.
I hope you enjoyed the story and pictures just a fraction as much as I enjoyed the experience.
