From Southern CA to Northern ID

From the Los Angeles area, my next direction was north. Driving along the Pacific coast is an amazing experience and I count myself lucky to have taken the trip several times. But since I had never before taken the inland route to the east of the Sierra Nevadas, I decided on to give it a go this time. It was a great choice!

The main north/south artery through eastern California is “the 395.” I took another road out of LA to approach 395, and the conditions were sunny, hot and windy. As I drove, these three conditions strengthened, so much so that if I were to retype those words, I would use all caps (and that means business).

While riding this road, one has views of the aqueducts and pipelines that deliver water to Los Angeles from points north. The practice of taking water from other places is understandably political and I recall from other visits to Mono Lake that sometimes concerted efforts can successfully abate the draw from certain locations.

Heading northward, the wind died off a bit and I was thankful for that. Riding in a heavy, gusting crosswind is difficult – and requires the rider to lean/turn sharply from time to time, but without advanced notice. It’s not necessarily a hazardous situation, but after several hours, the rider has likely expended a good amount of concentration and energy.

As I continued, I was surrounded by several places that each deserve several days just to begin to explore. To my right (east) was Death Valley, and although I had only days before taken a quick drive-through, there is certainly much more to be seen. To my left (west) was Sequoia and King’s Canyon national parks. I was very tempted to take a significant detour to reach the Sequoias, as there are few things more humbling than being among the world’s most massive living things. But I remained northward on 395. And then came to the turnoff for Yosemite’s Tioga Pass. Ouch! To be so close and not to visit was difficult indeed! Then off to the right was a favorite, Mono Lake. And as a final blow, I needed to drive past the turnoff toward Lake Tahoe. All of these places are sincere favorites of mine and none of them have seen the last of me!

Having typed this much, I realize that I haven’t mentioned that I was pressed for time to ride to Reno where I had an appointment at the bike shop to fix my running lights. Turns out that I made it on time. And it turns out that the lights were a quick fix. Rarely is my luck that good with electrical problems.

In Reno, I stayed with friends of Anna’s, Ericka, Paul and their young son Gunner. I called Ericka’s mobile number, told her I made it to town and I was at the BMW shop waiting on repairs. “You mean the shop next door to the Forrest Service office where I work?” asked Ericka. “Um, maybe - - let me walk the street and take a look. Yes, I think that’s the one!” Small world (case one). I had a great visit with my (new) friends – thanks!!

From Reno, my next destination would be Coeur d'Alene, where I will run a foot race on May 27. The shortest route would have been to the north, but since I’d never explored the interior of Nevada, I decided to head east, along route 50, a.k.a. “America’s Loneliest Highway.” From what I had heard, this stretch of road promised to be flat and straight and would bore any driver to tears, so much so that many have reported UFO sightings and possibly even abductions. I was mistaken in every way. I had apparently misinterpreted “lonely” to imply “boring” but that is far from the case. Route 50 winds through endless hills and offers great views. In fact, other than Alaska, Nevada is reportedly the most mountainous state. At no point along Nevada’s route 50 will you not have a mountain in sight.

Stopping in Austin, Nevada, I saw three other BMW riders and approached them saying something very stupid like, “where are you taking these three fine motorcycles?” The men forgave my schlock and one asked, “aren’t you the guy who asked where to buy a sandwich at Zion?” “Why yes, that’s right!” I had stopped at a place signed as a deli, but apparently they only served ice cream. I had asked three cone-holding men about sandwich options, and then there they were, a week and hundreds of miles later. Small world (case two).

Most of the land in Nevada is owned by the Department of the Interior – and interestingly, lands at higher elevations are managed by the Forrest Service while the lower elevation places are under the care of the Bureau of Land Management. Not sure who decides such things. . .

Along with my other misconceptions of route 50, I also encountered no extraterrestrial life; but I did get my share of the surreal when I visited the east Nevada town of Ely. When in Ely, one has no choice but to be aware of the Hotel Nevada. It is heavily promoted when entering the town and it is quite colorful to see in person. I felt compelled to stay there and I’m glad I did. For the low cost of $40, I was treated to a cultural experience beyond compare. The place was built in the 1920’s and the décor appeals to the gaudy accouchement archeologist in all of us.

From Ely the terrain flattens out a bit as one heads north into Idaho. As evening set in I decided to stop before entering the Sawtooth Mountains, in part to avoid run-ins with wildlife and in part to save the views for an hour when I could appreciate them. Grabbing dinner at a bar in Hailey Idaho, the bartender asked, if I had stopped along side the road a hundred or so miles south earlier in the day. “Yes.” He recognized my face from a moving vehicle. Small world (case three).

Riding through the Sawtooth and Bitterroot mountains has probably been my favorite new experience of the trip so far. My jaw dropped so often that the bugs didn’t even hit my teeth on their way to my belly – quite fortifying indeed.

After leaving the Bitterroot area, I hauled butt to a town near Coeur d’Alene where I have an appointment tomorrow at the BMW shop there to swap tires and do some other maintenance, to prepare the bike for the long trip to Alaska. Notably, I’ll switch to “knobby” tires – I’ve never ridden a motorcycle with them – I think they’ll possibly be a bit rough on the pavement but they will pull me through any gravel, sand or mud that I’ll likely encounter over the next few weeks. This will make the fifth BMW dealership I’ve visited on the trip, and the fourth at which I’ve had work done. $$$.