We arose about 5:30 AM in Bishop, excited for the next portion of our ride. Highway 168 out of Big Pine, Ca, is a special kind of motorcycle ride. We learned from our previous rides that to 'do the desert' you need to travel in the coolest part of the day, if you want to enjoy the ride. You wouldn't want to ride it in the dark. You don't need massive speed. You better have a tank full of gas! Once you leave Big Pine, there's not alot between it and Beatty, NV.
Highway 168 starts to climb immediately and you get from desert floor to 4000 feet quite rapidly. At the top and for miles following this is a forest of Bristlecone Pines that is the largest in the world. It's dry, and 'warm', but its far from the heat of the desert floor up here.
As I said; you wouldn't want to take this trip at night...cause you need to be able to see very clearly or you'll miss one of the huge number of twists and turns you'll go thru. You don't need speed; cause you rarely get above 30 or 40 mph while in the turns.
What you would like to have for a perfect ride.....is a temp in the 60's....some clear morning sunlight...a full tank of gas, and an almost completely open road. This is exactly what we had that morning. Maybe one of the top 20 riding experiences I've ever had...and Peter felt quite the same.
Because this was our third roundtrip to Las Vegas, we made sure it would be the most pleasant one it could be from our previous learnings. The temperature remained less than 80 degrees as we completed the long and joyful ride across the desert mountain tops up and down three separate times....thru the open range...where cattle often are using the same road you're on...(and we saw them every time). Along the way; we came to the junction of Hwy 168 and the start of our journey on Hwy 266.
It was at this very junction during our last ride to Vegas, that we encountered one very large, very mean looking bull just standing in the road right at the intersection. I remember it clearly, cause for a brief moment, I wondered if that bull was going to let me go by or just charge me and throw me and my bike into the desert...broken and battered. You have to slow way down in order to make that corner when you go onto 266, and it was as if the bull knew that and was just waiting for the rider he wished to smash the most. Here I was; the only one of the three of us on that ride with a 'red' motorcycle. I made that turn almost without looking at the bull...hoping he wouldn't get pissed off at me, and then gunned it to full throttle immediately after I completed the turn...getting up to 100 mph quite quickly.
It was at this very junction during our last ride to Vegas, that we encountered one very large, very mean looking bull just standing in the road right at the intersection. I remember it clearly, cause for a brief moment, I wondered if that bull was going to let me go by or just charge me and throw me and my bike into the desert...broken and battered. You have to slow way down in order to make that corner when you go onto 266, and it was as if the bull knew that and was just waiting for the rider he wished to smash the most. Here I was; the only one of the three of us on that ride with a 'red' motorcycle. I made that turn almost without looking at the bull...hoping he wouldn't get pissed off at me, and then gunned it to full throttle immediately after I completed the turn...getting up to 100 mph quite quickly.
The ride on Hwy 266 is quite fast. There are stretches where you can see 10 miles ahead and the road is 100 percent straight where you can go very fast. I got over 110 mph on one long stretch. With sand on both sides and trees nowhere near the road, you can have the safest possible place to gun your bike and see what its got in it.
The ride across this stretch finally comes to an end when you meet up with US 95 - one of two North to South highways that run the entire stretch of Nevada.
DOWN US 95 thru Beatty, NV (the oasis)
It's roughly 130 miles from Big Pine, CA to Beatty, NV. When you take this route, the ONLY gas is at Big Pine at the beginning of your ride and Beatty. Your bike's tank better be able to handle that mileage, as the only other choice is a looooooooooonnnnngggg walk.
After you make it to US 95, it's a right turn down US 95 to the town of Beatty. It's about 40 miles from point to point. Beatty is an oasis in the desert. It has several gas stations and hotel/motels. It has a couple of casinos, and it also food and ice cream! Ummmm ice cream is good at this point of riding in the desert! Here's a photo of our favorite Beatty place.
After the Beatty rest and gas stop its another 120 miles to Las Vegas. Between the two are a few small places and then Indian Springs. Its in the middle of nowhere, but only 40 miles more to Las Vegas. There's two gas stations there; PLUS....on the east side of the highway is Creech Air Force Base. Its at Creech that they are doing lots of development of the pilot-less drone aircraft that are being used more in the war each day. While riding by, we saw two drones flying around the area. Interesting!
After Indian Springs it is a short ride to Vegas. It gets quite intense as you get close to the city, with cars zooming in and out from all directions. Best thing to do is get there during a non-rush hour time frame, and know where you are going. Last minute lane changes in 5 lanes of traffic with locals, tourists, and new residents all trying to find their own way makes for very dangerous conditions. Also, make sure you get there before the heat of the day starting around noon time.
Next - I'm going to write about the return trip, which has its own set of highlights.
The ride across this stretch finally comes to an end when you meet up with US 95 - one of two North to South highways that run the entire stretch of Nevada.
DOWN US 95 thru Beatty, NV (the oasis)
It's roughly 130 miles from Big Pine, CA to Beatty, NV. When you take this route, the ONLY gas is at Big Pine at the beginning of your ride and Beatty. Your bike's tank better be able to handle that mileage, as the only other choice is a looooooooooonnnnngggg walk.
After you make it to US 95, it's a right turn down US 95 to the town of Beatty. It's about 40 miles from point to point. Beatty is an oasis in the desert. It has several gas stations and hotel/motels. It has a couple of casinos, and it also food and ice cream! Ummmm ice cream is good at this point of riding in the desert! Here's a photo of our favorite Beatty place.
After the Beatty rest and gas stop its another 120 miles to Las Vegas. Between the two are a few small places and then Indian Springs. Its in the middle of nowhere, but only 40 miles more to Las Vegas. There's two gas stations there; PLUS....on the east side of the highway is Creech Air Force Base. Its at Creech that they are doing lots of development of the pilot-less drone aircraft that are being used more in the war each day. While riding by, we saw two drones flying around the area. Interesting!
After Indian Springs it is a short ride to Vegas. It gets quite intense as you get close to the city, with cars zooming in and out from all directions. Best thing to do is get there during a non-rush hour time frame, and know where you are going. Last minute lane changes in 5 lanes of traffic with locals, tourists, and new residents all trying to find their own way makes for very dangerous conditions. Also, make sure you get there before the heat of the day starting around noon time.
Next - I'm going to write about the return trip, which has its own set of highlights.
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