- Jan 8, 2000
- 3,331
- 1
Sorry it took me so long to write this, but I wanted to give a good review of my experience.
Like I mentioned in a previous thread, I had to be in Las Vegas for a business trip but I had a few days of down time. I don’t gamble, and after a long winter, a motorcycle trip seemed to be the therapy I was in need of. I had two days to kill in Las Vegas, so I decided to spend this down time as quality motorcycling time. As it turned out, while I was riding in nice 85-degree weather in Las Vegas, my wife was getting a snowstorm back in New Jersey.
Tuesday was my first motorcycle adventure. For my first day of riding I scheduled a guide and bike from Admo Tours (www.admo-tours.com) to take me off-road for the day. The trip took us from Primm Valley, NV to Baker, CA (about 45 miles if traveled on I-15). For my $280 I got a well appointed DRZ-400S and a knowledgeable guide.
I was scheduled to ride with a father and son from Massachusetts, but one of them came down with a stomach virus so both cancelled the trip. So it was me and my guide (Uwe - pronounced Oh Va - Diemer who is Swedish born) for the day. We met at Whiskey Pete’s parking lot in Primm Valley at about 7:40am. Uwe was just getting the bikes out of his Van. We spoke about my riding experience, the trip (Uwe said we’d cover 130 miles and return at about 6:00pm) and the conditions that we’d encounter.
We left Whiskey Pete’s parking lot at 8:00. We were only on the bikes a few minutes, blasting down a trail that lead to the Clark Mountain Range, when Uwe stopped to point out some wide Donkey’s. That’s right, I said wild donkey. Seems the gold miners just let their donkeys go loose when they were done with them.
In no time we were close to the 7,900 peek of the Clark Mountains, looking at a view that seemed to go for 100 plus miles. On this warm March day there was still a lot of snow on the ground. To say it was a cool view would be an understatement.
We made our way back down the western part of the mountain, across a 4-mile “rock field” (east coast riders would feel right at home) that took us to my first desert experience. Desert riding took a few minutes to get use to. The sand is deceivingly deep. You really have to keep the power up. Standing up, with my head well over the bars, helped stabilize the bike considerably. This position also kept me from getting tired and beat-up from the many rocks and bushes I would encounter all day long. In fact, 90% of the riding was up on the pegs.
We made our way through the desert at 50 to 60 miles per hour. At one point we were riding in an area that serves as a natural “stream” when it rains. On this dry day it was a twisted ribbon through the desert with really cool banked walls. Every twist left and right had a really cool bermed wall to it. Before long we were back on trails that had us traveling over some varied terrain.
Eventually we stopped near the top of Turquoise Mountain (elevation 4,500’). We got off the bikes and Uwe showed me how Turquoise was mined from the mountain. After a much needed water break it was back down some mountain passes, blasting through the desert again. We arrived in Baker, CA at about noon for some lunch. I have no idea where the four hours went…it seemed to pass as quickly as you read the last few paragraphs!
As interesting as the morning was, the afternoon just blew it away. We went south of I-15 towards Soda Dry Lake. From there we traveled to the Lava Beds. We got off the bikes and went caving through a lave tube for quite a while. From there we explored some abandoned mines. Once again, very cool. We rode through a Joshua Tree “forest” on our way to the Ivanpath Mountains. There we explored some abandoned gold mines and an abandoned mining “town”... more of a collection of random homes where the inhabitants seemed to be coexisting and, I’m sure to a large extent, co-dependant of each other. The last miner died in the mid 1990’s, allowing the state to cancel the land lease. We visited the miner’s burial site too.
We made our way to the top of the mountain range where we were overlooking our starting point of the day, some 15 miles away. We snaked our way down the side of the mountain (watch out for wild donkeys and their wild excrement, that seemed to be everywhere on the side of this mountain). By this time it was 3:00, and I was tired. Very tired. I took it real slow down the sandy trail because I was feeling all 270 pounds of that bike. After we got to the base, we blasted through the desert on a trail that ran parallel to I-15.
By 4:00 we were back at Whiskey Pete’s, some 145 miles later. Because it was just the two of us, and we were both experienced riders, we went a little further and a little faster than the “normal” trip. I didn’t mind being off the bike nearly two hours earlier than expected. I was done!
The trip far surpassed any expectations I had. Sure, I expected a ride through the desert, but I didn’t expect the guided history/geological/nature tour. It was awesome.
That was just day one!
The next day I rented a 2004 BMW R1150GS for a day of street riding. When I picked up the bike it has 40 miles on it. Cool, RV6junkie gets to break-in a new bike!
I went from Vegas, through Lake Mead, to the Hoover Dam. It was my original intention to go east of the Hoover Dam towards the Grand Canyon, but the Hoover Dam turned out to be the Hoover Damn-Traffic-Jam. As soon as I crossed the Dam, I turned around and went back through Lake Mead.
I ended up taking the northwest route of Lake Mead past Overton. The posted speed limit in the park is 50 mph, but the lack of ANY traffic on the road allowed me to pass through the park at my own pace. After a late lunch I went south a bit until I got to Valley of Fire State Park. If you haven’t been there...go. Valley of Fire has some of the most spectacular views and scenery that you will ever see. The posted speed limit there is 25 mph, but once again… well let’s just say that the tires on the BMW were scrubbed in from edge to edge when it was returned that evening (a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by the fine people at Moturis, the place where I rented the bike).
In all I put about 300 miles on the big Beemer. If you aren’t familiar with BMW’s motorcycles, the R1150GS looks like a dual sport on steroids. It has all-day comfort with its sit-up-n-beg riding position. It’s not the fastest or the lightest thing on the road, but it sure is fun.
I must say, this was one of the best business trips that I have ever been on. Thanks to Timr for suggesting Admo. I have posted a few photos in my photo gallery. I think this is my link:
http://dirtrider.net/teamdrn/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=17060
Like I mentioned in a previous thread, I had to be in Las Vegas for a business trip but I had a few days of down time. I don’t gamble, and after a long winter, a motorcycle trip seemed to be the therapy I was in need of. I had two days to kill in Las Vegas, so I decided to spend this down time as quality motorcycling time. As it turned out, while I was riding in nice 85-degree weather in Las Vegas, my wife was getting a snowstorm back in New Jersey.
Tuesday was my first motorcycle adventure. For my first day of riding I scheduled a guide and bike from Admo Tours (www.admo-tours.com) to take me off-road for the day. The trip took us from Primm Valley, NV to Baker, CA (about 45 miles if traveled on I-15). For my $280 I got a well appointed DRZ-400S and a knowledgeable guide.
I was scheduled to ride with a father and son from Massachusetts, but one of them came down with a stomach virus so both cancelled the trip. So it was me and my guide (Uwe - pronounced Oh Va - Diemer who is Swedish born) for the day. We met at Whiskey Pete’s parking lot in Primm Valley at about 7:40am. Uwe was just getting the bikes out of his Van. We spoke about my riding experience, the trip (Uwe said we’d cover 130 miles and return at about 6:00pm) and the conditions that we’d encounter.
We left Whiskey Pete’s parking lot at 8:00. We were only on the bikes a few minutes, blasting down a trail that lead to the Clark Mountain Range, when Uwe stopped to point out some wide Donkey’s. That’s right, I said wild donkey. Seems the gold miners just let their donkeys go loose when they were done with them.
In no time we were close to the 7,900 peek of the Clark Mountains, looking at a view that seemed to go for 100 plus miles. On this warm March day there was still a lot of snow on the ground. To say it was a cool view would be an understatement.
We made our way back down the western part of the mountain, across a 4-mile “rock field” (east coast riders would feel right at home) that took us to my first desert experience. Desert riding took a few minutes to get use to. The sand is deceivingly deep. You really have to keep the power up. Standing up, with my head well over the bars, helped stabilize the bike considerably. This position also kept me from getting tired and beat-up from the many rocks and bushes I would encounter all day long. In fact, 90% of the riding was up on the pegs.
We made our way through the desert at 50 to 60 miles per hour. At one point we were riding in an area that serves as a natural “stream” when it rains. On this dry day it was a twisted ribbon through the desert with really cool banked walls. Every twist left and right had a really cool bermed wall to it. Before long we were back on trails that had us traveling over some varied terrain.
Eventually we stopped near the top of Turquoise Mountain (elevation 4,500’). We got off the bikes and Uwe showed me how Turquoise was mined from the mountain. After a much needed water break it was back down some mountain passes, blasting through the desert again. We arrived in Baker, CA at about noon for some lunch. I have no idea where the four hours went…it seemed to pass as quickly as you read the last few paragraphs!
As interesting as the morning was, the afternoon just blew it away. We went south of I-15 towards Soda Dry Lake. From there we traveled to the Lava Beds. We got off the bikes and went caving through a lave tube for quite a while. From there we explored some abandoned mines. Once again, very cool. We rode through a Joshua Tree “forest” on our way to the Ivanpath Mountains. There we explored some abandoned gold mines and an abandoned mining “town”... more of a collection of random homes where the inhabitants seemed to be coexisting and, I’m sure to a large extent, co-dependant of each other. The last miner died in the mid 1990’s, allowing the state to cancel the land lease. We visited the miner’s burial site too.
We made our way to the top of the mountain range where we were overlooking our starting point of the day, some 15 miles away. We snaked our way down the side of the mountain (watch out for wild donkeys and their wild excrement, that seemed to be everywhere on the side of this mountain). By this time it was 3:00, and I was tired. Very tired. I took it real slow down the sandy trail because I was feeling all 270 pounds of that bike. After we got to the base, we blasted through the desert on a trail that ran parallel to I-15.
By 4:00 we were back at Whiskey Pete’s, some 145 miles later. Because it was just the two of us, and we were both experienced riders, we went a little further and a little faster than the “normal” trip. I didn’t mind being off the bike nearly two hours earlier than expected. I was done!
The trip far surpassed any expectations I had. Sure, I expected a ride through the desert, but I didn’t expect the guided history/geological/nature tour. It was awesome.
That was just day one!
The next day I rented a 2004 BMW R1150GS for a day of street riding. When I picked up the bike it has 40 miles on it. Cool, RV6junkie gets to break-in a new bike!
I went from Vegas, through Lake Mead, to the Hoover Dam. It was my original intention to go east of the Hoover Dam towards the Grand Canyon, but the Hoover Dam turned out to be the Hoover Damn-Traffic-Jam. As soon as I crossed the Dam, I turned around and went back through Lake Mead.
I ended up taking the northwest route of Lake Mead past Overton. The posted speed limit in the park is 50 mph, but the lack of ANY traffic on the road allowed me to pass through the park at my own pace. After a late lunch I went south a bit until I got to Valley of Fire State Park. If you haven’t been there...go. Valley of Fire has some of the most spectacular views and scenery that you will ever see. The posted speed limit there is 25 mph, but once again… well let’s just say that the tires on the BMW were scrubbed in from edge to edge when it was returned that evening (a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by the fine people at Moturis, the place where I rented the bike).
In all I put about 300 miles on the big Beemer. If you aren’t familiar with BMW’s motorcycles, the R1150GS looks like a dual sport on steroids. It has all-day comfort with its sit-up-n-beg riding position. It’s not the fastest or the lightest thing on the road, but it sure is fun.
I must say, this was one of the best business trips that I have ever been on. Thanks to Timr for suggesting Admo. I have posted a few photos in my photo gallery. I think this is my link:
http://dirtrider.net/teamdrn/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=17060
