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Death Valley
2008
Brown Motor
Works, southern California's premier BMW motorcycle dealership, hosted a chili cookoff in March 2008, which was
immediately followed by a trip to Death Valley.
I've been in California nearly 30 years,
but I'd never been to Death Valley. I always wanted to go.
And, I love chili.
Let's see...free chili...lots of photo
ops...good weather...and a motorcycle ride to a place I'd never been before...
Seemed like a no-brainer to me...
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A lone KLR in a sea of BMWs...
Nearly all of my friends ride BMW
motorcycles, and it's just a matter of time before I get one.
In the meantime, I'm having a lot of fun with
my KLR.
See those BMW-like KLR decals?
I got them from a guy on the KLR650.net
website. The BMW guys thought they were a hoot.
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The chili cookoff was a lot
of fun.
I grabbed a shot of this can
of tomatoes.... |
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A couple of the maintenance
specialists at Brown Motor Works getting ready for the timed chili eating
event...I thought it would be like a pie-eating contest...until I saw what
actually went on.
The guys weren't allowed to
lift the bowl off the table.
Eddie, on the right, was the
predicted winner... |
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But he couldn't hold a candle
to Dennis, shown here immediately after taking top honors.
BMW riders are a particularly
sophisticated bunch... |
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| The guys at Brown Motor Works
planned to leave at the end of the day, but I didn't want to hang around until
then.
I took my KLR and found my way along Old
Route 66. |
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I took I-40 over to Kelbaker
Road and then headed into the Mojave National Preserve.
The group planned to meet in Baker, and I
figured if I timed it right I would get there right about nightfall. |
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Along the Kelbaker Road...
My plan worked. I
pulled into Baker just as the sun was setting.
You can tell from the shadows
that I'm heading due west. |
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Joseph, Lonnie, and I had dinner
at the Mad Greek in Baker. |
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It's all good. |
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One of the statues outside
the Mad Greek restaurant in Baker. |
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We had breakfast there the next
morning, too. |
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On to Death Valley... |
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Wow. It was what I
hoped it would be. |
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Another shot of my KLR. |
| At some ruins in Death Valley. |
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My friend Eddie and his GS. |
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More colors in Death Valley. |
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My friend Joseph and his Triumph
Sprint. |
| This was a gas
station in Furnace Creek.
These guys ought to be ashamed of
themselves.
I topped off in Stovepipe Wells, just 22
miles further down the road, and gas was 50 cents a gallon cheaper. |
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My obligatory Death Valley below
sea level shot. |
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My friend Bob told me about
Wildrose Road, a road that cut through some canyons on the way out of
Death Valley.
It was a great ride.
While I was on Wildrose Road, I saw signs for the Charcoal Kilns, so I
took a short detour. |
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On the way up to the Charcoal
Kilns, I stopped to take the picture above.
A guy and his wife were coming from the
other direction and he asked if I wanted a picture of me with my KLR.
Death Valley was fairly cold. I had
on every piece of clothing I brought with me. Plus, the camera adds
10 lbs (or was that just on TV?).
Yeah, I know, I gotta lose a few pounds. |
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The Charcoal Kilns.
These were built in the 1870s. They are 25 feet tall and 30 feet in
diameter. |
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This is Wildrose Road. You
could probably get through it on any motorcycle, but I was glad I had the
KLR.
Bob was right...it was a great ride. |
| If you've ever thought about
taking a ride to Death Valley, do it. You won't be
disappointed. I had a great time. The KLR 650 was a good bike
to do it on, but you could do it on just about any motorcycle. I saw
all kinds while I was there. If you live in southern California,
it's an easy weekend trip.
If you'd like to read our story on Death
Valley in Motorcycle Classics magazine, it's
just a click away!
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