Saturday, September 14, 2013


On the road to Maui # 5




Well when I last wrote 2 days ago or is it 3...things have been happening so fast it all seems a blur.


We had spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express 120 miles south of Sacramento had a great nights sleep and well needed rest,so we decided not to get up until 8:30am late for me . Today was the day I was looking forward too......Ride through the Mohave dessert day...I love desserts they have a huge attraction for me.
They can be Hot, silent,still, mysterious, beautiful ever changing in color and then in a flash can produce thunder storms,flash floods and drop below freezing. I never tire of riding through them and most times I do it alone,great place to let yourself loose or just be !!!!


We left the Hotel around 10am and the blacktop parking lot was already melting as the temperature rose like a rocket. Any sane traveler would have departed at 4 am but we wanted to see the dessert in all its mid-day glory.
By the time we reached Bakersfield our Gateway to the Mohave the temp was already in the low hundreds 102 to 105. We fueled up and I soaked my leathers and inside of helmet too with the aid of friendly store/ restaurant owner called PJ from India who happened to be hosing down the deck outside his restaurant as I rode up. We took some time out to chat and PJ showed us a short cut through the Almond farm district his family owned.


I thought I had left the 100 + MPH crazy Ca drivers back on the I-5 but no they all had a lets get the Irish,Argentinian meeting and came in low on the Deck of the dessert to try and take us out ,wish I had access to a drone!!!
They come up on you so fast, pass either side and I mean on the hard shoulder where you least expect them. Earlier that morning two who passed me on the inside together and nearly sent me to heaven early. The scary part was the guy behind me who decided to pass on the inside at around 95 (I was cruising at 75) was passed on the hard shoulder by a guy who had to be going at least 120 plus. Oh, Yes! forgot to mention I was about 30 yards from passing a Semi. By some crazy miracle they both made it through that small space missing Cynthia by a hair. It shook me up thinking I could have been taken out by Dummer and Dummer America`s answer to the WW2 German V1 rockets.


Desert Idiots aside the ride through the Mohave was so worth it ,yes it was hot ,but then thats part of the challenge of motorcycle riding. My hat goes of to cyclists who make that trip. We stopped near Edwards Air-force base and saw a couple of jet fighters going though maneuvers.


The road through the dessert is fairly straight but has lots of rolling hills that seem to go on forever into the far horizon the perfect road for any motorcyclist, if it was up to me I would love to live out there someday,don’t think I would get to many visitors which is a plus for this Irish hermit as Cynthia says I would be very alone Hahaha.


Then all of a sudden we were at the I-15 and it was over and we headed south to Corona for the night. The I -15 is another rat Race and was passed by a guy in a Mercedes coup on the inside as he went to Join Meatloaf on the Highway to Hell...


Ok I,m off to bed ….God be with you all and thanks for reading





Michael and Cynthia :0)

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