Santa Barbara Motorcycle Riders Harley Davidson

April Fools Death Valley Ride '09

The day began right on queue as we gathered on the clear brisk Friday morning to start the Death Valley Run lead by Darryl and Trish. As we arrived for breakfast and our scheduled departure, the sense of adventure was in the air. With our maps and GPS's loaded and ready to go we prepared to go heading up the pass and the first fuel stop in Maricopa and on to Lunch at the City Slickers in Tehachapi.

After lunch we took off for Lone Pine for our first overnighter. Where after checking in we had dinner at The Pizza Factory good grub. Afterward off to the movie @ the Lone Pine Film Museum for the 1951 version of Rawhide without Clint Eastwood all in all a great movie. Where's the popcorn?

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After a restful night up for breakfast, Burr! it's cold . After breakfast off we went into Death Valley. Shortly thereafter our great adventure suddenly changed. Frank and Irene went down. Our entire group returned to the scene of the accident to help in any way we could. Those that we able to offer assistance did and we all showed our support and resolve by standing by to see that they both had whatever they needed. Thank God that their injuries were not as serious as they could have been. After Frank and Irene left in the ambulance, Leo staying behind to follow back to Lone Pine once the bike was secured. We mounted up and continued our journey a bit more solemn.

We stopped in Furnace Creek for lunch. I gathered at the golf course 19th hole good choice with some of the other import riders. As we headed out we had a number of options I opted for Dante's View before heading over to Longstreet Hotel & Casino. It was a great choice the the magnificent views of Death Valley.

Of course one of our fearless riders opted for Scotty's Castle and new friends. Robert weren't you supposed to keep an eye on Mike P? good job buddy. Upon my arrival at Longstreet Mike was there relaxing with an adult beverage and I joined him Robert arrived shortly thereafter with his trusty flask(I love that flask) and wanting to know what happened to Mike. What a great story the adventures of Mike, Lewis and Clark.

It was great to see Leo rejoin the group after returning to Lone Pine making sure that Frank and Irene were safely on their way back to SB. Since our five day adventure itinerary had changed, so had our destinations. Some heading East, others to various routes, and I off to visit my mother in Fresno. Sunday morning we shared our morning breakfast saddled up and headed out. I opted to ride with Randy and his of import riders, we took off to Beatty, Furnace Creek and Wild rose road riding over to Ridgecrest for lunch, afterward we went our separate ways.

This was an amazing journey for all of us. As a group we showed so much class and support for when in the beginning of the middle of our journey the accident that took Frank and Irene off the road in what looked bad, but turned out not so bad. Our group showed how much we care about each other. Each and everyone helped, stood by, gave support in an amazing show of unity for our friends. We all can take pride in how each and everyone responded. A great journey and another super Death Valley Run. Special thanks to Darryl and Trish for such a great job planning our routes, accommodations, fuel, and food stops. Ron Foil we missed you, I hope it was a wedding for the ages.

Enjoy the pics,
Ronnie
PS Gladys really enjoyed the trip.

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