March 16-17, 1991
Igor & Suzanne Thomas-Mamedalin,
Ron & Leora Jones
For our fourth annual spring bike ride in the Death Valley National Monument area we planned to chauffeur the participants each day to the starting points from a central location and, thus, avoiding the time consuming car shuttling ritual practiced in the past. To realize our plan, we intended to rent a trailer and attach it to the sag wagon. Alas, on the Friday before the scheduled trip, after running around all over Orange County, Suzanne discovered that our truck was raised too high to accommodate the attachment of a trailer. It was too late to cancel the trip or find a substitute vehicle, so we headed on out toward Stovepipe Well wondering if we were going to be stoned by the sixteen participants for our failure.
The same week several weather fronts pelted Southern California with heavy rain with the last front passing through Friday.. we considered this to be another reason for canceling the trip (for sure all the roads must be washed out or snow covered.) As we crested Cajon pass that evening we found ourselves in the midst of a winter wonderland.. snow covering the desert and the acres of stranded semis parked around the Outpost! Despite our continued foreboding with regard to the potential success of this trip we arrived at Stovepipe Wells that night without encountering any fifteen foot snow drifts across the highway and Saturday dawned clear and beautiful over the desert with snow capped mountains surrounding the Valley.
After contemplating the logistics and alternative possibilities, the original plan was salvaged with the help of Mark and Gloria Philips, Ron's nephew and his wife, and their roomy GM truck. We were able to load all of the bikes and riders into the two trucks, sans trailer, and transport everyone 55 miles north up the Valley to Crankshaft Junction near Last Chance Peak. As a result of the recent weather front there were snow patches on the ground at Crankshaft Junction. From there the riders mounted their mountain bikes and headed south down the dirt road with a chilly breeze in their lace. The two trucks (sag wagons) piloted by Leora Jones (with Tanya Mamedalin at the wheel) and Gloria Philips shepherded the riders in their journey through the Valley. Lunch was taken at the junction with the road to Ubehebe Crater: although graciously offered, the apportunity for a 3 mile detour to see the Ubehebe Crater was declined by all. In the afternoon a light wind from the south picked up to impede everyone's progress; as we neared Stovepipe Well a few riders chose in take advantage of the trailing sag wagons. Everyone was back at the campground by 6:30 PM to sample the sumptuous pot luck offerings spread by lantern light. The evening revelry did not last long as tired riders hit the sack one by one to nurture their aching deRears. Dean and Pat Acheson departed that evening for Tecopa Hot Springs and an early return home.
Sunday morning the number of riders remaining for the ride through Titus Canyon was further reduced .. only six riders started coasting down front Daylight Pass Into Nevada. At the turnoff for Titus, some took a short detour (by car) to see the sculptures at the Rhyolte 'ghost' town. One by one, by hook or crook, by hike or car, everyone found their way to Titus Pass. From the Pass it was a delightful ride down to Leadville for lunch: the remains of this mining town were obscured by scores of crawling bodies of geology students from Ridgecrest. After lunch we finished the ride through the beautiful lower Titus Canyon arriving at the Canyon's mouth much too early.. need to scout a longer sequel for next year. The ride from the Canyon's mouth back to Stovepipe Wells was completed by car - no point riding over the same turf twice in one weekend? From Stovepipe Wells everyone headed home on their own.. a little bit sorer than on the way in.
Many thanks to Gloria Philips and Leora Jones for patiently sagging the ride and to Suzanne Mamedalin and Ron Jones for the cheerful assist. And, of course, we appreciate the participants entrusting us with their confidence: Melvin and Sharlene Leventhal, Dave Dingman, Mark Philips, Dean and Pat Acheson, Dave Underwood, Maris Valkass and Barry Antler.