SCHEDULED TRIPS 5th Annual Desert Bike Ride March 14-15, 1992 Igor Mamedalin & Ron Jones

To continue the tradition of hosting a bicycling outing in the desert for the 5th consecutive year, Panamint Valley was selected and the invitation was posted in the chapter schedule. At one point 14 avid bicyclist were on the trip roster. Saturday morning, not including the leaders and their immediate family members, only one participant, Walter Belhoon, had the courage to show up at the appointed meeting point outside Ballarat. We learned later that some of the would be participants were drawn off by the double century ride in Death Valley sponsored by the Orange County Wheelmen. That morning we started with an easy downhill ride from the top of the pass on the Trona-Wildrose road by following the old washed out road just east of the paved highway. Leora Jones, Suzanne Mamedalin and Tanya Mamedalin alternated throughout the weekend to help with the sag wagon duties. After the refreshing drop into Panamint Valley we cranked uphill to the Onyx Mine on the west side of the valley. The Onyx Mine appears to have been recently abandoned and the vandals have not yet had the opportunity to trash the many buildings on the site. Chessie and Comet, genuine canines, took the opportunity to run along with the bicyclist to the mine and back -- tiring themselves out for the rest of the day. After the excursion to the Onyx Mine, we caravaned to the dirt road leading to Minnetta Mine. There some of us chose to ride uphill to the mine while Tanya and Comet cut cross country on foot and almost beat the riders to the destination. The buildings at the Minnetta Mine are intact along with various mining equipment scattered around. A couple of people were camping at the mine site -- their dome tent pitched inside one of the buildings. After the ride to Wirmetta Mine, we caravaned to the northern end of Panamint Valley and camped for the night by Lake Hill. To pass the time until the sun set, Ron Jones led the group in search of petroglyphs. The evening was passed around a campfire with the participants discussing various topics ranging from politics and environmental policies to music and gossip. Sunday morning we caravaned back down the valley to the Indian Ranch road. From here we rode down the dirt road to Ballarat while Leora and Tanya shuttled the cars to Ballarat along the paved road. Along the way we stopped at the Indian Ranch where Ron Jones introduced himself to the residents there as a former Ranch resident. We were welcomed by the caretaker family; however, our charm could not win over the geese that continue to hiss at us. After lunch at Ballarat, we caravaned further south to Goler Wash. The road here was recently graded (the grader was still chugging around in the area) and the ride up the canyon was only hindered by gravity. We did not make it to Barker Ranch as planned, deciding to turn around at the Lotus Mine. While resting at the Lotus Mine, the bike riders were met by Suzanne, Leora, and Tanya who came up the canyon on foot. So, why bother with bikes when one can get places in the mountains just as fast on foot? After returning to the cars everyone got an early start home. Many thanks to Leora Jones and Suzanne Mamedalin for assisting in shuttling the cars around. And, we commend Walter Belhoon for his faith in our leadership.

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