Day 12

20th May 2006
Laughlin NV – Victoriaville CA

29218 – 29441 (223 miles)

Off by 7am this morning to try and get some miles in before it gets too hot, it is already in the 80’sf, we head out of town a few miles and stop for a photo opportunity of views across the desert, what a wonderful sight. It is scrubland with course sand; we ride on and are soon in California and after a ride of about half an hour stop again for a break the heat is really building up already. The place is abandoned general store at a place called Goff’s, it appears that someone is in the process of restoring the place but it is a long way to go before it is even close to being finished. The ground is a very fine sand and we sink slightly in as we pass over it, certainly in this trip no matter what fear you may have about riding in rain, over mountains with drops or loose surfaces we have faced everything on this trip.
We carry on again only for a short while before another break, ensuring that we are replacing body fluids, you just do not feel it going away the air is so dry. At our stop, a gas station the prices are daylight robbery over $5 a gallon, I suppose that if you are the only gas station in the middle of nowhere you can charge what you like. Fortunately, we do not need gas just the rest; the view is great here with palm trees framing the scene. Watered we move on and the road stretches for miles across the desert another photo opportunity taken, people have written there name with stones along the side of the road. Paton trained his tank corps here during the Second World War before going to the deserts of Africa.

We carryon to Amboy and Roy’s café, another abandoned property but one with hope, a local businessman has brought the property only at the beginning of the month and intends to do it up to its former glory. It is again in the middle of nowhere, but there is a post office opposite, the local school has also been shut and boarded up. As had been the adjacent hotel, chairs, tables and curtains left behind.

We ride on across the desert and soon the road becomes very rough, probably the worst road along the whole route, enough to knock out your fillings, potholes all over the place, weeds are taking over the side of the road and in places encroach onto the road surface It is a rough ride. We are riding at the boundary of Crater National Park, cannot see the big crater but there is sign of volcanic activity in the area and there are small black craters dotted along the road. They stand several hundred feet high. Eventually the road smoothes out and we stop off at the Bagdad café at Newberry Springs. The desert stretches towards the mountains ahead of us scrubland to the side arriving at Bristow for lunch we only have 30 miles to go and an early day with a dip in the pool to cool off.

We have only been on the road a few minutes when a red light splits the group; I come to a stop at the line as the car coming out from the left moves off. When from behind there is the sound of tyres screeching and the next thing I know, I am hit from behind and sent forward and to my right ending up on the ground. One of the other riders has misjudged everything and run into the back of me. I’m lucky only a bang to the left shin and slight whiplash, I think my leathers have taken the brunt of the impact. The other rider is not so lucky he has hurt his elbow and we think that it is broken. The police attend and he is taken off to hospital, my details are taken then the police go off to the hospital to see the other person. The bike has taken quite a knock the left pannier has been ripped off the crash bars are bent and one of the side panels has also been broken off. A few other scratches to boot but the bike starts up and I get back on and re-join the group and head off to the hotel, Route 66 has gone onto to become a highway with very little of the original left.

We arrive at the hotel a few hours later than planned and once unpacked, I go into the pool to ease a few aches, the pool is cold but that could be because I feel so hot. The pool works out the aches and cools me down after about an hour have had enough and go for a shower to freshen up for the evening meal. The farewell meal was a bit subdued after today’s events; we were missing the Hungarians who were at the hospital together with one of the Swede’s (acting as interpreter), Gary and Stewart. Don just made it in time for the meal which was paid for by Eaglerider Tours. Tomorrow seems to be a deflation of the tour the completion is LA freeways, which is virtually from the moment we leave the hotel; it could prove an interesting ride, as it will be the first bit of heavy traffic we have faced since Chicago.