Great Thanksgiving Day Ride

I finally got a chance to get out and ride some yesterday as all I do lately is ride to school a couple of days a week.

I rode out to Pahrump, NV from Las Vegas (about 70 miles west and 8 miles from the California border) and from there did a loop through Death Valley (mostly in California). I've ridden across the park a few times, but I took my time yesterday and was pleasantly surprised how hilly and curvy the roads are. After riding to Shoshone on hwy 178, I rode up and over a couple of passes to include Jubilee Pass before descending down into the main valley where Badwater is (about -290' below sea level..lowest spot in the US). Outside how flat it was across this saltflat area (the road winds along the edge and isn't straight at all), most of the time was going up and down and around curves through the whole loop. From Badwater I headed north to Furnace Creek where it intersects with hwy 190, then east to Death Valley Jct. At that point you climb and climb back out of the park and back into Nevada to Pahrump. The loop itself is about 160 miles. Since I accidentally headed north at Death Valley Jct, I added about 15 miles to the ride. With the to and fro from Pahrump back to Las Vegas I rode 319 miles all together. It was getting late and I had to ride from Pahrump back to Las Vegas in the dark. The canyon road along Red Rock (just west of Las Vegas) was a trip at night, but I arrived safe back home at 6pm just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. With it being sunny, 70º and calm winds out, I couldn't have asked for a better day for a ride. It was just a shame I didn't have anybody to ride along with.

Hope ya'll had a great turkey day and dinner!

SK,
Great ride wish I could have joined you. I use to be stationed at Nellis (83-87). I liked to ride out to Lake Mead and back through Boulder, henderson and back in town. However things have changed since then. I went back in 2000 and couldn't believe the changes.


Dino

Sounds like a buncha fun. I smoked a turkey as usual. Had a nice dinner. I spent an hour or two servicing the SV so long as I was stuck cooking and not riding. Beautiful out Thursday, high 70s, clear until the late afternoon. Checked the valve lash. It's supposed to be done at 15K and I just turned 16. None of 'em were out. Sorta made me mad to pull the cam covers and have none of 'em need a shim. Gonna need a chain and sprockets soon. It's starting to need frequent adjustments and I can see some wear in the rear sprocket.

Here's a non HD (belt drives) tech question for those who might have an opinion, but I can get a DID X Ring chain for 100 bucks and an O ring chain for 80. I'm tempted to spend the extra 20 for the X ring, but don't know if it's really any better (IE, will it last longer). Anyone have any experience with this comparison? The thing came with an O Ring chain on it and it went this far with only a couple of adjustments and a clean and lube occasionally. That's pretty danged decent compared to the old chain days.

I'd like to get a chain with a clip type master link. Most, anymore, have the stake type, but I don't have a staking tool. I've done it with a hammer and punch, before, but it's a PITA. It can be done, though. I really have no paranoia about clip type links, though. Been racing with 'em for years. When you have to regularly add or subtract links with gearing adjustments, you have to run clip style master links.

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Things have changed a lot in 20 years Dino. The traffic out to the dam area and back is pretty congested these days. When the new bridge over the Colorado River just down river from the dam is complete in 2008, it'll make going to the dam and Lake Mead much easier.