Coast to Coast (and back?) with an Italian Supermodel

Anti... how did you hear of the Black Hoof in Toronto? I watched the youtube video and want to check it out next time in TO.I lived there from 1985 - 1990 what a great city. I am from Nova Scotia..bet you havn't been there yet! Put it on your list of must see places.Rock on brother,enjoying your MC travel/ride report..great pictures!

As a scientist, I take borax for granted when in the lab. Because of your pics, I want to harvest it.

I'd highly recommend picking up bitters from Bittercube.com. Not only are Nick and Ira great guys and outstanding mixologists, they make some of the most flavorful bitters I've ever tasted. Their limited edition Lemon Tree bitters are excellent in a gin and tonic. Also...if you want to go whole hog on the G&T, pick up some Q Tonic.

AH, I only just stumbled onto this RR 3 days ago, and finally caught up last night. Thank you for the fantastic photos and insights.

I've ridden a lot of the southern part of the US from coast to coast, including NOLA & DV, and agree those are amazing destinations. Having been to DV twice on weekends, I'm curious what day(s) of the week you were there to avoid the crowds?

Anyway, continued safe travels and best wishes on your book! :)

*delurk*

Add me to the ever-growing list of people who joined ADVRider just because of AntiHero. I've relished every single pixel of this RR and am hoping against hope that AH will richochet off California and continue to carom around North America for a few more years, just so we can have some more eye and brain candy to enjoy.

Yeah, OK, I'm selfish that way.

As for me, I'm firmly ensconced in San Francisco, where an "adventure ride" means slaloming across trolley tracks on a rainy day, but this has inspired me to try to find a way to become unstuck -- as Kurt Vonnegut would say -- sometime soon, or at least before the big multiple-of-10 birthday I have coming up.

I'm totally stuck as well. I have a son to watch. However, I am enjoying my time with my son. :)

Where is the Black Hoof mentioned in AH's thread? I musta missed it. For the past 5 months I have lived a block from "The Hoof." It is my neighbourhood bar :) Love it?

Funny how much we avoid trying new things without realizing that there aren't any valid reasons not to. Glad you're enjoying the drink. I did a little research and it turns out the drink dates from the 1850s. It's *gasp* called a "Pink Gin." Not very original, nor manly (to be fair, up until the 1940s there were still arguments that, because it was closer to red (fire), pink was a more appropriate color than blue (which was closely associated with the Virgin Mary) for little boys. In any case, I think the drink could use an updated name. Here's the interesting history of it, though (from Wiki):

Pink gin is a typically British way of enjoying gin. It is widely agreed that the drink was first created by members of the Royal Navy. Plymouth gin is a 'sweet' gin and was added to Angostura bitters to make the consumption of Angostura bitters more enjoyable.
Angostura bitters were discovered as a cure for sea sickness in 1824 by Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert.
The British Royal Navy then brought the idea for the drink to bars in Britain, where this method of serving was first noted on the mainland. By the 1870s, gin was becoming increasingly popular and many of the finer establishments in Britain were serving Pink Gin.

140 years later rediscovered. :)

Thanks for joining. I lurked for long time on ADV, too, soaking up others' ride reports while the need to strike out and ride on my own built up and built up over the years. I'll be back up in SF sometime soon--out of all the big cities I've ridden in, SF is the absolute best. (Trolley tracks (and those sickeningly awful cheese grater vents for Muni on Market) notwithstanding.) I'll be back soon, rain or shine. :)

The best time to go is the day after Memorial day or Labor day. The park is empty! Anytime in the summer is good, too. You'll see tour buses, but 120 degree heat tends to keep people away. :)

I was staying just down the street. Can't recall exactly how I heard about it, but I'm happy I did. (Page 30, btw)

DV not over yet! :)



Last day in Death Valley the strangest thing happened. RAIN!



This is what the grounds for the Furnace Creek Inn look like.



There were a few last places I was going to hit up on my way out of DV. I didn't want to leave, though. Partly because I felt I could spend another week here and not get bored and partly because once I left I knew the end would be near. I relished every last minute, though (and I think I subconsciously wanted to get stuck, which is exactly what nearly happened here:).









A trail/overlook on the way up to Artist's Palette (the scene from Star Wars in which R2D2 was attacked by Jawas was filmed nearby).







Roller Coaster:


You can begin to see minerals bleeding out of the hills:



More fun:

So crazy.. you must have been in DV the one day it has rained in the last few years!

Artist's Palette:
The colors in the hills are caused by the oxidation of different metals (red, pink and yellow are from iron salts, green is from decomposing mica, and manganese produces the purple). The formation is the result of a violently explosive volcanic period in Death Valley's history.

Badwater:






Looks a little like standing on the moon. Badwater basin is a massive expanse of table salt, though.



Rains 1.9" a year and has an evaporation rate of 150" a year!

I love these photos AH.............beautiful stuff!!!! I really want to see for myself now..

About 10 min. after leaving Badwater I ran into those wily coyotes:

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That self-portrait is really nice. Judging from this thread I think it shows very well who you are.

Nice pictures from Badwater, too! I have never seen it so wet.

I'd spent a little time with a couple Coyotes in DV before. They're fairly tame and just want food (of course, they're unpredictable and could definitely tear someone up properly if they wanted to). Definitely never a good idea to feed wild animals--for their health and your own safety--but anyone who's read this far knows how much I like bad ideas. :) What I did discover was that unlike dogs, these guys aren't used to taking food from someone's hand and error on the side of going too far when judging distances. Though the little fucker moved up pretty slowly, he lunged at the last minute, made a horrific kind of growling/gulping sound, opened his jaws far, far too wide and would have nailed my fingers if I hadn't pulled back and dropped the grub.








When I was all out of food I jumped back on the bike and took off. And when I looked in the rear view mirror I saw them both chasing me down. I slowed down and they just ran with me as if the Ducati was some sort of snarling alpha male they felt safe being near. Was a very cool man/machine/wild animal moment. I couldn't have asked for a better sendoff, especially considering what was coming next.

Thank you. The picture captures the essence of this adventure for me and it's the one I think I'll be able to look back at when I'm a frail old man and feel triumphant, no matter how the rest of my life might turn out.

Are you still in the Valley? I saw a Panigale flying along the road to Austin the other day and thought, "no way!"

One of the best pictures!
Looks like it's being submissive tot he bike.