Death Valley pre-run

News about sidecars competing in the Dakar Rally and other enduro related items

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Death Valley pre-run

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Over the weekend we were out in Death Valley and Little Dumont mapping out a portion of the route for the "Death Valley Rally" (to be run next month). As reported earlier, I had prepared a 100 mile (160km) route on paper using standard maps, Google Earth satellite photography, and associated GPS coordinates.

Once out there we quickly learned that what looks like a good road on a map and satellite photos may not be a very good road at all. Portions of the route we had planned were nearly impassable with a sidecar, or even a solo motorcycle. There was significant erosion that turned roads into nasty rock and boulder paths, with regular wash-outs 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) deep. In some parts the roads had completely disappeared, forcing us to navigate only by GPS. To add to our difficulties, it was 103F (40C) degrees in the shade, and the sun lit ground was 150F (66C) degrees!!! It didn’t take long riding and pushing through the boulder patches and wash-outs at 2mph (3km/h) in this heat before we started looking for ways to shorten the route utilizing only the somewhat improved roads. We returned to camp for some rest and a review of the maps.

On the maps we found what we believed were more realistic roads, and set out to see close up. We had some success, and by mid-day Sunday we had mapped out and documented in roadbook format a tough but passable 40 mile (65km) short route. After a bit more rest and refreshments we headed back out to see if we could add a bit more to the route length. Two hours later we returned with more nightmare experiences of horrible terrain. We came to appreciate the simplicity of rolling sand dunes. As difficult as dunes may be, they don’t compare with cactus infested boulder gardens with wash-outs thrown in to bring you to repeated quick and complete halts. In early January, a really tough crew might be able to follow our original route, though at a very slow pace. But mid-summer in Death Valley makes even smooth dirt roads miserable. There was a reason there were no other people parked out at Little Dumont, and there was a reason we never saw a single vehicle on any of dirt roads and trails we traveled. IT’S CRAZY!!!

Overall we chalked this one up as a moderate success. We learned the sidecar could be ridden across some really nasty terrain. We proved the sidecar chassis and motor were up to the challenge. And we learned not to ever try this again in mid-summer in Death Valley.

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Sorry, no photos from the route. The camera broke out on the boulder trails, even though it was in a padded bag. Just a few photos from early Saturday:


Who are these crazy people?
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Duane baking in the sun:
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Tools for the weekend:
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