Death Valley - March 2019
Channel: Doug Johnson
Date: 2019-04-09

VIDEO #1 - This is my first foray into trying to capture my moto adventures on video.  There were lots of mistakes, and a few issues with the equipment.  I think the result is decent, I wish I had more footage of Northern Cali, as it was spectacular.

OBJECTIVE:  Rolls and I journeyed South towards warmer climes in search of sunshine and some dirt riding in the desert.  We found both in spades...however, I also found myself on the ground with some broken bones; I lost the front end in a sandy section of the trail at about 40mph.  We were traversing the Hunter Mountain trail en route to the Racetrack. It was a flukey crash, and one which I shouldn't have gotten hurt so bad on.  The result was an all-afternoon effort to get me and my Tiger 800 back to camp, and eventually get me to the ER.  My trip was cut short, and I had to fly home from Las Vegas the next day to schedule surgery.  Through the efforts of Rolls and our new moto friends, my bike and my body both made it back to the PNW in one piece!  Rolls made the return journey solo like a badass, and had no issues!  He became my caretaker after the crash, and I owe him mucho. 

With all that said, the trip down to Death Valley was spectacular.  We saw all four seasons over the course of the 1,000 mile journey South, and it was a great shakedown ride for future adventures.  We met some great moto peeps at Panamint, and made some new friends in short order.  

More to come, thanks for watching!

STATISTICS:

Day 1 Tacoma to Reno, NV - 680 Miles
Day 2 Reno NV to Panamint Springs, 396 Miles
Total Miles ridden South to Camp - 1,076 Miles
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Bike issues - 2 (1 chain, 1 crash)
Rider issues - 1 (poor riding line judgement)
Bones broken - 4 (1 clavicle, 3 ribs)
Whiskey consumed - Much
Friends made - Plenty
Regrets - 0

MUSIC:  Night Owl by Broke For Free - http://brokeforfree.com
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.