Saturday June 25
After a 9 AM breakfast the playa players Linda Babcock, Bob Hall, Pete Hackett, my wife Linda and I left to go ride on the playa and do some exploring. Our first stop was the IBA (Iron Butt Association) memorial which has stones marked with the names of departed Iron Butt riders. One of these stones is for Linda's husband Norm. Linda wrote a message on the back side which was quite moving to watch. Bob and Linda knew many of the people who were remembered there and I knew a lot of the names.
Then we looked at some of the stone plaques that people have put up alongside the dirt road with humorous, witty or philosophical sayings on them. There is probably close to a mile of these stones.
Out on the dry lake we took it easy as we were not sure if the dry lake was really all that dry. It is no fun to hit a big mudhole at speed as the bike stops and the rider keeps going. Don't ask me how I know that! This is a big dry lake and it is easy to get lost on as everything looks the same. My GPS shows a trail of where I have been so I could use that to get back to the exit onto the road. We rode about 15 miles north on the lake before we turned back to return to Gerlach.
On the way back I noticed that Bob and Linda were no longer visible in my mirrors so Pete and I returned to see where they were. Earlier we had seen 2 horses and a colt in a field. When Linda got to that spot the horses walked onto the road so she stopped for pictures. The horses finally crowded around Pete's motorcycle. They ignored us and even my offer of a granola bar. They were very protective of the colt.
Finally we were back in Gerlach and had a light lunch in Bruno's casino/bar/restaurant. We sat there all afternoon telling stories and had a wonderful time. We went back to our`rooms after a light dinner. Bob and Pete will leave at 4 AM to ride the 1050 miles straight to Albuquerque. Linda and I will leave whenever we wake up and take a slightly longer route to Albuquerque and take 2 days to get home. Linda Babcock is going to Denver and will take a completely different direction. She is a very accomplished long distance rider and will probably complete her trip in one day.
After a 9 AM breakfast the playa players Linda Babcock, Bob Hall, Pete Hackett, my wife Linda and I left to go ride on the playa and do some exploring. Our first stop was the IBA (Iron Butt Association) memorial which has stones marked with the names of departed Iron Butt riders. One of these stones is for Linda's husband Norm. Linda wrote a message on the back side which was quite moving to watch. Bob and Linda knew many of the people who were remembered there and I knew a lot of the names.
Then we looked at some of the stone plaques that people have put up alongside the dirt road with humorous, witty or philosophical sayings on them. There is probably close to a mile of these stones.
Out on the dry lake we took it easy as we were not sure if the dry lake was really all that dry. It is no fun to hit a big mudhole at speed as the bike stops and the rider keeps going. Don't ask me how I know that! This is a big dry lake and it is easy to get lost on as everything looks the same. My GPS shows a trail of where I have been so I could use that to get back to the exit onto the road. We rode about 15 miles north on the lake before we turned back to return to Gerlach.
On the way back I noticed that Bob and Linda were no longer visible in my mirrors so Pete and I returned to see where they were. Earlier we had seen 2 horses and a colt in a field. When Linda got to that spot the horses walked onto the road so she stopped for pictures. The horses finally crowded around Pete's motorcycle. They ignored us and even my offer of a granola bar. They were very protective of the colt.
Finally we were back in Gerlach and had a light lunch in Bruno's casino/bar/restaurant. We sat there all afternoon telling stories and had a wonderful time. We went back to our`rooms after a light dinner. Bob and Pete will leave at 4 AM to ride the 1050 miles straight to Albuquerque. Linda and I will leave whenever we wake up and take a slightly longer route to Albuquerque and take 2 days to get home. Linda Babcock is going to Denver and will take a completely different direction. She is a very accomplished long distance rider and will probably complete her trip in one day.
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