Getting Started

I know what you are thinking. Sure it has a scary name, but is Death Valley really that dangerous? Yes it is, and that’s a fact. Just take a look at these very scary Death Valley place names, Badwater Basin, Funeral Peak, Devil’s Hole and Furnace Creek.

Death Valley is so dangerous that even Charles Manson and his acid crazed Mansonites chose the Panamint Mountain Range as a hideout. It was from here that Manson planned to incite a worldwide race war, the result of which would leave a victorious black nation, but a black nation ill equipped and unable to rule. Enter Charles Manson to lend an evil hand. Does it really sound like a walk in the park to you?

Enter Charles Manson to lend an evil hand

Disclaimer: some, all, or none of the following is true.

Let me break it down for those who have never visited the hottest, driest and most snake infested part of North America. OK, it’s not really infested by snakes, but it is both very hot and dry. Death Valley is hot, so hot that at 134F, Furnace Creek held the record for the highest air temperature recorded on Earth, and in that same year of 1922 the ground temperature was measured at over 200F. And while we are on the subject or records, during the summer of 2001, Death Valley recorded 154 consecutive days of temperatures in excess of 100F.

Take a look at any Death Valley map and you will see that the surrounding landscape is dotted with beautifully named lakes, names that conjure beautiful images of mirrored sunsets and oasis views. Silver, Mesquite and Coyote Lake are to name but a few. But look again and you will see that every lake is dry, a baron dust bowl of dusty dust. Death Valley is dry, so dry that in the years of 1929 and 1953 no rain was recorded. The driest stretch on record was only just over ½ an inch of rain over a 3 year period.

At 282 feet below sea level, Death Valley is in the top 10 of Earths lowest elevations. But what does that actually mean to you and me? In Death Valley the effects on the human body will be the exact polar opposite of those found on the moon. In short, the opposite rules of gravity will apply. So while in space NASA’s astronauts are having difficulty in staying on the ground, we will be struggling to put one foot in front of another. Death Valley is devoid of any moisture, and the desert like arid air evaporates all known liquids, including oil. This is bad news for the bikes. I read yesterday that a cyclist attempting the same route had to abandon his ride almost immediately, as his handle bars snapped in 3 places and both tyres exploded, and this happened just in sight of the National Parks welcome sign. It’s going to be a tough ride.

Of course all of these record temperatures were recorded during the summer months of July and August, and we will be travelling during November. But the scorpions, spiders, killer bees, death ants and rattle snakes will still be there, and they will still be hungry.

Now, I don’t know if you have been watching the news lately, but there’s this thing called global warming. Our air temperature is rising, and the upshot of this is that the polar ice caps are melting, but why? The industrial revolution has burnt a hole in our protective atmosphere [or the ozone as my mum likes to call it], and the suns destructive rays are slowly cooking the planet. Like an unattended pan of soup on the stove, Earth is going to boil over and everyone will die. But that’s not important right now. What is important is that Death Valley is actually getting hotter, and by the time we arrive in California next year, it will be as hot as a jalapeño in high heels.

Keep all of this in mind when you’re thinking about how much to sponsor us. Oh, did I forget to mention the sponsorship? As Death Valley is so dry, we thought it appropriate to try and raise some money for WaterAid. Check out the following link to see how WaterAid helps those that have to live in some of the driest places on Earth.

www.wateraid.com

In an effort to apply some pressure on my friends that like the idea, but can’t commit to the ride, I have published their photographs. As they decide that the adventure isn’t for them, and they will, I’ll let you know who didn’t make the cut, and strike their shameful pictures from the website.

The other entries in this travelblog are currently empty, but they are dated so that you can see when we are planning the trip.