Motorcycle Explorer December 2014 Issue 3 | Page 152

what must have been the ancient tributaries of the rivers and
lakes. As I rode on I could see I was flanked by mountains to my
left and right, about ten miles off in all directions. The land in
between the distant peaks was brutally flat but the thought
occurred to me that the 40 was actually traveling through what
was once a salt lake in this area. The mountains seemed to act as
a wind stop preventing the sand from blowing away and in this
area it was like talcum powder.
The early going wasn’t too bad, I was having thoughts like "Hmm
is it that the road is easier today, or am I just getting better?" A
piece of advice if you ever find yourself uttering the worlds, "Am I
just getting better?" the next thing you should do is head off and
buy yourself a very good jock strap, because there’s always a
mighty kick in the balls coming. Things were going so well I even
pulled over to have a look at two ghost towns. Much like the
previous day, I passed only two cars and one truck all day,
somehow it seemed very appropriate to be in a ghost town given
there was no one around for miles and miles.
It wasn’t long before I was back on the talcum powder roads and
was kicking up an enormous dust cloud which enveloped me any
time I stopped, by the way having a dust cloud catch up to you
and completely surround you when you stop, is one of the
biggest dude moments there is. The road was so bad in places
that for long stretches to get I had to stick my two legs out to act
like stabilizers and burn along in first gear, it was really hard