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Joshua Tree National Park was the closest land-based park to my home , so my route took me northeast into the deserts of California and Nevada . Joshua Tree was a phenomenal park from which to start my journey , as I came to find out , it is quite unique in so many ways with the very odd-shaped plants that reminded me of a Dr . Seuss book .
The first day , and the first park , was going quite well as I rode into the storybook landscape that conjured up images of a fantasyland inspired by one of my favorite childhood authors . This first park was a warm-up , if you will , into the weather I would encounter the next few days as well as throughout my travels .
My first meteorological event was quickly encountered on day two . Traversing up the southern entrance of Death Valley into the geological depressions that lay many parts of the park below sea level , I came into heat in epic numbers and started to grasp the namesake of the park . As I rode , I continued to watch the bike ’ s thermometer continually rise in single-digit increments , like a videogame , of degrees Fahrenheit until I reached the visitor ’ s centre at Furnace Creek , so aptly named , where the ‘ official ’ temperature was 124 degrees ( 51 Celsius ). What I did not expect was the media to be in full force interviewing the park rangers only to be sidelined when I approached to scurry across the parking lot and get my testimonial as to why I was riding in this heat . What was I thinking ? What was wrong with me ? Was I crazy ? Did I hear about motorcyclists and hikers who had died in Death Valley ? Did I know how hot it actually was ? The questions of sanity immediately rained down on me .
The thermometer continued to climb later in the afternoon by several degrees to set a park record . Lucky me ? My riding partner at the time , Nigel , had the soles of his boots drop-off due to the melting glue . Not sure if I was a hero or an idiot , but I had friends as far away as England call and inform me they saw me on BBC television that was broadcast around the world .
This was my first encounter , on only day two , with the unforeseen challenges of this adventure I had embarked upon . I began questioning the wisdom of this departure date yet reminded myself that I would be riding at over 3,600 + metres in Rocky Mountain National Park and I would encounter winter weather in a few short weeks . I had carefully , and with a logical plan , thought this all out . Or did I ? Should I change the course and revise my plan ? A lot of forethought had gone into the most efficient plan , yet this had to be balanced with staying alive .
In the coming days , I became an adaptive learner . I learned that a motorcycle does not have a Faraday Cage that prevents injury or death from a direct lightning
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