28 MOTORCYCLE MOJO JULY 2019
As if the desert was smiling on us for
our random act of kindness the night
before, we woke to a hot sun blazing
down and the wind completely gone.
We peeled off our layers and raced
out onto the highway west into Death
Valley.
Often touted as one of the hottest
places on the planet, it did not
disappoint. The heat was palpable, dry-
ing our bones, and our pasty Canadian
skin burned in the sun. Any vestiges
of roadside civilization slipped away
as we passed through Baker and past
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vast expanse of dry lakebeds and sand
dunes. At one point, we rode over a hill
to expose an 8 km stretch of empty road
across what could have been an ocean a
million years ago.
The Devil Says, “Twist It”
The spirit of the devil’s weed took hold
of our throttle hands as we opened up
the Thruxton 1200 and T-120 for all they
were worth across the lakebed. Speed
blurred the lines on the road and the
bikes were barking between high-rpm
shifts until the rev limiters kicked us
back into reality.
As the sun began to set on the third
day, we made our way to our Airbnb
lodgings, the Villa Anita. In a place
called Death Valley, where people
usually go to escape and not be found,
the villa was an oasis. Billed as a living
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