"Hey Eric, let's take a shortcut."

These words have haunted us before but this one seemed to make eminent sense. We could cut the hypotenuse and save 40 miles. It was the second recommended route on the infamous "AppleMaps," which, perversely, suggested to us that it was the preferred route. The scenery looked gorgeous, cutting between two mountain ranges east of Nowhere, Nevada. And this was really nowhere. Besides it was only thirty two miles according to AppleMaps.
Four hours later, George and I slumped on our bikes and we reentered the world of paved roads on Route 93 south toward Las Vegas. We had covered over 40 miles of graveled dirt roads but these were not our friendly gravel roads that we have ventured on so often. Lots of loose gravel. First gear gravel and wobbling front wheels about to go down kind of gravel.
We saw two cars on the dirt today. Neither was friendly and the white pick up almost took me out coming over a blind rise. It was challenging and even fun. For the first twenty miles or so. And then we concluded we were really lost. The voice over the microphone sounded concerned. How much water was left in my camelback (almost none)? If we have to stay out, how cold could it get? (George never gets cold). Could I find the spare batteries for my handheld GPS? No cell phone signals out here.
The GPS showed the two mountain ranges coming together but that looked a long long way away. Off to our right, a mile or so off the main dirt road was a large semi truck and what appeared to be a 14 foot rental van. There was a meeting. What's going on over there, I asked George. Should we take a look? It seemed like a potential major drug exchange. "What are you thinking?" asked George.
You can't appreciate the remoteness of this place if you are from the east. We haven't seen a police car in four days. No one ever comes to these places. Off in the distance, you often see a collection of trailers or small homes made out of what appear to be scrap metals. We went up a few dirt roads to see these settlements but turned around quickly. BMW's are not welcome vehicles in these parts.
Fortunately, the winds were calm today and there were no tumbleweeds. We first encountered these devils in Arizona. It was amusing at first as I tried to avoid the small ones and you could see them coming from across the scrub. But as the winds picked up, these weeds became small monsters and they came into the road fast, sometimes lingering and swirling in front of us. What if I hit one? Not clear. The wheel and spokes might just chew it up but it was just not clear. So we just went slow and played dodgeball.
So we are safe in Las Vegas and the dangers that we conjure up are largely illusory. Probably the most dangerous place we visited was the bathroom at the Best Western. A very fun, challenging trip that we both enjoyed tremendously. Initial orthopedic issues that somehow got resolved with harder riding and more adventures. Lots of envious admiration of our bikes and, by extension, us. We looked the part; dusty rugged adventurers in black motorcycle suits and body armor strapped to our t shirts which we always enjoy showing off. Never ever a plan or a reservation. It will somehow work out, even if we have to sleep under a bridge. The road will take us where it takes us.
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Location:N Boulder Hwy,Henderson,United States