Lee Hart's Web Site
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Lee Hart's Web Site
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I just started riding in April 1997. My first bike is a Ducati Monster M900 . It's a fun bike and IMHO a reasonable (except expensive) first bike. Lightweight, low seat height, adequate power. Several months later I test rode a BMW K1200RS . The K12 is much larger (~50% heavier) but it is also much more powerful (130 HP vs. ~ 70 HP). It's also a far better bike to tour with (better luggage available, more space to strap things to). Unfortunately for my wallet, I was sold. It's hard carrying even enough gear for a weekend on a Monster, and I do enjoy taking longer trips. It doesn't help that I couldn't bear to part with the Monster; it's too much fun on shorter trips. I had been meaning to take a vacation for some time. I wanted to visit a friend ( Brian Cruikshank ) in Boulder, CO and also to see my sister 's new house in Corona, CA. When I heard about the Internet BMW Riders Death Valley Days III Rally I knew I wanted to go. I got the crazy notion that I could do all of these by riding my K12 down to Las Vegas (another place I've wanted to go but never been to before), fly from Vegas to Denver to visit Brian, return to Vegas, ride to Corona to visit my sister and her family, and then go to Death Valley for the rally before returning home. Making the trip even more likely was the fact that two of my coworkers would be taking long vacations (3 and 4 weeks) in March, leaving me somewhat overworked then. There was little to no possibility for me to take a vacation between February and April as a result. The fact that people told me I was crazy to even consider such a long trip in the middle of winter only cemented my plans. When Brian let me know when he could get time off from work I bought my plane tickets and started finalizing my plans. From the start I knew that I couldn't and wouldn't make day-by-day plans about where I would be and what I would be doing. First, many things could interrupt my travels and throw my schedule off. Second, I don't enjoy following rigid schedules. If I like something I prefer to be able to linger a little longer; if not I like to be able to move on. Of course this didn't appease those that are concerned for my health (mental or otherwise). For the two weeks I would be gone I could only tell them the times I'd be on a plane and the time that I'd be checked into a hotel in Death Valley. I could tell them other places I wanted to visit but not necessarily when I'd be there. This was what lead to the first entries in what would become this travel log. After each day of riding I'd send a trip report so that those concerned could know that I wasn't in a ditch beside the road, or worse.
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