In March 2013 I travelled to the Mojave Desert in the USA, to cycle over 420km across Death Valley and through the surrounding mountain ranges. Death Valley holds the record as the hottest place on earth with a high of over 56C. We experienced a challenging mix of 30mph head winds, dust storms, temperatures of up to 40C, and several mountain climbs of over 5000 feet.
Photographs from the challenge are shown below.
at the entrance to Death Valley National Park .....the largest park in the USA at over 3000 square miles ...
no sat nav required for the next 20 miles ...
... extremely hot and dry ... and the dessert is too ...
... at the Devil’s Cornfield, just outside Stovepipe Wells
... good advice for children in Furnace Creek – which holds the record for the hottest place on earth at 56.7C ...
... cars suffer from the heat too ... "avoid overheating turn off A/C next 20 miles" ...
no sign of surf here ... the Death Valley National park drops to 282 feet below sea level at Badwater Basin ...
... and with several mountain passes over 5000 feet ... at Emigrant Pass (5318 feet) ...
the vast and stunning expanse of Death Valley ...
... when it does rain in Death Valley (2.5”
per year) it is torrential creating floods ... note the sign is also used for
drive by shooting practice .
Mesquite Dunes ... films including Star Wars have been filmed here ...
... at the spectacular Zabriskie Point, on our way out of Death Valley
... after 5 days and over 260 miles, we are met by Elvis at our finish line
at the end of the Las Vegas Strip.
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