I recently returned from a bicycle tour through Death Valley National Park. The tour was a van supported tour offered by the Adventure Cycling Association. Adventure Cycling’s mission is to inspire and empower people to travel by bicycle. With the van supported tour our camping gear and food was transported each day to the next campground. Our tour leader and chef were friendly, knowledgeable and experienced. The food was great and something to look forward to each day as we rode an average of about 60 miles. The 11 other riders were friendly and fun to be with. There was a lot of laughter on the trip.
Over the 5 days of cycling we rode just over 300 miles which included over 15,000 feet of climbing. That was a fair bit of climbing for legs that hadn’t spent much time on a bike over the long, snowy winter. I guess all of the cross country skiing that I did over the winter paid off as it didn’t take too long for my body to adapt to the daily riding.
We camped at Furnace Creek Campground (192 ft. below sea level), Mesquite Spring Campground (1,800 ft. above sea level) and at an RV park in Shoshone (1,585 ft. above sea level).
A highlight of the trip was our visit to Scotty’s Castle, north of the Mesquite Spring Campground. The castle, actually named Death Valley Ranch, was constructed in the 1920’s. It was amazing to see a structure like that built in such a remote location.
On one of the more challenging days, we covered about 70 miles and rode from Furnace Creek to Shoshone, passing through the Badwater Basin, the lowest spot in North America at an elevation of 282′ below sea level. We climbed to Jubilee Pass (1,293′) and Salsbury Pass (3,315′) before descending to the village of Shoshone just outside the park.
During the day the temperatures reached the 80s and 90s. The relative humidity was very low each day so if was hot and very dry. On the hottest day, one of the riders said his cycle computer recorded a temperature of 104F out on the open road.
It was a great adventure and the riding was enjoyable and challenging at times. I’d like to return to Death Valley again some day to do more cycling and more exploration of this fascinating area.