Day six

Day six started at 6:30 am Michigan time...which is 3:30 am West Coast time. I watched The Weather Channel last night and saw that the temp in Vegas was supposed to reach 106 today. Which is why I wanted to leave while it was still dark and cooler.

Cooler is a relative term. It was 47 degrees when I pulled out of the parking lot in Jackpot, NV. I tried the local general stores the night before to see if I could at least get a sweatshirt. No dice. I made it a whole 20 miles with steadily dropping temps before I knew that I was in trouble. Hypothermia can impair your judgment as much as being drunk. I still had enough judgment to realize this. I stopped and checked Zumo and discovered that I was 25 miles from a Truckstop. If anyone would have a jacket, they would.

I first needed to warm up, so I got off and pushed the bike for a bit until I was warm. I didn't want to work up a sweat. If I did that, I'd freeze to death before I made it 2 miles. I repeated this procedure once more as I closed to within 7 miles of the truck stop. The entire time, there was not another vehicle on the road with me.

The truck stop did have a thermal sweat shirt which I gladly paid $19 for. I also got the clerk to give me a couple of heavy duty trash bags to use as wind barriers to help keep the warmth in. It was a good thing I found some warmth because the temp got low enough for the Ice Warning Light to start flashing a few times. 35 degrees.

So less than 4 hours after the sun rises, it's well into the 90's and it's 103 by the time I get to Vegas.

The time I spent alone pushing the bike in the pitch blackness of the desert was actually quite pleasant. It was very relaxing and I've never seen so many stars. The only sound was my foot steps. If I wasn't so cold, it could have actually been relaxing.

On the bright side of the day, the Vegas BMW shop got my bike in and out in just 2 hours for it's 12,000 mile service. I checked into the 4 Star Westin Hotel (which I got on priceline.com for $72 a night). This is the view out of my window. I'm a block off of the strip behind the Flamingo Hotel and across the street from Ballys.

While I was waiting on my bike to be done, I looked around the shop for a liner for my jacket to replace the one I lost. Of course, they didn't sell JUST the liners. I had to special order it and it would be here in a few days. Uhh...I can't wait that long. What's my other option? A new jacket. Perfect. That makes...what? 4 now? Well, if I have to get a whole new jacket, let's make it a good one!
Not bad, eh?

Mileage for the day: 536
Mileage for the trip: 3380