Picto Diary - 11 to 12 October 2025 - Duc to Palo Alto and Back (Part Two)

Above: Winnemucca Inn. Winnemucca, NV. 10 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.
This image should have appeared in the previous diary.
Highlights the dark in which I was riding for ninety minutes or so last night.
I had a steak here and retired for the evening.

Above: Best Western Gold Country Inn. Winnemucca, Nevada. 11 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.
Stayed an extra day in Winnemucca due the specter of bad weather hovering over Utah today. Caught up on writing, editing, and watching football.

Above: Pilot Peak. Elko County, NV. 12 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.
50 degrees.
Outstanding atmospheric clarity.
Pilot Peak was a beacon for explorer John C. Fremont in 1845 and the Donner Party in 1846...and anyone else, pre-railroad (1869), who wanted to get to California by crossing the 70-mile distance of the water starved Great Salt Lake Desert. Most overland pioneers in those days took a northern route over the top of the Great Salt Lake via Fort Hall, Idaho and City of Rocks, Idaho. The Donner Party lost have their stock to thirst when they crossed the Great Salt Lake Desert in 1846. Boy, were the Donners and the Reeds a star-crossed group. Now, on the humming Duc, it will take me just an hour to cross the Great Salt Lake desert.

I stopped at The Star Hotel Restaurant in Elko, about 160 miles previous to the above image, in the hopes of having a Basque meal. It was closed on Sunday... so I rode to a nearby Shell convenience store and had a hot dog.

Above: Stansbury Range and Deseret Peak. Delle, Utah.
Out and about on the Duc.
The riding conditions today were about the best I had ever experienced on this freeway (I-80) segment from Winnemucca, NV to Park City, UT (383 miles). Fifty degrees (admittedly crispy*** most of the way while riding at 80mph) most of the way and near ten-by-ten visibility. The storm that I had avoided yesterday by staying an extra day in Winnemucca had cleared out the atmosphere today. Therefore, magnificent view of the Stansbury's and Deseret Peak from the west with the sun low in the sky. Had to stop. No end to the beauty of this state! Now we know how the term "purple mountain majesty" came about. Fifteen years ago, Koessler and Mwah (sic) hiked to the top (11K feet) of Deseret peak led by friend, Hank Williams.

*** I was wearing four layers on my core. A t-shirt, a Pendleton long-sleeved wool shirt, a North Face down liner, and waterproof KLIM riding jacket. With the heated grips and the heated seat, this was enough... just barely though. I haven't ridden with a heated jacket for several years. I wore chinos... no riding pants. I was wearing my dual purpose, shiny dress riding boots to conserve luggage space. I used the boots for dress up functions at Hoover as well. I carry a shoe polish kit to keep the shoes burnished. The boots wouldn't have held up well in the rain. By the way... I don't mind riding in the rain and have done so, over long distances plenty of times. But the forecast was for a nasty disturbance, high winds, plenty of lightning etc. Discretion being the better part of valor...

Luggage: A simple airline carry-on bag is strapped to the bike behind the pillion position.

Above: Iron Canyon, Park City, UT. 12 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.
Rendu. Home.
1600 miles round trip.

Above: Duc Instrument panel. Iron Canyon, Park City, UT. 12 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.
End of ride.
Only 18 miles of range left. I had filled the tank at the West Wendover, Maverick, 153 driving miles distant. I was riding at 80 mph most of the way. At 70 mph the bike's range is about 200 miles. The bike's consumption on this trip was about 35 miles to the gallon. The yellow warning marker lower left warns of cold temps. On the right three arrows can be seen pointing upward from the grip symbol. That shows that the heated grips were set to maximum. There is no indicator for the heated seat which is an aftermarket seat made by Corbin in Hollister, California. The engine temperature on arrival was 201 degrees. Riding at 60 mph plus would show a circa 170-degree engine temperature but the temperature rose to above 200 degrees on arrival because the bike made a 300 vertical foot hill climb at slow (25 mph) speed from the valley to my driveway. If the bike engine temperature exceeds 212 degrees, a cooling fan will kick in. Just to the right of the heated grip indicator is the adaptive cruise control (ACC) indicator, not activated at present. It's green colored when activated. To the right of the speedometer is the low fuel indicator which comes on when there is about a gallon left in the 4.7-gallon tank. The clock shows time of arrival, and the speedometer center says the six-speed bike is in neutral gear.

Addendum

Steve: I enjoyed this poem. Evokes place. Rich with humor. Admire the discipline of maintaining rhyme throughout (something I do not have the discipline to do). Loved the rhythm and alliteration of the repetitive lines. Oh, yes, and Winnemucca. Rather than stay in a motel, my parents would camp us out on the lawn next to the town city hall and police station on the many trips to Pacific Grove on the Monterrey Peninsula (auto correct spelled it out "Penisula" Yikes. AI gone amok.,.

Thanks, and best,
Simon Peter Eggertson,
Montreal, Quebec

Coming from you Simon, a real poet, that's high praise indeed. I read your short story "Lepetit Richards and the Big Dipper Carpet..." several weeks ago. I'm going to put in on my website under the "projects" heading and introduce it as a literary piece by a poet friend who goes all the way back to my youth.

Yes, whatever you do, stay away from that "pokie sin'...

Torquemada,
Sandy, UT