This is a scanned slide converted to HDR and taken during a June 2006 Bicycle Tour which included Death Valley. Yes I know it is seriously crazy to ride a bike in Death Valley in the summer heat. The reason was that we were riding from Las Vegas to San Francisco and aimed to get over the Sierras with roads clear of snow. We got over the heat by starting a lot of rides at 5.00am and arriving and retreating to air conditioning by between about 10.00 and 11.00am.

There were 3 of us from a UK Touring Club self organised and carrying our own luggage. On this day we had an out and back ride from Furnace Creek to Badwater. On the way back we took the Artists Drive loop road which winds for 8 miles among multi coloured rocks. The only problem with the route was that it started with a very steep 1000ft climb which we found very hard in temperatures which at 8.30 am had already climbed to 96F.