It’s Another Planet: Death Valley’s Artist Drive Is Bicycle Ride Gold

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By Alan Snel/LVSportsBiz.com Bicycle Travel Writer

Death Valley, California — There’s no place like Death Valley.

Think about it. I live just outside Las Vegas in a place that’s on the way to Death Valley.

So, all I need to do is throw my road bike into the car, listen to Steely Dan and Springsteen for 90 minutes and arrive at the Furnace Creek visitor center to use as my base.

The bike ride is Artist Drive, a stunning nine-mile loop-style road off Badwater Road that consists of three miles of steep climbing, a couple of miles of hilly, roller-coaster terrain in foothill landscape, then two miles of downhill, hairpin turns back to Badwater Road.

Here’s a pitstop off Artist Drive called Artist Palette:

The landscape’s colors, shapes and contours are ridiculous.

I love this place. It’s like biking in an outer-worldly, non-earth planet that’s only an hour and a half from my driveway.

The landscape is so inspiring that the drivers who whiz by me by only a few feet bother me for only a few minutes.

No matter what my lane position was, the motorists passed way too close. Human beings have not had it easier in their lives than today, yet no matter how technologically advanced we are people have to save five seconds instead of waiting to pass me. I just shake my head.

There’s more than 1,000 feet of climbing on Artist Drive and the average gradient is a steep 7.1 percent. But the ride is satisfying. There’s no rush. Slowly climb the first three miles. Stop to look back at the views.

 

 

 

The LVSportsBiz.com rating for this Death Valley ride: Nine our of Ten Spokes.