Knowing today will be warmer, I put on shorts and a t-shirt under my bike pants and jacket. The guys debug their windshields, and then I climb through our motel window to pass them our bags. I collect our cash safety deposit and get on the back of our bike, now that Ed feels confident that Caleb can handle the bike alone. Breakfast will be had at a casino with a lake view. There’s a lot more wind on this bike due to its build and the make of the driver. There’s also more space for my cheeks, so I can last longer before I start to squirm around, unable to be in any other position.

Highway 395 never disappoints, delivering another beautiful ride. We stop at Erick Schat’s Bakkerÿ, as we always do, and after grub, we get gas, and then Ed gets gloves to add to his collection. When we stopped in Inyokern, I put on jeans as a compromise because those padded pants were making me very sweaty. Motorcycles were made for riding in a certain temperature range. Though most riders might prefer 50°-85°F, I think 45°-75° is ideal to avoid the risks of wind chill and heat exhaustion, especially if stuck in traffic while sitting on a hot bike.

We get to Barstow at 430pm, and my glutes and spine are ready for a break. Ed’s bike comes with armrests with snack cubby holes. Our new bike comes with sitting upright at all times to control wind flow and bike balance, while not falling off the side and causing a scene. It doesn’t help that my baby maker is angry with me (a reference to my anatomy, not my husband). We celebrate the end of another successful day with some bellywash, vittles, and a splash-and-dash each. We’ll join Ed in some evening entertainment of watching a boat rebuild, an engine teardown, and a guy shooting meat targets that have oranges for lungs.