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Tri Level Tournament

rph142

Well Known Member
My first trip report was lost in the glitch so I'll try again.

I always consider the Indian Wells pro tennis tournament the unofficial start of my rec tennis season. This year would be unique in that my wife along with her team won the fall Norcal Tri Level tourney and was invited to play and the national tournament alongside the pros with the other winners from across the country. This of course gave me a great excuse to put hours on my 3B.

Heres my machine, ready willing and able, with a fresh oil change and glossy coat of wax.
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After departing KCCR I connected with flight following and was quickly given a transponder code. Cruising down the central valley at 9.5 with pristine weather was a good omen.
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These #'s arent too bad for a plain vanilla RV. 32 statute mpg at 204 mph puts a smile on my face
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After an hour or two I was nearing my first rest stop in Banning. My dad had a request for me to test ride an electric bike he found at a store in San Diego. I suppose 350W bikes are hard to find. Anyway the weather was perfect and the RV gobbles up countryside, so why not? Banning would provide a quick mental break before entering the Class D sandwiched between two big Bravos.
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This is busy airspace!
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Dont let the clear skies fool you. I was 3 or 4 in line while they operated parallel runways
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After landing it was a 10 minute uber ride to the bike shop. This was my first experience on an electric bike and I was impressed! 30mph is possible with relatively little effort. He bought it and had it shipped back to PA.
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It was nearly 1pm and I was really hungry. There was a nice looking Mexican restaurant on the field with fish tacos on special. This is living!
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After inhaling my lunch it was time to suit up. A quick call to clearance delivery and a very long wait at the end of the runway was all that stood between me and my 30 minute flight to KUDD. I decided to fly direct over high terrain.
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I must be in the right place!
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The first night was spent watching the pros in stadium one. Early the next morning I warmed up my wife and her dubs partner at the local courts before they met up with their team at the Tennis Garden. While she was warming up for her match I decided to watch the GOAT hit a few balls.
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Heres my wife recovering from a close point in her 3rd set tiebreak - in the zone as they say. Unfortunately they would ultimately lose to a very good Florida team. She cant complain though, at one point Novak Djokovic was warming up 2 courts down from their match.
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After a couple days of watching a few of her matches as well as Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic matches it was time to head home. I had most of the day to myself, a fast plane, and clear skies. This was going to be a good day.

Onwards and upwards to new unexplored places.
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These odd formations are called Alluvial fans. They're unique to areas where steep unobstructed slopes terminate in flat valleys. Basically, water rushes down the slopes carrying large debris.
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Why spend billions going to mars when we could hang out here instead?
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Here I am descending into the lowest point in the continental US.
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PIREP: The runway was heavily cracked and heaved due to the frequent 125F temps. I later read that surface temps can reach over 190F!
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After a short walk in desolation I decided to head over to Bishop for fuel and water. The views here were impressive to say the least. While taxiing I encountered cracks that could nearly swallow the tailwheel.
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RV's have a way of shrinking time and space. After just 30 mins I was passing over a winter snowscape. Invisible in this picture were endless arrays of snowmobile tracks. I made a mental note for a future snowmachine vacation.
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Alright, enough procrastinating, it was time to make the hop over the big hills. I took it up to 13.5K for extra margin over the crags. Unfortunately I cant convince myself to enjoy the views while flying over such hostile terrain. I trust the machine I built, but some would call this tempting fate.
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After a crossing the high sierra it was a 40 minute flight back to the bay area. The contrast in ground cover and topography is certainly dramatic this time of year.
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While taxiing back to my shade hangar I spent a few seconds sharing the tarmac with this old lumbering beast.
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In the end it was 7.5 hours of flight time spread over 3 days - a perfect appetizer for my Tour de USA Oshkosh tip this summer!
 
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