Motorcycle Blown Over in Baker Bypass Sandstorm

[DonTom]

I was just ready to leave, but I decided to chicken-out. The wind is much heaver today than it was yesterday.

I was listening to my ham radio thingy and it got too quiet suddenly. So I go out to check my antenna:

At least the bike didn't blow over.

-Don- Baker, NV

 

[TheBar]

some of which were reported to have sandblasted some vehicles (including the glass being now translucent).

Funny you mentioned that. My best friend had a light blue 64 Mercury Comet. The paint was dull and faded. It sat outside in an open lot during that sandstorm. It took off the top layer of paint and the car looked shiny and brand new. On the passenger side only. So when he took girls on a date at least his car looked good on their side.

 

[TheBar]

I often don't bother but when I do check, I use AccuWeather.

-Don- Baker, NV

Around here we call it InAccuWeather. I do prefer their future radar but we use WeatherUnderground 99% of the time. It has dozens of personal weather stations online 24/7 within a few miles, has fewer ads, and more accurate forecasts. I connect to 2 local airport stations within 10 miles which is as accurate as it gets. A mile can make a big difference here.

 

[Firstime RVer]

First sand/dust storm (called khamasin locally) I ever experienced was in downtown, Cairo Egypt. Entire buildings disappeared from site, within just a minute or two, and it amazed me how easy it was to get disoriented. The buildings blocked a lot of the sand by the dust was dense and stifling. Took shelter in a nearby building for the half hour duration. Tried to breath thru my handkerchief, but it didn't help much.
So glad we don't have them here in NJ.
Just my $.02 FWIW
Safe travels and all the best.

 

[garyb1st]

Glad you're OK. Driven Hiway 50 and visited Great Basin National Park but never heard of the Baker Bypass Road. First you're challenging a wild fire that is rather close. Now the wind is having it's way with you. Hope you're not going for the Hat trick.

 

[jymbee]

Entire buildings disappeared from site, within just a minute or two, and it amazed me how easy it was to get disoriented.

Indeed. Documented cases where someone left their home/cabin in a blinding snowstorm only a short distance away from their front door, only to get disoriented and freeze to death never making it back inside.

 

[bigbAZ]

We got caught in a dust storm on I-8 in 2012. My first thoughts were how bad this was going to hurt the glass and paint, that thought changed to "I wonder if we're going to get out of this alive" in mere seconds. My wife was driving and had slowed down, I couldn't see more than a few feet out the window but I saw wreckage and tools on the road so I knew there must be a collision ahead, just then we were rear ended by a tractor trailer and spun us around. The collision opened up the rear of our Toyota Highlander and crushed the back seat. Several times I tried to get out but the wind and dirt was blowing everywhere. When we finally got out visibility was still low and we could hear more crashing sounds nearby so we ran to the desert. As things started to clear there was wreckage everywhere in both directions. Some cars were abandoned and after things cleared up a bit folks came out of the desert where they had run. Basically to put it in a nutshell what happened is the cars slowed or stopped and the big trucks didn't.

We were lucky there was no fire as the impact and the 360 we did during the crash ripped the gas tank open and dumped all the fuel out on the road. There were some injuries but nothing life threatening. I got smacked in the jaw and ear somehow and my ear was bleeding and my jaw hurt for a long time after that.

It's a scary thing to have no visibility and hearing multiple crashes all around you. Glad you made it OK Don.

Also, don't let rain fool you. I assumed because it had just rained hard that there wouldn't be any dust but the wind was so strong it lifted the top layer of soil and flung it into the air, it was more dirt than dust.

I had photos but thanks to Photobucket I lost them all.

 

[DonTom]

Glad you're OK. Driven Hiway 50 and visited Great Basin National Park but never heard of the Baker Bypass Road. First you're challenging a wild fire that is rather close. Now the wind is having it's way with you. Hope you're not going for the Hat trick.

What the sign for it says on Hwy 50. But on Google Maps it shows as "Cutoff Rd". But today, coming back from Great Basin National Park (GBNP) today, I stayed on 487 to US 50 as the weather looked better in that direction. Just a few miles longer.

Today, I got rained on and thunder and lightning at around 9K elevation in GBNP. an overhead cover and discovered something I had no idea was there. A full hookup RV park that I never noticed, just behind the gas station. That would eb a very handy location for my trips to Great Basin:

-Don- Border Inn, NV

 

[DonTom]

Well, today, I made it. But riding only, no hiking, and even the ride was cut short by rain & lighting, when I was up at around 9K feet.

But nice weather when I went to visit the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, just hot weather.

It sure cools down fast here at 9K feet elevation:

Views from the road going up in the park:

This is behind the small RV Park in Baker, just behind the gas station RV Park:

 

[Brad Buchanan]

I was riding towards Great Basin Park. I could see dust blowing on Baker Bypass Road. I made a very stupid decision to continue to Baker Bypass Road. I go down several miles, and can no longer see the road. I slow down to stop and the bike gets blown over right then from a giant wind gust of sand. I go flying off the bike. I had no choice but to walk off the highway and get away from the road, knowing that if any cars come they will most likely not see the bike in time. The bike was left dead center of the road. I used my Spot Messenger and sent out for an Emergency SOS. And even that was very difficult when breathing dust and cannot see anything in the sand blown wind. It would have been even worse if it were not for my full face helmet.

No cars came for 15 minutes and then it started to clear up. Then four different cars stopped to help, two from each direction, I then cancel my emergency SOS on my Spot Messenger. The four cars were then blocking the entire road so my motorcycle could then be picked up.

They were all so helpful. All is well that ends well. I am not hurt, but I know if there will be any pain from it, that will show up tomorrow. No damage to the bike, just covered in dust. I was able to ride back with no problems but I have not yet carefully checked things out.

I just received a phone call & Text message on my cell that the emergency call to Ely Shoshone Tribal Police Department was canceled, they received my SOS cancelation okay. I knew to leave my cell on after I get back, which is normally off.

This was the very first time for me to send a SOS Emergency request from my Spot Messenger that I have owned for around 30 years.

A couple of the cars followed me back here to the RV park where it is nice nice & clear with no wind. I tried to give them (four people) $20.00 each but no way would they accept it.

It is nice to be able to breathe air again instead of sand.

Perhaps I will try again tomorrow, unless I see a trace of that wind blown sand.

-Don- Baker, NV

No disrespect but if you get blown over by a gust of wind perhaps you might be more comfortable with a three wheeler.

 

[bigbAZ]

No disrespect but if you get blown over by a gust of wind perhaps you might be more comfortable with a three wheeler.

I've been outdoors in winds where you couldn't stand up. This class A blew over a few years ago in New Mexico while it was parked.

Our Motorhome was Destroyed

February 26th through March 2nd, 2023 We left Las Cruces, New Mexico, in our 2019 Newmar Dutch Star 4369. Life was amazing, and we were blissfully happy. There was some wind in the forecast, but nothing we were too worried…

mnmgo.com

 

[jymbee]

No disrespect but if you get blown over by a gust of wind perhaps you might be more comfortable with a three wheeler.

Severe storms with destructive wind gusts frequently cause train cars to tip or blow off the tracks

 

[DonTom]

No disrespect but if you get blown over by a gust of wind perhaps you might be more comfortable with a three wheeler.

That will not work for me. I have arthritis in my right elbow and at slow speeds it hurts like **** on a 3-wheeler (I have tried one) but not the slightest when on two wheels.

Besides that big gust of sand & wind probably would have blown it over as well and who knows what would have then happened. I realize I was lucky the other day as I came out of it without even a slight scratch anywhere. It was just like it never happened.

-Don- Border Inn, NV

 

[DonTom]

I've been outdoors in winds where you couldn't stand up.

So have I. At FT. Carson, CO. I was walking back from a movie and I had to lay down and hold on to bushes for a while. It was not possible to stand up at least not for long, for a few minutes. Several vehicles were blown off the highway above there that night.

-Don- Border Inn, NV

 

[DonTom]

This class A blew over a few years ago in New Mexico while it was parked.

Lucky nobody was in it at the time--or even worse, being driving at the time,

-Don- Richfield, UT