It has been a number of years but I did a bike tour which took us on that stretch of highway 14 and it was legal. Normally if there is no surface street going to the same destination the highway is legal. And the wind can be out right brutal there. It is smart wind in can hit you from either side or in the teeth but never seems to be behind you. My good friend who lives in Ridgecrest has a strict only open one car door at a time when its windy. Otherwise everything gets blown out of the car. And when its hot there its well as hot as the Mojave desert. My friend in construction would quit everyday by 10am. Nice little bike shop in Ridgecrest TJ Frisbee