7000 Miles Across The Us

I'm FJRing around the US in Sep and when I get to Vegas, my wife and

friends are flying in and we're rental car'ing it around Zion, Bryce,

Grand Canyon, Sedona etc.

But I need a secure place to park the FJR in Vegas from Sep 8 to 17 while

I play tourist.

Can anyone help?

Can't help with the Vegas dealio, but on your way from LA to SF, stop for lunch in Santa Barbara... PM me and we can set-up a meet.

Also, for California roads, you'll find no better info than what is offered here:

Pashnit.com

Have a great trip!

Found some secure LV parking thanks to Tim on the FJ group. This is my route more or less.



I've moved my departure date up a few days so will prob leave Thur Sep 1. This will give me a few more days to do some Colorado riding I missed last time.

I'm planning on coming south west from Ottawa roughly in a line Toledo-St Louis-Colorado Springs. Then loop around 24-82-133-92 back down to Gunnison. Then 50-550-145 to Cortez and a visit to Mesa Verde, then off to Montezuma, Monument Valley, Page, Hurricane and to LV Sep 8 to meet wife and friends for 10 non riding tourist days (LV- Zion- Bryce- GC- Sedona- Laughlin- LV).

My route into CA and north to SF (Sep 18-23) is based on great advice recieved from gixxerdale



"While in Vegas go to Red Rock Canyon National preserve, say at sunrise. It's beautiful then and the wild burros will be out in search of the morning grazing. It's a one way wandering twisty loop of 15 or twenty miles. Lots of interesting and scenic stops.

You could then head to Pahrump (full of Cat houses/Brothels) on your way towards Death Valley, Shoshone,then down to Baker, and through the Mojave National Preserve (Kelbaker Rd). Cross Interstate 40 to Amboy. Continue into 29 Palms and over to Palm Springs. Be sure and take in the Palm Springs Airal Tram!

https://www.pstramway.com/

When leaving Palm Springs use Highway 74.

https://www.pashnit.com/roads/cal/Highway74.htm

Be sure and ride Hwy 243 as it links to the 74.

https://www.pashnit.com/roads/cal/Highway243.htm

From there navigate over to Hwy 38 which will take you to Big Bear Lake and the town of Big Bear.

https://www.pashnit.com/roads/cal/Rim.htm

From there navigate the road to Lake Arrowhead, Crestline, down the back side and over to Wrightwood. The Grizzly Cafe, in Wrightwood has some tasty food. Then meander over to Mount Emma Rd, Angeles Forest Highway, Upper Big Tujunga, and

finally Angeles Crest Highway, which will take you out of the Mountains and into the towns of LaCanada/ Flintridge and Pasadena.

https://www.pashnit.com/roads/cal/AngelsCrest.htm

You have just skirted all of Los Angeles on this route.

From Los Angeles north there are several routes. Highway 1 is very scenic but can be very slow with lots of traffic. Here is another very nice option if you enjoy riding twisty roads.

https://www.pashnit.com/roads/cal/CoastalMtnRide.htm" I think I'll take a combo of the Coastal Mts and Hy 1 up to SF

North of SF (Sep 23 hooking up with Pat my son in law for the ride north and back east) - got lots of great advice from Klutschengrabber (see above) but Pat has not been there before and may vote for Hy 1 so I think I'll just follow his lead.

Rest of the ride is north then east to Mt St Helene

(Madmike2 says 'turned left on Forest Road 90 and went East to the intersection of 90 and 25, where we turned right (North) on Forest Road 25 to Forest Road 99 (left) that leads to the Overlook that is in the pictures on the website.

via then vaguely east to Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, Brainard, SSM, & Ottawa Oct 2. Pat is in charge of that part of the trip ...

Hopefully we have a safe and pleasant trip and I'll let you know how close I followed the plan on return.

Have a great trip Pierre - I've ridden many/most of those roads myself over the years - you'll have lots of fun. As I'm sure you're aware hydration is the key on those desert roads at that time of year.

When you're in the Rushmore area, be sure to take in the Crazy Horse monument - it is simply awesome. We've visited it a half dozen times over the past 25 years of construction, and I suspect it won't be completed during my lifetime, but what a magnificent obsession!

Pierre,

Sounds like you're gonna have the ride of a lifetime. I wouldn't mind tagging along if I lived in North America

Ride safe bro and enjoy every mile :clap:

Stef

Hydration! Never having ridden the desert in the heat I'm obsessed about that. I have a camelback, mesh jacket, evap vest, & water bottles. I hope to stay in shape.

:coolio: :coolio:

FJRPierre, since you'll be so close, I suggest you visit Santa Fe, NM...a great old town. I don't live there but have visited many times and often stay at Garrett's Desert Inn, just a short walk from the downtown plaza and relatively secure bike parking.

Have fun. Be safe out there.

Hydration! Never having ridden the desert in the heat I'm obsessed about that. I have a camelback, mesh jacket, evap vest, & water bottles. I hope to stay in shape.:coolio: :coolio:

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The camelback is one of the best! Keeping hydrated makes riding so much easier.

Hydration.

I went riding in Colorado this summer around Moab (Utah) the Monument and surrounding areas, about 500 miles and definitely didn't drink enough. We took water with us and drank a bit when we stopped to take pics etc. I didn't really notice anything for about another day when it hit me hard.

My head hurt, I was shaking, felt like I want to vomit and luckily I was in a house. I felt so bad I couldn't really even sleep. Finally got enough water in me over time and after some sleep felt much better. My story is to say drink it even though you don't think you need it because once it catches up to you it sucks!!!

Have a great ride.

Looks like you'll be going thru Pagosa Springs, CO if you need a place to stay for the night let me know you can crash here. Or if anything unexpected comes up give me a shout, I'll pm you my phone number. JB

very nice . have a blast maybe one day i wll hit the left coast

Looks like your return route in Oregon kinda shows you going from Pendleton to Boise or thereabouts. If so, as you go south on US 395 from Pendleton, keep on the lookout for the turn to the left on SR 20, about 12 miles north of Long Creek, look for the Ritter/Austin junction. This shaves off about an hour to Boise and is one sweet ride, no traffic, follows the middle fork of the John Day River. You can gas up in Pendleton and make it to Vale Oregon, 200 miles, if you use this short cut.

It is only one of many points along your way, but I think you'll enjoy this piece of road. Here's a link, I think it might be from markjenn, which got me and Craig onto this route last Spring...

Short cut off US 395

Good food at the Bavarian knock off restaurant at Austin if you find it! Good luck. :agent:

FJRPierre, when you go through San Francisco take hwy1 the coast you will be on the coast hwy. it is a great ride stay on it till you get to fort bragg than keep going and you will go in land and ride in the mountains and see the redwoods and you will come out at a town called Leggett and have to get on hwy 101 and take it to Eureka than hwy 101 the rest of the way and continuing in to Oregon than you decide from there. I rode this a couple of years ago it was great than and still is. I will be taking the same route again to tour the PNW will be departing sept. 9th. good luck and have a safe trip :clap: :clap: :clap:

FJRPierre, when you go through San Francisco take hwy1 the coast you will be on the coast hwy. it is a great ride stay on it till you get to fort bragg than keep going and you will go in land and ride in the mountains and see the redwoods and you will come out at a town called Leggett and have to get on hwy 101 and take it to Eureka than hwy 101 the rest of the way and continuing in to Oregon than you decide from there. I rode this a couple of years ago it was great than and still is. I will be taking the same route again to tour the PNW will be departing sept. 9th.  good luck and have a safe trip    :clap:    :clap:    :clap:

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Yes that is exactly what I did last year from SF Hy1/101 to Smith River and then 199 to Grants Pass etc.

I was hoping to do a different route more inland this year but I'm with my son-in-law from SF onward and he's never done it so I think I'll have to suffer and do it again...

Looks like your return route in Oregon kinda shows you going from Pendleton to Boise or thereabouts.  If so, as you go south on US 395 from Pendleton, keep on the lookout for the turn to the left on SR 20, about 12 miles north of Long Creek, look for the Ritter/Austin junction.  This shaves off about an hour to Boise and is one sweet ride, no traffic, follows the middle fork of the John Day River.  You can gas up in Pendleton and make it to Vale Oregon, 200 miles, if you use this short cut.
It is only one of many points along your way, but I think you'll enjoy this piece of road.  Here's a link, I think it might be from markjenn, which got me and Craig onto this route last Spring...

Short cut off US 395

Good food at the Bavarian knock off restaurant at Austin if you find it!  Good luck.    :agent:

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Thanks I be sure to take the 395/26 into Vale cause I'm coming out from the Mt St Helene ride at Yakima and can hit it at Pendleton.

(I finally found County Rd 20 from Ritter on Hy395 to Bates/Austin on 7 & 26. That looks like a good "get lost in a hurry" route! We'll have to see how brave we are when we pass by the cutoff. Is it well marked cause there are tons of side roads all the way down and we don't have GPS)

Pierre,

When (if) you follow the advice you mentioned earlier in this thread and that happens to get you into 29 Palms CA you have to let me know. My good friend owns the local m/c shop and I'm certain that he'd help you out w/ anything you need. Otherwise I'm good for a meal, water refill, free tank of gas, place to rest, etc. as you pass through. Don't hesitate to PM me for contact info before you depart.

Scott

I finally found County Rd 20 from Ritter on Hy395 to Bates/Austin on 7 & 26. That looks like a good "get lost in a hurry" route! We'll have to see how brave we are when we pass by the cutoff. Is it well marked cause there are tons of side roads all the way down

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The turn off to 20 from 395 is marked, about 30 miles south of Ukiah. Other side roads are all dirt, IIRC. Once you are on the 20 road, you can't get lost, follows the river and it connects back into 26. One tip: At the 'end' of 20, bear right at the road junction to get to 26 and the Bavarian place, no need to go (left) into Austin itself.

Good luck on ride! FWIW, I did a Boise to Yellowstone ride early October last year and scored excellent weather there, but this varies. If you need a stop in Boise, email me via this board or post here a couple days in advance. You've got a place to RON and a free FJR oil filter, place to change it, if needed. :cownoy:

Hello from SF. Meeting up with Pat on Fri and heading north (and home) with eta Oct 3. After 4 long days via St Louis-Kansas City the best part of the trip started at Colorao Springs to Cortez ( including 145 via Dorlores & Telleride), Mesa Verde cliffside dwellings, Zion/Bryce/north & south rim of the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Vegas, Furnace Creek @Death Valley, south though Baker, 29 Palms (hooked up with Scott for coffe, nice to meet you) and the highlight of the trip so far 74 & 273 from Palm Springs-Idlewild-Banning. I fedex'ed several pairs of shorts home after that ride.... I should have waited cause the next day I did 38 up to Big Bear City and messed another pair.

The nice CA roads all seem to start a 2ft elevation and rapidly climb to 8,000ft through some form of switchback magic. They are so long that I am weak-kneed by the time I get through half of it. I won't forget to check my tire pressure ever again before heading out on roads like these.

On a side note the Wibur shock and spring combination have proved excellent and I have never so comfortable on a multiday ride. I ended up setting the rear shock preload back a full turn (after setting forward 2 turns from delivery) and thats just the right combo for distance.

The Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu up all the way up to Monterey was a great way to top off this part of the trip. Turned cold (after the 100F+ temps of earlier days) and had to dig out the JR ballistic jacket & heavy gloves and sweater. Gone are the days of filling up the camel back twice a day and putting on the watergel jacket to stay cool.

I nearly ran out of gas on two consequetive days on the PCH, once near Buellton and once near Big Sur. There a long distance between stations on that baby and I was in full sweat/fumes mode at 8pm near Buellton. I also paid something like $4.25US for gas near Big Sur!!! wow a lifetime high!

Fogged, rained & later thunder and lightning yesterday (tailend of Hurricane Max? in Pacific Ocean) while I was smack dab in the middle of very heavy SF 6 pm traffic on 101; rain for the first time since my Sep 1 departure. I'd forgotten the joy of it...

Saw a few FJRs along the way including a chap from Mass at the Grand Canyon helipad and a fully loaded 04 lane splitting up Hy101 near milpitas, during a thunderstorm with fully 6pm SF traffic. I nearly followed him LOL

Today is a day of rest & got a hair cut.

ta-ta and more on my return.

Glad you enjoyed the 74 to 243 loop From Palm Desert to Banning. That's a great ride. That's a great ride for us locals to blow off some steam without having to go far from home. George Z and I just ran that one a few weeks ago with my son (8 years old) on the back of my bike. Good times.

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Scott