Okay. Went for ANOTHER ride on Sunday. 
I'm waiting for an admonishment from the admins for monopolizing the Ride Reports section with my crap.
Can't help it. I have the time, and I have a big blue motorcycle. What else can I do?
Went riding up in the smoky Sierra Nevadas, on a mixture of squid heaven pavement and borderline goat trails.
I'd mentioned my intent to a couple of my forum brothers on Saturday at the CDog event,
but no takers. So again, it was a day with Seany and his hooligan Kawasaki.
We met in Grass Valley, and went zooming off shortly after 7.
Lime Kiln Rd., (from Sean's place), then Wolf Rd., then Combie Rd., then Old Placerville (?) or something Rd., then Iowa Hill Rd.
Then, from Foresthill, we jumped on Mosquito Ridge Rd., which is a sportbike rider's favorite around here.
Aaaaaaand then, we took a series of forest service roads and I was completely lost until we dropped onto
Wentworth Springs Rd. (unbelievable), which brought us up to Icehouse Reservoir.
There are still dozens of fires burning in the north state, but the smoke wasn't as bad as it had been the
previous few days.
Sean likes to go at a pretty good pace, and I don't mind running along with him, but when I see a photo op, I stop!
He's pretty patient, and will usually stop and come back to see what I'm doing. I really enjoy his company on
these rides.
And here are some snapshots that will hopefully show a bit of what I was fortunate enough to
experience.
Iowa Hill Rd. in the early morning light. Sean asked why I stopped here. "It's just a bunch of trees."
One of the dozens of bridges we'd cross during the day.
These pics fail to capture the beauty of this area. You've gotta get on your bike and get up there!
A landmark I'm sure.
Okay, so we stopped at this quiet little gas station, just before venturing out on Mosquito Ridge, and just as we were
about to sit in the shade and enjoy a cool drink, this bunch of brightly colored, oddly dressed, mostly middle-aged (ahem)
guys and gals swarmed us.
A really great bunch of dual-sport types heading out. This was their jumping off point. We chatted a bit (Sean knew a couple of them),
and as they roared off, I've gotta admit I was wishing I could join them. Damn it looked like it was gonna be a fun day. They were
pumped!
You don't HAVE to decide between a sportbike and a dual-sport, do you? :lol:
Alright, ya'll get the hell out of here. I'm gonna fire up the blue thunder!
Minutes later, we were screaming down through the gloriously scenic canyon, throwing ourselves through the
curves, - and I was just fine with the bike I had.
Tempting. Maybe I need a Strom. A 650 perhaps. Or better yet, a 1000 - the man's version! :lol:
As Madmike often points out, it's really a burden having to ride a motorbike around in these parts.
(The smoke looks worse than it really was. I actually found it lent a dreamy look to everything.)
The middle of nowhere?
As I understand it, this little place is a popular watering hole for the offroad types.
And finally Icehouse Reservoir.
edit - This is actually Loon Lake. A bit north of Icehouse.
Our road sort of ended here. A jumping off point for the Rubicon Trail is nearby, and the place was crawling
with Jeeps and elaborate suspensions.
After relaxing for a few minutes, we turned around and ran the same route back. What a blast!
And finally, here are a few shots of the brother and I enjoying just a little part of a particularly heavenly stretch of asphalt.
There's miles of this crap up here, but I can only offer a glimpse. We stopped and got these shots on the return trip.
This is very near Icehouse, and it goes for miles.
The only trouble is that once you get into it, it's awfully hard to stop and take pics. The stuff makes a fellow giddy.
It's a burden I say.
It's like pulling teeth trying to get some of these forum members to go for a ride! :lol:
Maybe next time.
About 325 miles for the day. Loved every bit of it!
Thanks for reading my ride report and looking at my pictures.
Michael
I'm waiting for an admonishment from the admins for monopolizing the Ride Reports section with my crap.
Can't help it. I have the time, and I have a big blue motorcycle. What else can I do?
Went riding up in the smoky Sierra Nevadas, on a mixture of squid heaven pavement and borderline goat trails.
I'd mentioned my intent to a couple of my forum brothers on Saturday at the CDog event,
but no takers. So again, it was a day with Seany and his hooligan Kawasaki.
We met in Grass Valley, and went zooming off shortly after 7.
Lime Kiln Rd., (from Sean's place), then Wolf Rd., then Combie Rd., then Old Placerville (?) or something Rd., then Iowa Hill Rd.
Then, from Foresthill, we jumped on Mosquito Ridge Rd., which is a sportbike rider's favorite around here.
Aaaaaaand then, we took a series of forest service roads and I was completely lost until we dropped onto
Wentworth Springs Rd. (unbelievable), which brought us up to Icehouse Reservoir.
There are still dozens of fires burning in the north state, but the smoke wasn't as bad as it had been the
previous few days.
Sean likes to go at a pretty good pace, and I don't mind running along with him, but when I see a photo op, I stop!
He's pretty patient, and will usually stop and come back to see what I'm doing. I really enjoy his company on
these rides.
And here are some snapshots that will hopefully show a bit of what I was fortunate enough to
experience.
Iowa Hill Rd. in the early morning light. Sean asked why I stopped here. "It's just a bunch of trees."
One of the dozens of bridges we'd cross during the day.
These pics fail to capture the beauty of this area. You've gotta get on your bike and get up there!
A landmark I'm sure.
Okay, so we stopped at this quiet little gas station, just before venturing out on Mosquito Ridge, and just as we were
about to sit in the shade and enjoy a cool drink, this bunch of brightly colored, oddly dressed, mostly middle-aged (ahem)
guys and gals swarmed us.
A really great bunch of dual-sport types heading out. This was their jumping off point. We chatted a bit (Sean knew a couple of them),
and as they roared off, I've gotta admit I was wishing I could join them. Damn it looked like it was gonna be a fun day. They were
pumped!
You don't HAVE to decide between a sportbike and a dual-sport, do you? :lol:
Alright, ya'll get the hell out of here. I'm gonna fire up the blue thunder!
Minutes later, we were screaming down through the gloriously scenic canyon, throwing ourselves through the
curves, - and I was just fine with the bike I had.
Tempting. Maybe I need a Strom. A 650 perhaps. Or better yet, a 1000 - the man's version! :lol:
As Madmike often points out, it's really a burden having to ride a motorbike around in these parts.
(The smoke looks worse than it really was. I actually found it lent a dreamy look to everything.)
The middle of nowhere?
As I understand it, this little place is a popular watering hole for the offroad types.
And finally Icehouse Reservoir.
edit - This is actually Loon Lake. A bit north of Icehouse.
Our road sort of ended here. A jumping off point for the Rubicon Trail is nearby, and the place was crawling
with Jeeps and elaborate suspensions.
After relaxing for a few minutes, we turned around and ran the same route back. What a blast!
And finally, here are a few shots of the brother and I enjoying just a little part of a particularly heavenly stretch of asphalt.
There's miles of this crap up here, but I can only offer a glimpse. We stopped and got these shots on the return trip.
This is very near Icehouse, and it goes for miles.
The only trouble is that once you get into it, it's awfully hard to stop and take pics. The stuff makes a fellow giddy.
It's a burden I say.
It's like pulling teeth trying to get some of these forum members to go for a ride! :lol:
Maybe next time.
About 325 miles for the day. Loved every bit of it!
Thanks for reading my ride report and looking at my pictures.
Michael
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