The Goodmans Ride California this July!

[Goodman4]

Thanks for the invite! I do like a good reuben, but that may be pushing it.

We were headed back to I5 to drive by Mt Shasta. It looked like a nice view.

 

[Bugnatr]

70 is awesome but it's down in the canyon which can be HOT. Much prettier in the winter when all the waterfalls are flowing. 32 would be a more direct route to Mt. Lassen and then to 44 into Redding.

Lassen is really awesome up top, last active volcano in Ca 1914-1917. Mud pits. sulfur spring and all sorts of active volacno things to check out while there with nice temps too. Plan to spend some time up there- you will like it. Don't be surprised to see some leftover snow up there from our big winter.

You do know Redding is 50 feet from the sun, right?

 

[Goodman4]

I was actually rethinking the part of the trip after Yosemite due to the heat. Instead of coming back across the sierras on 108 (which I would like) and seeing the towns where my wife grew up, we might avoid the long drive there in the heat and stay on the east side of the Sierras and drive up around Tahoe. She isnt that interested in driving through those towns anyway since she cant find the address where she lived and we only found the school in Ripon where she went one year.

The east side saves a lot of miles (but not much time) and should be 10 degrees cooler, right? We have handled brutal heat many times before but it makes it far less enjoyable.

There arent great options around Tahoe but they are probably better than I5 in the heat.

Thoughts?

 

[FJRBluesman]

It will be hot regardless what side you're on. Closer to valley floor (west side), hot. East side near high desert, hot. Staying up high in the sierra's cooler. Both side s can be brutal. High desert side less humidity. July/August are just hot. Just be wearing your cool vest.

 

[FJRay]

Anything beats I5 in the heat or cold. Just keep going north on 89 from Tahoe and it will take you to Lassen and points north.

 

[Goodman4]

I've landed on heading up 89 by Tahoe to Lassen and then up to Crater Lake.

I'm trying to avoid 100 degree heat and hoping the road is clear of snow on the same day. Lassen wasn't clear in 2017 until July 26.

For reference, these are links to the road conditions in:

Lassen:

https://www.nps.gov/lavo/planyourvisit/winter-road-closures-and-spring-clearing-update.htm

Crater Lake:

https://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Yosemite:

https://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/fireinfo.htm

For miles per day, I've compared what we did last year and in 2016 to what I have planned for this week. It's only one week, but it's also on an unfamiliar bike, so I'm trying to be a bit conservative.

California 2019 plan:

290, 342, 285, 283, 330, 346, 223, 178

Colorado/Wyoming 2018:

383, 477, 312, 362, 275, 130 (Canyonlands), 437, 358, 477, 364, 325, 332, 393, 219, 400

Nova Scotia 2016:

648, 127 (Niagara Falls), 249, 230, 241, 287, 243, 39 (Bar Harbor), 465, 381, 440, 362, 366, 530, 375, 347

We had a good balance of riding and sightseeing on these other trips and we both handled these miles well. We have it timed out to get through Yosemite by around 9:00 on a Monday to avoid some of the traffic. We did that with Yellowstone and with a rain prediction that didn't come to pass, we had the road to ourselves a lot of the time.

 

[FJRBluesman]

What date will you be at Mt. Lassen?

 

[Bugnatr]

Now your talking sense, bloody hot in the valley, going east on 108 has great views! Bring some light rain gear as the Sierras can have afternoon thunder bumpers.

Patti's Thunder Cafe in Quincy is good eats.

Speaking of bloody hot...it is this week. Summer snow melt is a GO!

 

[Goodman4]

What date will you be at Mt. Lassen?

Tuesday July 23

 

[Goodman4]

Now your talking sense, bloody hot in the valley, going east on 108 has great views! Bring some light rain gear as the Sierras can have afternoon thunder bumpers.
Patti's Thunder Cafe in Quincy is good eats.

Speaking of bloody hot...it is this week. Summer snow melt is a GO!

I'm unfortunately trading OUT 108 to go the east side of the Sierras up to Tahoe. Id have to skip Yosemite to do 108. Or go across and back which would add 3.5 hours. Oh well.

Its finally back to spring for a week in Kentucky as we jumped straight to summer from winter.

And thanks for the lunch tip.

 

[FJRBluesman]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="FJRBluesman" data-cid="1419305" data-time="1560226022"><p>What date will you be at Mt. Lassen?</p></blockquote>

Tuesday July 23

Okay thanks. I'll be up there at Lake Almanor in June and early July but not on that date.

Have a great and safe ride!

 

[FJRBluesman]

70 is awesome but it's down in the canyon which can be HOT. Much prettier in the winter when all the waterfalls are flowing. 32 would be a more direct route to Mt. Lassen and then to 44 into Redding.
Lassen is really awesome up top, last active volcano in Ca 1914-1917. Mud pits. sulfur spring and all sorts of active volacno things to check out while there with nice temps too. Plan to spend some time up there- you will like it. Don't be surprised to see some leftover snow up there from our big winter.

You do know Redding is 50 feet from the sun, right?

My 2 cents - Hwy 70 is far prettier than 32. Also you'll be going thru some great small towns Beldin, Greenville, etc, hugging theFeather River. Tie into 36 pass by 32 and keep going to Lassen.

Ride safe.

 

[Bugnatr]

70 is awesome but it's down in the canyon which can be HOT. Much prettier in the winter when all the waterfalls are flowing. 32 would be a more direct route to Mt. Lassen and then to 44 into Redding.
Lassen is really awesome up top, last active volcano in Ca 1914-1917. Mud pits. sulfur spring and all sorts of active volacno things to check out while there with nice temps too. Plan to spend some time up there- you will like it. Don't be surprised to see some leftover snow up there from our big winter.

You do know Redding is 50 feet from the sun, right?

My 2 cents - Hwy 70 is far prettier than 32. Also you'll be going thru some great small towns Beldin, Greenville, etc, hugging theFeather River. Tie into 36 pass by 32 and keep going to Lassen.

Ride safe.

What the hell do you know Simon, you live in Orange County.....

 

[SacramentoMike]

Free advice, and worth every penny: Be flexible. You shouldn't be afraid to get up in the morning and decide it's going to be too hot that day and head uphill instead, like getting away from 395 (the road that skirts the Sierras on the east side) and crossing over one of the many great roads over the passes and do your ride north up hwy 49 through gold country. Fun, scenic, and cooler.

If you decide to go north along or near the coast, my VERY favorite ride in CA is hwy 1, right along the edge of the continent, from a place called Jenner up to Ft. Bragg. Then the road cuts inland through beautiful redwoods for about 50 miles towards Leggett and hwy 101. From there, you can stay on the (cool) coast or go inland toward the gruesome heat on 36 or 299.

 

[Goodman4]

Thanks guys, I'll take all that advice into account.

If you decide to go north along or near the coast, my VERY favorite ride in CA is hwy 1, right along the edge of the continent, from a place called Jenner up to Ft. Bragg. Then the road cuts inland through beautiful redwoods for about 50 miles towards Leggett and hwy 101. From there, you can stay on the (cool) coast or go inland toward the gruesome heat on 36 or 299.

I'm curious about whether you mean the Jenner 96 miles south of Ft Bragg or if you mean somewhere else. I ask because we're riding a LOT of the coast as plan A but plan B was to get away from the coast for one section and see some of central Cali.

Plan A is to ride SF to Morro Bay on hwy 1 the first day then after looping up and around, we will be on 101 S from Crescent City to Legget, then back on Hwy 1 to SF.

Plan B is to take a detour inland after Ft Bragg (headed south) if it isn't too hot. We'd go across 20 to Willits and down 101 to Healdsburg and back over to 1 at Jenner. Butler map shows the section just north of Jenner to Ft Ross as top notch, so we'd ride north for about 8 miles out and back to see that section.

So we'd miss hwy 1 from Ft Bragg to Ft Ross with Plan B. Mike, is that a section you think I shouldn't miss?

 

[SacramentoMike]

There are lots of great roads in NoCal and plenty of leeway in picking "favorites," so it's all just opinions. So much depends on what time of day you happen to come to a place where you have to decide "which way now?" You don't want to ride in the peak heat of the day in inland California (and it keeps heating up here until 4 or 5 in the afternoon--generally it's still pretty pleasant even here in the central valley, all the way from Bakersfield to Redding, until at least noon or 1:00. But you'll also be thinking about finding a decent motel at the end of the day's driving and other factors.

So it's all a balancing act. I will tell you that if it's good and hot in the valley, it will be good and hot between Willits and Healdsburg and beyond. The coast is always cooler. But that stretch from Jenner north to Ft. Bragg and then on to Leggett is really spectacular. It will still be cooler by Leggett and if you go north from there on 101 toward Eureka it stays cool. You could make the Eureka Inn a day's goal. Neat old Victorian-style hotel. Your wife will love it, and not expensive.

One reason I LOVE that Jenner-Leggett leg, beyond the view, the twisting roads, the great redwood forests, and the cool, is it's freaking EMPTY! You'll have it all to yourself, for miles and miles at a time. Hard to beat. (edited to add: Ask Google about routes from any of those points along the coast, like Jenner, up to Eureka. They send you inland from just about every point. Guess they don't think people want to drive along the edges of steep hillsides. And frankly, it's too curvy to be comfortable in a car. But some fun on a ;bike. Even a Harley.)

 

[Goodman4]

Thanks Mike!

 

[FJRBluesman]

70 is awesome but it's down in the canyon which can be HOT. Much prettier in the winter when all the waterfalls are flowing. 32 would be a more direct route to Mt. Lassen and then to 44 into Redding.
Lassen is really awesome up top, last active volcano in Ca 1914-1917. Mud pits. sulfur spring and all sorts of active volacno things to check out while there with nice temps too. Plan to spend some time up there- you will like it. Don't be surprised to see some leftover snow up there from our big winter.

You do know Redding is 50 feet from the sun, right?

My 2 cents - Hwy 70 is far prettier than 32. Also you'll be going thru some great small towns Beldin, Greenville, etc, hugging theFeather River. Tie into 36 pass by 32 and keep going to Lassen.

Ride safe.

What the hell do you know Simon, you live in Orange County.....

You're my favorite!

 

[Bugnatr]

So....your here. Right? Have fun, a bit toasty but no fires

 

[Goodman4]

I WAS there then. Awesome trip. I've been back home for a few days and I've sorted the pics and am working on a trip report this weekend. Thank you all again for the advice. So glad I went to Lassen and Crater Lake and avoided much of the heat. We were cold more than we were hot.

Here's a link to the trip report:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/176749-the-goodmans-california-quest-for-great-roads-and-scenery/