The Goodmans Ride California this July!

[Goodman4]

My wife and I have been almost all over the lower 48 on the motorcycle but the farthest west we have gotten is Nevada and Idaho. I've been to California several times but have never got to ride there. This July my sisters and I are getting together with my brother for a vacation at his house which is just off Hwy 101 near Santa Maria. After we spend a week together my wife and I are renting a bike (I won't dare say what kind) and will ride all over California for another week.

My brother has a Honda Valkyrie and we will get to ride a bit together which will be a great memory. He's 10 years older than me and had all kinds of bikes when I was really young but I don't think we have ever ridden on the road together. Anyway, I'll be renting and returning in San Francisco where everybody is flying out of so we can see the nieces and nephews there. We will ride down the pacific coast hwy from Monterey to Morro Bay before going back to my brother's on Friday night.

From there I have a route laid out but I like options to choose from so I don't feel tied down like I have to get something done. It's supposed to be an adventure! Planning makes adventures better but shouldn't ever feel restricted. I like to have an optimal plan that I know can work. For my planning I try to hit as many Butler labelled G1 roads as possible. They seem to agree with my tastes for scenery and twisty roads (as do you guys on the forum from past advice).

Here's the plan from Saturday:

Ride over to and down the Maricopa Highway

Head down to the Santa Monica area and ride Deer Creek / Pacific View / Yerba Buena / Little Sycamore / Mulholland / Latigo Canyon

Then over through Malibu to Las Flores Canyon / Schueren / Stunt Rd

Then up to May Canyon Rd / Santa Clara Truck Trail / Little Tujunga Canyon

Over to Angeles Crest and stay somewhere near Hesperia Saturday night.

Sunday starts with Rim of the World and the plan gets much looser

From Rim we go up and over to Bakersfield to ride Kern Canyon Rd up to Lake Isabella. (I've done that in a car several times - this will hopefully be much more fun)

If it's surprisingly cool we might go over and up 178 and back on 190 to see Panamint Valley to get a taste of Death Valley but I doubt it

More likely we will go up to Pearsonville and cross the sierras through Ninemile Canyon and Sherman Pass, up M107 and out on 190

Up to cross again through Yellowstone over to Lee Vining and back across on 108

My wife lived in Ripon and Stockton when she was very young so we will drive through there to see if we can find anything she remembers (we can't remember the movie we saw last week, so the chances are very slim

)

All the way up to Yuba City and then do Feather River, Genessee Rd, Janesville Grade Rd

Up 395 and 44 to come down through Lassen Volcanic National Park on 89

Then over to Wilson Hill Road and back to Redding

Instead of taking 299 over to the coast, we want to dip into Oregon so...

Up to Yreka on I5 to take 96 over to Happy Camp

Then up Indian Creek rd / Grayback into Oregon over to Obrion

Down 199 to Crescent City

Take 101 down to Avenue of the Giants with a detour on Newton B Drury scenic pkwy

Back on 101 to Leggett and then 1 down to Marshall and detour on Marshall-Petaluma Rd / Point Reyes

Back on 1 until Bolinas Rd to West Ridgecrest Blvd / Pan Toll Rd / Panoramic Hwy back to 1

Take 1 back to 101 and cross the bridge and call it a week.

We've seen the Sequoias (will take my sisters there again in the car too) and Kings Canyon but have skipped Yosemite due to the traffic.

I think we are going to try Yosemite this time on the bike. We've enjoyed Yellowstone twice on the bike and maybe it won't be much worse.

I am totally unfamiliar with northern California so I'm trying to get a broad swipe with some highlights. In the first part I'm not crazy about LA so I hope I'm staying out of horrible traffic on Saturday and avoiding any dangerous areas.

Your opinions and advice will be much appreciated!

-Paul

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Paul, Pretty much anything you do will be The Right Thing.

I know you say you have seen the Sequoias and I am just a little confused about your route from Lake Isabella. If you take Mountain Road 99 through Kernville and up the Kern River Canyon that is a really nice ride. If you are taking M50 to Hwy 107/M90 you will pass right by the Trail of 100 Giants. That is a really nice walk and some great roads too. Then 190 West from there... That is a curvy, curvy road. One of the curviest I ever rode.

I hope this trip is wonderful for y'all. I and my family have benefited greatly from some of your past Ride Reports and pics. I have based some of my best trips on stuff you posted.

 

[Goodman4]

Thanks Redfish. The feelings are mutual.

When I think of the Sequoias, I think of General Grant and General Sherman at the grove there on 180 and 198. That's where I've been before and will take my sisters in the car. I didn't notice the Trail of 100 Giants was on 107 right where we are going by. I have not been there because when I was in Lake Isabella all the mountain roads were closed in the spring, but my brother has mentioned this grove as the place they used to go when they lived there. My intent of the comment was just that we weren't going to go to the Generals Grove on the bike. We probably won't pass up taking a walk down the Trail of 100 Giants since we're right there even after seeing the others again. I doubt they get boring!

Thanks as always for your helpful advice.

 

[FJRBluesman]

DANG! That's one heck of a trip! You've covered some great stuff. I've covered most of those places but over many years. Enjoy and ride safe.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Paul, a couple shots from Trail of 100 Giants:







And part of Hwy 190:

 

[art miller]

Paul, a couple shots from Trail of 100 Giants:






And part of Hwy 190:

Redfish, those are some great pics. I've been there but failed to capture such great pics. Nex time!!!

 

[SkooterG]

Redfish, those are some great pics. I've been there but failed to capture such great pics. Nex time!!!

Yeah, but all that natural beauty is ruined by his ugly mugg!

 

[Bugnatr]

Nice routing. Ambitious to say the least but you are picking up some real nice roads. Sherman Pass is great but a little bumpy. Hopefully summer road construction won't slow you down much and in July remember to hydrate, our low humidity can really draw down the body fast but then again cooling vests etc work well in the dry air. Summer thunderstorms are common up on the crest of the Sierra in the afternoon around Antelope lake but are real hit and miss.

 

[FJRay]

Redfish, those are some great pics. I've been there but failed to capture such great pics. Nex time!!!

Yeah, but all that natural beauty is ruined by his ugly mugg!

Checked out the mirror lately Greg??

 

[Goodman4]

Ok, I've cut back some of the route to make it a little less "ambitious". I usually post a route and you road warriors try to talk me into doing more than I had planned so I got a little concerned that I was over-reaching. This was accentuated by our ride last weekend on the FJR to the Ozarks of Missouri where we both got really sore so we cut the ride a day short. Some of that was my stupid Zumo that sub-optimized my G1 and G2 roads from basecamp to taking shortcuts on many miles of gravel roads. My wife tenses up and gets very irritated when we end up on gravel and my ears seem to start hurting for some reason

.

Here are the sections of the trip starting and ending in San Francisco. For the most part, the magenta lines are the good rides and the cyan lines are just connection sections. The green are roads I'll ride on my brother's bike while visiting there.

I cut Tujunga Canyon and Rim of the World Road since we are doing Angeles Crest and Maricopa in that area. I've had enough pot holes so I'm cutting Sherman pass (and 9 mile canyon) and will come up past Lake Isabella by the Kern river to 100 Giants.

This makes for pretty manageable days - a little lighter than usual, but no down days since it's one week. But it's a different bike and half of these roads are slow going. We've found that about 280 mountain miles equate to about 450 interstate miles on our aging bones. We can do either of these without pushing ourselves pretty much every day on a long trip on the Goldwing.

There's one thing I'm fighting right now. If we are looking for something else to cut in the last part of the trip (the northern section), how is Feather River Canyon, Lassen Volcanic on 89 and Wilson Hill near Shingletown? I could cut all this and do more detours along the coast, but I'd like to get a feel for the Northern Sierra Nevadas if it makes sense. Cutting it all saves 200 miles (about 5 hours). I could leave in the Feather River section but cut Lassen and Shingletown to make my way northeast to Mt Shasta on 89 which saves 100 miles (2 hours) or ride Lassen S to N and that splits the difference. What do you think of Lassen and the other roads I've mentioned here?

I really want to dip into Oregon so I can mark that state off in case we don't make it back out here. I don't see an easy way to do that on a decent road other than 96 to Grayback up to 199 and back down. I considered going across 299 to the coast and then up to Oregon on 101 and back down, but it doesn't save hardly anything and that would have us doing 101 up and back from Crescent City to Arcata.

 

[dcarver]

These two had a great CA route..

https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1dc6a5cd2f76f32160&hoursPast=0&showAll=yes

 

[Goodman4]

Thanks for this informative route, Dave! I have a million questions now, but I'll try to limit it to a few...

1. This looks like it was in May so they avoided crossing the Sierras, right? I think I still want to keep one of the highlights crossing the big range 2.5 times. The mountains are always our favorite part of our rides. Am I making the right choice there?

2. This route totally avoided going south from San Luis Obispo. Are the LA area roads there that I have planned worth taking time away from the rest of Cali in your opinion? I'm pretty much a small town nerd, so seeing the big houses and the city from the mountains seems like a nice diversion for a day, but I don't know what to expect.

3. This route minimized coast time more than I expected. Other than the sections from Carmel to SLO, Bodega Bay, and just south of Crescent City, do you think we will enjoy getting away from the coast more?

4. I've been reading lots of trip reports and now am considering going up to Crater Lake and across instead of Happy Camp in order to get into Oregon. Is that a better option? We have lots of curvy forest roads around here, so that can get old unless there is something unusual or some scenery. It seems the Happy Camp/ Grayback may not be enough variety to be worth the time.

5. I was surprised this trip was 10 days. Any idea how many miles a day this is? My route posted above is 290, 342, 285, 338, 280, 263, 306 and 249 for a total of 2062 miles in 8 days.

It's hard to plan the northern route with flexibility because there aren't many hotels my wife will be happy with in the remote places. That's our agreement - she rides the long routes if I get her decent hotels.

 

[dcarver]

Thanks for this informative route, Dave! I have a million questions now, but I'll try to limit it to a few...
1. This looks like it was in May so they avoided crossing the Sierras, right? I think I still want to keep one of the highlights crossing the big range 2.5 times. The mountains are always our favorite part of our rides. Am I making the right choice there? This was AuburnFJR's ride from about two weeks ago, and the Sierras were/are still shut down. Any of the major 4 Sierra routes (88/89, 4, 108, 120 are excellent. If you've not ridden 120, Yosemite, it's a must ride. My favorite of all, though is 88/89. It's a bit goaty in spots but I love it.

2. This route totally avoided going south from San Luis Obispo. Are the LA area roads there that I have planned worth taking time away from the rest of Cali in your opinion? I'm pretty much a small town nerd, so seeing the big houses and the city from the mountains seems like a nice diversion for a day, but I don't know what to expect. No farther south than Ojai.. After that it's the arm pit of Kali IMHO. 33 out of Ojai, tying into 166 is an awesome road.

3. This route minimized coast time more than I expected. Other than the sections from Carmel to SLO, Bodega Bay, and just south of Crescent City, do you think we will enjoy getting away from the coast more? Yes. Central Kali has everything to offer. Mountains, hi desert, coast riding., Sample a bit of all! Just know the coast will be substantially cooler temp wise than East routes..

4. I've been reading lots of trip reports and now am considering going up to Crater Lake and across instead of Happy Camp in order to get into Oregon. Is that a better option? We have lots of curvy forest roads around here, so that can get old unless there is something unusual or some scenery. It seems the Happy Camp/ Grayback may not be enough variety to be worth the time. Both routes have pluses. But, if you've not seen Crater Lake, do it.

5. I was surprised this trip was 10 days. Any idea how many miles a day this is? My route posted above is 290, 342, 285, 338, 280, 263, 306 and 249 for a total of 2062 miles in 8 days. The Auburn's are known for putting down the miles :whistle"

It's hard to plan the northern route with flexibility because there aren't many hotels my wife will be happy with in the remote places. That's our agreement - she rides the long routes if I get her decent hotels.

 

[art miller]

Thanks for this informative route, Dave! I have a million questions now, but I'll try to limit it to a few...
1. This looks like it was in May so they avoided crossing the Sierras, right? I think I still want to keep one of the highlights crossing the big range 2.5 times. The mountains are always our favorite part of our rides. Am I making the right choice there?

2. This route totally avoided going south from San Luis Obispo. Are the LA area roads there that I have planned worth taking time away from the rest of Cali in your opinion? I'm pretty much a small town nerd, so seeing the big houses and the city from the mountains seems like a nice diversion for a day, but I don't know what to expect.

3. This route minimized coast time more than I expected. Other than the sections from Carmel to SLO, Bodega Bay, and just south of Crescent City, do you think we will enjoy getting away from the coast more?

4. I've been reading lots of trip reports and now am considering going up to Crater Lake and across instead of Happy Camp in order to get into Oregon. Is that a better option? We have lots of curvy forest roads around here, so that can get old unless there is something unusual or some scenery. It seems the Happy Camp/ Grayback may not be enough variety to be worth the time.

5. I was surprised this trip was 10 days. Any idea how many miles a day this is? My route posted above is 290, 342, 285, 338, 280, 263, 306 and 249 for a total of 2062 miles in 8 days.

It's hard to plan the northern route with flexibility because there aren't many hotels my wife will be happy with in the remote places. That's our agreement - she rides the long routes if I get her decent hotels.

Over the years I've taken all the roads cited here. If I were asked which destination I would suggest that is not on your plan, it would be Crater Lake. That is something you and your wife will never forget. If by chance thee are forest fires in that part of Oregon you can delete that as when there is smoke in the air to visual affect is totally screwed. If you delete Happy Camp and continue north on 101 to Grants Pass you can go to Medford and work your way up to Crater Lake.

 

[Bugnatr]

I would skip Genessee Rd, Janesville Grade Rd. A bit of a goat trail on a Wing and Susanville is nothing special. Spend more time going through Lassen ( I hope it will be open by then-monster snow pack this year) and if you have the time run up to Burney Falls and take a short walk to the base of the falls. It will cool you off and is special place as it's not your ordinary waterfalls not to be missed if you are close.

Ditto on Crater Lake

 

[Goodman4]

Thanks, everyone. Art and Bugnatr, Ive made adjustments to make Crater Lake a key route. I had already taken out going to Susanville in order to get farther North. I have two good options now for that day:

1. Go over to Lassen on 36 then up 89 to I5 and stay in the Mt Shasta area. Then next day up to Crater Lake on 97.

2. Go to Lassen on 70 (feather river) and 89/36. The rest the same.

I like the conservative distance on option 1 and I found one blog site that listed 36 over to Lassen as a great scenery road. But My Butler map only shows the middle part of 36 being a good road. I dont see hardly anybody talking about 70 in their reports but Butler has it as one of their G1 top roads

The original route allowed me to ride Lassen N to S and I cant fit that in now.

I have a fallback plan to just stay on I5 and skip Lassen altogether and get up to Klamath Falls that day. It would allow for some more excursions away from PCH on the route back to SF.

One more thing I should disclose. I wont be on a Goldwing. I couldnt find an option to rent one so Ive rented a Harley ElectraGlide. It will be my first time on a HD. I told my wife we will probably be the only Harley riders in full gear in the state.

 

[FJRay]

I've done both 36 and 70 a few times and I prefer 70 by far.

 

[Goodman4]

Hmm. 70 adds about 45 minutes over 36. I'll probably see how we're doing that afternoon and decide then.

Here's the 2 day route via 70 all the way to Grants Pass:

https://tinyurl.com/GPvia70

And the route via 36:

https://tinyurl.com/via36

 

[FJRay]

After you do Lassen and are heading north you could take 299 to 139 and on to K falls. It may be a bit shorter and is nicer than I5 and 97. If you have time after Crater lake go north an hour and a half and I'll treat you to a world famous Reuben.

Other than I5 there aren't really any bad roads in that part of Ca.