Wheaton finally rides to California

[exskibum]

OK -- reservations made for Bodega Bay and two nights in Fortuna, I'll be 2 up. For Wheaties:

On Sunday (5/22), I'm going to catch Avenue of the Giants, then double back to the Roosevelt Grove entrance to Lost Coast Rd. and do it before hitting Fortuna lodging at the Super8 and drinking and eating at Eel River Brewery.

Monday and Tuesday (5/23 & 24), I'm with you on those routes in post #1 -- back to Fortuna Monday evening and all the way to Auburn Tuesday evening.

Wednesday (5/25), I'm taking the day off from riding and suggest that another of the Central Valley or Sierra Foothills FJR pilots escort you around the Sierra foothills or passes. Closer to the date, we'll know what passes will be open. Alternatives like 49 south of Sonora and some tasty stuff toward Yosemite should keep you occupied if the major pass routes (Monitor, Ebbets, Sonora and Tioga) are still closed.

Thursday (5/26), we'll do the Back Way route up to and around Lake Tahoe and back, parting ways in the afternoon where Gold Hill Road tees into 193 in the afternoon, with you going west to Lincoln and me returning to Auburn. Here's the deets:

This "Back Way" will be the alternative to I-80 for all but about 15 miles from Auburn to Truckee. It is mostly what is left of historic Old Hwy.40, with a few exceptions, and the route back will have some differences from the route up. Our route will take us by Donner Lake and all the way around Lake Tahoe . . . BEFORE tourist season arrives -- LOTS of photo ops this time of year with clouds, blue sky, deep blue lake and snow on the mountain tops. Lunch probably at The Landing, on the Lake in Kings Beach.

 

Thursday, May 26, 2010, meet @ the Starbucks at 13345 Lincoln Way in Auburn, which is ~100 yards west of Foresthill Road and just south of I-80 at its Foresthill exit. Chevron gasoline available at the corner about 75 yards from Starbucks. Kickstands up at 9:30 am. Rough guess is that you'll be in Lincoln between 4 and 5 pm.

(If you're staying at the Super 8 in Auburn, you'll be less than a half mile away from Starbucks.)

 

[Fairlaner]

Taking the Wing in for a Traxxion front end in a couple of hours so i will probably be riding that for this..........

R

 

[beemerdons]

Taking the Wing in for a Traxxion front end in a couple of hours so i will probably be riding that for this..........

R

Since it's dogpile Friday: Taking my Harley-Davidson Super Glide FXD in for a chrome derby cover in a couple of hours so I will probably be riding that for this........

 

[wheatonFJR]

OK -- reservations made for Bodega Bay and two nights in Fortuna, I'll be 2 up. For Wheaties:

On Sunday (5/22), I'm going to catch Avenue of the Giants, then double back to the Roosevelt Grove entrance to Lost Coast Rd. and do it before hitting Fortuna lodging at the Super8 and drinking and eating at Eel River Brewery.

Monday and Tuesday (5/23 & 24), I'm with you on those routes in post #1 -- back to Fortuna Monday evening and all the way to Auburn Tuesday evening.

Wednesday (5/25), I'm taking the day off from riding and suggest that another of the Central Valley or Sierra Foothills FJR pilots escort you around the Sierra foothills or passes. Closer to the date, we'll know what passes will be open. Alternatives like 49 south of Sonora and some tasty stuff toward Yosemite should keep you occupied if the major pass routes (Monitor, Ebbets, Sonora and Tioga) are still closed.

Thursday (5/26), we'll do the Back Way route up to and around Lake Tahoe and back, parting ways in the afternoon where Gold Hill Road tees into 193 in the afternoon, with you going west to Lincoln and me returning to Auburn. Here's the deets:

This "Back Way" will be the alternative to I-80 for all but about 15 miles from Auburn to Truckee. It is mostly what is left of historic Old Hwy.40, with a few exceptions, and the route back will have some differences from the route up. Our route will take us by Donner Lake and all the way around Lake Tahoe . . . BEFORE tourist season arrives -- LOTS of photo ops this time of year with clouds, blue sky, deep blue lake and snow on the mountain tops. Lunch probably at The Landing, on the Lake in Kings Beach.

 

Thursday, May 26, 2010, meet @ the Starbucks at 13345 Lincoln Way in Auburn, which is ~100 yards west of Foresthill Road and just south of I-80 at its Foresthill exit. Chevron gasoline available at the corner about 75 yards from Starbucks. Kickstands up at 9:30 am. Rough guess is that you'll be in Lincoln between 4 and 5 pm.

(If you're staying at the Super 8 in Auburn, you'll be less than a half mile away from Starbucks.)

THANKS Rich for offering to lead me around/ride with me on those days that you can...Karl and I can definitely explore south towards Yosemite on our own on Wednesday...and will enjoy the "last gasp ride" with you on Thursday around Lake Tahoe!

Depending on how I feel on Sunday...and how it all shakes out, I may follow you down Lost Coast way.

 

[wheatonFJR]

T-Minus ONE month from this morning... :yahoo:

Time to finish "getting it together" for this trip. :dribble:

Well, purchased an old Garmin 2610 on ebay a couple days ago...we'll see if it is worthy of purchasing mounts for when it arrives. I'm sure I'll have no idea how to use it...still bringing my Kali Gazetteer.

Also, thinking of purchasing a GoPro helmet cam to help remember this ride after it's all gone and fading dust in the memory...

I think my cam chain may be making noise now, so maybe looking to get a new CCT installed before the trip somehow.

T-Minus ONE month from this morning... :yahoo:

You ready airboss? :clapping:

Sure you don't wanna go griff?

 

[twistedcricket]

First, I don't know how I missed this thread...

It looks like you have a well-planned trip ahead of you. My time in NorCal was great! My tour guide(s) included JamesBurleigh and Hycle; JB knows some great roads around the SF area. However, it seems that you have some great suggestions from your list of guides. Take lots of pictures!

If it fits into our schedule, and I admit to skimming over most of the messages in this thread, make sure to ride through Napa Valley. The roads are great and the scenery is really interesting.

I agree completely with the suggestion of getting across the SF Bay Bridge. Just do that and get the *bleep* out of that town.

The other best part about riding in CA... Lane Splitting

Wave when you pass through Omahell...if you need anything between Des Moines and Denver let me know. I'm on the FJR assistance list.

Oh, and TriggerT is right, you can make it to CA in two days...I've done it

 

[wheatonFJR]

Wave when you pass through Omahell...if you need anything between Des Moines and Denver let me know. I'm on the FJR assistance list.

I'll be sure to give Omahell the TWN salute as I pass through...should I be facing my salute to the north or south side of I80 when I do this?

Thanks for the assistance offer...

 

[airboss]

T-Minus ONE month from this morning... :yahoo:

Time to finish "getting it together" for this trip. :dribble:

Well, purchased an old Garmin 2610 on ebay a couple days ago...we'll see if it is worthy of purchasing mounts for when it arrives. I'm sure I'll have no idea how to use it...still bringing my Kali Gazetteer.

Also, thinking of purchasing a GoPro helmet cam to help remember this ride after it's all gone and fading dust in the memory...

I think my cam chain may be making noise now, so maybe looking to get a new CCT installed before the trip somehow.

T-Minus ONE month from this morning... :yahoo:

You ready airboss? :clapping:

Sure you don't wanna go griff?

Ready? :hyper:

Wheatie, master of the understatement.

 

[beemerdons]

T-Minus ONE month from this morning... :yahoo:

Time to finish "getting it together" for this trip. :dribble:

Well, purchased an old Garmin 2610 on ebay a couple days ago...we'll see if it is worthy of purchasing mounts for when it arrives. I'm sure I'll have no idea how to use it...still bringing my Kali Gazetteer.

Also, thinking of purchasing a GoPro helmet cam to help remember this ride after it's all gone and fading dust in the memory...

I think my cam chain may be making noise now, so maybe looking to get a new CCT installed before the trip somehow.

T-Minus ONE month from this morning... :yahoo:

You ready airboss? :clapping:

Sure you don't wanna go griff?

Ready? :hyper:

Wheatie, master of the understatement.

Wheatie and airboss, Big-D and Papa Chuy are all ready for your arrival. We both went to JC Penney's this morning and bought new tighty-whities just for this occasion!!

 

[wheatonFJR]

Wheatie and airboss, Big-D and Papa Chuy are all ready for your arrival. We both went to JC Penney's this morning and bought new tighty-whities just for this occasion!!

Don, I'm not sure what a trip to JCP for undergarments has to do with this thread, and please don't try to explain it to me. :huh:



All I know is that it will be good to see you again...and that you aren't half the scary, twisted person that you appear to be on the intardwebs...here's to a beer in California. :drinks:

-photo by dcarver...I think he was tipsy and moving when this picture was taken. Either that or I was a bit tipsy myself and naturally blurry.

 

[twistedcricket]

Wave when you pass through Omahell...if you need anything between Des Moines and Denver let me know. I'm on the FJR assistance list.

I'll be sure to give Omahell the TWN salute as I pass through...should I be facing my salute to the north or south side of I80 when I do this?

Thanks for the assistance offer...

If you're riding i-80 through omahell, you'll want to keep both hands on the sticks. The bridge over the Missouri river is being replaced. Right now it's down to two lanes each direction. It's pretty easy to get through, without major lane shifts, but that could change by the time you cruise through. If you're not pressed for time, it only adds a few miles to take I-680. Look it up. Your call.

overview of i-680 split

oh, North, either way you ride through

 

[wheatonFJR]

The bridge over the Missouri river is being replaced. Right now it's down to two lanes each direction...If you're not pressed for time, it only adds a few miles to take I-680.

oh, North, either way you ride through

...680 it is!

I'll try to be in the right lane when I salute Omahell, so as not to initiate a road rage incident.

 

[TomInPA]

Wave when you pass through Omahell...if you need anything between Des Moines and Denver let me know. I'm on the FJR assistance list.

I'll be sure to give Omahell the TWN salute as I pass through...should I be facing my salute to the north or south side of I80 when I do this?

Thanks for the assistance offer...

If you're riding i-80 through omahell, you'll want to keep both hands on the sticks. The bridge over the Missouri river is being replaced. Right now it's down to two lanes each direction. It's pretty easy to get through, without major lane shifts, but that could change by the time you cruise through. If you're not pressed for time, it only adds a few miles to take I-680. Look it up. Your call.

overview of i-680 split

oh, North, either way you ride through

Just out of curiosity for my next trip through there, U.S. 30 follows 80. While it would not be quite as fast, is it a worthwhile trip, or does it pass through a lot of small towns in NB?

Wheatie, I'm surprised you aren't coming across I-70. Some really nice alternatives to the super-slab are US 36 and US50. What is your intended route?

 

[wheatonFJR]

Just out of curiosity for my next trip through there, U.S. 30 follows 80. While it would not be quite as fast, is it a worthwhile trip, or does it pass through a lot of small towns in NB?

Wheatie, I'm surprised you aren't coming across I-70. Some really nice alternatives to the super-slab are US 36 and US50. What is your intended route?

My intended route is shown in post#1, Tom. That was a few posts ago I put a summary of the trip there so people could always go back to the first post if they wanted to find that information.

Day 1 - Blast through the plains, Wheaton to Denver area, 900 some odd miles via beautiful I-80.

Day 2 - Denver area to Bryce Canyon area, 500 some odd miles.

Day 3 - Go through Bryce and Zion, then head west and north over the gov't bombing range to get to Beatty, NV, 600-700 some odd miles.

Day 4 - Go though Death Valley, west across California and end up coming into Santa Barbara/Goleta area, where my dad lives, 400 some odd miles...

...total of about 2400 miles on the way out. Not a lot of time to sight see. I hate interstates and hope to survive them...they suck the joy of a trip out of you. However, I decided that I would break my own rules of 3-400 miles per day on back roads in order that I could take this trip on a 16 day journey. Nine of those days will be spent in Kali with friends and seeing roads and sights that I have never seen, and may never see again. I am not a long distance rider, but I do like to take long trips...therefore I will not IronButt it out there, as some have suggested. I'm not that guy. In fact, I will be pretty tired by the time I get out there, but I should be refreshed after a day or so. Even if I was whupped the entire trip, it will be a great trip. Some things you just have to do and experience. This trip to Kali is why I dreamed of touring on motorcycles since I was fifteen. Besides, I get to travel with a guy who epoxies mcy license plates to tool boxes as a stolen item recovery device. The man can think outside the box.

Tom, I have never traveled US30 through Nebraska...so I can't tell you what it is like there. <sigh, I'll try to make this as short as possible and not blather on too much> My normal trip would be through backroads 95-100% of the time...but not this time...due to time constraints.

However, if I chose to explore the plains..and if you are a mind to...though there are very few curves to explore, there are many other things if you are a curious person and have an open, patient mind that is not needing an adrenaline rush though some curves. If I was to explore the plains, it would be on state and county roads via a gps...or just my nose, ears, and eyes. Going away from the claptrap of the flattest pavement joint jolting roads to some asphalt or oil and chip roads in the countryside, seeing old houses, old barns, old towns. I would stay away from the US routes.

That being said, I rode US 36 out to Denver with three others to NAFO in 2008. Not a bad way to blast out west in two days.

 

[Big-D]

This is gonna be a great ride. Reservations are made, all systems are a go... I hope! But, I still have to have my front tire installed onto the rim. Looking forward to seeing WTF a Traxxion is.

 

[Old Michael]

... Even if I was whupped the entire trip, it will be a great trip. Some things you just have to do and experience. This trip to Kali is why I dreamed of touring on motorcycles since I was fifteen. ...

I feel you, brother. Even after all of these years and miles, there is still NOTHING better than traveling somewhere on a motorbike.

Wheatie, I know that all of these California folks are going to do everything they can to help make this

a memorable trip for you. They're some of the finest folks I've ever known ,........ well, except for Sacramento Mike.

Riding home from work this evening, I noticed the air was sweet with the smells of early summer. Most of the trees

have leaved out now, and the evenings are getting longer and more golden. In the valley here, and through the lower coastal

mountains to the west, everything is soft and green and fresh.

And as the snow melts up in the bigger mountains just east of here, all of these roads will be new again and ******** I can't

wait to to take my blue Yamaha back up there.

You and Airboss are gonna have fun, amigo. ......And, that's a good-lookin' helmet you've got.

 

[twistedcricket]

Just out of curiosity for my next trip through there, U.S. 30 follows 80. While it would not be quite as fast, is it a worthwhile trip, or does it pass through a lot of small towns in NB?

HWY 30 through NE? I haven't taken HWY 30 through Nebraska. My intended purpose for riding I-80 is to get through quickly. I will make one observation very plain to anyone riding through the midwestern flatlands...if it's windy (it's always windy) there's little to nothing to act as a windbreak.

I can tell you HWY30 through Iowa does run through quite a few small towns, but you don't have to stop in most. Just sloooooow down, pay attention and wave nicely.

(hi-jack warning, sorry Wheaties)

Take a peek at Google Maps (maps.google.com), pick "Get Directions", type "Pine Bluffs, WY" as the start and "Omaha, NE" as the end. Then click on "Show Options" and check "Avoid Highways". That should route you along HWY30. If you would like some nice alternate routes through Iowa let me know. (It's where I'm from, I just live in omahell) PM me for email address/phone number if you'd like to get more details.

Wheatie-poo - I'll be sure to wave back... If Omahell is a fuel stop, Fort Street will have two stations on the north side. Actually, between Iowa City and Denver, just ask

 

[twistedcricket]

And as the snow melts up in the bigger mountains just east of here, all of these roads will be new again and ******** I can't

wait to to take my blue Yamaha back up there.

Oh hey, I thought of this just now...You're taking I-76 through CO, if I remember right. Be prepared for snow on the western end of the Eisenhower tunnel. Maybe someone from the Denver area can be more detailed. I was through there in early June a few years ago and rode in sleet/snow. Just a thought (There's a nice microbrew in Frisco to 'dry off' in while you wait)

 

[TomInPA]

Wheatie, looking forward to seeing you out here in CA. For some reason the stark reality of traveling US36 through Kansas, and 34 into Colorado had escaped me. Mile after mile of flat hot plains, with deer in the culverts waiting on my arrival.

Spring and summer is late this year. Zero chance the seasonal passes will open for your visit, but that is a small fraction of the riding. I'm hoping to intercept the tour north of San Luis Obisbo on into NorCal. Not so sure about the Russian River antics, but will certainly make the Gold Country tour and Tahoe.

I travel back east to see family. My last trip went from the border of South Dakota at Luvernne MN to PA non-stop, and was on the Alphabet county roads of MN, WI, and IL before jumping on the toll roads. Those are some bitchin' potholes you grow in the chicago area.

 

[James Burleigh]

Is there something going on in Cali in May? Is there someone coming from out of state or something? What's all this about??? :blink: