What I did on my summer vacation, or, my first report on meeting the FJR horde.
Saturday the 21st, Star Date unknown – arrive at Alice’s slightly before the main gaggle appears. Once the main crew shows up, sit down and try to sort out the names and faces – Chris from the city, Sam, see MadMike, TomInCA, Brodie and Puppychow again (met them a few weeks ago), Tyler, Fairlaner, Beemerdons, Wheaton, Airboss, and so on. I sit next to 3 nice guys from Oregon (Dave, George and Kevin) and soon find out why Dave is the PieMan. I’m still lookin’ at the menu when I hear him order up a Bloody Mary and Blackberry Pie a la mode. And seconds later, a peach pie ordered by MadMike is delivered as an appetizer.
We ride down to Pescadero State Beach where I thrill the crowd by showing off my riding skills, dumping the bike while making a u-turn in some too-deep-sand. What a way to introduce myself! I think TomInCA captured it on digital film though so far he’s been kind enough not to post it. Luckily the frame slider took the only visible damage so nothing hurt worse than my pride.
Something like 8 of us dart out up the the coast where Highlander has a mechanical failure with the auto-shifter. Not too many AE experts in the group, we were all wishing that Brodie was there to fix it with a paper clip and duct tape. Anyways, Highlander heads for home stuck in 2nd gear (but don’t worry, he appears again in the story).
We stopped in at Fort Point underneath the south end of Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a Civil War era fort that has recently been renovated and reopened. Beautiful and windy, we got great views of the Bay, lots of boats, whitecaps, the city, and of course Alcatraz and Angel Islands.
A couple of bikes in front of Fort Point
Crossing the bridge, we tried to travel up Conzelman Road through the Marin Headlands but it was closed for construction. MadMike wandered up to the Hendrik Point above the Bridge to take some shots but I haven’t seen the results yet (maybe you’ll post ‘em MM?)
What next? We were prohibited by previous promises NOT to go directly up Highway 1 past Stinson Beach, so it was up to Lucas Valley Road, then a series of roads that I don’t quite remember. Chileno Valley Road sounds familiar, and I know we went through some little village called Tomales. We ended up at the Bodega Coast Inn about 3:30 or so. Did a quick tour of the town including a stop at the Spud Point Crab Company for some chowduh - delicious and hot – just what the doctor ordered.
So its dinner time and perfect for some more meet and greet. Met CAJW and Kathy from La Grange – nice folks who would be riding with us some more on Sunday. Sat next to FJRONAMISSION and got some idea where some folks might think he’s CRAAAAAZEEEEEEE. Caught up on some more details of Brodie’s encounter with an elk. I’d heard about the mishap with a truck, but didn’t know he has a real habit of hitting large objects.
Sunday morning – lots of the crew are buggin’ out towards home. Roger, Chris (Further), MadMike, Fairlaner, Beemerdons, TomInCA, Puppychow, and many others are headin’ the wrong way for crying out loud, though they have their share of adventures based on the reports. We get off at about 8:30 with Rich in the lead with the lovely Miss Elizabeth behind, Wheaton, Airboss, CAJW and Kathy, Tyler, Barb and myself. We stop at the outpost store at Stewarts Point to get ready for the ride ahead.
Stewarts Point (I think)
Folks getting ready for Skaggs Road
We get to Skagg Springs Road and negotiate the back woods track (insert Deliverance banjo music here if I knew how) then burst out on the Super Speedway. There are 3 crotch rockets boys taking a breather at the bridge and Old Michael is waiting there with camera, appearing like magic. We tear down the hill as you’re supposed to, I’m following exskibum who’s setting a pretty nice pace especially considering he’s two up, and I’m wondering the whole time “Why would you build a road like this out in the middle of nowhere?”
INSERT LINK TO VIDEO CLIP HERE (once I figure out how)
At Cloverdale we lose Tyler and Barb who have to turn south. So long ladies
. From Cloverdale its across 128, a stop in Fort Bragg for a lunch at Café 1 (simply the most elegant diner in Fort Bragg, no question), then continue up 1 to the Avenue of the Giants. Stopped to answer nature’s call and noticed that we had stumbled across one of the great centers of spiritual learning in the entire world (at least according to the sign). Unfortunately that great spirituality didn’t seem to help the establishment’s financial condition – it was closed up tighter than a drum.
Are you opened or closed? Make up your mind.
Arrived in Fortuna about 6:30 and met Ray in the parking lot, freshly arrived from Oregon. After a quick unload (luggage and biological), wandered over to the Eel River Brewery for dinner where we had 2 more surprises. Highlander is back!! After a return to home base on his ailing FJR, he had set out this morning on the backup V-Strom, missing us at Bodega Bay by a mere 30 minutes – needless to say it was great to have him back on the team.
There’s another guy sitting at the bar with a buddy (yet another Tom – I think I met about 5 different Tom’s on this trip) – it is no other than FarWestFastEddie, and he doesn’t seem too pleased to see us. What could be wrong I wonder. Could it be that we blew through Garberville (I think it was Garberville) a couple hours earlier, saw a guy on an ’07 FJR waving his arms, and didn’t stop? Ooops. It turns out that Eddie and Karl had swapped notes on the forum about meeting up so looks we should have known to be on the lookout. Anyhow, Eddie’s a good sport and we all settle down for a few beers, steak and whatever.
It’s Monday morning and the obligatory trip around NorCal is in order. We head out with 8 riders and 1 lovely passenger. The roster now is exskibum+Elizabeth, Ray, FWFE, Tom, Highlander, Wheaton, Airboss and little ‘ole me. We take what is apparently the classic route up 299 and 96, beautiful weather (other than down to low 40’s over the passes) and great views of the Klamath River.
Sasquatch lives! I think I'm the first to get a picture of one wearing a safety vest.
Nice road, great weather, beautiful river - pretty average rider
Fast Eddie and Tom confer with Sasquatch, er, Ray
We decide to stop for a lunch at the Black Bear Diner in Yreka – lunch is great, but sad news awaits in the parking lot. First, Eddie’s friend Tom has to depart and head home. Second, Wheaton’s got a flat. He decides to man up and pulls out the foot actuated air pump. After about 5 minutes he looks for the next volunteer. Not getting any, he relents and uses Highlander’s electric pump.
Wonder which end you step on?
We depart Yreka and head back to Fortuna by Highway 3, over the Trinity Alps. Its not too cold over the top, but there’s lots of snow on the ground and there’s a little bit of rain (I think the only real rain I saw in 5 days of riding ). I think it was out of Weaverville that Wheaton throws a shoe. The plug spits out and its back to the side of the road for repair. There’s no pretending with the foot pump this time around, its straight to the motorized version (thanks again Highlander).
Eddie stops us on the Trinity River so he can show us a 2000' sheer drop - noone falls for it.....
With the stops it’s a long day – back to Fortuna via 299 at about 9:30 where its time for another stop at the ERB. We say hello to 2 new friends – its bugnatr and his friend Tom from Nevada City. Tom rides a Beemer (1150GS) but we won’t hold it against him. They’ve ridden up from the Sacto area and settle in to drink a couple with us. After dinner its time we say goodbye to FWFE – he’s heading back home to Eureka and it seems there are no hard feelings on his part for the way we blew him off on Sunday. Nice to meet and ride with you Eddie.
Tuesday morning its time for the long haul. First up is 36 – seen at least 20 pictures of the “Windy Road Sign” and now its time to see if I’m up to the job. We take a quick stop after the early section of twists and trees. Its there we notice that exskibum’s rear tire looks pretty worn – there’s no cord showing and he’s not concerned - yet. We continue up the ridgeline then get into the fast stuff nearing highway 3. Its in this section that bugnatr and Tom ask permission (permission granted) to take their leave and accelerate up and away.
Look at the Ricky Racers!
After another short break, its my turn to follow Doug and Tom and I do my best to keep up. I think they’re moving pretty quick (Doug’s probably laughing – he’s at 80% or something) and I’m working pretty good to stay in their wake. I have a great time through the fast sweepers heading downhill towards Red Bluff, and even manage to get air off one of the whoop-de-doos. Its time to stop at the legendary sign for the required photo op, then into town for lunch at Luigi’s. Fantastic lunch there with a Philly Cheesesteak and salad – I’d do it again if I was ever in Red Bluff again, but it was enough food to feed 2 people, and that’s a lot of bulk to put down when you’ve got 6 hours of riding to do still.
Its here in Red Bluff that we say farewell to Ray and Highlander – Ray headed north to Oregon, Dave turning south to Santa Cruz. It was great riding with you guys – hope we can do it again some time. So now we’re down to 6 – Doug, Tom, Rich (+Liz), Mark, Karl and me – and its time to head east on 36, south on 89, then finish it off with a dash of 49.
We go through the high country around Lassen Volcanic National Park. The roads are great, the only real traffic are logging trucks, and the views are fantastic. We travel south on 89, stopping for a quick break in Quincy, the county seat for Plumas County. After we turn onto Highway 49 we make a quick stop at an overlook where you can see the entire Sierra Valley, beautiful country that spans from Sierraville to the east to Loyalton and beyond to the north.
We cross Yuba Pass at somewhere around 6700 feet, the highest point of the entire 5 day trip. Its not too cold but there’s still plenty of the white stuff on the ground due to the record snowfall this year. From there its downhill through a bunch of quaint little towns, ripping through the twisties alongside the Yuba River which is running strong from the runoff.
For Doug and Tom its probably easy going since this is there home field, but for me it pretty brisk keeping up, and by the time we hit Downieville I’m ready to back it off a notch. Rich and Liz keep going while we take a pitstop and that’s the last I see of them on the trip (nice to have hung with you two for the last few days). Doug does the survivors a favor and eases the throttle a bit and we breeze into Nevada City where we bid adieu to Tom. To us fairing types that boxer looks a little funny but he sure gets along nicely on it – and its fun to watch him drag his inside foot like a flat tracker.
We get to Grass Valley and its time for Doug, Mark and Karl to peel off for the bugnatr’s house. Thanks guys for the trip. I really enjoyed chasing Doug around today, and it was a pleasure to spend a few days with our long-distance visitors from Illinois. I hope you all had a good a time as I had.
The last few hundred miles on day 5 is for home and rest. A few lessons learned from my first semi-long distance:
1) Got to get a better seat. Every day it felt like my keester was on fire. Longest day in miles was just over 400 and in hours, just over 13. For you veterans that’s a walk in the park, but I’m not doing that again without a Mayer or Russell upgrade.
2) Cruise control (or at least workable throttle lock). I gave the GoCruise a try and it was useless.
3) Electrical farkles – I’m going to see if I can talk Brodie into being my mentor on adding expensive but useful electrical components. I’m thinking some extra lights and heated grips are the first.
4) Its great to have good riders to push you – this was the first time I really worked this big girl very hard and it was a lot of fun. Got a lot more confident in the grip at speed, and there’s plenty of torque available to cover mistakes in gear position. The sweepers on Skaggs Springs Road, Highway 36, and along the Yuba River were awesome, thanks largely to following Rich and Doug. Thanks a lot guys!!
Last note – I’ve got a few hours of video that I've got to figure how to get off the camera then try and edit down to a manageable length. It might take me a few days to sort it out so hopefully there will be something worth waiting for.
Cheers
