Adventure riding short rides and BS thread

[slackmeyer]

Dude!! You need to go out to the Lost Coast and ride the Paradise Royale stuff just north of Shelter Cove!

WoodsChick

Ohhh, that would be cool, I know where that sign is. I need to get back into bicycling shape before I do that.

 

[WoodsChick]

Ohhh, that would be cool, I know where that sign is. I need to get back into bicycling shape before I do that.

It looks pretty fun...I mean, for a bike with no motor...

WoodsChick

 

[slackmeyer]

I need to decide if I'm going to go riding and camping this weekend, and where. Anybody been riding around the Mendocino this last week or so? Are all the passes snowed in, are the creeks too high to cross, or can I go over goat mt?

I'm tossing around other ideas too. . . . I'd love to visit Carrizo right now, but it's a bit too far for the 640 unless I put it in a truck, and I hate to do that just for one bike. Maybe I'll take the 950 down and look at the purty flowers. . .

zak

 

[WoodsChick]

I need to decide if I'm going to go riding and camping this weekend, and where. Anybody been riding around the Mendocino this last week or so? Are all the passes snowed in, are the creeks too high to cross, or can I go over goat mt?

I'm tossing around other ideas too. . . . I'd love to visit Carrizo right now, but it's a bit too far for the 640 unless I put it in a truck, and I hate to do that just for one bike. Maybe I'll take the 950 down and look at the purty flowers. . .

zak

Carrizo would get my vote for bike camping this weekend, although I'll be riding the dirtbike at Stonyford The flowers were beautiful 2 weekends ago, and they were just barely getting started!

I would bet the complete and total balance of my checkbook that Goat Mt will not be passable due to snow. I'll let you know after this weekend, as one of my favorite trails at Stonyford is #4, the Goat Mt Trail.


Have fun wherever you go...and take lotsa pictures!




WoodsChick

 

[slackmeyer]

Ok, I think you've convinced me. I'll let you do the Mendo recon, I'll go flower sniffing down south, and maybe I'll see you at lanesplitters to hear about snow levels.

zak

 

[WoodsChick]

Ok, I think you've convinced me. I'll let you do the Mendo recon, I'll go flower sniffing down south, and maybe I'll see you at lanesplitters to hear about snow levels.

zak

It's a date! arty

If you need more convincing, check out the rest of the photos from that weekend
http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=363717




WoodsChick

 

[WoodsChick]

Ok, I think you've convinced me. I'll let you do the Mendo recon, I'll go flower sniffing down south, and maybe I'll see you at lanesplitters to hear about snow levels.

zak

Ahem...

Surely your camera was working this weekend...right??

I'm patiently awaiting some photos...




WoodsChick

 

[slackmeyer]

Ahem...

Surely your camera was working this weekend...right??

I'm patiently awaiting some photos...




WoodsChick

Yep, lots of photos- still doing some sorting. Teaser shot:

I got both rain and flowers in the background of that one.

zak

 

[Banjoboy]

Yep, lots of photos- still doing some sorting. Teaser shot:

I got both rain and flowers in the background of that one.

zak

No tent? No air mattress? No generator & big screen tv? How'd you manage?
Can't wait fer the rest.

 

[slackmeyer]

No tent? No air mattress? No generator & big screen tv? How'd you manage?
Can't wait fer the rest.

I had me bottle of HEET to keep me warm and happy, remember? I'm having some loss of vision now though, but not as bad as sterno gives me.

zak

 

[WoodsChick]

No tent? No air mattress? No generator & big screen tv? How'd you manage?
Can't wait fer the rest.

I know That looks like the Slackmeyer Sheraton, alright

After almost stepping on a scorpion in the desert, I'm a tent kinda gal, for sure. That is, when I'm not slumbering in my Pleasure-Way in my king-size bed with 3" tempurpedic mattress topper, down comforter and LCD TV with SurroundSound and shower. It was chilly on Saturday morning...31 degrees out...I kinda shivered a little as I got up to turn the heater on and get the coffee brewing. It was rough...




WoodsChick

 

[slackmeyer]

Alright, Carrizo plain here we come:
Started out with a BARF ride to check out hwy 25:

Headed over Parkfield Grade to Parkfield, had a soda at the cafe and ate my sandwich before heading on.

I got down to hwy 41/46, and found that I was going to have to head over to 101 to get gas before I headed out to Carrizo plain. I made lemonade out of those lemons though, I took Hwy 41 to Atascadero, and then 229 to 58 out to Carrizo- fantastic roads:

The yellow flowers are out in Carrizo, it's still a bit early for oranges and purples. I think peak is still a week or two away.

 

[WoodsChick]

Yay!! More, please!

I've ridden 58 from Santa Margarita to the Plain and it was a huge ball o' fun!




WoodsChick

 

[slackmeyer]

By the way, sorry about the orange blotch on the right side of my pictures. I smacked a bug early on in the ride, and didn't notice until I got home. One of the hazards of taking photos while riding, I guess.

Anyway-
I had no desire to get a 500 lb bike stuck in a mud bog, while riding by myself. Been there, done that, etc, etc.
So I avoided this:

And turned around here, on caliente ridge:

I decided that I'd be better off exploring the east side of the valley, so after a couple false starts, I found a track across.

On Elkhorn road (the main road on the east side):

Totem to something near my campsite:

Camp, off of a little dirt road off of elkhorn:

 

[slackmeyer]

Next morning, after a light rain at night, I woke to find my tarp covered with ice. I thought southern california was supposed to be warm all the time?

It warmed up soon enough, I stuck around to catch some rays before I took off again.

Not sure what this is, some kind of aster, I guess:

Some kind of waterleaf: (I used to know this kind of stuff, but I'm from washington, and I don't know much about california yet)

Heading over Hurricane ridge to Taft, to get gas, and then loop around to the south end of Elkhorn:

One last photo from Carrizo- up a fun side road off of the south end of Elkhorn. Wish I had time to ride along the ridge from here, I think you must have taken some of your pics from up there Woodschick.

But my wife was doing a ride of her own this weekend, a 400 kilometer bicycle ride, and I wanted to get home to make her dinner. So I took some more good roads north to home.

Bitterwater road:

From there, I backtracked through parkfield, to coalinga, and los gatos/old coalinga up to 25, and then into the bay area. Fun weekend, I've still got lots of exploring to do in Carrizo though.

zak

 

[WoodsChick]

]

One last photo from Carrizo- up a fun side road off of the south end of Elkhorn. Wish I had time to ride along the ridge from here, I think you must have taken some of your pics from up there Woodschick.

zak

Yep, I recognize that road. We rode it from the very southern end of Elkhorn where your photo was taken all the way to Hurricane. Incredibly fun road, but I wouldn't want to do some of those loose uphills and downhills on anything bigger than what I was on. Maybe with knobbies, but still...

I've spent a grand total of 5 days riding the Plain itself and it hasn't been nearly enough. That whole area has a lot to offer, whether it's high-speed pavement, goaty roads, dirt roads, trails, mind-blowing scenery...it just never ends down there.

Oh, and sorry about the snow and rain. The weather was stellar in the MNF for us But I was right about Goat Mt...couldn't get near it due to snow. Good thing we didn't bet...you'd owe me about $24.38




WoodsChick

 

[slackmeyer]

Yep, I recognize that road. We rode it from the very southern end of Elkhorn where your photo was taken all the way to Hurricane. Incredibly fun road, but I wouldn't want to do some of those loose uphills and downhills on anything bigger than what I was on. Maybe with knobbies, but still...

I've spent a grand total of 5 days riding the Plain itself and it hasn't been nearly enough. That whole area has a lot to offer, whether it's high-speed pavement, goaty roads, dirt roads, trails, mind-blowing scenery...it just never ends down there.

Oh, and sorry about the snow and rain. The weather was stellar in the MNF for us But I was right about Goat Mt...couldn't get near it due to snow. Good thing we didn't bet...you'd owe me about $24.38




WoodsChick

Yeah, that's what I figured about Goat Mt. What a late year for the snow. I'm itching to get up in the mts., but what I should be doing is planning another trip down to Carrizo later this month.

I had a TKC on the front of the bike, which is kind of a knobby, but my rear tire is mostly a street tire. There was a lot of wheelspin involved in getting up to the place where I took the photo. There would be a lot more roads to check out on a smaller bike there. Right behind my campsite, there was one tricky hillclimb and then a bit more road up to the ridge road.

Well, maybe next time I'll be on something slightly smaller.

zak

 

[rockydog]

great pics and route gusto, slackmeister, and sorry i couldn't make lanesplitter. it was a hard call but went to the independent to see a 22 young belgian women sing. Scala and the Kolacny bros, check em out on utube. they do the Creep soundtrack behind the social networking trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4

woodschick , reserve me a spot for next time..

stephen

 

[WoodsChick]

great pics and route gusto, slackmeister, and sorry i couldn't make lanesplitter. it was a hard call but went to the independent to see a 22 young belgian women sing. Scala and the Kolacny bros, check em out on utube. they do the Creep soundtrack behind the social networking trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4

woodschick , reserve me a spot for next time..

stephen

Will do!




WC

 

[flying_hun]

Great adventure and pics, Zak!

Is your wife in the process of qualifying for PBP?

Where in Washington? I spent most of my misspent yute there.

 

[slackmeyer]

Great adventure and pics, Zak!

Is your wife in the process of qualifying for PBP?

Where in Washington? I spent most of my misspent yute there.

Thanks! That ride down 25 gave me the final push to head south last weekend.

My wife isn't working on qualifying for the PBP this year, and she's not sure she's interested in something that long- she enjoys the 200 mile rides, but she's not that into the all nighters that it takes to do 400k+.

I'm from Cashmere, washington actually- right smack dab in the middle of the state. I get back up there a couple times a year, in the summer on the motorcycle. Here's a picture from a few miles behind my dad's house:

zak

 

[flying_hun]

Nice. Maybe we can ride up that way some time. I'm from over near Black Diamond in King County. I'm sure we can string together some sort of adventure ride up that way. Maybe a BARF adventure rally.

In the meantime, have you read "East of the Mountains" by David Guterson? Should be good reading for a Cashmere boy.

 

[slackmeyer]

Nice. Maybe we can ride up that way some time. I'm from over near Black Diamond in King County. I'm sure we can string together some sort of adventure ride up that way. Maybe a BARF adventure rally.

In the meantime, have you read "East of the Mountains" by David Guterson? Should be good reading for a Cashmere boy.

Oh, Cool. I went to school for a while in Olympia (evergreen), and when I went back and forth I'd drive right by Black Diamond. Right down the hill from Mt. Tigard, right?

It's a great ride from here to washington, lots of nice routes without many people on them. Not as twisty as bay area roads, unfortunately, but fun anyway.

Funny that you should mention "East of the Mountains" -- I have read it, and I've also had dinner with David Guterson- he came over to our house, and talked to my dad for a couple hours when he was writing that book. My dad was doing the agriculture beat for the local newspaper, and my parents were fruit pickers before that, so I guess that's why.

zak

 

[DukeD]

This tread rocks ! It makes me want to be an adventure rider too. I even went and ordered one of those map books that Woodschick recommended. I sit and gloss over that book for hours on end.

someday....... I'm going there, and there, and ...

 

[slackmeyer]

This tread rocks ! It makes me want to be an adventure rider too. I even went and ordered one of those map books that Woodschick recommended. I sit and gloss over that book for hours on end.

someday....... I'm going there, and there, and ...

I agree with her! That's part of the fun. So many times I'll be riding along on a route that I have figured out, when I see there's a twisty line on the map nearby, that I've never heard of. Or a dashed line between two tiny towns. Some of my best rides happened that way.

And there's nothing I love more than sitting around a campsite with my headlamp and a good map, taking note of all the good roads I can ride the next day.