• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

ADV/DS ride Lake Berryessa/Knoxville OHV/Rayhouse Rd.

N4teTheGreat said:
I'm definitely down to do this again with a little notice. DRZ could use a workout and it'd be fun to see what else Knoxville has to offer.

The ride from San Jose to Knoxville is a slog but you have Metcalf in your backyard. From SF Knoxville is definitely the closest and the ride is not bad, in fact Knoxille Berryessa rode is a blast on a dual sport.
Click to expand...

I did Knoxville on my 1200GSA many years ago, with Metzeler Tourance tires. I took the main loop from/to Knoxville Rd, about 10mi. It was OK and I did not drop the bike, but I would not do it again, just no desire to push my luck. The GS can be picked up if you are alone, I did it a few times, but it is a pain to do. No problem with 2-3 people.

Of course I did ride all the way from San Jose and back, no problem on that bike. And Knoxville Berryessa Rd is very nice, except that on one of my group rides another guy dropped his 2 day old GS in one of the water crossings by accelerating.
 
matty said:
No, but I think I can speak for everyone and highly encourage you to do it and report back:teeth
Click to expand...

Update: I fit through on the AT but was met by a gruff old man that “kindly” asked me to leave the area and “obey” The road closure. So that seemed super suspect.

Update though: Huffmaster road’s gate is uhhhh broken and laying on the side of the hill on leesville. But at the end of huffmaster, there’s a gate by someone’s property with a clasp lock for access to continue onto huffmaster. That was a weird surprise. Huffmaster has incredibly thick/sticky mud.

For anyone on big adv bikes, there’s a LOT of soupy/greasy mud. Highly advisable to air down as much as you can
 
Rode out to Knoxville Sunday with a buddy to explore a little (little being the key word). Took a few off shoots from the main road, one was a fun rocky loop, the other was s short spur that took a decidedly steep rocky and loose descent back to the main road. I lost my nerve and didn't try the descent, maybe next time. Main road is a bit rutted in places following the rain and there are some mud holes to wallow in. Reif Rd was open so we tacked that on as well. Left SF at 9am, got back around 8:30pm so it was a full day.

Lots of wildflowers blooming. There was a field off Knoxville Rd that was speckled with poppies and particularly beautiful in the late day sun on the way back. I didn't stop for a photo regrettably as I was having too much fun bouncing and hustling the DRZ down the road. I guess I should probably wash the bike now.

ACtC-3dgaF9zhYvdSfh67F2tYEO845ZLb_MSC7mMD4Vwvqluum2N-hDGePp6GxzfC1lqBq2O1UeQXT6xfQ6clcJzWVpGDief1F9vyeVmFwm2JxEaEwe4eDL1z24pcq9Gfyurb4MruwZT9j4kENXZJS04q8acXg=w800-no
 
The DRZ is looking good. It shows evidence of the mud holes.
 
N4teTheGreat said:
Rode out to Knoxville Sunday with a buddy to explore a little (little being the key word). Took a few off shoots from the main road, one was a fun rocky loop, the other was s short spur that took a decidedly steep rocky and loose descent back to the main road. I lost my nerve and didn't try the descent, maybe next time. Main road is a bit rutted in places following the rain and there are some mud holes to wallow in. Reif Rd was open so we tacked that on as well. Left SF at 9am, got back around 8:30pm so it was a full day.

Lots of wildflowers blooming. There was a field off Knoxville Rd that was speckled with poppies and particularly beautiful in the late day sun on the way back. I didn't stop for a photo regrettably as I was having too much fun bouncing and hustling the DRZ down the road. I guess I should probably wash the bike now.
Click to expand...

:thumbup
I was out there on Sunday too, wish we had crossed paths. I was mostly on Fisk Rd(?) Found a neat little hobbit camping spot at the bottom of the canyon. And some of the ruts are little chasms! It really is quite stunning right now, everything is turning green, the weather is perfect and the flowers are blooming. My day was cut short, unfortunately, because my van's transmission shit the bed on my way out there and that was stressing me out. so if anybody wants a van that they can park in their driveway and rent out as an airbnb, let me know.:laughing

Hope to see you next time.
 
Ah darn, it'd have been fun to meet up since I really have no idea where I'm going out there aside from the main route. I'll post up here next time I plan to do this. This time was a bit last minute as a more ambitious plan I had to ride clear through to Cow Mountain and back was vetoed by more rational minds.
 
I was just on most of this route last Friday/Saturday (stayed at Buck Island Friday night) with only two minor issues. There was a spot coming up past Lake Berryessa where they were doing some power line reconstruction / tree removal with only one lane open, and we had to wait about 15 mins for the pilot truck to come back and take us through. Then there was a tree across Reiff Rd (somewhere not too far past Buck Island Rd, IIRC) that was high enough to pass under without issue once we cut some branches out of the way - I got to use my Amazon 36" "chain" saw for the first time and it was kind of awesome. We didn't do the 10mi Knoxville "add-on" part of the posted route.

Aside from that it was fantastic! The whole area has a lot more green, now, in most of the burned areas of Berryessa-Knoxville and Reiff. Buck Island Rd was the nicest I've seen, hardpacked and smooth, with very few noticable ruts and none of the talcum. No one on else on Reiff Fri pm and Sat am. No one at else at Buck Island, though there was a quick cameo of two dirtbikers that rode in, toodled around for a bit, and then left without fanfare.
 
I'm clearly not doing the route by the books as I have not yet been to buck island or the waterfall. Tried to find the waterfall on this last ride but signs claimed the trail was closed and I didn't venture on to confirm. On the upside I guess that means more to explore next time I get out there.
 
I was there this past Sunday and both Knoxville and Reiff were bone dry. Not sure whether it was the dry conditions or the new tyres (MT-21), but I was sliding all over the place; it's only April and I already miss winter.

moto57 said:
Anybody thinking of doing this ride April 11th?
Click to expand...

Wish I had seen your post earlier.
 
I have done Reiff Rd many times, both eastwards and westwards, and I am planning on going to Buck Island this coming weekend for the first time; is the road to Buck Island pretty much the same as Reiff?
 
johnkol said:
I have done Reiff Rd many times, both eastwards and westwards, and I am planning on going to Buck Island this coming weekend for the first time; is the road to Buck Island pretty much the same as Reiff?
Click to expand...

Yes, but wider and smoother. Might be some ruts and silty sections. I was on it in October and it was like a super highway.


Some shots of of the road to Buck Island







 
Last edited:
I was there a few weeks ago

Cabrito said:
Yes, but wider and smoother. Might be some ruts and silty sections. I was on it in October and it was like a super highway.
Click to expand...

The top/ridge is superhighway. The lower, steeper section had a few biggish ruts (nothing as bad as lower Fisk) that are easily avoidable, that is, unless you are putting your foot in one:laughing and a couple of the lower corners have some silt. It hasn't rained since I've been there. I think in this thread bananachucks (not sure if that's the right name) posted a video of him going from the bottom to the top. Have fun.
 
Thanks for the info guys, it was as described, minus the silt but with the addition of rolling rocks due to the mid-week rain. The first half is indeed kind of boring, but the second half makes for a decent diversion and some nice bonus miles when doing Knoxville OHV and Reiff.

There was no one at Buck Island, probably due to the rain forecast for later in the evening.
 
Anyone up for Knoxville OHV (main road)/Devilshead/Rd 40 tomorrow (Sunday, 6 June)? I'm looking for some dirt time and would prefer not to go solo. I'm riding out of SF, leaving around 0700 or 0730. Not a lot of dirt skills here (easy unpaved roads, one dirt skills class recently), but ready & willing for some practice
 
Last edited:
Look for a recent post in the adv or dirty barfing subforums;
Road is currently closed while they do repairs to the dam, don't recall when it's supposed to be back open.

Can be great in Oct/Nov as long as it's been dry, once wet the mud makes it very difficult and no longer fun...:twofinger

/T
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top