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Mattole Road Question

motoproponent

motoproponent

Demon of the Glass Vagina
Joined
Nov 3, 2005
Location
El Sobrante
Moto(s)
2024 Energica Experia
Name
Jeffe
Last time I rode Mattole Rd through the lost coast, there was a lot more dirt than I remember. Has anyone ridden it recently? Is it paved now?

If I was riding with someone on a Dyna Lowrider.....could they make it through the whole loop from 101 up to Ferndale (through Honeydew and Capetown)?
 
motoproponent said:
Last time I rode Mattole Rd through the lost coast, there was a lot more dirt than I remember. Has anyone ridden it recently? Is it paved now?

If I was riding with someone on a Dyna Lowrider.....could they make it through the whole loop from 101 up to Ferndale (through Honeydew and Capetown)?
Click to expand...
I rode it a few weeks ago during the rally. At this point, there's not much dirt on it, maybe a couple hundred feet when you go up that steep hill that takes you away from the coast (you know the one) and one other section that has a stop sign immediately preceding it

They could make it but they might drag hard parts a few times and I wouldn't recommend riding it very fast. There are still some pretty drastic dips and drops in the pavement.
 
I miss riding all over up there, a lot of fantastic three day rides we had- on a wide array of bikes. Good stuff.
 
No word on Matole Road.

But years ago i drove it in my Mini convertible. I was with a couple friends, one in his Miata, the other driving his G35 Infinity. I was driving pretty fast and didn't see the pothole I hit. I completely blew out my sidewall. (215 x 40 x 18 Michelin sports on my JCW Mini) We had to wait a number of hours for a tow. And it took forever to get back. The next day one of my friends had to drive more than 60 miles to get a new tire.

And while we were waiting for a tow truck, a local guy drove out in his golf cart with a couple beers and chatted with us.

FYI, don't go exploring around that area. You may never live.
 
I love exploring that area. Did it once on a GS back in 2006 with a group of riders and I don't remember hitting any dirt. Did it again in 2008ish and again can't remember any dirt. Of course I don't remember the route either so I may have wandered off Mattole for a bit. Last time i did it was before the pandemic in 2018 and was surprised by the dirt parts.

My buddy lives in Washington and is coming down for a ride on his birthday. He wants to return home via the coast, and I plan to ride with him until I have to turn back to make it home by September 12th so I can head to Hawthorne ( :banana ) on the 13th. I always prefer Mattole to Ave of the Giants, but heading in and then turning around to backtrack is less than ideal.

Is there a paved Mattole-ish route near there that would be conducive to continued northward travel?
 
I drove Mattole last April, short video below. Some of the best view in CA, I love the north coast. We camped at the BLM campground on Mattole beach, best sunset I have seen.



IMG_7010.jpeg

IMG_7030.jpeg
 
Amazing photos Bill! :thumbup
 
Spectacular. You just pushed my button. Gotta do the Lost Coast again.
 
motoproponent said:
I love exploring that area. Did it once on a GS back in 2006 with a group of riders and I don't remember hitting any dirt. Did it again in 2008ish and again can't remember any dirt. Of course I don't remember the route either so I may have wandered off Mattole for a bit. Last time i did it was before the pandemic in 2018 and was surprised by the dirt parts.

My buddy lives in Washington and is coming down for a ride on his birthday. He wants to return home via the coast, and I plan to ride with him until I have to turn back to make it home by September 12th so I can head to Hawthorne ( :banana ) on the 13th. I always prefer Mattole to Ave of the Giants, but heading in and then turning around to backtrack is less than ideal.

Is there a paved Mattole-ish route near there that would be conducive to continued northward travel?
Click to expand...
Jeff, we're talking literally a quarter mile of gravel, total. I really would not let that stop you from taking it as long as your guest is comfortable riding the rest of the road. A lot of short stretches have been freshly paved.
 
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