Ice Road bikers......Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP, Nov. 2011

[JCZ]

then we break out into this....







and on into Oakhurst......







and our home in Mariposa for this night.....





and some night life or is that night lights of Mariposa....







Another great day of riding.....tomorrow's Yosemite!

[JCZ]

Ya know, they told us at the gate...."you have a little ice up the road about 17 1/2 miles.....be careful". We all thought "oh, a little ice here and there", we'll just be careful as we ride across it. We certainly were not expecting five miles of solid ice that was an inch or so thick.

I'm 60 yrs. old and have been riding on two wheels all my life but this experience was a first. It definately had the pucker factor going.

[Girl O' Flight]

Cool JC!! Beautiful looking area! Though it really did look pretty darn chilly!
The snow (or frost) on the road would of been a major pucker factor for me, especially in the
turns! Glad you all made it though! Love the pics of the silly puppy Hunter! He looks darling
in his goggles! Great RR!

[David 1]

I'm a little older than you. And I have had some nice ice experience, which I would not want to repeat.
I would have had a serious question if I wanted to turn around or continue on that.
Maybe a closer evaluation would be telling.
There are those 'back easterners' who say ice is ok, just no hard acceleration, or deceleration, easy speed, hold it steady, and no sharp turns, no hard braking.
It can be done, but there is a certain uncertainty to it that can get you.
I wouldn't be puckered by it. If I made it. But I might be crumpled by it if I didn't.
dc

[CRASH]

Now that is a ride! Looks like a good time - thanks for posting.

[JCZ]

Originally Posted by David 1

I'm a little older than you. And I have had some nice ice experience, which I would not want to repeat.
I would have had a serious question if I wanted to turn around or continue on that.
Maybe a closer evaluation would be telling.
There are those 'back easterners' who say ice is ok, just no hard acceleration, or deceleration, easy speed, hold it steady, and no sharp turns, no hard braking.
It can be done, but there is a certain uncertainty to it that can get you.
I wouldn't be puckered by it. If I made it. But I might be crumpled by it if I didn't.
dc

Having run up and down the mountains many, many winters as a skier....that was my approach and the direction that I shared with those I was leading. In this case, it paid off. But it's not an experience that I want to repeat any time soon. I'd like to stick to the 4x4 with snow tires for those excursions.

[JCZ]

Originally Posted by Girl O' Flight

Cool JC!! Beautiful looking area! Though it really did look pretty darn chilly!
The snow (or frost) on the road would of been a major pucker factor for me, especially in the
turns! Glad you all made it though! Love the pics of the silly puppy Hunter! He looks darling
in his goggles! Great RR!

Not an issue with the Gerbing gear.....we were totally comfortable in that regard. Maybe even a little to warm.

Glad you like the pics...thank you!

[Loki]

Sequoia and Kings canyon can be unpredictable with weather conditions. One time in June, we rode into fog so thick, the sun disappeared. It was wet and dark at 2pm in the afternoon. I had to ride inches from the car in front of me or I would lose sight of it's tail lights. Anyway, great RR and photos. Hopefully, you will be able to avoid snow in Yosemite. Since, you're in Mariposa, are you planning to ride the lil dragon into Yosemite or just take 140?

[Ally House]

Excellent report and fantastic photos. Great stuff, here. And braver 'n me...I'd be a fraidy cat on the ice.

[JCZ]

Originally Posted by Ally House

Excellent report and fantastic photos. Great stuff, here. And braver 'n me...I'd be a fraidy cat on the ice.

It certainly wasn't about being brave. We were on a down hill slope with a curve at the bottom when we realized it was solid ice. No way to turn four bikes and a trailer around on that. Just had to suck it up and keep moving.

Slow and easy, light acceleration up hill, using the tranny to slow us on the downhills, easy on the curves. Wasn't nothing brave about it......it was four fraidy cats and one brave dog.

Just really grateful that they had it sanded pretty well.