D/S ride in the Oakhurst area

[Don Hopkirk]

This last weekend Gail (calikatoom), Tom (Motorad) and Gary came down to Oakhurst for a little d/s ride. We started out Sunday morning from my house in Oakhurst, then we stopped to gas up in Coarsegold. From there we took Rd 415 to Raymond then on to Ben Hur Road to Mariposa. Prior to the ride Gary was asking if we were going to do some dirt roads, I told him if he and Tom were up for it then no problem. I decided to take them up Chowchilla Mountain Road from highway 49, I had never ridden this dirt road before so I really didn't know what it was going to be like, we could always turn around if it got too bad. When I looked at the map for Chowchilla Mountain Road I thought it would empty out in Fish Camp, as it turned out my calculations were a little off as we ended up at the Wawona Golf course in Yosemite National Park. From there we went south on Highway 41 to exit the park. When we reached the pay booths at the park entrance I explained to the ranger that we had not intended to enter the park and did not have provisions to pay the entrance fee, the ranger was nice enough to wave the park fee. Then we traveled down highway 41 to Sky Ranch Road where we went and took a break at Bass Lake Vista. After taking in the view of Bass Lake we decided to head down to the forks for some lunch via Beasore Road. After lunch we headed down Road 222 to North Fork where we took Powerhouse to Auberry Road then down Tollhouse Road to Lodge Road and back to Auberry then Oakhurst. Gary, Gail and Tom, thanks so much for coming down this weekend it was an absolute blast! Here are a few pics I took of our ride on Sunday.

1. Gassing up in Coarsegold
2. Ben Hur Road
3. Gary on Ben Hur Road
4. Gail on Ben Hur Road
5. Gail on Ben Hur Road

[Don Hopkirk]

1. Gary on Ben Hur Road
2. Gail, Chowchilla Moutain
3. Gary, Chowchilla Mountain
4. Tom, Chowchilla Mountain
5. Tom

[Don Hopkirk]

1. Gary, Chowchilla Mountain
2. Gail, Chowchilla Mountain
3. Tom, Sky Ranch Road
4. Gail, Sky Ranch Road
5. Gary, Sky Ranch Road

[Don Hopkirk]

1. Gary, Beasore Road
2. Gary, Beasore Road
3. Gail, Beasore Road

[calikatoom]

Yeeeehaaaaa!

What a blast that ride was! And it was only the tip of the iceburg! I can't wait to do some more exploring with Don.

Thanks again for being a great host this weekend!

Gail

[Toyuzu]

Aw, now you got me all nostalgic, Don. Those were some of my favorite backroads. Glad you had a good time. To get to Fish Camp, you're better off going up Pilot Peak Road. It's a bit rougher and less traveled than Chowchilla though. Looks like you had a full day and a good ride. By the way, what were you doing home posting this early in the afternoon? Playing hookey?

[Don Hopkirk]

Originally Posted by Toyuzu

Aw, now you got me all nostalgic, Don. Those were some of my favorite backroads. Glad you had a good time. To get to Fish Camp, you're better off going up Pilot Peak Road. It's a bit rougher and less traveled than Chowchilla though. Looks like you had a full day and a good ride. By the way, what were you doing home posting this early in the afternoon? Playing hookey?

Hey Matt, I don't think Gary, Gail & Tom would have appreciated anything rougher than Chowchilla Mountain Road. Riding my 300 lb bike compared to their 600+ lb bikes. I did take a vacation day yesterday thats why I was home that early. Take a look at my other post "another example of why we should wear good riding gear", I think that will explain why I was home so early.

Don Hopkirk

[wbunning]

Sounds like a great ride. I spent a lot of summers working at Bass Lake years ago. I remember doing Beasore road in the early 70's on a Yamaha 175. It was all dirt back then. One had to pay a lot of attention to dodging log trucks!

Nice photos, Don. Thanks for sharing.

[Hooligan Dave]

Nice pics, looks like fun. I think my wife and I saw you guys at one of your stops. We went up into the park that day in the cage and I'm pretty sure it was you guys that were taking a break at that little general store a couple miles south of the park entrance on Hwy 41. Must have been around noon or so. We stopped at the store and I was telling my wife that I bet you guys were Pashnites. I was right.

[Don Hopkirk]

Originally Posted by Hooligan Dave

Nice pics, looks like fun. I think my wife and I saw you guys at one of your stops. We went up into the park that day in the cage and I'm pretty sure it was you guys that were taking a break at that little general store a couple miles south of the park entrance on Hwy 41. Must have been around noon or so. We stopped at the store and I was telling my wife that I bet you guys were Pashnites. I was right.

Yes Dave, that was us.

Don Hopkirk