Pashnit Sierra Tour, September

[EQPlayer]

Just got back from the Sierra Pashnit Tour, and my thesaurus is in flames. Why? Because I'm flipping it so fast to find the right words.

Words like: Fun. Enjoyable. Pleasant. Delightful. Gratifying. GOOD fun. Wonderful. Magnificent. Superb. Breathtaking. Amazing. Astonishing! Fantastic? Brilliant! Terrific. Great. Fabulous. Tremendous. And most of all: FUN.

We started from Livermore, zoomed over to Stockton where we jumped on Highway 120. A very nice thing about the tour, they stop at interesting sites. Here is Knight's Ferry Bridge, the longest covered bridge in California.


Some of the bikes.


Continuing on 120, we went to Highway 49 and turned south. Some miles later, we rolled through Coulterville. If you are riding there sometime, go a few miles west on Highway 132 and look up: You may see hang gliders soaring overhead. However, our path took us south on 49 through the famous Little Dragon.


At the beginning of the tour, Tim mentioned 8-point turns: The tendency of newer riders to make about 8 course corrections while going through a turn. I realized that I was doing that, so tried hard to make each turn smooth. Over the course of the weekend, it really improved my riding. That's just one more reason to go on a Pashnit tour - you learn how to ride better!

A slightly wider view. Need a napkin to wipe the drool off your keyboard?


Getting on Highway 140, we headed up the canyon towards Yosemite. The road was an endless parade of swooping turns. We were starting to sort ourselves out, a process that would continue throughout the tour. The faster riders gravitated towards the front, while the slower or less ambitious drifted rearwards. It made it more enjoyable for all, everyone rode their own ride. No one was forced to keep up, and no one was forced to slow down. I've never been on any other organized tour, but just that aspect of the tour - ride your own ride - is a huge plus for Pashnit.

Highway 140 had a landslide, so traffic was diverted to the other side of the river on a temporary road. We all lined up at the stoplight, which could take 15 mins (a sign said).


The river, so pretty.


Somehow I think the ride wasn't done... and neither is this thread! Cont next post.

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Getting into Yosemite, we looked up and saw some climbers going up the granite walls. We had more earth-bound pursuits in mind, namely, LUNCH! We didn't just eat, we dined at the famous Ahwahnee hotel.


The Ahwahnee Dining Room. Go there, the food is fantastic, and cheaper than you'd expect.


After lunch, we rode up to the top of Glacier Point. Guess what we saw at the top?




Put this in perspective: The view is STRAIGHT DOWN.


A view up the mountains.


Beautiful waterfalls, Yosemite and Vernon.


The hang gliding launch at Glacier Point. You want to jump off here on a hang glider? Yeah, I do too.


With that, we'll fly on into the next post!

[Chocoholic]

Ooo Looking at your pixs, I am for the

[EQPlayer]

Didn't take any more pictures that day (Friday), we took 120 to Old Priest Grade back to 49. You know the steepness formula, don't you? It goes, steep - steeper - steepest - Old Priest Grade. Dropping about 2000 feet in less than two miles, it's a second gear engine brake road the whole way down. Don't go fast, if you blow a turn, well, hope you have a hang glider strapped to your bike, you'll need it.

A short while later, we arrived at our destination, Day's Inn in Sonora. More to come on that place later. The next day, we filled up and headed out, planning a mountainous loop. General route: Highway 4, 89, 395, Hwy 108 back to Sonora, a long loop through the mountains.

We took Parrott's Ferry Road past a branch of the New Melones Lake, exquisitely beautiful. Ride it sometime. Arriving at Highway 4, we made a right and headed up the mountain.

In the Bay Area, Highway 4 is a gridlocked stink of congestion, a farm road overstressed by new bedroom communities. While the road may have the same name, it's NOT the same road. Here, it's an endless swoop of turns, ever rising, heading into the heart of the Sierras. After passing the Bear Valley ski resort, something unique happens:


Your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes, that's Highway 4 - the only 1-lane U.S. Highway in California, and perhaps the nation. This section was so beautiful, I had to take it all at about 30 mph, staring in awe at the pristine mountains and endless vistas.

The road passed Mosquito Lake, where we all stopped and took some pictures.


The water was very clear, wonder what it would be like to scuba dive here.


The lake. A good spot to relax and enjoy.


Can I stay here?


The first of the day's three summits.


Rode a little further, came to the second summit.


More!

[Astroblue]

Will somebody PLEASE help me find the secrets to winning the lottery so I can spend the rest of my days riding these roads?????!!!!!!
Actually I'd like to get up to Yosemite before the end of next month to enjoy the fall weather, perhaps taking an extra day or two off work. Or, I could hold tight for Sopiago!
Anyway, great photos!

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Some of the views, just past Ebbetts Pass.


The mountains towered overhead.


A twisty mountain road with low traffic. Does it get any better?


You want some of this, don't you? Yeah you do.


The view ahead, the road goes through the bottom of this valley. Can you say, jaw-dropping beauty? Thought you could.


Eventually, 4 connects to Highway 89, a shortcut to Highway 395.



I must interrupt this narrative with an important public notice. You are required to drop everything, jump on your bike, and ride out to this section of Highway 89. RIGHT NOW.



Didn't take any shots of 89, was having too much fun riding it to stop for pics. At the end, there was this road sign. If you look closely, you will see certain rider's screen names. See SBR on the lower left? That's for http://www.southbayriders.com, a fantastic resource for riding in the Santa Cruz mountain area.


South on Bridgeport, we got to this burger joint, which had really good burgers. Yum! Check the map, it's pretty neat.


After lunch and gas, we went south a few more miles to Bodie Road, aka Highway 270. It goes to Bodie, a ghost town abandoned in the 1930's. Have you seen the movie Back to the Future 3? It was shot in Bodie.


More about Bodie coming up!

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The road to Bodie is 8 miles of dreamy pavement, then 3 miles of - dirt. Some of the experienced dirt riders on the tour had a blast, but I'd never been on dirt before. Yikes! Took it careful, had no problems. Pashnit Tours does that for you - they let you try new types of riding, learn new things all the time.

Bodie Historical plaque.


The High Desert. According to google maps, that dirt road goes... and goes... and goes... etc... forever... eventually becoming road 3C in Nevada. I think it comes out at Yerington Nevada, not sure. If you go, ride with a friend and take extra gas. There's a whole lot of nothing at all out there.


The mill, where they refined ore into gold. It's only open for guided tours, which we JUST missed.


One of the Bodie houses.


The best car in town.


Bodie: Great to visit, a reminder of the west, how we used to live. Now a relic, a museum, wind worn and lonely, the memories blowing as dust. Worth a visit.



Leaving Bodie, we got back on 395 and headed north to Highway 108.


The road went up, and up, then up some more. After that it went up again. Did I mention that it went up? Finally we got to the top, the highest point of the tour.


After all that up, it started going down. How much down? How does a 26% grade suit you? I kept it in 2nd and let the engine keep my speed down, didn't want to fry the brakes. I'll be back here someday and take it the other way. The view was fantastic, we were at 9624' and still the peaks towered over us. Next time I'll stop at the summit and hike around a bit. I offer my regrets, was riding the ride, didn't stop for pictures in this section.

The group stopped at a turnout for a rest and some photos.


Here I learned another big motorcycle lesson, how to park your bike. Didn't notice the slope, put the bike on sidestand in neutral and walked away. CRASH! There in horror lay my bike, on its side, looking so sad. The group rushed over and picked it up, gladly the only damage was a broken windshield bracket bolt. The windshield still had 3 secure connectors, so it wasn't too bad. Oh well, I'll fix it when I get home. Lesson learned: If there's any hint of a slope, keep your bike in gear when you park. I'll never make that mistake again, that's certain!

After that photo stop, it was 108 the rest of the way back to Sonora. After descending the mountain, the road became an endless succession of high speed sweepers, following the river out of the mountains.

We got back to Sonora about 6:45, tired but happy. According to my Avocet Vertech watch, we rode almost 25,000 vertical feet over 18 hills.

Day three coming up!

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After dinner, it was time for bed. All was well until - ring ring! Hi, this is the front desk calling. Are you staying another day?

OMG WTF? You are calling me at 2:30 am to ask if I'm staying? Another lesson learned, NEVER stay at Day's Inn.

With that ruined start to the day, things could only get better. And they did! The final day of the tour was dedicated to the goatier type of roads, the ones I like best. We started on Highway 49, some miles to Sutter Creek, then turned off on Church Street.

In moments, Church Street left Sutter Creek behind, and became Sutter Creek Volcano Road. Riding along, it reminded me of Lockhart Gulch Road, a road near the town of Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz mountains. However, while Lockhart Gulch is 3 miles and ends in a beautiful meadow, the road we were on kept going, all the way to the small town of Volcano.

Stopping for a while in Volcano, we all started taking pictures. One of the shopkeepers asked if we were a photography group. No, we were on a motorcycle tour, so it was time to motorcycle some more.

Some of the bikes in Volcano. There were 9 bikes on the tour in all.


Leaving Volcano, we took Rams Horn Grade Road to Shake Ridge Road to Highway 88. (If you try it from 88, look for Fiddletown Road.) Making a left on Omo Ranch Road, then a right on North-South Road, we soon came to ride leader Tim Regehr's Sopiago Springs Resort motorcycle park. He's built several dirt tracks there, here's shots of one of them. Um, don't try these on a street bike.




Leaving there, we continued on North-South road to its end at the Mormon Emigrant Trail. I can't rave about North-South Road enough, if you like goat trails, it's THE place to be. Two lane, twisty, TOTALLY deserted, it wanders over mountaintops, through meadows, down into river canyons, up and over and down and around, each turn an improvement over the last. I was having so much fun riding it that I didn't even think to stop for pictures.

Taking the Mormon Emigrant Trail to Sky Park Road to Highway 50, our tour was at an end. After a lunch and goodbyes, we all headed our disparate ways home.

Lunchtime at the end of the tour.


My impressions of the Pashnit Motorcycle Tour: Fantastic. Highly recommended, if you are looking for a great tour on wonderful roads, Pashnit Tours is the way to go. Best of all, everyone gets to ride their own ride, whether it be sportsbike fast or cruiser slow. There's something for everyone, and the tips from the ride leaders will make you a better rider. I will definitely be back for more.

A great time was had by all.


See you on a goat trail!

[Backmarker]

Ok NOW that yer done... Wonderful! I can look at posts about this area over and over again. What's it like to scuba dive that little lake? Really freakin' cold I would imagine! That's what's so great. Everyone sees something a little different or looks at the same thing a different way.

Great report. Now I have to make sure next year's vacation is another moto trip. I really missed it this year. It's posts like this that keep the pashin alive...

[JimmieS]

Originally Posted by Backmarker

Ok NOW that yer done... Wonderful! I can look at posts about this area over and over again.... It's posts like this that keep the pashin alive...

Yep, and it's what keeps us going back to those same roads and vistas over and over again -- If memory serves me correctly I've been over Ebetts some 4 times since it opened this year.

Great trip report!

Cheers!