G's next ride - Hwy 49, Mariposa to Angels Camp

[motowriter]

Matt dubbed it “Toyuzu's Last Ride”. Varying perspectives abound. Before heading back up Hwy 49 out of Oakhurst Saturday afternoon, my "last ride", earlier that day, was definitely a winner. Checking out the local roads with Toyuzu, Law Dawg and Big Kahuna was an unforgettable hoot. For Matt, he’ll be welcoming the latest addition of the littlest Toyuzu to the world this week. His last-ride-for-the-moment was behind him when I scooted back up 49 toward home.

The road was a glorious Saturday morning surprise.




I was eager to reprise the route on the way north. The way down was a bit hurried, running late most of the way. When I called Matt’s cell at 10:00am my excitement was evident. I described my location and Matt asked how I liked the Little Dragon. Yes! So that’s what this is called. Yes! A killer ride.

At this time of year 49 north of Mariposa is drop-dead beautiful. Green, green and more green greet you at every turn. But the views of the road that tease the peripheral vision deliver even more than they promise.




Special delivery.




The pavement swerves like icing here, perfect strokes by some obsessive engineer and a quality paving crew.




Did I say drop-dead beautiful? Here’s why.
















Oh my, did I drop a pic of the V-Strom in the drop-dead gorgeous passage of this post? Indeed….

Crappy panorama program be damned… I can’t help but share this view of a particularly tasty switchback somewhere south of Bear Valley. I don’t recall riding this section up in the morning… prolly a result of endorphin overdose from the insane frequency of twisties I was discovering over a long stretch of incredible road.



Backup a sec and check out the view from 50 feet above, where the switchback is descending to this bit of heaven.




I hung out in this spot, listening to a Harley descend from above, out of sight, wondering if I could get a cool pic from above. Let’s make that 3 pix, then let’s turn to the pano program to put this guy in one pic over a few seconds. Yeah, that’s one bike, one rider, one Photoshopping fool.




I guess with no meet-up time ahead of me at 5:30pm, homeward bound, I felt free to stop for lots of shots. Initially the cloudy conditions and monochrome skies discouraged photo stops. Blah lighting dampens the urge to document. But the photo opps overwhelm you.




Here’s the bottom of Bear Valley, immediately after crossing the Merced River. Hard call to say which side of the river on 49 here is a better ride – north or south. As soon as you cross the bridge the road takes off again, heading up to higher elevations.




I stop up the hill at a swath of purple, a long stretch of May flowers that, while common on this road, are not common sights elsewhere or later in the year.




I’m framing shots with the camera when I hear the rhythmic waaaaah of a sportbike climbing the road I just rode. I sit there, waiting to capture whomever it is ascending to these purple heights. CBR riders do say that the Red on is fastest, ya know.




He stopped pretty fast, wondering, I imagine, whether the guy crouched at the front wheel was OK. That was cool. He pulled over and popped off his bike, big big smile on his mug. A local, he’d only been riding the street 8 months, but he’d been in the dirt for 15 years, I’d guess, a kid in intimate acquaintance with this ride. Yep, his trip to high school, he tells me, was back and forth over this undulating terrain. Was kind enough to identify all those purple flowers as "Lupin". But also noted that the "Little Dragon" was somewhere north of our location. (Heck, I dunno if, at the end of the day, I figured out where the Little Dragon is actually situated, but a rose by any other name... as they say...)

Anyway, nice kid, the enthusiast on the cbr, tho a bit kooky… he ended up encouraging me to have some fun on the Strom, to slam on the rear brake coming to a stop so I could swish the bike to a stop, like a skier. No worries, he tells me. If you feel unstable just let off the brake. Mhmm… sure thing ace.


Alone again I have to get some more shots of the purple paradise here.










Can’t tell you what part of 49 this is. No secret, nor do I care, that I have no clue where I am. A great feeling, greeting more and more mystery twisties as the ride progresses. K, you’re warned.










The rocks here were green. No kidding.




The twisty section of 49 is pretty much over by the time you reach the Don Pedro reservoir.




From here the speed limit rises and the ride goes tame, but high-speed. Well, tame is relative. The run before and after Bear Valley is such a rush. The remaining ride home offered its own challenges, but nothing so memorable as this valley that Matt didn’t utter a peep about. As moto surprises go this one was pure delight.

Epilogue:

I had no idea that Angels Camp is where the immemorial Jumping Frog contest of Calaveras County took place. World-famous frogs… the citizens of Angels Camp are deeply respectful, in a kitschy kinda way…

[Mac]

Oustanding write-up, Gary! And the photos really help to set the reader into the ride with you. Well done!

[Backmarker]

When we did this ride last year it was in July. Not nearly as green and beautiful. I barely recognized it in these photos. GORGEOUS!! Wonderful write up G. Thanks!!

[demenshea]

I usually don't post on Gary's threads however when i got up this morning coffee in hand and saw these ride pix, i was sooooo JEALOUS....however on my big ol cruiser i could never have kept up with you twistie enthusiasts! I would have had to be content hanging out in the "lupin".
Gary called me from the road and said he was enjoying not only the ride but the beauty of the area. I can certainly see why!!
Nice read and glorious pix!! (I am so proud of this husband o' mine. )
Maybe, just maybe, i can sneak outa work this week and go check it out at a Donna pace! Much better than drawing silly ads for Trader Joe's, though it does afford me my vices!
BTW, Matt, good luck with the arrival of your new boss...hehehe
cheers,
d

[Backmarker]

Originally Posted by demenshea

I usually don't post on Gary's threads however when i got up this morning coffee in hand and saw these ride pix, i was sooooo JEALOUS....however on my big ol cruiser i could never have kept up with you twistie enthusiasts! I would have had to be content hanging out in the "lupin".
cheers,
d

You've seen my screen name! I think you'd probably be out runnin' me! I was so slow on this road, some local bubbas in their beater pick up passed me! In all fairness, they knew the road and I didn't... but like you, I wouldn't mind stopping to photo the lupin and check out all those beautiful views. I really don't remember too much of them seeing that I had that death grip on the bars and all...

[Big Kahuna]

Damn Gary, you've done the Little Dragon justice. You totally captured how truly great this road really is. I've actually never seen it look so pretty with all the flowers and such. I need to get out there to check it out before the heat comes. Maybe I can convince some valley folk to head up and tackle the dragon next weekend.

Looks like your buddy was on a CBR600RR. Nice bike. Although you were wrong about one thing, yellow is that fastest.

Not sure what he calls the "Little Dragon" but that's what we named that stretch on Hwy 49. We named it after Deals Gap's "Tail of the Dragon" located in North Carolina.

[pashnit]

Gary - what wonderful photography you've done - and the pics of all the flowers!! I think we Californian's really marvel at the greeness of the springtime regardless of where you are (except that area around Taft & McKittrick ). The green really fades quickly once the rain stops for the summer and fall. This is that one time of the year when we can get out there and enjoy that perfect weather of 65 degrees, sunny weather, and green everywhere! Great time of year for riding - that's a neat area. Did that ride two weeks ago and just a fantastic area for riding. Looks like you're starting to venture further and further?

[mnnden]

Gary, Great story and pictures, I had no Idea just how beautiful that part of Ca. is. Den

[motowriter]

Thank much everyone for your kind comments. I hope everyone gets a taste of this ride sooner or later. Perfect road conditions, gorgeous scenery, and sooo many curves. The smile/mile ratio is through the roof...

Renee, if your comfort zone called for a leisurely pace on this ride, you probably got to thoroughly enjoy the scenery as well as the ride. This is the kind of road it would be good to do several times in a row. My focus is getting good lines through the curves so I spend a lot of time imagining where the road goes past the rock walls, and figuring out whether the arc of the double-yellow is getting tighter or looser. It's pretty tasking, and so enjoyable at a different level than the slower pace where you can drink in everything! The stops on the way home for me were a perfect opportunity to take in the majesty of this wonderful terrain.

Funny, that the write-up was a morning surprise for the Donna. I started this about 11:30pm, shortly before she hit the hay. She'd seen all 180 of the pix from Saturday and had no idea what photos would end up here. Naturally, she posted her comment this morning while I was still asleep. Our schedules are pretty skewed sometimes, but it seems to work out OK.

A comment on the photos. You can see the skies were a uniform grey and the lighting was diffuse. The terrain, as it gets more distant, seems shrouded by a light fog. I guess our eyes adjust for this because it seemed like a pretty clear view as I was shooting these. In any event, after offloading the pix to the puter I played with several color settings to bring out the natural tones. I deepened the color saturation and adjusted highlight and shadow settings in Photoshop Elements. You can tell that some of the greens are greener, from shot to shot, and some of the purples get quite vivid. Until I get a better camera that can adapt to the ambient light conditions better, this is a good way to tease out higher definition and more vibrant colors from the photos. And hey, this was another case of "can't take a bad shot" in this landscape. Great material for journalling via photos.

Kahuna, man... I could be tempted just about any free Saturday or Sunday to do this run again... and again. Donna and I are actually trying to coordinate a plan to meet up with our friend Art, and some other folks from the mc-usa forums this coming Saturday (5/7). It's still pending, but we might just be in Mariposa this Saturday if everything works out.

So, is this whole run what you consider the "little dragon"? The MS Streets maps don't tell me squat about what this valley or range of hills is called. I tried to dial it in with NASA World Wind's topo maps, but I could only ascertain that I crossed the Merced River at some point. When I got back home I check out Cali Moto Roads, but couldn't find a write-up.

Sooo, Tim, have you done a write-up for this part of Hwy 49? Would be a good addition to the Moto Roads compendium. And thanks for the kudos, Tim. It's been wonderful getting to see the hills in their Spring state. I sense we're having a longer than normal spring right now, so it's not too late to bask in the glorious greens on Pashnit's roads, people!

Mmm, yes indeed, venturing as far as the days will take us. I'm not giving up on the local delights like Sutter-Ione, though, just stretching the experience further, with plans for many more explorations this season. Thanks for the inspiration, Tim. For me it all started with finding the Moto Roads site a year ago.

[G8ESCAP]

Wow! Those pictures are awesome! I'm so jealous, I need to ride north more often. You sure have the scenery over SoCal. Great write up!