Just Another 450 Mile Winter Weekend in Cali (pics)

DefyInertia

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Well….I was off both days this weekend, my wife had to work both days, and the forecast called for nothing but sunshine and 60 degree temps. I’ve only lived in SF for a little over a month and I had yet to ride hwy 9 and Skaggs…so I thought I’d hit them both this weekend.

SATURDAY – 201 miles - MAP

I met up with Chemiker at 9AM before heading up into the mountains. The morning was a little chilly at the higher elevations but it was clear, no fog to speak of all :thumbup: The only problem was the still rising sun was blinding at times and created confusing shadows at other times which made it difficult to read the road…no worries, we just turned it down a notch to compensate. All of the roads on the way to Santa Cruz were great with the exception of 236. It was still fun, but more of a goat trail…very wet, rough, tight, blind, and cold.

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We made it to lunch in Santa Cruz and it was very warm…basically perfect weather. Blue skies, sunshine, but not hot. I actually ran into one of my cousins on the street which was pretty random especially since we were both pretty far from home at the time.

After lunch we headed down one for a few minutes before working our way back up and around to hit some of the good stuff. Chemiker was patient while I studied my GPS and eventually we made it back to Skyline Drive before parting ways.

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On my way home, I stopped at a general store across the street from Alice’s Restaurant (you can get whatever you want) to get some water and relax. This is a pretty cool spot…it reminded me of the CROT (28 & 129) in that you can just sit there fully entertained watching all the bikes pull in and out…lots of variety that’s for sure.

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I took the coast home and managed to get cleaned up before my wife got home from work. We ended up taking a nice long walk to go get some dinner and wine….what a nice Saturday! :D

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DefyInertia

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SUNDAY – 250 miles - MAP

Everyone I got in contact with re: Sunday either couldn’t ride, or was not willing to ride all day….so I was on my own. I’m not sure what I like more, riding alone or with other people. I think I probably like riding with 1 or 2 other people best but sometimes it’s nice to either ride alone or ride with a 5 to 10 person group. Anyway, I was able to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short period of time today and learned a lot about the area.

I took the famous route 1 for 100 miles north to Skaggs Spring road –
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BOTM?
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:D
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I stopped to rest at 1/Skaggs and ended up talking to an older V-Strom rider who rides all over the country…he had a Dragon (129) sticker on his helmet. He gave me lots of good advice before I took off on my own up Skaggs…it started out really “goaty” but turned into one of the best roads I have EVER been on (sorry, no pics of the good stuff as I was too busy riding).

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I had some lunch in a small town and ended up falling asleep in the sun for about an hour after stuffing myself on a fresh turkey sandwhich :thumbup: I woke up and realized I was a little behind schedule (winter days are short :( ) so I quickly adjusted my planned route and took off through a bunch of back country roads winding their way through the vineyards….beautiful, warm and a whole lot of fun.

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DefyInertia

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Once out got back into the mountainous stuff I just put the hammer down cause I was really in the groove and wanted to make it home before dark anyway. I railed my way back towards the coast and then proceeded to tear up about 60 miles of the 1 before getting on the Golden Gate and riding back into SF. Just a couple pics from when I got close to the city....before that it was all about the riding.

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I had to run to the hardware store before going home which was interesting. The bay area boasts the shortest distance between and urban and rual area ANYWHERE in the country. To go from carving up country/mountain roads to splitting lanes in traffic etc. etc. was a little shocking. I usually just roll into town and park as I’m really close to the bridge.

Anyway…..can’t wait till next time. Who’s coming?
 
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Jim Karam

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Nate, talk about riding down memory lane...:rolleyes: While I had done a bit of street riding, I really learned to ride a motorcycle by riding fire trails from Big Basin down to the coast highway in 1966-67. There were tons of them, and they were beautiful. These were literally trails, i.e., too narrow and steep for even 4 wheelers, which weren't that common in the day.

First I played on a BSA Victor 441 single, probably the first real dirt bike in the US, and then a Bultaco Pursang 250cc two stoke. Unfortunately, by 1968, the trails were getting pretty chewed up and they closed them to bikes, so we moved inland, eventually having to go over to central Nevada to still enjoy the ability to literally ride anywhere we chose. Nevertheless, that looping route you rode on Skyline, Big Basin, etc. was my main Sunday jaunt for street play.

Glad to see that you and the wife are enjoying California.
 
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CHEMIKER

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Excellent pics Nate! It is hard to describe how glorious of a day it was. Here is a short video of HWY 9. You can see what Nate is talking about with the glare from the morning sun breaking through the cover of the redwoods. Turn your speakers up for the best part at the end...Nate putting it simply: "that was awesome!"

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kwAb43RzWs"]YouTube - HWY 9 Morning I[/ame]
 

Cali rider

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Travis, nice work with the bike and the video. You guys had a nice pace for the visibility, that glare was brutal at times. Nate, great pictures and description, as usual. You are in the center of paradise for motorcycle riding. Just wait until you take a day and ride CA-36 from Fortuna to Red Bluff, it is my favorite road of all time.

Thanks for sharing your day(s), men!
 
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FZ1inNH

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Awesome guys! I am totally envious! Thanks for letting us live vicariously through your pics and video!
 

chuckfz6ryder

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Thanks for the pics and video, you really know how to hurt a guy, shoveled snow today, by Thurs/Fri this week, we will be expecting a high temp of about 8 degrees F

But seriously, glad someone can be out there enjoying roads like that
 

DefyInertia

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Nate, talk about riding down memory lane...:rolleyes: While I had done a bit of street riding, I really learned to ride a motorcycle by riding fire trails from Big Basin down to the coast highway in 1966-67. There were tons of them, and they were beautiful. These were literally trails, i.e., too narrow and steep for even 4 wheelers, which weren't that common in the day.

First I played on a BSA Victor 441 single, probably the first real dirt bike in the US, and then a Bultaco Pursang 250cc two stoke. Unfortunately, by 1968, the trails were getting pretty chewed up and they closed them to bikes, so we moved inland, eventually having to go over to central Nevada to still enjoy the ability to literally ride anywhere we chose. Nevertheless, that looping route you rode on Skyline, Big Basin, etc. was my main Sunday jaunt for street play.

Glad to see that you and the wife are enjoying California.

Ah man, the good old days. Sounds awesome :thumbup:

that glare was brutal at times.

Yeah it was. I had to hold my hand up to block the sun quite a bit during mid-morning. I had no such issues heading straight north this AM.

36 looks good....at 300 miles 1-way from here, that will have to be an overnight trip.

MAP
 
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W

wrightme43

Awesome man. That sure is pretty out there.

So the second picture is HWY 236?


LOL LOL



Man that is just beautiful. I can see why people love it.
 

cv_rider

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Looks like a great time! Wish I could have joined you, but it wasn't in the cards for this weekend. Hard for me to get away for hours at a time usually anyway. Riding 1 north of SF towards Stinson Beach is pretty much the nicest place I've ever ridden.
 

steveindenmark

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Thanks for that guys. I am full of flu and it is cold here in Denmark.

But the spring is on its way.

I think I should come over to california and make some sails.

Steve
 

bmccrary

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WOW! Thanks for sharing! I cant wait till springs finds its way back to the Apps.

Amazing pictures and video.

Oh and btw, did you have Disney on your mind? Notice the sun glare in the top left of the 3rd image in your first post. Kinda funny.

-bryan
 

Hellgate

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So Nate, if I understand this correctly, you don't miss Chicago at all.

What an amazing set of weekends you've had, too cool! :thumbup:
 

kellybt1052

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Nice weekend for sure, I am in SF quite often for work and have to stay over many weekends. Have thought about renting a bike and heading out for a weekend of riding when I am there. You have confrimed this is what I need to do on my next trip. I will be sure to keep you guys in mind as guides!
 

Unseen

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Looks awesome, really enjoyed the pics :thumbup:

Been to Cali years ago but only drove around in a car, have to go back and ride a bike :D
 
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