Monica A
Junior Member
So, I begged and pleaded (not really) and got my way. We packed up the bikes in our cargo trailer and trailered them to Napa, CA from Reno, NV (Donner Summit is always dicey in the winter). I really wanted to try out my new 2-piece leathers for the track that I got for Christmas. It was 16 degrees F when we left home at 6:30am. We had to get up at 5:00am to give our black lab to our son who was taking her duck hunting, so we figured we would just get up and go. We didn't have a set route, we just wanted to get to the coast for warmer temperatures. Sonny boy didn't want to stay in hotel rooms with his parental units. He would rather stay with the dog. Hmm... I wonder why... Maybe we snore too much...
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It was so cold we had frost on both bikes when we unloaded in Napa.
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After parking the SUV and trailer in Napa at my Grandmother-in-laws house, we took highway 29 to Calistoga then we continued on Highway 29 to Middle Fork. What a fantastic road. Fast twisties with plenty of passing lanes to miss the slow cars. We took highway 175 to Kelseyville (Clear Lake, CA). That was a fun road too but very shady and chilly. Got into the high 30s at one point. Switched to heated gloves, only one problem the power isn't hooked up to my bike yet, so while they were warmed than my leather gloves, not heated. We even saw frost on the road at one point. After that we took highway 20 all the way to the coast. Highway 20 between Willits and Fort Bragg is a hoot. Lots of twisties, but also shady, moist, and chilly. Fort Bragg was beautiful. No fog and tons of sunshine. A rare thing only the California Coast in December. A riding buddy of ours happen to be in Fort Bragg to visit her mom. She met us for drinks at North Coast Brewery. Nice meal and great company.
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Highway 29 out of Calistoga
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Sightseeing in Fort Bragg
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Pacific Ocean
Since it was chilly we didn't rush to get out in the morning like we usually do. We headed south down highway 1 to Bodega Bay. We had lunch at our favorite restaurant, The Sandpiper. The road was fun with twisty bits but not for those of you that are afraid of heights. Miss that curve and more than your bike is going down...all of you going down 50-100 feet in places into the Pacific Ocean. We got to Point Reyes about 4pm. All the hotels appeared to be sold out so we decided to head inland. While Sir Francis Drake Blvd is a fun twisty road, there is way too much traffic to enjoy it much. We stayed in San Rafael and had a fabulous dinner at the Brick and Bottle. Since we were staying next door, we parked the bikes and enjoyed some adult beverages.
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Goat Beach near Jenner, CA
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Point Arena Lighthouse. Stopped to use the facilities, which was a port-a-potty. Every try getting out of leathers in port-a-potty? Not fun especially if you are a woman... Beautiful scenery.
We woke to fog the next morning. We didn't wait for it to burn off because the hubby was missing the dog and a snow storm was coming in over night. We wanted to get home so he didn't have to pull the trailer over the summit in a snowstorm. We decided to make the trek up Mt. Tamalpais and then back to highway 1 to complete the loop before heading by Sonoma back to Napa to head home. Highway 1 up to Mt. Tam is fun but moist, so we took it at a leisurely pace. Then we decided to take Fairfax-Bolinas Blvd to the coast. Can you saw Goat Road. UGH!!! I made it, but it wasn't fun. It had frost on it as well in a few corners.
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Stinson Beach
Highway 1 at this point was great. Fast flowing with little traffic. We made it back to the car and trailer about 11. We took off the leathers and loaded the bikes. A little lunch and we were on the road home. Between Davis and Sacramento, CA the SUV started vibrating, like it was missing. We got pulled over and found a car repair place to see what was going on. We were pulling 3000 pounds up a 9,000 ft. summit. 2 hours and $100 later.."everything seems fine". We decided to call my son to get his friend to come with his truck to pull up the trailer and we would attempt to make it up the summit. (My big concern was the bikes safety - lol). As we were going through Sacramento it got worse and worse. We then decided it wasn't going to make it and we better not try it. I didn't want to get stuck on the summit over night in the freezing cold. We found a hotel near the Ford dealer and spent the night. In the morning it had snowed 2 inches at our house and there were chain controls over Donner Summit. The Ford Dealer in Roseville took good care of us. Had us on the road by 10:30am with a new coil pack for the #4 cyclinder and $450 lighter in the wallet. If we were home, the hubby would have done it for a lot less, but on the road you don't have much choice. Chain controls were lifted by then and we made it home safe and sound about 20 hours late. The SUV and trailer are still sitting infront of the house. Too much snow to back it into the backyard and unload the bikes.
View attachment 55793
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It was so cold we had frost on both bikes when we unloaded in Napa.
View attachment 55801
After parking the SUV and trailer in Napa at my Grandmother-in-laws house, we took highway 29 to Calistoga then we continued on Highway 29 to Middle Fork. What a fantastic road. Fast twisties with plenty of passing lanes to miss the slow cars. We took highway 175 to Kelseyville (Clear Lake, CA). That was a fun road too but very shady and chilly. Got into the high 30s at one point. Switched to heated gloves, only one problem the power isn't hooked up to my bike yet, so while they were warmed than my leather gloves, not heated. We even saw frost on the road at one point. After that we took highway 20 all the way to the coast. Highway 20 between Willits and Fort Bragg is a hoot. Lots of twisties, but also shady, moist, and chilly. Fort Bragg was beautiful. No fog and tons of sunshine. A rare thing only the California Coast in December. A riding buddy of ours happen to be in Fort Bragg to visit her mom. She met us for drinks at North Coast Brewery. Nice meal and great company.
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Highway 29 out of Calistoga
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Sightseeing in Fort Bragg
View attachment 55797
Pacific Ocean
Since it was chilly we didn't rush to get out in the morning like we usually do. We headed south down highway 1 to Bodega Bay. We had lunch at our favorite restaurant, The Sandpiper. The road was fun with twisty bits but not for those of you that are afraid of heights. Miss that curve and more than your bike is going down...all of you going down 50-100 feet in places into the Pacific Ocean. We got to Point Reyes about 4pm. All the hotels appeared to be sold out so we decided to head inland. While Sir Francis Drake Blvd is a fun twisty road, there is way too much traffic to enjoy it much. We stayed in San Rafael and had a fabulous dinner at the Brick and Bottle. Since we were staying next door, we parked the bikes and enjoyed some adult beverages.
View attachment 55800
Goat Beach near Jenner, CA
View attachment 55798
Point Arena Lighthouse. Stopped to use the facilities, which was a port-a-potty. Every try getting out of leathers in port-a-potty? Not fun especially if you are a woman... Beautiful scenery.
We woke to fog the next morning. We didn't wait for it to burn off because the hubby was missing the dog and a snow storm was coming in over night. We wanted to get home so he didn't have to pull the trailer over the summit in a snowstorm. We decided to make the trek up Mt. Tamalpais and then back to highway 1 to complete the loop before heading by Sonoma back to Napa to head home. Highway 1 up to Mt. Tam is fun but moist, so we took it at a leisurely pace. Then we decided to take Fairfax-Bolinas Blvd to the coast. Can you saw Goat Road. UGH!!! I made it, but it wasn't fun. It had frost on it as well in a few corners.
View attachment 55799
Stinson Beach
Highway 1 at this point was great. Fast flowing with little traffic. We made it back to the car and trailer about 11. We took off the leathers and loaded the bikes. A little lunch and we were on the road home. Between Davis and Sacramento, CA the SUV started vibrating, like it was missing. We got pulled over and found a car repair place to see what was going on. We were pulling 3000 pounds up a 9,000 ft. summit. 2 hours and $100 later.."everything seems fine". We decided to call my son to get his friend to come with his truck to pull up the trailer and we would attempt to make it up the summit. (My big concern was the bikes safety - lol). As we were going through Sacramento it got worse and worse. We then decided it wasn't going to make it and we better not try it. I didn't want to get stuck on the summit over night in the freezing cold. We found a hotel near the Ford dealer and spent the night. In the morning it had snowed 2 inches at our house and there were chain controls over Donner Summit. The Ford Dealer in Roseville took good care of us. Had us on the road by 10:30am with a new coil pack for the #4 cyclinder and $450 lighter in the wallet. If we were home, the hubby would have done it for a lot less, but on the road you don't have much choice. Chain controls were lifted by then and we made it home safe and sound about 20 hours late. The SUV and trailer are still sitting infront of the house. Too much snow to back it into the backyard and unload the bikes.
