Epic California Ride - Now with pics/video!

[Wavex]

DAY 4 (400 miles):

John and I hit the road for our last day to get home... what better way than to ride PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, #1):

John knew a cool spot to check out...

Look who's around:

 

[Wavex]

Bye Bye Elephant Seals!

We had a late Lunch here (on the famous Stage Coach Road):

Still on Stage Coach Road, for the last pic of the trip:

what a total blast... I had 4 amazing days thanks to Cali Rider :bow:... my best motorcycle trip by far ever... (don't tell my wife lol).

John, let's start planning next year's trip!!! :iconbeer:

 

[Binks33]

dang u guys are lucky . What a ride.Santa cruz is my home town.

 

[rsw81]

Hey Dave, if you guys plan this out far enough in advance count me in. I'll fly out and borrow my bro's FZ in cali to do it (he never rides it anyway).

 

[Wavex]

Yeah, those bike riders can't rely on just being air-cooled going up those steep mountain grades---need lots of water! Below is the cyclist from Texas who obliged us and took some (actually, lots) pics. Notice the difference in gear!

hahah yeah so for the little story there... Cali Rider + Tailgate + me are riding up this mountain... very steep grade for miles and miles... We had noticed some signs at the bottom of the climb stating that there was some kind of a bicycle race that day, or something... while going up, we pass a few bicycles on the way, and start talking about how crazy these guys are when we arrive on top of the mountain to take a break.... a few minutes later, these 3-4 guys arrive to our spot all red and out of breath... I make a comment to one of them saying "you guys are insane going up mountains on bicycles like that", and the dude looks at me and starts telling me that he is from Texas and it's the first time in his life that he rides his bicycle over more than like a 35feet hill!!! LOL I started laughing thinking he was joking but he wasn't! Then they continued by asking us if we knew of "a deli around here" because they were hungry and out of water! (lmfao internally at that point) We looked at each other and told them we didn't think there was a deli around there (middle of nowhere)... I ended up giving them some water from my camelback

I think they ended up turning around to go back down the mountain, but they seemed lost... poor ****ers... we actually found the deli they were looking for about 7 miles down hill on the other side of the mountain... John had offered that we'd get them water if we found a store within 10 miles but they refused, so let's hope the Texan cyclists made it! That whole experience was hilarious...

 

[Wavex]

Awesome John! Can't wait to see the pics and hear stories and experiences. So glad you guys had a great adventure and are home safe and sound.

Riding with SoCal riders Group tomorrow. The guys you and Dave met in Borrego at Carllie's.
Hope to see you guys soon for a ride.

How was that ride Cliff?

BTW, we invited Tailgate and Lefty to come ride with us and the San Diego crew down here, so be prepared!

Thanks for checking up on us during the trip... :rockon:

 

[Wavex]

Wow, Wavex, those are some great pics! I recognized (I hope I'm correct) the little parking lot at the end of the road going near the top of Mt. Whitney via that lonely and very steep grade "Whitney Portal" route. When I was there last year. I went inside the little cafe adjacent to the lot and sank a beer. A few famous classic Western films were shot along that route, huh? Spectacular pics! Yosemite is always spectacular no matter how many times one sees it, but, as you remarked to me during breakfast at Tahoe, very crowded with traffic during this time. Now that you built up the CA 108 Sonora Pass I'll have to do that (won't be but a day ride for me since live not terribly far). The pics remind/help me understand what Cali rider (John) remarked to me about NorCal being better than SoCal when it comes to more attractive/less congested bike routes. (I expressed envy about he living in the balmy SoCal weather region) Gawd, those pics are super clear and resolute!

Yep that's the little parking lot we stopped at in Mt Whitney... I managed to grab a lot of cool pics up there (river going down hill, triangular rock/mountain , the nice shot of Cali Rider on the side of the road with the mountains in his back etc...)... amazing spot!

Definitely do the Sonora Pass as soon as you can... you won't be disappointed! I want to do it again in dry weather... the rain/cold up there added to our experience and it was great, but I really want to do that road without rain and luggage :rockon:

Thanks for the nice comments about the pics... the SLR Canon camera does everything really... you should see the originals (all these above are a 1/3 of the full resolution, or else it would take too long to upload) on the big screen, some of them are really cool!

 

[Wavex]

Damn David, I was just thinking my trip (11days) was a bit long.....now I'm thinking how many days it'll take to ride out there so I can see Yosemite! I have a thing for mountains, lakes & waterfalls.....but you might have guessed that from my vacation pictures Great pictures!! Thanks

Yes loved your pics too!!! Don't just stop at Yosemete... sooo many gorgeous spots to see in California... I couldn't possibly take pics of all the beautiful scenery we encountered, but it was amazing... I`ll post video tonight which will show a little more variety...

Great, great pics David. :thumbup: That one of the stream in Yosemite really makes me want to go flyfishing! I can't wait to see the video of you and John riding down Hwy 9 (in between the construction zones that is). Waiting with baited breath....

I was pissed that I messed up the GoPro... I hate that camera (I have a first generation)... it's just not practical enough imo... I should have gotten the ContourHD cam, which has an easy ON/OFF slider so you can't screw it up... anyway, I'll have some other vid up tonight

BTW, that pic of the stream in Yosemete was taken while riding... I wanted to jump in there badly!!

 

[Wavex]

Here is John's custom saddle bags rack btw... it worked great! I told him he should make a bunch of them and sell them to forum members!

 

[Wavex]

Here is the video:



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip073F5-apc]YouTube - California Ride - July 2010[/ame]

 

[Tailgate]

Very kool video, Wavex! (nice soundtrack, too).

 

[rsw81]

Nicely done David, looks like you guys had a great time and kept a very safe/steady pace throughout.

 

[AngelFZ]

Great great video and awesome views :thumbup:

Now, for the most part you had the camera on top of your helmet? I have only used it on top of the gas tank with the suction cup, I have not tried any of the adhesive bases (have you had any problems with them?). I still need to be able to edit those video so that I can start uploading some initial material.

At one point it seems like you were passing the camera from hand to hand!!!!

Thank you very much for all this awesome material your sharing

 

[Motogiro]

How was that ride Cliff?

BTW, we invited Tailgate and Lefty to come ride with us and the San Diego crew down here, so be prepared!

Thanks for checking up on us during the trip... :rockon:

The ride turned out terrible. Great morning though! I crashed on Banner Grade and broke 2 ribs and hurt my left wrist. It was a pretty bad impact and I believe I was KO'd. The bike is not as bad. It was a low side. It might actually end my career riding. I impacted the side of the mountain.I have to think about how I'm doing this and why I've crashed again in a short time. I surely don't want to be selfish to my wife and family and friends. I love to ride but it's just part of me and I don't think I can't restrain myself from riding faster. Right now I'm going through physical pain and trying to stay healthy. I decided to go all leather even though it was going to be hot and so glad I was geared up. I don't think I'll be ready for this coming month.
If I continued to ride , it will be slower and only fast on a track. Impacting sucks!

On the bright side. The pictures and trip you and John did are just awesome!
What an adventure! It's so great to meet up with people on the forum and then they also turn out to be really cool people.
It's hard for me on the keyboard right now.

Awesome trip!!!:rockon:

 

[AngelFZ]

The ride turned out terrible. Great morning though! I crashed on Banner Grade and broke 2 ribs and hurt my left wrist. It was a pretty bad impact and I believe I was KO'd. The bike is not as bad. It was a low side. It might actually end my career riding. I impacted the side of the mountain.I have to think about how I'm doing this and why I've crashed again in a short time. I surely don't want to be selfish to my wife and family and friends. I love to ride but it's just part of me and I don't think I can't restrain myself from riding faster. Right now I'm going through physical pain and trying to stay healthy. I decided to go all leather even though it was going to be hot and so glad I was geared up. I don't think I'll be ready for this coming month.
If I continued to ride , it will be slower and only fast on a track. Impacting sucks!

On the bright side. The pictures and trip you and John did are just awesome!
What an adventure! It's so great to meet up with people on the forum and then they also turn out to be really cool people.
It's hard for me on the keyboard right now.

Awesome trip!!!:rockon:

I'm so sorry you're going through this!!!!!!
Mainly I hope you heal completely and soon.

I hope the decision of riding again or not will come from you and not from a physical impediment.
Fear and inexperience keeps me away from riding fast (even I'd love to ride fast). I think I'll keep it that way, cruising on the streets/roads and looking forward for a trackday to learn more and feel the speed!!!!

Get better,

 

[Wavex]

Nicely done David, looks like you guys had a great time and kept a very safe/steady pace throughout.

Thanks man... we did keep a steady/controlled pace for most of the ride and only picked the right spots to "get on it a bit more"

 

[Wavex]

Great great video and awesome views :thumbup:

Now, for the most part you had the camera on top of your helmet? I have only used it on top of the gas tank with the suction cup, I have not tried any of the adhesive bases (have you had any problems with them?). I still need to be able to edit those video so that I can start uploading some initial material.

At one point it seems like you were passing the camera from hand to hand!!!!

Thank you very much for all this awesome material your sharing

Thanks very much!

I had my GoPro on my helmet, but I messed up the settings so nothing came out of that... the video in the youtube link above is actually all from my Sony HD camcorder, and all the video was taken with me holding it in my left hand while riding :BLAA: That's why you see me pass the cam to John a couple of times hehehe That's also why the riding was slow in these shots...

I have never used a suction cup mounting system so I can't tell you how they are... I had a tank bracket (screwed using the filler cap screws) back in my FZ6 days, and that worked fine...

For editing I recommend Cyberlink Power Producer... it's easy and works OK for basic stuff :rockon:

 

[Wavex]

The ride turned out terrible. Great morning though! I crashed on Banner Grade and broke 2 ribs and hurt my left wrist. It was a pretty bad impact and I believe I was KO'd. The bike is not as bad. It was a low side. It might actually end my career riding. I impacted the side of the mountain.I have to think about how I'm doing this and why I've crashed again in a short time. I surely don't want to be selfish to my wife and family and friends. I love to ride but it's just part of me and I don't think I can't restrain myself from riding faster. Right now I'm going through physical pain and trying to stay healthy. I decided to go all leather even though it was going to be hot and so glad I was geared up. I don't think I'll be ready for this coming month.
If I continued to ride , it will be slower and only fast on a track. Impacting sucks!

On the bright side. The pictures and trip you and John did are just awesome!
What an adventure! It's so great to meet up with people on the forum and then they also turn out to be really cool people.
It's hard for me on the keyboard right now.

Awesome trip!!!:rockon:

You are F_ing kidding me!!! I thought something may have happened since I didn't see you post anything Sat. and Sunday... I was going to txt you and then I saw you online at around noon on Monday so I figured you were just busy... dude that sucks bigggg time! I am really sorry to hear about that low side... I don't want to sound like an *ss but you should have come with us to the track!!!! it's unbelievable how much a couple of track days will completely change the way one rides the streets...
Anyway, take care of yourself brother and don't give up riding yet... keep us updated...

I don't know what else to say... errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[AngelFZ]

Thanks very much!

I had my GoPro on my helmet, but I messed up the settings so nothing came out of that... the video in the youtube link above is actually all from my Sony HD camcorder, and all the video was taken with me holding it in my left hand while riding :BLAA: That's why you see me pass the cam to John a couple of times hehehe That's also why the riding was slow in these shots...

I have never used a suction cup mounting system so I can't tell you how they are... I had a tank bracket (screwed using the filler cap screws) back in my FZ6 days, and that worked fine...

For editing I recommend Cyberlink Power Producer... it's easy and works OK for basic stuff :rockon:

It sucks you missed the video on the GoPro, indeed they could improve the product there (settings and indications).

I'm due to get a new camera (I'm thinking the Sony DSC-TX5), so, eventually I'll try your "hold camera-while riding" technique :thumbup:

I have only used the suction cup, and so far it seems that it holds on pretty well (I also tried it on a boat, even though I had my hands around the camera, it behaved very well).

I'm still a little skeptical of using the adhesive mounts!!!! and probably the first one I'd use will be on top of the helmet, but I'd like to get a different helmet first.

"Cyberlink Power Producer..." I was not aware of this one, I'll check it out, thanks

 

[Lefty]

David,
I really enjoyed the video. :thumbup: Especially with the music you picked. Who's the artist in the beginning?

Motogiro, I'm really sorry about your crash and hopefully you'll heal soon both physically and otherwise. I was looking forward to riding with you when I come down hopefully in August.

I'm in the early planning stages with Wavex to make a trip south. Anyone from NorCal who might be up for a Sat/Sun/Monday ride down and back with me, let me know.