Last weekend I took the Vee to one of the highest points in the Central Sierras, the Delilah Fire Lookout in Sequoia National Forest. To get there you need to follow about eight miles of dirt trails North of CA180 through Pine Ridge. The views are well worth the trip. From the top of the tower, you can see miles and miles around you, up to Yosemite up north and the Giant Sequoia forests east and south.
About half a mile before getting to the tower, I went down on a patch of sand and bent my brake pedal to the point where I could not even put my foot on my right peg. Riding back --without rear brake and without foot peg, downhill over eight miles of dirt roads-- was too risky so I kept going up till I got to the tower. There I found a large piece of steel tube that I used to easily bend the pedal back to a point where it was usable again.
Back on CA180, I rode about 35 miles of nice twisty roads to my house in Clovis. It was a nice ride all in all.
So yesterday —after a few last-minute adjustments— I finally took the FrankenBike on a long-ish ride up the mountains. A 75 mile route of non-stop twists to Courtright Reservoir via Shaver Lake and back. 150 miles total.
From 4-lane curvy highways to twisty little back roads, the ride had it all and the FrankenBike proved to be a fantastic machine that carved every curve like a champion.
I just came back from Utah, where I had a very nice ride with a few old friends to the Energy Loop (Eccles and Huntington Canyons). It was a fun 150-mile ride through R89 - R96 - R264, R31 and R10.
We had a burrito in Price and then parted ways from there. They all continued riding north while I wend back the same route, solo, to grab a few pictures and clear my mind a bit.
CA190 from 100 giants Trail to Balch Park Pack Station http://goo.gl/maps/U9eDr 45 miles - 294 curves
This is a mountainous road that runs from a grove with —supposedly— 100 giant Sequoias (I didn't count them) down to Springille, in the valley.
With almost 300 tight corners and almost no traffic at all, this must be one of the best kept secrets of the entire State of California. Highly recommended.
The CA245 - Dunlap Rd is a better known route among twisty road lovers; the pavement is gorgeous and its 200 tight curves are are even more so.
This route runs from the valley up Kings Canyon Road on the low mountains in Sequoia National Park.
I Love 190. I've gotten up that way to do it 5 times since June. I keep trying to get folks in the LA area to ride up there with me to share it with em, but folks think it's "too far".
Yokohl Rd is a great too, the scenery is just awesome!
Oh, and I agree about Yokohl Rd. Crappy pavement @ times, but the scenery SOO makes it worth it. I've got some photos from last wednesday out there I'll post up later!
My buddy Tim hadn't ridden in more than eight years (he only rode cruisers before), so when he told me he wanted to get back on the saddle I lent him the SV and took him for a tame twisty spin up the Sierras; we did CA168 and then the Dinkey Creek road to McKinley Grove.
Needless to say, he had a smile from ear to ear when we stopped to stretch our legs a bit. On the way back, we switched bikes and he said he was surprised on how light the big Vee felt in the curves.
Me? Going from the Strom to the SV in the same ride felt like jumping from a mountain bike onto a tricycle
So today I made the most of this week's nice weather and went on a 280-miles solo ride along the Pinnacles Mountain Range here in California. To get there, I had to ride across the whole Central Valley under a very dense fog. Needless to say, I had a real blast.
The Route (https://goo.gl/maps/fJGbP):
- CA180 from Fresno to Mendota
- Little Panoche (J1) from Mendota to Tres Pinos
- CA25 then CA98 to Coalinga
- CA145 and CA180 back to Fresno
I'm ready to cross the San Joaquin Valley (70 miles) in heavy fog.
Carpooled to work today. Just normal rain (for a Seattleite) at this point. I guess around 5 am it was coming down in sheets, though. Glendora Ridge Road and Crystal Lake Road were closed.
Thanks. When I passed by that way I was loosing Daylight and wanted to make it to the end then back to camp before dark, so didn't stop for photos. Next time I plan on camping @ Sawmill Flat and just exploring all the paved/dirt roads each day.
I just spent an awesome month riding with my brother who was visiting from Mexico. We went riding and camping and really enjoyed every moment after many years of not seeing each other.
Then the Rough Fire in Kings Canyon stroke and everything became gray and sad.
That should be the start of a whole new "Caption This" thread.
I'll go first. "Quit be in an as$hole!"
Awesome photos! Damn, you're ugly.
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