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Road "Trip" to the North Bay

RightCoastBias

RightCoastBias

F8TRED
Joined
Jul 1, 2012
Location
Alameda
Moto(s)
'14 F800GS
Name
Ryan
My dad will be flying in the weekend of the 26th, renting a bike and we'll be heading up north. We had originally planned on heading to the Lost Coast, avenue of giants and that general area. Unfortunately, we planned my dad's trip for the same weekend as Moto GP at Latuna, so securing a rental bike was impossible, unless we wanted to rent it for 5 days. We only need one for 3 and there was no way to gurantee we would get a bike.

So, we pushed the trip a weekend, but at that point, with my little girl due 8/18, baby momma wasn't happy about me being 5,6,7 hours away with no cell service.

Alas, a compromised was reached. My pops and I will still be riding, but we'll stay within 3ish hours of Oakland, in case my little one comes knocking early.

So, my question is, where should we get a hotel? We'll be staying Friday and Saturday night, spending our days riding all over the north bay and we'll probably roll out to clear lake for a swim on Friday, maybe go back on Saturday for a dip.

Other than that, we have no plans and no attachments to a particular area.

Looking for a nice place to stay for around $200/$300 a night.

Any must ride roads or must see areas?
 
Last edited:
redruM said:
so many options.

Calistoga? Bodega Bay? maybe one night of each? either town offers nicer accommodations... and each puts you at the gateway to a vast network of great riding roads.
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Ya, I know it's pretty general. But as I said, not tied to any specific areas. So I'm open to any suggestions. Maybe we'll stay on the coast one day and island another.
 
try

airbnb.com instead of hotels

its cheap, just make sure you verify reviews first, you dont wanna be the first
 
FXCLM5 said:
try

airbnb.com instead of hotels

its cheap, just make sure you verify reviews first, you dont wanna be the first
Click to expand...

I'm not to worried about the cost. My pops is paying for it and by his own admission, he's a "primadona" these days. Finding a nice hotel with a pool and a spa would t be the worst of things. He's got a good amount of money put aside to burn. I even got all new fork and rear springs out of the money burning a hole in his pocket. It's like Christmas, but I'm too old for Christmas from the parents, so it's even better.
 
I highly recommend motoring up to this place:

http://www.goldlakelodge.com/ It's rustic but it's out in some of the nicest parts of the Sierras. Take 49 to the Gold Lake Highway. No pool, but they provide breakfast and dinner. I remember stopping there once on my ST for the night. A simple clean cabin, a late October wind blowing through the treetops, a blanket to keep me warm while sitting on the small porch in front of my room, and a nice bottle of Cabernet.
 
ST Guy said:
I highly recommend motoring up to this place:

http://www.goldlakelodge.com/ It's rustic but it's out in some of the nicest parts of the Sierras. Take 49 to the Gold Lake Highway. No pool, but they provide breakfast and dinner. I remember stopping there once on my ST for the night. A simple clean cabin, a late October wind blowing through the treetops, a blanket to keep me warm while sitting on the small porch in front of my room, and a nice bottle of Cabernet.
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That looks really nice. Do you remember if there is cell service up there? Gotta be accessible as much as possible with the kiddo due.
 
Unfortunately, it 's less likely then more. But call the lodge. Often it's a matter of what carrier you use.
 
Hell, just ride up to Mendocino. From San Jose it's a 3.5 hour drive up 280, 101, and then out 128 to 1.

Stay at the Albion Inn or the Stanford Inn

http://albionriverinn.com/

http://www.stanfordinn.com/

Dine at either the Albion Inn or the Ledford House

The Albion is one of the two best restaurants in that area. Fantastic food, incredible wine cellar, and an amazing collection of single malts: http://www.albionriverinn.com/Restaurant.php

The Ledford House is the other best place to eat: http://www.ledfordhouse.com/

Be at both places before sunset. At the Ledford House you can sit at the bar and watch the sunset.

(Check out both websites thoroughly.)

On 128 near Navarro, stop and check out Navarro Vineyards. Excellent wines and their late harvest wines are fantastic: http://www.navarrowine.com/main.php

And the last 15 miles of 128 before you hit one go through one of the most amazing old growth redwood forests.

If you want to stay in town, the Mendocino Hotel can be fun but sometimes it's noisy. My wife and I like to have dinner in front of the fire place in the front room. (Just ask and they'll serve you there.)

Another excellent place to stay: http://www.oceanfrontmagic.com/

Mendocino also has a great pub: http://www.pattersonspub.com/mendo_home.html with plenty of other places in town to both eat and stay.

Day rides out on Comptche/Ukiah Road and other surrounding roads will be fantastic.

Or rent a canoe/kayak/trimaran at Catch a Canoe and go for a cruise up the river. Bring beer and sandwiches: http://www.catchacanoe.com/

Then take Hwy 1 all the way back home.

And report back with pix!
 
Stay in Ukiah. 120 miles up 101. Plenty hotels there of all types from dives to nice. They almost all have pools. A few decent restaurants and bars up there, but Ukiah isn't the reason to stay there. You're really close to some of the best day riding around. 253 (one of my personal favorites), 128, Mountain View Rd., Hwy 1, Skaggs Springs Rd., 175, Bottle Rock Rd., Orr Springs Rd. The list goes on and on. You could do two or three different day loops and not go over the same stretch twice.

Plus, along the way there and back are the lovely breweries of Moylan's, Lagunitas, Russian River, Bear Republic, and Boonville. Ukiah has a brewpub of it's own, but it's not on the same level as those others.
 
You can hit all those roads and stay in the Mendocino area as well. Much nicer accomodations. And since dad's footin' the bill and likes higher end accommodations, Mendocino is just the ticket.
 
ST Guy said:
Hell, just ride up to Mendocino. From San Jose it's a 3.5 hour drive up 280, 101, and then out 128 to 1.

Stay at the Albion Inn or the Stanford Inn

http://albionriverinn.com/

http://www.stanfordinn.com/

Dine at either the Albion Inn or the Ledford House

The Albion is one of the two best restaurants in that area. Fantastic food, incredible wine cellar, and an amazing collection of single malts: http://www.albionriverinn.com/Restaurant.php

The Ledford House is the other best place to eat: http://www.ledfordhouse.com/

Be at both places before sunset. At the Ledford House you can sit at the bar and watch the sunset.

(Check out both websites thoroughly.)

On 128 near Navarro, stop and check out Navarro Vineyards. Excellent wines and their late harvest wines are fantastic: http://www.navarrowine.com/main.php

And the last 15 miles of 128 before you hit one go through one of the most amazing old growth redwood forests.

If you want to stay in town, the Mendocino Hotel can be fun but sometimes it's noisy. My wife and I like to have dinner in front of the fire place in the front room. (Just ask and they'll serve you there.)

Another excellent place to stay: http://www.oceanfrontmagic.com/

Mendocino also has a great pub: http://www.pattersonspub.com/mendo_home.html with plenty of other places in town to both eat and stay.

Day rides out on Comptche/Ukiah Road and other surrounding roads will be fantastic.

Or rent a canoe/kayak/trimaran at Catch a Canoe and go for a cruise up the river. Bring beer and sandwiches: http://www.catchacanoe.com/

Then take Hwy 1 all the way back home.

And report back with pix!
Click to expand...


Awesome stuff! I am looking into the Stanford Inn and I'll see if my pops bites. Maybe we'll stay here on Saturday and some where closer to clear lake on Friday. Trying to avoid too much structure and instead, give us the freedom to ride where ever we'd like.
 
How far and few between are gas stations out there? I've got a little 2.6 gallon tank on my DRZ and range is obviously a concern. I am in the process of trying to figure out a fuel storage solution that doesn't involve a new tank. Planning on building a rear rack before I go and I'm gonna try and find something to put on that for fuel.
 
Ukiah is your best bet. Right on the freeway if the new baby decides to show up. We have tons of awesome roads around here and Ukiah has a little of everything. Mendocino is a cool little tourist trap but has very limited services. Besides if you stay in Ukiah you will have acces to a certain barfers shop space and tools if you have some kind of a mechanical problem.
 
Plenty of gas up in that area. Probably nowhere more than 30 - 35 miles apart. 2.6 miles should be good for 100+ miles, right? Just plan accordingly. Most towns in Mendo and Lake cty. have gas. Your biggest gaps are on Hwy. 1. Even then it's not too hard to come by. There is gas in Fort Bragg, Mendocino, Elk, Gualala, and, I believe, Manchester (though don't hold me to that one). I think you can get gas in Boonville, but not on Sunday. Perhaps someone more local can clue you in, but even with a 2 1/2 gallon tank you should be ok if we're talking 40+ mpg.
 
SlideSF said:
Plenty of gas up in that area. Probably nowhere more than 30 - 35 miles apart. 2.6 miles should be good for 100+ miles, right? Just plan accordingly. Most towns in Mendo and Lake cty. have gas. Your biggest gaps are on Hwy. 1. Even then it's not too hard to come by. There is gas in Fort Bragg, Mendocino, Elk, Gualala, and, I believe, Manchester (though don't hold me to that one). I think you can get gas in Boonville, but not on Sunday. Perhaps someone more local can clue you in, but even with a 2 1/2 gallon tank you should be ok if we're talking 40+ mpg.
Click to expand...

Haha, with an opened airbox and a rejetted carb, I see 35-38mpg. It's pretty typical for DRZs with those mods.

I like to fill up around 70 miles to be safe. 2.6 is to the bottom of the tank.
 
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