Adventure riding short rides and BS thread

[slackmeyer]

This is meant to be a general purpose adventure riding thread, a repository of random photos of rides not worthy of elaborate reports, a place to mention great rides that you didn't take any good pictures of, a place to get advice or give advice about camping, road conditions, gear, etc, and (if you must), a place to tell us why your bike is great and all others are inferior.

Let's give it a go:

I bundled up yesterday to give Tassajara road a try- it's becoming something of a winter tradition. As expected, I didn't get very far:


Here's last year up at the top:


Hwy 25 was fun on the way back though:


zak

[little_twin]

Hwy 25 is one of my favorites.

Great Idea with the "random adventure" thread.

[Nemo Brinker]

Awesome, great idea.

How is Tassajara Road when it isn't covered with snow? Any other worthwhile dirt roads in the area? I'd like to set up a basecamp in the Big Sur area and ride little roads in the area on our DR650s sometime.

[WoodsChick]

Cool idea, Zak! Dig the photos of Tassajara!

So in keeping with the theme, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you all that my bike is the best one because, um...it's red. And it's pretty! And it has a name that's hard to spell...that always add to the mystique, of course

[slackmeyer]

Originally Posted by WoodsChick

Cool idea, Zak! Dig the photos of Tassajara!

So in keeping with the theme, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you all that my bike is the best one because, um...it's red. And it's pretty! And it has a name that's hard to spell...that always add to the mystique, of course

Ooh, where is that? Looks reminiscent of Bear ridge road heading over to Matole. And yeah, the Hewsckawaurna*s are very cool- especially that they gave the 610 a true wide ration gearbox.
One thing about "adventure" bikes (which I too am guilty of) is this hangup with multi-cylinder bikes. For most off pavement rides, thumpers really work well. Then again, I love my 950 when it comes to 600 mile+ days. . . .

Originally Posted by Nemo Brinker

How is Tassajara Road when it isn't covered with snow? Any other worthwhile dirt roads in the area? I'd like to set up a basecamp in the Big Sur area and ride little roads in the area on our DR650s sometime.

Well, I'm not that knowledgeable about that area- but Tassajara road is a good, fun, dirt road- i.e, it's not loose gravel, it's not flat, it's not straight. But it's a pretty easy road on something like a DR650. I've never been there in summer, so I don't know how dusty it might be. You're allowed to visit the zen center in summer though, not in winter:


I hear that there are some fun roads off of 1 in the big sur area- old coast road, and roads off of Nacimiento-Ferguson. Haven't been on them yet.

zak

[WoodsChick]

Originally Posted by slackmeyer

Ooh, where is that? Looks reminiscent of Bear ridge road heading over to Matole. And yeah, the Hewsckawaurna*s are very cool- especially that they gave the 610 a true wide ration gearbox.
One thing about "adventure" bikes (which I too am guilty of) is this hangup with multi-cylinder bikes. For most off pavement rides, thumpers really work well. Then again, I love my 950 when it comes to 600 mile+ days. . . .

zak

Well, you've got the right part of the country! That was taken at the eastern boundary of Redwood Nat'l Park on Bald Hills Rd northwest of Weitchpec. Absolutely killer place to explore Can't wait to go back there again.

The dirt roads off of Nac-Ferg are a ton of fun! It's beautiful there in the spring. I highly recommend it

Oh, and you spelled Hooskawarner wrong I just changed my gearing a little and am looking forward to trying it out. I had originally geared it up for highway stuff but found I didn't need it. All it did was make it harder to ride in the slow-going dirt stuff.

600 miles in a day? If I gotta get 600 miles away in one day I'm takin' a plane, Honey I'm a wimp!



WimpyChick

[redbull]

I am in a similar place with my bikes and loving adventures of any size. The 950 ADV (always in TKC80 rubber) is for gear-heavy and long-travel trips or no-gear trips that bring a passenger. My DRZ400 (two sets wheels 17/17 street and 18/21 dirt), is for short/medium dually trip and longer events such as the Sheetiron, and the Husky (17/17) is for city hooliganism and anything between here (SF) and the Corralitos market, or here and Briones reservoir.

[slackmeyer]

Originally Posted by redbull

I am in a similar place with my bikes and loving adventures of any size. The 950 ADV (always in TKC80 rubber) is for gear-heavy and long-travel trips or no-gear trips that bring a passenger. My DRZ400 (two sets wheels 17/17 street and 18/21 dirt), is for short/medium dually trip and longer events such as the Sheetiron, and the Husky (17/17) is for city hooliganism and anything between here (SF) and the Corralitos market, or here and Briones reservoir.

Nice quiver there. I'm always kind of split between sport touring and adventure touring, so I now have a second set of wheels for my 950- the original 18/21 have TKC80 and Mefos, and the newer 18/19 set with conti trail attacks.

I'm not sure if my 640 is the right bike for me for living around here, but once I get it up to mendocino NF, I love riding it. For some reason I'm always tempted to buy an old VFR and do adventure rides on it. . . . . as if a 500 lb KTM wasn't enough of a pig in the dirt already.

zak

[boney]

Originally Posted by slackmeyer

I'm not sure if my 640 is the right bike for me for living around here, but once I get it up to mendocino NF, I love riding it. For some reason I'm always tempted to buy an old VFR and do adventure rides on it. . . . . as if a 500 lb KTM wasn't enough of a pig in the dirt already.

zak

Take that 640 onto the backroads near you, never mind the knobbies. It's perfect for where you are.

It's also perfect for The Mendocino. The problem is the between, which is why I usually stuff mine in the truck in the winter time, though I'll ride there in the summer even if it is kinda hard on the tires.

Gratuititous adventure bike photo:

[DukeD]

Great idea Slack, here's my ex-DRZ up in Trinity a few years ago. My son riding buddy we found some logging roads and went adventuring.

[DukeD]

And again in December

[WoodsChick]

Originally Posted by DukeD

Great idea Slack, here's my ex-DRZ up in Trinity a few years ago. My son riding buddy we found some logging roads and went adventuring.

Man, what I wouldn't have given to be able to ride through the woods on the back of my dad's bike when I was his age! Good for you for being a cool dad!




WoodsChick

[slackmeyer]

Originally Posted by DukeD

Great idea Slack, here's my ex-DRZ up in Trinity a few years ago. My son riding buddy we found some logging roads and went adventuring.

That's awesome. The BARF collective needs to own a few acres of land off of hwy 36, as a place to go and base from. I rode 36 (pavement only) a month back, and my head was on a swivel checking out all the great roads up into the hills- I notice more every time.

I keep riding after dark this last couple weeks, no good pics available.

zak

[Map8]

Originally Posted by DukeD

Great idea Slack, here's my ex-DRZ up in Trinity a few years ago. My son riding buddy we found some logging roads and went adventuring.

My buddy has that bike now. He loves it.

[Busy Little Shop]

My true 1972 Dirt Bike story that I scribed for a college writing assignment...

There came a young rider from across the boarder to a beach in
Ensenada where the sand is smooth as glass and moist as slush... high
in the sky rest the sun... the rider goes forward in the ultimate
solitude known as "spinning donuts"... dozens and dozens of feet up
donuts are a source of never ending joy until... the rider spots a
single ray of sun glint off a chrome plated 45 caliber pistol... there
stands a tall figure of a man holding the pistol with both hands...
the man is a hired security guard... he has nothing to do but to
protect the beach... acres and acres of sand perfect for a rider to
play on... the man is mad and the rider's fate hangs in the moment...
the rider gives up... it's the code of the west... he stops to face
the man and the 45... the hammer is cocked... there's a finger on the
trigger... the hands are sweaty... the arms are protruded... the face
of the man is mad... intruder alert on his protected beach... a
heavily accented voice bring forth the charges... "you drive crazy"...
this could be it for the rider... there are no places to run... no
places to hide on an lonely beach in Mexico... the rider gestures with
raised arms "don't shoot me"... the barrel of the chrome 45 comes
closer... the rider moves his head to the left... the barrel pursues
left... the rider moves his head to the right... the barrel pursues
right... The dialogue is one sided... the rider swears to leave this
man's beach at once and shall never return as long as he lives... the
man waves the barrel in the only direction the rider should go... the
rider turns his back and starts the his trusty Husky... the engine
answers on the first kick... the staccato cadence of the two stroke
engine is all he hears roosting the sand but it's the fear of the
first crack of a zipping bullet that keeps the throttle pinned...

My Trusty Husky Ensenada Mexico