Out and about in California - BARF

dsb · 05-13-2009, 08:55 AM

I had an idea of where I wanted to go, but nothing written in stone, so I left around 7 in the morning and headed up 50 towards Tahoe. Stopped for gas and a bit to eat in Pollock Pines and had this beautiful view to look at

Passed up Bridal Veil Falls but turned around to get this pic

I ended up taking 89 over to 88 to get throgh the mountains and onto 395. Very pretty up there, but 88 was a bit scetchy. Lots of tar snakes, and you could definetly feel when you were on them. Very scenic, but few places to stop along the way. Here's a few from the 88/89 area.

After getting to 395, I just headed south. Very differnt landscape over there. I stopped to get some pics of Mono Lake, but it seemed to be a bit hazy everywhere.

. Stopped in Lee Vining at the junction of Tioga Pass and 395. I couldn't get over how bright and white the mountains in Yosemitte were!

From there I headed south and enjoyed the contrast of snow covered mountains on my right and the barron high desert landscape to the left

Stopped briefly at Manzanar in Independence. Not much left other than foundations and markers.

CuriousMike · 05-13-2009, 09:01 AM

Darrell,
Looks like a good ride!

Was this a day ride for you?

dsb · 05-13-2009, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CuriousMike

Darrell,
Looks like a good ride!

Was this a day ride for you?

No, I stayed the night in Ridgecrest. The next day I went to Trona Pinnacles then headed home. More pics to come...............

Kornholio · 05-13-2009, 09:20 AM

Damn! I was going to take a trip to Manzanar for some extra credit in my U.S. History class. I wish I knew you were going.

Great shots, though!

dsb · 05-13-2009, 09:30 AM

Now for the exciting part! (for me anyway

) I wanted to see the Trona Pinnacles so I headed towards Trona/Death Valley. It's owned by the bureau of land management, so there are no fee's etc. It is a non paved road that is about 7 miles long that leads from the highway to the Pinnacles. Little did I know the "unpaved road" meant heavy gravel, washboard surfaces and a strecth of loose sand about 30-40 yards long. Might not seem like a lot, but on a street bike

I went for it!! It wasn't pretty, the bike was all over the place but I kept it up. It was worth the effort!

There was a bit of a ridge to get down to the lower section to see the pinnacles, but it was all loose gravel, so I opted to park on the ridge and walk down. I think this is my favorite shot of the trip!!

I walked down and got a close up look of the pinnacles and the rocks in the area

. There were signs about the wildlife such as tortises and how you could litteraly scare them to death. Long story short, you can scare the piss out of them and it would take soo long for them to recover the fluid they lost, they could die before they rehydated. All I saw was this

.
Going back out on that road was just as crazy as getting in. There were a group of riders on BMW adventure bikes that just breezed on through. I started to really consider puttin dual sport tires on my bike since I had soo much fun on that gravel road!! Other than that I just headed towards Bakersfield, Buttonwillow and home.
All in all it was a fun trip. I think alot of people would have gotten board on the long stretches of 395 and 5, but I enjoyed every minute of it! Still thinking of what I can do to my bike to ake it more dirt road/fire road capable

dsb · 05-13-2009, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kornholio

Damn! I was going to take a trip to Manzanar for some extra credit in my U.S. History class. I wish I knew you were going.

Great shots, though!

I didn't even know I was going!

Kornholio · 05-13-2009, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsb

I didn't even know I was going!

Good point.

How was the weather?

dsb · 05-13-2009, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kornholio

Good point.

How was the weather?

Very mild. I was prepared for cold in the mountains, and hot when I got south, but I don't think it got over 85 on lower than 60. I didn't take any layers off until I got to Manzanar, and even then it was nice......but I like it HOT. The wind was the worse part. down 395 along China Lake and 58 westbound. The wind on Pacheco pass seemed like a summer breeze compared to that

dsb · 05-13-2009, 10:06 AM

Here is the overall route

Kornholio · 05-13-2009, 10:07 AM

Total time?

dsb · 05-13-2009, 10:29 AM

Total time? I left Newark at 7:00 am Monday morning. Got to Ridgecrest by 6:00 pm, just didn't find a hotel till around 7:00. Left Ridgecrest at 7:00 and was home at 4:30. I stopped quite a bit, even though a lot of the time I didn't get off the bike, so total ride time was close to 20 hours and just under 1,000 miles

Kornholio · 05-13-2009, 10:34 AM

Sounds like a great loop! I'll have to give it a go one of these weekends when I'm free and the wife is out of town.

dsb · 05-13-2009, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kornholio

Sounds like a great loop! I'll have to give it a go one of these weekends when I'm free and the wife is out of town.

It's not a bad loop if you can take long stretches of road like highway 5. There are a lot of people who would rather not ride stuff like that, but I don't mind, and if you want to go to Trona, there's no way around it.

GAMBLER · 05-15-2009, 10:32 PM

good choice of bike. I too like the high desert and the lack of other humans. thanks for sharing.

lefty · 06-16-2009, 08:44 AM

Great trip report.

Cool Bike!!!

05-13-2009, 08:55 AM	#1
dsb King of the slab! Contributor Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Newark Motorcycles: Kawasaki ZR-7, 2000 Triumph Sprint RS (2 wheel money pit) Name: Darrell	Out and about in California I had an idea of where I wanted to go, but nothing written in stone, so I left around 7 in the morning and headed up 50 towards Tahoe. Stopped for gas and a bit to eat in Pollock Pines and had this beautiful view to look at Passed up Bridal Veil Falls but turned around to get this pic I ended up taking 89 over to 88 to get throgh the mountains and onto 395. Very pretty up there, but 88 was a bit scetchy. Lots of tar snakes, and you could definetly feel when you were on them. Very scenic, but few places to stop along the way. Here's a few from the 88/89 area. After getting to 395, I just headed south. Very differnt landscape over there. I stopped to get some pics of Mono Lake, but it seemed to be a bit hazy everywhere. . Stopped in Lee Vining at the junction of Tioga Pass and 395. I couldn't get over how bright and white the mountains in Yosemitte were! From there I headed south and enjoyed the contrast of snow covered mountains on my right and the barron high desert landscape to the left Stopped briefly at Manzanar in Independence. Not much left other than foundations and markers. __________________ Where you can usually find meBARF Sport Touring I go wherever my ZR-7 can take me, and not worry about the places it can't.

05-13-2009, 09:20 AM	#4
Kornholio :wave Top Percent Poster Contributor +++ BB Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hayweird Motorcycles: Goldilocks Name: Jason	Damn! I was going to take a trip to Manzanar for some extra credit in my U.S. History class. I wish I knew you were going. Great shots, though! __________________ I would hit it so hard, whoever pulled me out would be king of England. -MrIncredible Being a bit of a dick is one thing. Being an ever-enduring cocksicle is another. -Hundo I forgot that Yelp is a weapon for dumb people. -Stewie Griffin

05-13-2009, 09:30 AM	#5
dsb King of the slab! Contributor Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Newark Motorcycles: Kawasaki ZR-7, 2000 Triumph Sprint RS (2 wheel money pit) Name: Darrell	Now for the exciting part! (for me anyway ) I wanted to see the Trona Pinnacles so I headed towards Trona/Death Valley. It's owned by the bureau of land management, so there are no fee's etc. It is a non paved road that is about 7 miles long that leads from the highway to the Pinnacles. Little did I know the "unpaved road" meant heavy gravel, washboard surfaces and a strecth of loose sand about 30-40 yards long. Might not seem like a lot, but on a street bike I went for it!! It wasn't pretty, the bike was all over the place but I kept it up. It was worth the effort! There was a bit of a ridge to get down to the lower section to see the pinnacles, but it was all loose gravel, so I opted to park on the ridge and walk down. I think this is my favorite shot of the trip!! I walked down and got a close up look of the pinnacles and the rocks in the area . There were signs about the wildlife such as tortises and how you could litteraly scare them to death. Long story short, you can scare the piss out of them and it would take soo long for them to recover the fluid they lost, they could die before they rehydated. All I saw was this . Going back out on that road was just as crazy as getting in. There were a group of riders on BMW adventure bikes that just breezed on through. I started to really consider puttin dual sport tires on my bike since I had soo much fun on that gravel road!! Other than that I just headed towards Bakersfield, Buttonwillow and home. All in all it was a fun trip. I think alot of people would have gotten board on the long stretches of 395 and 5, but I enjoyed every minute of it! Still thinking of what I can do to my bike to ake it more dirt road/fire road capable __________________ Where you can usually find meBARF Sport Touring I go wherever my ZR-7 can take me, and not worry about the places it can't.

05-13-2009, 10:06 AM	#9
dsb King of the slab! Contributor Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Newark Motorcycles: Kawasaki ZR-7, 2000 Triumph Sprint RS (2 wheel money pit) Name: Darrell	Here is the overall route __________________ Where you can usually find meBARF Sport Touring I go wherever my ZR-7 can take me, and not worry about the places it can't.

05-13-2009, 10:07 AM	#10
Kornholio :wave Top Percent Poster Contributor +++ BB Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hayweird Motorcycles: Goldilocks Name: Jason	Total time? __________________ I would hit it so hard, whoever pulled me out would be king of England. -MrIncredible Being a bit of a dick is one thing. Being an ever-enduring cocksicle is another. -Hundo I forgot that Yelp is a weapon for dumb people. -Stewie Griffin

05-13-2009, 09:01 AM	#2
CuriousMike Veteran Founding Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Newark,Ca Motorcycles: Imaginary Name: Mike	Darrell, Looks like a good ride! Was this a day ride for you?

05-13-2009, 10:29 AM	#11
dsb King of the slab! Contributor Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Newark Motorcycles: Kawasaki ZR-7, 2000 Triumph Sprint RS (2 wheel money pit) Name: Darrell	Total time? I left Newark at 7:00 am Monday morning. Got to Ridgecrest by 6:00 pm, just didn't find a hotel till around 7:00. Left Ridgecrest at 7:00 and was home at 4:30. I stopped quite a bit, even though a lot of the time I didn't get off the bike, so total ride time was close to 20 hours and just under 1,000 miles __________________ Where you can usually find meBARF Sport Touring I go wherever my ZR-7 can take me, and not worry about the places it can't.

05-13-2009, 10:34 AM	#12
Kornholio :wave Top Percent Poster Contributor +++ BB Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hayweird Motorcycles: Goldilocks Name: Jason	Sounds like a great loop! I'll have to give it a go one of these weekends when I'm free and the wife is out of town. __________________ I would hit it so hard, whoever pulled me out would be king of England. -MrIncredible Being a bit of a dick is one thing. Being an ever-enduring cocksicle is another. -Hundo I forgot that Yelp is a weapon for dumb people. -Stewie Griffin

05-15-2009, 10:32 PM	#14
GAMBLER Veteran Contributor Join Date: May 2003 Location: San Jose, Calif. USA Motorcycles: KAW ZG1000 concours, KAW ZR7S, Honda 400f ss, 87 Honda Goldwing ;) Name:	good choice of bike. I too like the high desert and the lack of other humans. thanks for sharing. __________________ Cars lie to us and tell us we're safe, powerful, and in control. The air-conditioning fans murmur empty assurances and whisper, "Sleep, sleep." Motorcycles tell us a more useful truth: we are small and exposed, and probably moving too fast for our own good, but that's no reason not to enjoy every minute of the ride. By Dave Karlotski

06-16-2009, 08:44 AM	#15
lefty Veteran Founding Member Contributor+++ Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Menlo Park, CA USA Motorcycles: '05 ZRX1200 Name: Ed	Great trip report. Cool Bike!!! __________________ "The moral progress of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.'' Mohandas Gandhi Honorary Member of the TMU (Trouble Makers Union) local 650. I LOVE DOGS!!!!!

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