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RIDE REPORT: a holiday weekend with my new mistress

H

happy_rider

New member
Joined
Jun 23, 2014
Location
Bay area
Moto(s)
twins
After reading a few really good ride reports on advrider.com, I decided that it was my turn to give back to the community (or punish it) with the narration of my recent escapade north of the Bay area. Hopefully you'll get inspired to go riding over there. Or you will find some useful information in the report. Or not. :laughing

Given that I'm riding a street-only bike and that "off-roading" was limited to less than half a mile on straight stretches of gravel, I had a distinct feeling that BARF may be a more appropriate audience than advrider. Also, I'm way too lazy to create an account over there. So bear with me, follow my "adventures" and enjoy the pictures!

The idea for the ride stemmed from the fact that:

  • there was going to be a long weekend on the 4th of July
and
  • the wife and kids would be out of town.

Sooo, considering that I just got this nice Aprilia Caponord 1200 and that I have a free long weekend, what could I possibly want to do? 1000+ miles on (mostly) twisty roads seemed like a good use of the time. :teeth

There was some thinking that went into planning this trip, and it worked out well. The initial idea was to go ride Hwy 36. Of course, reaching Hwy 36 by slabbing it on I5 was out of question. I read up on roads in the area and got interested in the lost coast road, and many people recommended the avenue of the giants. Additional self-imposed constraints were to ride with the sun on my back whenever possible and to split days in two with a lunch break in the middle, preferably somewhere civilized. I also wanted to avoid an early morning ride on the lost coast road because I thought that it would be fogged in. I would not camp, but stay at hotels or motels along the way.

Fearing traffic, I also decided to leave work early on July 3rd and get out of the congested areas to have a "clean start" on the morning of July 4th. Discover my itinerary in the upcoming posts!
 
Day 1, July 3rd (afternoon only): Bay area to Fort Bragg, ~180 miles



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The plan was to leave work early and ride to Fort Bragg on Thursday afternoon, well aware that I would hit some traffic. Indeed, the approach to the Golden Gate bridge was quite painful (from 19th avenue). One option would have been to ride Hwy 1 along the coast but I was worried about being stuck behind large numbers of slow vehicles. Instead, I opted for 101 and Hwy 128. As usual, traffic was awful around Petaluma but it's also quite easy to split in that area. Once on Hwy 128, slow traffic prompted me to take a break, and a picture of the bike.

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I spent some time stuck behind cars but overall traffic was moving along and I soon reached the coast. Of course I would now have to take pictures against the setting sun, but as you will soon be painfully aware, I not only take bad pictures but also post them on the web! :p

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So that was a pretty short day. I treated myself to a nice dinner and upon finding some irritation in my throttle hand I made a mental note to be extra relaxed on the grips in the upcoming days.
 
Leaving in about an hour to do something very similar :banana :Popcorn
 
Day 2 (July 4th): Fort Bragg to Arcata. Lunch. Arcata to Redding via Hwy 299. ~280 miles

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Predictably, the morning was wet and foggy in Fort Bragg:

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While stopping for gas in Fort Bragg, I'm approached by the passenger of another motorcycle, who helpfully indicates that premium is not available at this moment; we meet again at the next gas station and chat a bit. It's a couple on a BMW; I forgot where they were headed but I get compliments on my bike. It's true that the bike is prettier in real life than in pictures. Go check it out at a dealer if you don't believe me.

The weather made for a nice atmosphere along Hwy 1:

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After reaching Hwy 101, I make good use of cruise control to spare my throttle hand. Eureka is my destination for lunch, and for watching the World Cup quarter-final match between Brazil and Colombia. The Shell station attendant helpfully suggests a neighboring pizzeria / bar to watch the game; the recommendation turns out to be good and I enjoy the game despite the outcome.

Since I wanted to avoid riding the same road twice, I had elected to go to Redding on Hwy 299 in the afternoon (with the sun in my back), and come back to the coast the next morning on Hwy 36 (with the sun in my back again). So today, it's Hwy 299, which has nice fast sweepers that would be a lot more fun if the speed limit was not 55. :x I see quite a few cop cars and consequently watch my speed. I also stop to admire the scenery and take pictures.

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Before reaching Whiskeytown Lake, the road has some nice tighter curves. Just when I reach that point, I notice that 2 riders caught up with me. Embarrassed, I realize that this is not a good spot to let them pass and they will have to stay behind me for a few turns. Looking into my mirrors and slightly distracted I enter the first curve a bit faster than I normally would on an unknown road, and it turns out to be a lot of fun. At the first opportunity, I signal that they can pass me; the rider on the sportsbike passes but the rider on the touring bike elects to stay behind. We all find ourselves stuck at the same traffic light in Redding and exchange waves and thumbs up. It was nice to share this ride with fellow bikers. :thumbup

It is of course hot in Redding and I promise myself to leave early tomorrow morning. On the plus side, watching my hand position has really worked and I realize that my throttle hand is not going to be a problem for the rest of the trip.
 
happy_rider said:
After reading a few really good ride reports on advrider.com, I decided that it was my turn to give back to the community (or punish it) with the narration of my recent escapade north of the Bay area. Hopefully you'll get inspired to go riding over there. Or you will find some useful information in the report. Or not. :laughing
Click to expand...


Zowie, that is a Fine/Sweet looking bike.:thumbup
 
Day 3 (July 5th): Redding to Fortuna. Lunch. Lost coast road to Rio Dell. ~260 miles

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Finally, the day has come to ride the famous Hwy 36. I slab it to Red Bluff, refuel and take the obligatory picture in front of the sign.

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The road does not disappoint. It is much more enjoyable than Hwy 299 and alternates between sweepers and more technical parts. I'm pretty much alone on the road and the few cars that I see are nice enough to let me pass quickly. I can see why the road has such a good reputation.

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I don't have much to add about the road itself. You have to ride it to enjoy it!

The road is also quite long and I'm happy to stop for lunch in Fortuna; the rest is very welcome. In the diner where I grabbed some lunch, an older gentleman asks me what kind of motorcycle that is. I explain a bit about it. He states that it looks weird. Not sure if that's a compliment... He's nice and we chat a bit. When I am about to leave, he asks where I'm headed. Next on the program is the lost coast road. He looks vaguely worried and indicates that this road has a lot of turns. I'm not sure if he gets it when I reply that yes, that's kind of the whole point. :laughing Enjoyable discussion.

The real name of the lost coast road is Mattole road, it starts in Ferndale, goes along the coast, brings you to Petrolia and Honeydew, then becomes Bull Creek Flats road inside Humboldt Redwoods State Park where it reaches 101 and the avenue of the giants.

The "pavement" is quite rough, with a lot of potholes. This may not be comfortable if your bike has a teeth-rattling suspension. I enjoyed it a lot and felt like I was riding the Dakar (admittedly, I'm easily amused and prone to hyperbole). Interesting observation: on the roads that I usually ride, the "loose gravel" warning sign typically means that I'll find a few pebbles on the next corners. On Mattole road, "loose gravel" means "the next few hundred yards are unpaved". Not that it was a problem, but consider yourself warned. If you are really skittish about gravel, you may want to pass. I only had to ride 3 stretches of gravel road, a really short one, a longer one, and a little climb. Given that the bike comes with Dunlop Qualifiers I wasn't sure what to expect but I'm happy to report that everything went smoothly. Thankfully, those gravel parts were not in nasty downhill hairpins. Not sure how the Qualifiers would have taken that...

At any rate, the highlight of the road is when you reach the coast. The view is absolutely stunning, much more that I could capture in those pictures:

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After Honeydew, it's back to climbing in the forest. I take a rest, and the opportunity to grease my chain.

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I also realize that the mouthpiece of my Camelbak fell off. For the rest of the trip, I will shower the bike on a regular occurrence, being apparently incapable of remembering to avoid bending over when I wear the Camelbak.

After reaching 101, I head out to Rio Dell where I will spend the night. This was a memorable day, and I really felt on vacation.
 
:thumbup

Last time I did 299 it was on a sportbike. What the hell was I thinking? :facepalm

Next time it gets attacked on the Multi. :ride
 
Again, this has me chomping at the bit for my ride next weekend. Friday cannot come soon enough.

What's the range/MPG on your Cap?
 
Nice! :ride I'd love to do something like this once I've got a few of the touring-esque mods on my Ninja. Looks amazing!
 
Day 4 (July 6th): Rio Dell to Fort Bragg. Lunch. Back to the Peninsula via Skaggs. ~318 miles.

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Time to ride the avenue of the giants! Given that there is a very mild trail at "Founder's Grove", I decide to go hike it. The thing about redwoods is that they are difficult to photograph, and if you live in the area there is a good chance that you have already seen plenty. So I go there with a firm idea to NOT take any picture. Upon reaching the fallen "Dyerville Giant", however, I have to admit that it's pretty big and maybe worth a picture (with helmet added for scale).

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The avenue of the giants is a lot of fun, especially in the early morning with no one else on it (and not so early that deer are a huge concern). I stop at Myers Flat, where there is one of those drive-through redwoods. Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, I did it anyways. No, you will not see the picture. :x

I then take Hwy 1 to the coast, where a fellow rider on a V-Strom (?) leaves me in his dust after I let him pass (I'm the kind of guy who does not block faster traffic). The coast brings some more photo opportunities:

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Time to stop for gas and lunch in Fort Bragg. The bike proves to have quite some success in the gas station, where this guy approaches me with great enthusiasm. He confesses a passion for two-wheeled motorized vehicles and is about to buy a bike from a friend (or relative? I can't remember). That's a complicated story, the bike being and ex-cop Harley, modified by the friend who cannot ride it anymore for health reasons. It's at the same time refreshing to see this guy's passion and sad because the friend can't ride.

Since I was in the area, I had decided to ride Skaggs Springs road, another first for me. Short break just at the beginning:

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It's getting hot really quickly and I'm not too keen on stopping a lot, so there are only two more pictures from Skaggs:

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The road west of the bridge has a really nice flow to it, while keeping you on your toes with a bit of gravel in some turns. After the bridge the road would be nice without the 30 mph speed limit... and then there is the spot that is completely covered in tar snakes. I definitely enjoyed the western part better. Nice road, but suffers from the comparison with Hwy 36 or Mattole rd. After that, it's back on the freeway, significant splitting again, and return home.

This road trip was a great experience and I can’t wait to do more. Thanks for reading; I hope that you enjoyed the ride report!
 
Cool, great pics! Next time you're up there, there's a great little loops through southern Oregon. It's got a 12 mile gravel section in the middle that makes it ideal for a bike like yours.

Goes something like this...
 
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