Cornfish
Dork
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2015
- Location
- Central Oregon
- Moto(s)
- 2024 KTM 890 SMT - 2016 KTM 250 XC-F
- Name
- Reed
- BARF perks
- AMA #3288739
It is approaching that time of year when I take off on a multi-day trip down the coast for a Bay Area Riding Refresher. Here is a picture from Shelter Cove several years ago. As much as I crave some Santa Cruz Mountains fun, I might bias my trip heavily towards the north this time. It will depend on the weather, Airbnb bookings, and how the wild hair is situated.
I used to haul my Hypermotard in my converted trailer, but driving the truck and trailer got old. There were some advantages to having a mobile home base, but it is less expensive and more fun to ride my 890SMT straight from home. This year, I am using Mosko soft luggage instead of the KTM hard cases. I am excited to give the Mosko setup a try. The hard cases are kind of awkward and completely kill any chances of lane splitting. Leaving El Granada last year and riding up 19th Street restricted to my lane was a drag!
I have the 80L and 40L Mosko Luggage, along with the Nomad ADV stand-off plates. This seems to be a highly regarded, well-thought-out system. The 80L setup, along with the additional storage pods which can be added or removed as needed is likely serious overkill for this trip. The bulky items I need are an extra pair of shoes, a quart of oil, a tire pump (compact, folding, analouge), tool roll, and my laptop. Toiletries and street clothes are fairly minimal, and consist of my kevlar lined Tobacco Motorwear jeans, the Tobacco California Riding Shirt with D30 armor, and my Indie Ridge Boots. Other than a couple of T-Shirts and a pair of shorts, the casual riding gear doubles as my entire wardrobe when I am not in my daily A*s riding gear. It is a fairly compact setup, but anyone who has toured knows it all adds up quickly! I haven't decided whether to use my Kriega bags for the tail luggage or to just use the Mosko setup. I'll figure that out based on the gear I am bringing, and how it all goes together when I am gearing up the bike. I'm also considering one of the electric new-fangled tire pumps, but the comfort of knowing an analouge foot pump will always get the job done is hard to let go of, especially if I am forced to use a tire plug.
To start, I will go south from my place just outside Sunriver on Hwy 97 (horribly boring) to Klamath Falls, then west on 66 through Keno and into Ashland. The picture above is at Mt. Ashland, and is well worth the detour up and down the mountain before I put Ashland in the rearview mirror. I've ridden up 66 out of Ashland, and it is a fantastic ride by any measure, and I am looking forward to that section. From Ashland I will ride 96, since last time I took Hwy 3 out of Weaverville. I am leaning towards Hwy 3 east to Hayfork, and out Hwy 36 to the coast. Hwy 299 was fun, but it has been a few years since I've ridden 36, and cutting out as much of Hwy 101 as possible will be good since it too easily encourages triple-digit cruising, and I don't need another performance award. Last year I took Branscomb Road up from Hwy 1, which was a great route, but that bypasses the great section coming down to the coast from Leggett. I haven't figured out stopping points yet, but Ashland might be a good first night, followed by a big day out to somewhere near Arcata, with the next night near Mendocino. From there I haven't figured anything out, and it depends on weather and how much time I have. If I can only squeeze in a couple more days, I will probably try some sort of a loop that includes Skaggs Road, but I am anxious to get back on Hwy 1 into Big Sur. I could easily make Big Sur and back if I make more direct routes, but what is the fun in that? I typically get ~3,500 miles from a set of the Michellin Power GP2's I am running, and that feels like a good number to stay under for a trip like this, with each day between 300-400 miles.
One from the coast to tie in the theme!
I am open to any route suggestions in Northern California from Mendocino onward. I have ridden a good portion of the options available there, but I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew, with a trip up Berryessa last spring a perfect example of that. I've learned that there is an expanse of terrain in between Hwy 1 and 101 that looks doable in theory, but in practice become huge days with limited fuel stop options. The SMT can comfortably go 175 to nearly 200 miles on a tank, so fuel isn't really a problem, but certainly a consideration.
I used to haul my Hypermotard in my converted trailer, but driving the truck and trailer got old. There were some advantages to having a mobile home base, but it is less expensive and more fun to ride my 890SMT straight from home. This year, I am using Mosko soft luggage instead of the KTM hard cases. I am excited to give the Mosko setup a try. The hard cases are kind of awkward and completely kill any chances of lane splitting. Leaving El Granada last year and riding up 19th Street restricted to my lane was a drag!
I have the 80L and 40L Mosko Luggage, along with the Nomad ADV stand-off plates. This seems to be a highly regarded, well-thought-out system. The 80L setup, along with the additional storage pods which can be added or removed as needed is likely serious overkill for this trip. The bulky items I need are an extra pair of shoes, a quart of oil, a tire pump (compact, folding, analouge), tool roll, and my laptop. Toiletries and street clothes are fairly minimal, and consist of my kevlar lined Tobacco Motorwear jeans, the Tobacco California Riding Shirt with D30 armor, and my Indie Ridge Boots. Other than a couple of T-Shirts and a pair of shorts, the casual riding gear doubles as my entire wardrobe when I am not in my daily A*s riding gear. It is a fairly compact setup, but anyone who has toured knows it all adds up quickly! I haven't decided whether to use my Kriega bags for the tail luggage or to just use the Mosko setup. I'll figure that out based on the gear I am bringing, and how it all goes together when I am gearing up the bike. I'm also considering one of the electric new-fangled tire pumps, but the comfort of knowing an analouge foot pump will always get the job done is hard to let go of, especially if I am forced to use a tire plug.
To start, I will go south from my place just outside Sunriver on Hwy 97 (horribly boring) to Klamath Falls, then west on 66 through Keno and into Ashland. The picture above is at Mt. Ashland, and is well worth the detour up and down the mountain before I put Ashland in the rearview mirror. I've ridden up 66 out of Ashland, and it is a fantastic ride by any measure, and I am looking forward to that section. From Ashland I will ride 96, since last time I took Hwy 3 out of Weaverville. I am leaning towards Hwy 3 east to Hayfork, and out Hwy 36 to the coast. Hwy 299 was fun, but it has been a few years since I've ridden 36, and cutting out as much of Hwy 101 as possible will be good since it too easily encourages triple-digit cruising, and I don't need another performance award. Last year I took Branscomb Road up from Hwy 1, which was a great route, but that bypasses the great section coming down to the coast from Leggett. I haven't figured out stopping points yet, but Ashland might be a good first night, followed by a big day out to somewhere near Arcata, with the next night near Mendocino. From there I haven't figured anything out, and it depends on weather and how much time I have. If I can only squeeze in a couple more days, I will probably try some sort of a loop that includes Skaggs Road, but I am anxious to get back on Hwy 1 into Big Sur. I could easily make Big Sur and back if I make more direct routes, but what is the fun in that? I typically get ~3,500 miles from a set of the Michellin Power GP2's I am running, and that feels like a good number to stay under for a trip like this, with each day between 300-400 miles.
One from the coast to tie in the theme!
I am open to any route suggestions in Northern California from Mendocino onward. I have ridden a good portion of the options available there, but I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew, with a trip up Berryessa last spring a perfect example of that. I've learned that there is an expanse of terrain in between Hwy 1 and 101 that looks doable in theory, but in practice become huge days with limited fuel stop options. The SMT can comfortably go 175 to nearly 200 miles on a tank, so fuel isn't really a problem, but certainly a consideration.
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