flying_hun

Great stuff, Orson! I used to read your stuff on Pashnit, and it's good to see you're still riding the Guzzi and still writing reports. Your assessment of riding in France matches my own. I've ridden in all the alpine countries except Slovenia, and France is my favorite with Italy not far behind. Great stuff! The Wikipedia stuff regarding La Bonette is just hair splitting. The Cime de la Bonette is the highest paved through road in the Alps. In 2011 I rode the ten highest paved roads in the Alps, including all those that the article says are higher, and they're all fun - particularly Stelvio! Thanks for posting!

Just the brand please...... Uh, how about NSU? Cheers, Kurt

Hi Al, I admit that I have a NorCal bias, so from where I sit FZ appears to have a (slight) SoCal bias . Certainly, they publish ride reports from all areas of the state, so they don't pursue that bias. I'm sure Tim did a good job of identifying the best roads across the state, it's just that I believe they're all north of SLO! Okay, enough goofing around, let's ride! Kurt

Al, I think Tim lives in Sacramento, not SF. Minor point. Next minor point is that since Friction Zone is somewhat SoCal biased in its distribution, it *may* be the case that the balance of the roads selected favor that readership. Speculation on my part. Highway One is a great road for scenery and great places to stop to eat or spend the night. Yes, the traffic can be heavy. It's worse south of SF (e.g. Big Sur) than it is north of SF. I rode it (PCH) last October from LA to SF and got held up occasionally, but not for long. Off season is definitely better. It may not be a 'best' road in all aspects, but it would be a mistake to not try it at least once. Where the real sectarian violence begins is with Hwy 36. IMHO, Tim would have been greatly remiss to not include it. It's a fabulous road. It's true, there's very little gasoline out there (I always top off my tank in Platina!), but I find that the number of gas stations varies from year to year. The moral of the story is to top it off when you can. All that said, there is little traffic, I've never seen a cop on it, the scenery is great, the road favors - no, make that encourages - smooth, fast riding and it is a blast. For hours!!!! I will grant that the high passes are wonderful, and that there are other roads with *sections* that are superior to 36. The Oroville - Quincy road comes to mind as one of those. However, if you were to choose a road based on factors that include duration of the experience and potential of not getting nicked along with the other usual factors, I think 36 comes out pretty well. There, I've made my case. Others may disagree, but if those of you reading don't at least try 36 you'll be missing out. One more thing. Since I'm not a native of CA, I am not ignorant of the charms of roads in other states. I've held motorcycle endorsements in Washington and Connecticut as well as CA, and I've toured quite a bit. Other states, particularly mountainous ones, all have charming roads. Other states, and Connecticut comes immediately to mind, also have problems with road maintenance. Have you ever ridden/driven I91 in CT? Even 101 in the Bay Area is not that rough (no, I don't work for Caltrans)! When you consider the traffic volume that uses roads in CA, it's amazing they're as good as they are. Tim Mayhew lives in CA, and writes about CA (reprising Al's point), and Friction Zone is published in CA for a primarily CA audience. I don't think anyone is saying there aren't good roads elsewhere. Cheers, Kurt

The ferry ride through the San Juans is beautiful, if a bit long. If you don't mind being on the boat 2 - 3 hours (I don't), it's a great ride. Take a camera. Kurt