Mark in Hollister

I was worried about the heat when I was up there in September a couple years ago. Instead it was cold and rainy the whole time. Even snowed on us going over a 6000 ft pass. Thank god for heated gear. There are also those nice cheap hot springs to stay at in John Day or Crane. That was a good trip. Fantastic roads though around Fossil, Service Creek, John Day, etc. Mile after mile of near perfect pavement with almost no traffic. Roads that remote in California are usually better suited to a dual sport.

The first Monday of each month, is Guzzi bike night at Applebees at McCarthy ranch center at the intersections of 880 and 237. 6 PM till ??? I will have the Relay to the National Rally baton there tomorrow on it's way south. Read more about the rally at Relay to the rally

I don't know Orson but see his Travel threads here and on Pashnit.com. His Tenni has seen many countries. I just read that he was involved in a motorcycle accident while touring S. Africa. Several broken bones, etc. Here is the latest on his condition copied from Pashnit. I spoke to Orson yesterday; he's sounding quite cheerful despite his injuries. He's likely to be in the hospital until "the last week of December". If you want to send him a card, this is the address.. Will Sutton Ward A Paarl Medi-Clinic Berlynstraat Noorder-Paarl 7646 Pos Bus 7267 Noorder Paarl 7623 Western Cape Province South Africa

There are some campgrounds on Nacimiento Ferguson Road between Fort Hunter Liggett and the coast. Being pretty far off hwy 1, you may find space there. Also I've seen people just camp on the side of the road. Since it's national forest, it's legal as long as your not obstructing traffic.

Camping on Fremont Peak? Should be fun. Be prepared for it to be cold and windy at night. If there is a new moon, there will be dozens of amature astronomers up there with their telescopes. If you wander amongst them you'll likely be invited to have a look. I'd also not recommend going up/down that hill at night. It's a pretty technical road and lots of deer in the area. When I went to Cayucos a few years back, I did 25 to G13 over to King City. Then Jolon Rd. Then Nacimiento Ferguson and down 1 to Cayucos As I recall it was less than 4 hours with a few picture stops along the way. Being summer, it'll be crazy hot on the inland side. Be prepared for a 30-40 degree change in temp between when you enter the fort and when you get to the Ocean. Nice route though. An alternative would be to do all of 25 then pick up peachtree/Indian Valley Rd. down to San Miguel then down to 58 and take 58 east if that is where you're headed. Lots of good roads in the area.

Nacimiento Ferguson is a fantastic road. Don't forget you have to have drivers license and proof of insurance (dated) to go through the fort. If you take it east to west, be careful near the end. The views of the ocean are so spectacular it's hard to concentrate on the hairpin switchbacks. Also note that 4 wheelers tend to just cut across the tight switchbacks leaving mass amounts of debris on the pavement. Not a big deal but something to be aware of.

Wow! I'd say you have enough there to make your own Griso 8V Calendar. Beautiful countryside and I'm sure the sun was a pleasant surprise. Thanks for sharing.

Hey, forget that 7 hours. I laid out the route on google maps and it said 10 hours, like 340 miles. You should be able to do better than that, but I think 7 would require some serious hard riding.

Time will be heavily dependent on how fast you want to go and if you plan to stop for anything other than gas. I tend to ride at a brisk pace, but stop for pictures occasionally. I think when I did it, I left Artesia (near 605&910) around 9AM and got to Hollister around 4 but that was a little different than going to Carmel. I figure it's an hour and a half from Carmel to Greenfield but perhaps will be closer to two with all the race traffic. There will probably be other bikes headed to Carmel Valley Rd since it is a pretty well known ride. From Greenfield to San Miguel, perhaps another hour. Then maybe another hour to 33 and probably 2 from there to Ojai. Depending on which way you go, I'd estimate another hour over to Malibu. So that makes 7. With 2-3 gas stops, you'll be hard pressed to do it in much less unless and my reccomendation would be to allow for more if you can spare it. You can also cut some time by substituting a little freeway for some of the backroads. In King City or San Miguel, you can jump on 101 and then get off in Paso Robles to pick up Creston Rd. Look at it on a map and see how it works out. It'll be a fun trip for sure.

If you like a full day of twisties... Carmel Valley Road into Greenfield cross 101 and end up on Metz Rd. Go South into King City. Get Gas unless you can go another 70 miles or so. Pick up LoneOak Rd and go east. It will dead end at Hwy 25. Turn South and continue till it ends at 198. Across 198 is Peachtree Rd, a fabulous 1-2 laner that will take you south to San Miguel. Pick up River Rd which parralels 101. This will take you into Paso Robles. Pick up Creston Rd and head east again. Get Gas before you leave town. Stay on Creston until you reach Hwy 58 and then go east. This will start out as a loooooong straight followed by some fantastic twisties. Eventually you'll get to Hwy 33. Go south all the way and go over the mountains into Ojai. Once in Ojai, find you're way to one of the roads to get down to PCH. Malibu Canyon or another. Take PCH till wherever. I did something similar in the opposite direction. It's a great day of riding with zero freeway and many of these roads will be deserted. The only problem is in the summer, it can get damn hot in these inland areas. Carry lots of water.

I had my Cali done at Hare Racing in Sunnyvale. I don't remember the techs name but he had done some Guzzi's and talked me into using a different AFR than what was suggested by Todd. Said he would redo it if I wasn't satisfied...I was. I'm about due for a re-tune myself as I've developed a little popping on decel.

Since you've already got the heated jacket liner why not get the heated pants liner as well. I used them last year on a trip to Oregon in the late fall and with the dual thermostat was comfortable from the low 30's to around 70. Above that they got too warm even turned off. Hope your trip goes well. should be quite an adventure.

Ah yes, I think I almost stopped there but was having too much fun. I can't believe I hadn't been up there before last weekend. Living over that way sure has it's advantges. Hope you had a good day as well.

So the Not-a-rally ended up being a 3 person ride, but what a ride it was. Steve, Jamileh, and myself, had a great ride up with 2 days of motorcycle bliss before returning home. For anyone that has not been up in the Northwest corner of California on a motorcycle, all I can say is that you need to make it a priority. Hwy 36 is spectacular and there are so many more. Fast sweepers, one lane goat trails and everything in between can be found up in this area. Most with very little traffic. I could easily spend a week up here and not run out of new roads. Here are the pics. View as a slideshow for best resolution. http://picasaweb.google.com/Ogsarg/FortunaTrip907

Looks like just a few of us will be making the trek to Fortuna. 3 of us will be headed out of Gilroy around 7:30 AM. Can't wait to leave the job stress behind. Pics forthcoming upon return

Anyone here planning to attend?

What is a not-a-rally you ask? It's a rally without all the normal rally stuff. No pins, tee shirts, or swag of any kind. No bike shows, slow bike contests, or Long distance 2up awards. Nobody is responsible for anything other than themselves. Basically we meet in a place where there is some good riding and a place to stay where we can walk to a bar or just hang out at the hotel. It is the essence of a rally, + + . What more do you need? Fortuna was selected due to it's location near one end of Hwy 36, which is considered by some as the best sportbike road in the state. But there are many other good roads in the area and the lost coast is also accesible from there. There are a number of hotels in Fortuna, but the Comfort Inn was reccomended as the best value and is stumbling distance from the Eel River Brewing company, or so I'm told by people who have actually made the stumble. It is pretty far away for most people so you may want to take a couple of days off work to make it worthwhile. I will be going up on either Thurs or Fri and riding home on Monday. The link below shows lodging in Fortuna. Besides the Comfort Inn, there are 3 others in the same general location. You can link to reservations through the map. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...p;z=14&om=1 P.S. At the risk of ruining the Not-a-rally status I had the idea of having a motorcycle movie night. If you have anything on DVD, bring it along.

My Daughter who is currently living in Japan, met someone who made a movie about the IOM TT. As opposed to being about the race, it has more to do with the social aspects of the event and the people that participate. Pretty interesting insight. http://www.baluardoproductions.com/beyondthett/index.html

The turnout was not as good as I had hoped, but we managed to get 8 bikes for our ride out of Livermore and had a good time. We had a nice variety of Guzzi's as well as a Duc ST-2 and a Triumph 955. The weather wasn't too hot and nobody crashed or got a ticket. Hoping we'll be doing another ride before too long. Here's a few pics http://picasaweb.google.com/Ogsarg/LivermoreRide7_07

There will be a ride in the rural area starting and ending in Livermore. Approximately 100 miles and expected to take 3 plus hours. All are welcome. See map for route info. Meet at marker 1 on the map around 9 or 9:30 with the intention of starting the ride around 10 AM. First Bay Area ride in a loooong time. see ya there. Ride Map

Crystal Crane Hot Springs is 15 to 20 miles East of Burns on Hwy 78. There is a town called Crane just east of the Hot Springs but it's not much of a town. Most of the roads near the hot springs are flat and straight, but its a nice place to stop on your way to somewhere else.

My friend in Salem says September is a great time to ride around central Oregon. The weather is good and not too many people on the roads. Well, he definitely got the second part right. To be fair, he did convince me to get some Gerbing heated gear for the trip and thank goodness for that. But lets go back to the beginning.... My plan was to take 2 days to get to Salem mostly along the coast. I headed out of Hollister on 9/12 at 5:30 AM so that I could get through the Bay Area without too many traffic delays. I did pretty well only having to split lanes for a mile or so near downtown Oakland. Once I passed the 580/880/24 junction it was smooth sailing across the bridge into San Rafael and up 101. At Cloverdale, I took 128 over to the coast. There was a bit more traffic than I would have liked, but it wasn't too bad and I was able to pass most of the traffic without too much difficulty. A nice road with varying degrees of twisties and terrain. Hills, valleys, farms, and forest can all be found on 128 between 101 and the coast. Taken shortly before reaching Hwy 1 I came out on the coast about 10 miles south of Mendocino and headed north and starting to think about food. Taken in one of the few spots that wasn't socked in with fog. I had a late breakfast near Fort Bragg and continued north. I didn't take any pictures along this section of coast. Mainly there was a lot of fog, but partly because I was enjoying the twisty road and relatively light traffic. Eventually, 1 heads inland and meets up with 101. Shortly after that, I took the 101 alternate through the avenue of the Giants. You often hear people talk about the different perspective you get on a motorcylce as opposed to a car, but roads like this really get you thinking about how much you miss with all that metal around you. I kept thinking about how special it was and probably had a silly grin on my face the whole way through. Along the Avenue of the Giants By the time I reached Fortuna, it was time to start thinking about a place to spend the night. I ended up at a best western in Arcata that had a Hot Tub, which felt pretty good after a pretty long day on the road. I checked in around 4:30 so my plan was to get to bed early and make an early departure. As it turned out, I didn't leave till almost 7 AM. It was still dark, about 40 degrees, and thick fog everywhere. I decided to try out the heated jacket liner, but thought I'd do ok without the pants. Bad idea. While I have often ridden in temps like this, the dampness seemed to make it colder than usual and I soon found my legs getting very cold. I took another alternate through another redwood forest that I think is called William Drury parkway, or something similar. This was a spectacular section of road. The fog wasn't so heavy in the woods and being early morning, there was nobody on the road but me. I stopped for a few pictures and put on my heated pants. Redwood forest on the North Coast A foggy morning on the North Coast Now that I was plugged in, the cold was no longer an issue. My comfort was now thermostatically controlled and before I knew it, I was entering Oregon. I hadn't been on the Oregon coast since I was a teenager and I was a bit surprised to see how developed it had become. Town after town and continual traffic got to be a grind pretty quickly. Add to that a consistent strong headwind and construction delays at almost every bridge, and after a while it was not enjoyable at all. My original plan was take the coast road north to the point where I could take some backroads into Corvallis. I kept telling myself the traffic would lessen and maybe the wind would die down but it never did. By the time I got to Coos Bay I was ready to head inland. I stopped there for lunch and looked at the map for options. I decided to go a bit further north and take 126 out of Florence and connect to 36 in Mapleton, which would eventually get me to I-5 near Albany. Mapleton is really neat little town on the Siuslaw River. One of those places it's easy to imagine retering to. A nice little house on the river with a little slip for your boat and bunch of firewood to keep you warm in the winter. Some nice roads to ride and it sounds like heaven. I stopped on the bridge before getting on to 36 and continuing inland. Cottage by the river in Mapleton Oregon's 36 is a very nice stretch of road that starts out along the the Siuslaw river through Siuslaw National Forest. At Swisshome, it follows Lake Creek up to Triangle Lake. It wraps around two sides of the lake and from there winds through mostly farm land before ending at 99 near Junction City. After the monotony of the Oregon Coast, this was a real treat and definitely the highlight of my second day on the road. From here I jumped on 5 and after making a pit stop in Albany to visit some friends, I headed up to Salem under some threatening rain clouds. After getting Sushi for Dinner, Todd made reservations at 2 Hot Springs for Thursday and Friday evenings. We looked at the weather and it looked like most of the rain would be North of where we would be so we were feeling pretty good when we hit the sack. The bikes are packed and ready to go Since our plan was to go out the North side of the Gorge on Washington 14 we decided to get breakfast and start out after the worst of the traffic. At the "Off Center" cafe, I had something called Squib and Bibble, which was basically eggs, potatoes, cheese, and mushrooms all scrambled together. It was quite tasty and way more than I could eat. A great breakfast spot if you happen to be in Salem. To avoid as much slab as possible, we took Hwy 213 out of Salem through Silverton to where it meets up with 205. Just before we got on the freeway it started to rain and continued till we were a few miles up the Gorge on 14. One of the first viewpoints of the Gorge comes where the road is cut into the mountainside and there is no shoulder except in one turnout area. Because of the combination of rain, sun, and clouds, the view was spectacular and I will forever regret not going back to take a picture after missing the turnout. Although the picture probably would not have captured the moment, I would like to have seen it all the same. Before too long, it looked like we had left any chance of rain behind and we were making good time heading east along the Columbia River. Looking west down the Gorge We followed 14 east until crossing back into Oregon on 197 headed south looking for twisties. 197 is mostly straight with a few big sweepers mixed in. Eventually we met up with 97 and picked up 218 in Shaniko. Hwy 218 (aka Shaniko-Fossill Hwy) is a fantastic motorcycle road. Great curves, no traffic, and near perfect pavement. I was about this point where I started thinking that this was going to be a very special trip. Todd enjoying the curves on his GS What a great day for a ride A motorcyclist must have planned this road At some point along here, we realized it was getting late and we were not going to make it to the planned Hot Springs before dark. Since there lots of deer in this area, we decided to have Dinner in Fossill and then camp at Service Creek. A great little restaurant in Fossill The campground at service creek is primitive. There were a few other folks there, but we had lots of space between us. It got pretty cold at dusk and I was thinking it was going to be a very cold night but then it seemed to warm up again after dark. I guess that was due to the rain that came about 2 in the morning and continued till a little bit after dawn. When we woke Friday morning, it was about 40 degrees and no sun in sight. We walked a half mile or so to the Service Creek cafe for breakfast. This a nice little cafe, but I can't say the people there are very friendly. Service Creek near camp Todd found firewood before seeing the "No Campfire" sign By the time we got back to the campground it had dried out a little, but we still had to pack some wet stuff. We had also heard over breakfast that there was snow on the passes above 5000 ft so we set out to try and avoid the higher elevations. From Service Creek we took 19 through Spray and on to Kimberly. From there we picked up Kimberly-Long Creek Hwy that took Monument and Hamilton over to 395. Although the skies were gloomy and it was about 40 degrees, the road was great and there seemed to be nobody out but us. Old Barn behind the Service Creek Cafe Although our ultimate destination was south, we headed north on 395 to get to a secondary road that looked like it would be lots of fun on the map. We were not dissapointed. Although it started to rain and had not warmed up much above 40, I remember thinking that I was dry and warm thanks to the Gerbing gear and how pleasant it was to just be cruising down a beautiful country road at a leisurely pace with nobody else around. A curious horse watches as I fiddle with my camera I can't remember the names of the first road although it looks like it may be 220 on the map I have. We turned off 395 near ukiah and went east through Granite, Porterville, and Sumpter. There we picked up 7 south to 26. This may have been 50 miles or so and I don't think we encountered more than one or two cars. If you look at this area on a map, you'll see that there are roads like this all over the place. I think you could spend a week here and never do the same road twice. I definitely plan to go back. Great views around every corner Oh, I almost forgot. On hwy 26 we had to cross a pass at about 5200 feet where we encountered snow flurries. Even though the thermometer on my bike said high 30's, it was coming down pretty good. Fortunately, it was not sticking on the road. It did stick on the face shield though and I had to keep wiping it off in order to see. Once again I was grateful for my heated liners and waterproof Jacket and pants. More rain up ahead In Prairie City, we stopped in a small cafe and ate big bowls of chili and drank hot coffee. At this point we still had a ways to go to reach our destination and both of us were ready for some Hot Springs so we headed south on 395 toward Crystal Crane Hot Springs. while there are some nice sections of sweepers along 395, the majority of it is fairly straight. It is mostly ranch land up in this area, but quite scenic with a mixture of woods, hills, and open plains. Crystal Crane Hot Springs was a great place to spend the evening after a long cold (and wet) day of riding. For $40 we got a room with two beds and use of the facilities. The water comes out of the ground at 180 degrees and they have built this kind of burning man contraption that the water splashes around on to cool off before it enters the pool at about 160. While there are a few spots that are a bit to hot to be comfortable, the majority of the pool is perfect for soaking your tired bones. Sunrise over Crystal Crane Hot Springs On Saturday morning, we headed into the town of Burns, which was probably the biggest town we had seen since leaving the Portland area, but that isn't saying much considering where we had been. We ate breakfast there and headed out together for the last time on 395S/20W. Where the two roads split, I went south to California and Todd kept going east back toward Salem. On the map 395 looks like a major highway, but in reality there is hardly anything between Burns and Lakeview. The one town in between that was supposed to have gas was closed up and I was beginning to worry I would run out before I got to civilization. It was 140 miles and I bet I saw less than a dozen other vehicles. Along 395 aka Desolation Road At this point I was getting tired of just blasting down straight road and was looking to see how far I could get by 4 o-clock or so and find a room. As it turns out, I made it to Susanville around 4:30 and found a room at a place with a hot tub to soak in. After a soak and a meal at the Black Bear Diner that would have fed a family of four I crashed with the idea of getting an early start in the morning. Although I did get up early, I decided to have breakfast before leaving and then encountered a fellow biker at the Hotel who's battery did not want to work in the 40 degree weather. I gave him a jump and by the time all was done it was after 8. Rather than just trudge on down 395, I went east on 36 to 147 south around lake Almanor. This took me to 89 south and eventually to 70, which I followed down the canyon all the way to Oroville, where I gassed up. On 89 and 70, I saw lots of bikes out on the road enjoying the fall weather. When I got to Oroville it was about 75 and for the first time in days, I was able to unplug and shed the heated gear. From there it was just a race to the barn, blasting down 70 to 5 and on toward home. After one more stop in Stockton to fill up I made it back to Hollister around 2:15, just in time to catch some Sunday afternoon football. The whole trip was about 2100 miles. Thanks to the Gerbing heated gear and my all weather jacket and pants, I was dry and warm despite some pretty nasty weather. The Guzzi ran great and average just under 40mpg. I think the next time I go, I'd like to find a place to stay in one of the small towns and just do day trips. For anyone that likes smooth pavement with lots of curves and little traffic, you need to get up to Central Oregon and check this area out. You won't regret it.

I'll be doing a ride Sunday morning (8/20) if anyone wants to join up. Plan is to leave the Starbucks in Hollister (not one of the ones inside another store) around 9:30 AM. Not sure of the destination yet. If it's mild like it's been, perhaps take 25 and Los Gatos Rd to Coalinga and come back via Panoche. Or maybe somewhere else entirely.

My riding miles have been pitiful for the last couple of months. Between my gas tank debacle (don't ask), work insanity, and my wife's mother being ill, it seems like I've barely been on it. I think the worst is behind me though and I'm ready to ride if someones got a suggestion. During the heat wave, it was way too hot down in South San Benito County. Last Sunday I rode around the Santa Cruz mountains where it was only about 90. Eventually I had to come back over the hill where my bike thermometer informed me it was 115 just West of Hollister. Nasty! If anyone is coming over to 25 or anywhere else around here, give me a shout.