The mtn. bike attracted some attention in Shoshone, Idaho from a boy who knew of Maverick bikes, I was tempted to take it down and let him ride it, but time was of the essence at that point.

I pulled into the first forest service campground I came to just west of Yellowstone, and got the last site on the Clark Fork of the Snake River. What a gorgeous setting, roaring river, bedrock sticking out of the ground all over, moon coming up, nice sunset….

2011-08-11

While I live in an equally gorgeous place, the Mendocino Coast. This environment just speaks to me. I know every insect noise, bird chirp, deer snapping twigs as they walk… I got the bike out and road for about an hour experiencing these sounds like I never left.

Actually I am worried the whole thing might come apart at the end of the alley. But too late for that now, its time to hit the road, not literally hopefully.

So begins another odyssey of mine, possibly the most ill conceived, given the amount of time I have put into it…. very little. For instance did you know it is about 3000 miles from Yellowstone to Homer, Alaska? I didn’t until a few days ago. I just got out the maps and started estimating days on the road based on the mileage statues they print in the upper corners of maps. No wonder no one is coming on this trip with me!

Anyway I am supposed to be talking about the first days’ journey….
I left my lovely wife Taylor with more that some trepidation. Number one I dearly love her and it has been getting harder every year to leave her on these trips as I start missing her after the first few days. Also she has a new business that is keeping her too busy and I have been helping out, but now I will be gone a month. I am worried about wildlife on the road and in my campsites at night. This is the first time in a long time that I will truly be in bear country night after night. And then there is the bike and all its accoutrements. And, one of Taylor’s most important employees has become ill and cannot work for a few weeks. Taylor and I talked all this over a lot of course, and decided that plans have been made and I should go anyway.

So I am carefully making my way out of town, getting used to the two up feel of the bike with the bicycle hanging off the back, feeling somewhat guilty, wishing I had a normal wife like all my friends who would never let them leave under such circumstances(not really, but it sounds good). When I start to notice that the front wheel is shaking the bars moderately from 35 to 45 mph, then disappears… hmmm. I try not to notice for awhile, but hwy 20 out of Ft Bragg does not tolerate fools, and this morning, I am one. So with the head shaking but not too bad that I have to stop. I make it over the grade and it does not happen again as I am going faster than 45. I am lulled into complacency.

Later on 20 as the corner tighten again as I start climbing the Sierras, I start thinking about last year in eastern Kentucky, something similar happened. It started out mild and go worse and worse until I almost had tank slappers going everytime I had to come to a stop. Now I am worried. Will this get worse? I pull over for gas and decided to go as far as Reno and get it diagnosed.

In Reno it is Hot August Nights which is a huge gathering of classic cars, muscle cars, bikes, girls, you get it. So the town is packed. I can’t get my bike looked at, shops are closing. I call Taylor and tell her the bike gods are not in my favor today or maybe for the trip, I might have an out, she can just ask me to come home and all this trouble and trepidation will be behind me. Then a nice young man hands me a slip of paper with a number of someone who can help. Blast!

The nice folks at Reno Motorsports pull my front wheel see that its in perfect balance(thank you I did it myself) and that there is no unusual wear or broken cords, so… we figured it must be just all that weight hanging off the back in such a flexible fashion, harmonics or something engineering wise hey Clancy?

So with a new sense of confidence and now urgency I got back on I80 and headed brazenly east toward bear country. I have decided to brake and accelerate rapidly from 35 to 45 to minimize the shaking and the resulting cupping of my tire. It needs to last until my scheduled appt. at Yukon Yamaha in Whitehorse.

By the way the bicycle rack is made by a guy named Garrett of 2×2 Cycle Racks in Chapel Hill, NC. Look him up if you too want to have the best of both worlds at your disposal. My bike did not fit without some modification as it is a Maverick and has a very different fork than most mtn. bikes. My standard mtn. bike and road bike fit perfectly. I will let you all know how it holds up over the next month.

I am sorry to anyone who found this boring and/or self indulgent, I had great fun writing it in my crappy hotel room in Mcderrmit, NV on the Oregon border. Until next time.

2011-08-10

]]> http://www.twistedtourscalifornia.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=402 3 http://www.twistedtourscalifornia.com/blog/?p=400 http://www.twistedtourscalifornia.com/blog/?p=400#comments Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:11:36 +0000 motogz http://www.twistedtourscalifornia.com/blog/?p=400 I road up to Portland with my good friend Ricky Racer and met up with my sister Andrea and her husband Cory. Enjoyed the twisties in California up to Etna the first day, then mostly I-5 the rest of the way to Portland. There is a very nice twisty section from Shady Grove to Canyonville that bypasses the slab that is well worth the trip.

I leave next Wed for a month of riding in the Rockies that will ultimately end in Homer, Alaska. This is all uncharted territory for me and I am really excited and more than a little nervous about the trip. I have got to go now and start packing.

The show this year “has something to stimulate everyone’s adventure senses”, according to their website.

Show is next weekend, February 25–27. Don’t miss it!

Next day we traveled back south to Callahan then east on a road I had not explored, the Callahan-Gazelle Road. This is a pretty road but not all that twisty until near its end as you come out of the mountains. Then you get some tight ones before it empties out into a valley with stunning view of Mount Shasta. We continued south on I-5 briefly to get to McCloud for lunch.

Danny with Mt. Shasta in the background

We headed south on Squaw Valley Road out of McCloud. The road narrowed, but the pavement stayed smooth all the way to Lake McCloud. What a beautiful lake! Steep-sided and emerald green, it just pops out at you. And gorgeous views of Mount Shasta to the north. We wound our way around the lake on narrow but good pavement. I was really hoping at this point that the road would be decent all the way to 299.

Mt. Shasta peaks up behind Lake McCloud

Just past the lake’s dam, the gravel/dirt started, but it was not too bad, easily done in second gear on my RC. But not too much later it deteriorated to just loose rocks, then two rock tracks. Rick and I were having a hard time, working hard not to loose traction and avoiding sharp rocks on our sportbikes. Danny was enjoying himself on the Triumph Scrambler and lead us up the rocky track. After about a half mile of this, Rick said he did not want to go on and I had to agree with him, our bikes were just not cut out for this. We turned around carefully and started back down. I did not get very far before I was slipping and sliding in the loose stuff, unable to keep my right foot on the brake as I needed my legs out to keep the bike upright. I lost the front and over we went. Bummer!

Sportbikes are just not made for riding on gravel roads—ouch!

I see now why dual-sport bikes have become so popular. It would have been a hoot to be able to continue up the road and make it all the way to 299. I guess I better look into yet another bike!

We got back to the lake and went for a swim to rinse off the dust and cool off in that lovely green water. We headed back to McCloud and went the long way around to Mount Lassen National Park for beautiful scenery and great twisties.

Great roads are to be found in Mt. Lassen National Park

Next day, we traveled briefly along the Sacramento River levee, which is more fun than droning along I-5 or Highway 99. We headed east on Highway 20 at Colusa, then took the long way around Clear Lake via Lower Lake. Morgan Valley Road and Knoxville Road are little-known gems that are full of fast sweepers and tight bumpy creek crossings, respectively. They get you over to Lake Berryessa and the canyon riding available there.

After lunch in Middletown, we headed to Lakeport on Highway 175 and all the tightness that road offers. It really gets challenging as you approach the Mendocino County line, with linked 25mph and under corners. Then it was back into summer tourist traffic the rest of the way home to Fort Bragg.

Thanks again to Danny and Rick for making the ride so enjoyable and adventurous. Next time on dual-sports, okay guys?

Mt. Jefferson seen through the gate at Redmond fairgrounds, site of the BMWMOA International Rally

I attended the BMWMOA Rally up in Redmond, Oregon last weekend. I met a few other touring companies from New Zealand, South America and Europe. They were all very helpful in wanting to connect and share info and customers. A standout for the South American market is SAMT, South America Motorbike Tours. They offer deluxe expedition tours on BMW motorcycles and led by friendly and knowledgable guides.

The rally itself was a real mix of bikes. The standout model was the GS. Being its’ bestseller and the 30th anniversary of the bike, they had lots of special events around the GS. It was fun to see so many different variations of the same bike. Some folks are definitely living on their bikes while others simply like to embellish and bling out their bikes. The new S1000RR looks and performs amazingly well. The Japanese now have a real contender to deal with.

Chatting with a long-time rider

I leave again this Wednesday for another Northern California ride with friends Rick and Danny. We will explore new and old roads in this riding heaven.

Until then…. Cheers, Greg

We left Missoula early and headed for the Clearwater River Valley in Idaho. This river almost bisects Idaho east to west; it is a beautiful area with little traffic and lots of wildlife. In fact, my trip was almost interrupted by a doe early in the day…I had seen a few deer off in the meadows so I was somewhat aware. All of a sudden, a doe bolted from the side of the road across my bow. I only had enough time to let go of the throttle as she just cleared my front tire by about four feet. I was lucky; this is by far my closest encounter with a deer in my riding.

We crossed the Idaho border and stopped in at the Idaho Visitor Center for a rest and to look at the fine selection of books and DVD’s they have there. From there we headed down to the Clearwater River and a hot spring I have visited with my wife in the past. We parked our bikes, stashed our gear in the bushes and hiked a gorgeous mile through old-growth trees along Queen Creek to the hot springs. There are several areas where very hot water mixes with Queen Creek and other small tributaries, creating delightful pools of hot to warm water. Big trees tower overhead with the roaring Queen Creek right next to you. Thank you Mother Nature for all you provide! We had the place to ourselves for a while before other soakers began to come down the path.

Back on the bikes, we continued down the gorgeous road with its’ crystal clear river running right next to it. The road has almost perfect pavement and is dominated by broad sweepers. The speed limit is 50mph, and I was content going slow as the scenery is so beautiful, very relaxing. I thought I was behaving myself, not really paying any attention to my speed when, lights… uh oh! I got clocked for going 62 in the 50. Very nice officer, understood my distraction, still gave me a ticket… my first in at least 7-8 years… oh well. Back on the bike and now more aware of my speed, we continued to ride, taking turns leading and stopping every so often to revel in what a fantastic place this is.

After a too long lunch with crappy food we continued west until we hit Lewiston, Idaho where the Clearwater joins the Snake, making a very big river with lots of power boats and jet skis in the water playing in the afternoon heat. We crossed the bridge into Washington and headed south towards Enterprise, Oregon. This road starts out twisting up from the Snake River Canyon to the flat wheat fields of eastern Washington. We made a high speed run across the wheat fields without any, and I mean any, traffic. In no time we were back in trees and descending down into canyons that are cutting their way to the Snake River. This was some fun riding, traveling along canyon walls, switchbacks, following every contour of the canyon walls; very exciting. We stopped a couple of times to look back at where we had come from, marveling at the road and what was still to come. Randy kept on saying how every section was like another gift, which is just how it felt, it was Christmas morning every few minutes.

After climbing back out of the canyon area, we headed across many ranches to the Wallowa Mountains and Enterprise. The Wallowas jump out of the ground right outside town and provide dramatic relief for the little 1,000-person county seat town. We headed right for Terminal Gravity Brewing, a sweet little Craftsman home turned into brewpub, that has sensational food and cute waitresses. You sit outside on shared picnic tables under aspen trees. This is a very friendly community; many of the locals seem to have come from larger burgs and really love the rural lifestyle. Truth be known, I would move here in a heartbeat if my wife would only join me…

After dinner we decided to get a few more miles in before dark and thus a shorter last day. We headed for Baker City for the night.

We headed out of Baker City on Hwy 7. It winds its way through Elkhorn Ridge, past a couple of lakes and rivers before descending to Highways 26 and 20, which wind through the Strawberry Mountains. A very nice morning of corners with again very little traffic.

Once in Burns, it was time for high speed desert travel, long straights through sagebrush that were a nice contrast to all the trees and corners. We stopped briefly at Wagontire, the diner and motel there now closed, waiting for better days.

The rest of the day was spent passing the odd alkali lake with their elevated humidity, seemingly out of place with the desert, and navigating the always frustrating Klamath Falls, with its roundabout way of getting you through the city.

Once on Hwy 97, we discovered a county road, A12, that took us over to Yreka. This is a nice alternative to using I-5. We wound our way to Etna on Hwy 3, through lush cattle country. Etna is like a smaller Enterprise, very friendly townsfolk, not much new development, and a great little brewpub that does a roast pig on the the weekends… delicious!

Again that night we decided to get a few more miles in to shorten up the next day. We rode through the Trinity Alps on very remote twisties, following the Trinity River from its headwaters all the way to Weaverville. We got a room with a pool, took a dip to cool off from the road, and headed downtown to see what locals were up to.

Highway 3 corners

We headed south on Hwy 101 through the huge California redwood forest, stopping at the Founder’s Grove and walked among the giants. Randy had not seen these trees before and was blown away at their size.

Three amigos at Founder's Grove, Humboldt County CA

We stopped briefly at my house to use the facilities and to switch bikes. I had suggested to Randy he might want to try out my RC51 before continuing down to Oakland for his flight out the next day. So he jumped on the the RC and I rode his bike as we traveled to Navarro about 30 miles away. Lots of traffic headed back to the Bay Area on Sunday, but Randy found enough room to play a bit and said he really enjoyed the lighter, more powerful bike. Too bad its not more comfortable or I might take it cross country.

Coming back to the coast

Be sure and take a look at my other videos on my YouTube channel, under TwistedToursCA!

We are getting closer to home… Today we left Greybull on a gorgeous clear morning, headed for Yellowstone and Montana. We entered the park via the remote northeast entrance to the park, climbing up Colter Pass on the way.* This was one of the best roads yet of my trip: big, long sweepers with some tight hairpins thrown in. I got some good video chasing Clancy up the pass. The camera seems to be working better this time, maybe the pavement was smoother…

At the top we stopped at Dead Indian Rock for a view of the pass coming up the other side. It’s a very dramatic drop, with the road visible for for miles and miles to the west. Just a beautiful area with high peaks all around and lots of different rock formations visible.

We headed down for what seemed like forever, then climbed again as we came into Cooke City, Montana. Lots of bikes in Cooke City, mostly cruisers. Had lunch outside with high peaks over our heads. This town is snowbound in winter as they don’t plow the roads in or out of town.

Entering Yellowstone via Silver Gate at the northwest corner is by far the most dramatic entrance to the park. Huge glaciated peaks surround you as you wind through a dense conifer forest. I had not entered the park this way before, but now it will be my preferred choice, must bring my wife Taylor. As you descend you are now in the Lamar Valley, this is where the wolves were first reintroduced to Yellowstone. We did not see any, but it makes me feel good to know they are there. We did see lots and lots of bison, the bulls off by themselves and the cows and calves in great herds along the river.

Traffic got thicker and thicker as we got further into the park, finally it was too much for Randy and Clancy and they wanted to get back to riding fast in the twisties, so we exited the park at the northern end via Gardiner, Montana. I had hoped to leave via West Yellowstone and then go through the Gallatin River Valley, but that will be saved for next time.

We followed the Yellowstone River as we headed for Bozeman, Montana. Lots of fisherman floating the river fishing for trout. Big mountains off to either side of the road…. We decided to make time and took I-90 west. I wanted to set us up for a short day following today, as I want to make some stops and get into Enterprise, Oregon at a decent time. We had fun on I-90 as we were following cars that were doing 90-100 mph. The speed limit was 75 but the locals apparently have no fear. We got to Butte in no time without seeing any troopers, the locals told us that they do give tickets but usually only around town… Back on the interstate at high speed as the sun was going down was exciting all the way to Missoula.

In Missoula, Clancy wanted to go to Big Sky Brewing, so we got a hotel room nearby and walked over. The tasting room closes at 7:00 much to our disappointment, but night brewer and nice guy Jeremiah opened up for us once we told him our plight. We sampled the saison they had just made, very nice and creamy with crisp citrus without being over bearing, and the IPA which also was nicely done. We walked around with Jeremiah as he adjusted this and turned that… He even gave us two sampler twelve-packs to go! Beer people are the best! We went back to the room with our samplers and ordered a pizza.

I went to bed with visions of Hwy 12 through Idaho dancing through my head, with its miles and miles of sweepers next to the Clearwater River…

*Editor’s Note: Greg and company traveled over the incredibly scenic and historic Chief Joseph Hwy (Hwy 296) in Wyoming, joining up with the west end of the oh-so-beautiful and famous (with motorcyclists) Beartooth Highway and over Colter Pass into Cooke City, Montana.