So a little history behind this ride. Three years ago, prior to starting my EMBA, I worked it out with my employer that I wanted a month off after it was over. I made the same arrangement with my wife to make sure all the bases were covered. Fast forward to this summer and August was selected to be the month of choice for an epic solo moto adventure.
The ride: The route was selected based on my own personal desire to see the west coast on two wheels because previous trips in a car just didn’t cut it. I also wanted to go through Yosemite and other national parks that I had gone through as a kid. I planned the route over a two-year period, taking notes of the roads and places I wanted to go. However, I did not put it all together until the week before I left. I wanted to enjoy the ride. If I wanted to blast a good section I would, then relax and just enjoy being out on two wheels, this made riding solo a lot of fun. In summary, it was 6600 miles in 18 days of riding over a 22-day span.
I know there is probably a skeptic or two on doing a ride like this on a sport bike but in my dreams of this trip, I saw it being done on a sport bike. And in hindsight, I had a lot of fun on some great roads and a sport bike was the preferred tool of choice. Secondly, I found the BMW to be surprisingly comfortable both on long trips I had done prior to this and on this trip. My only pain point was in my shoulders after long ride days.
There are a few motorcycle related pics below but for 150 keep photos here is the link: http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h195/joew4505/2011%20Moto%20Tour/
Questions always seem to come up about what to pack and how to pack it. For those of you interested here is my supply list:
Tank Bank:
Screen cleaner with cloth
Tire gauge
Hat
Radar with H.A.R.D. system
Chain cleaner
Sun Glasses
Phone
Camera
Gum
Power Bar
Tail Bag:
IPAD
Long sleeve compression shirts x3
Padded bike shorts x3
Socks x3
Jeans x1
Shorts x1
Bathing suit x1
T-shirt x2
Flip Flops
Zip ties
Pliers
Socket set
Tire Repair kit
Chargers
Electrical Tape
Notable Locations:
· Yosemite – Amazing national park and by far the best I have ever been to
· Sonora – Nice little town with some great roads around it
· Big Sur area – This is notable because I didn’t think it was all that great. A lot of construction and a lot of traffic even during the week
· Alices restaurant – This place is awesome! The bikes and cars that come through here is a sight to see. Luckily, I was there during the week so traffic was light
· Crater Lake – Also a sight to see. I have never seen water that blue.
· OR/WA coast – By far the better coastal experience. The views are incredible and the road was in great shape.
Notable Roads:
· HWY 9 and Skyline Drive – This area south of San Fran kept me entertained for two days. Alices is one of the attractions but the roads are in great shape and are nice and twisty.
· HWY 36 and HWY 3 between Fortuna and Red Bluff – There is a pic below of twisty roads the next 140 miles. If you loop in HWY 3 its twisty roads for over 200 miles. This road destroyed my tires but damn it was fun.
· HWY 1 west of Leggett – HWY 1 actually ends at this point and were it turns inland its 22 miles of great twisties.
· HWY 101 between Lakeside and Astoria – Amazing views and nice twisty roads
· HWY 120 between Moccasin and Groveland – Only about 15 miles but perfect pavement and crazy elevation change.
· Sonora Pass – A lot of dips and rises along with twisty sections and good pavement.
Notable comments:
· Both choice hotels and best western had stay two nights get a night free. These places also had washers and dryers since I was on a 4 day rotation. Motel6 was also surprisingly nice the times I stayed there.
· The IPAD actually worked out ok for what I was doing with it. I could load pics from my camera onto it and then push them to facebook. I opted for the 3G plan before I left so I was always able to surf. Note that I did not have a GPS, so I used the IPAD the night before to plan my route for the next day and used my phone to verify my position when needed.
· The radar detector and H.A.R.D system payed for itself 10 times over. I took gross liberty with the speed limit and I never even got pulled over (knock on wood going forward).
· Fuel between Ash Springs and Tonopah tested my nerves. Its 154 miles between gas stops and my fuel light came on 5 miles outside of town. Couple this with their isn’t anything out there including other cars. If something happens it could be devastating.
· I rode for four days with PASHNIT Tour’s north of San Fran on his Northern CA tour. I met some great guys and it was good to have some company for a few days. If you haven’t checked out that site it’s worth a look. There is a wealth of information on there and the tour was great. www.pashnit.com
· My wife flew out and met me in Seattle around day 16. It was nice because I was approaching 5K miles so a break from the bike was nice. Plus I really needed to get laid. We spent two days there and two days in Vancouver. Both are great cities and we had a lot of fun being tourists. One morning we went to Whistler/Blackcomb to ride the peak to peak gondola. It did not disappoint and I am going to make it my priority to ski there on day.
In summary, I would say it was an amazing trip. Riding solo for that distance and time is a completely different riding experience. You have to know your limits when you want to push it because their isn’t anyone to help you. You also need to make sure your equipment is top notch. Its not the time to be cheap on repairs or gear. You also have to be willing to throw it all away. If something would have happened, from an accident to a mechanical failure, I was prepared to call AAA and call the trip over. Would I do it again; Hell yes! Every few years I plan to work in another really long trip and I would encourage anyone who loves to ride to do so as well.
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