Laguna Ride Report

[Matrix]

Whew...10 days on the road for the GP race. I figured I would give you guys a snapshot of the trip. Even though, the few pics and highlights below do a poor job of representing the experience of it all. In the end, no tickets, no crashes, and no drama. Just some great riding.

All the pics (70) located here: http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...20Seca%202012/

The Route: We trailered to Mammoth Lakes, CA and start our riding adventure from there. Total miles on the bike was 2,160 through some of the best roads that CA has to offer. Roads such as HWY 1, HWY 36, HWY 9 and Alice's, Sonora Pass, Monitor Pass were all on the list.

The route out:



The route back:



The bikes:

BMW S1000RR and KTM RC8R...The perfect sport touring bikes!

[Matrix]

We only went to the races on Sunday, but with pit passes and the openness of Laguna, you see a ton. One day is not nearly enough.

[Matrix]

Cannery row on Saturday afternoon is a crazy event. Some of the bikes you see are incredible. Not to mention the crazy bikes at the track.

[Matrix]

But for us, it was all about the roads!

[Matrix]

And lastly, here are some random shots. Safe to say, we had a damn good time!.

[asp_125]

Great pics! Man I miss the riding in cali. The Sierras look like a place I need to go to.

[Jmetz]

Haha.. That's RD's Monster.

[asp_125]

That pic of the KTM through the forest, .. Skyline Dr? How'd you take it, GoPro?

[Matrix]

That pic of the KTM through the forest, .. Skyline Dr? How'd you take it, GoPro?

Yeah that's on the GoPro at around 50 MPH. It was in camera mode and my partner was just reaching up and snapping shots with it mounted on his helmet. This shot was taken in the Avenue of the Giants.

[Sean]

Looks like a great trip, Joe! Thanks for sharing.

[salsashark]

I've been kicking myself for not going this year... thanks for the reminder

[Jmetz]

One day. Looks awesome!

[SloBlue]

I too went through Bakersfield on my way to Laguna. I was at Cannery Row on Saturday night and spent Sunday at Laguna. I actually looked for myself in the background of your Cannery Row pics and I couldn't have been more than 20 yards from you at the Cork Screw. I almost feel like a stalker!

I'm trying really hard to remember if I saw your bikes out of all the bikes I saw over 2 weeks, but I don't. I was with my wife and daughter, so we were in the cage. I think that to get the most out of a trip to Laguna, you really need to be on a bike. I did that in 2010 and I can't wait to do it again. I agree, Cali has great roads for bikes, but too many cops.

One last thought on Cali: Don't you come home thinking what a great idea lane sharing is? What kind of a moron bike rider would oppose lane sharing? (Oops, did I say that outloud?)

Glad you had a good time and a safe trip. Thanks for sharing your pics.

[OATSF14JERRY]

Nice pics. Below are some photos from when kawasakirob and I rode out a couple years ago. I rode from OKC to Winter Park and we rode out. Hwy 50 through Nevada:



Lonely road. We headed south out of Fallon. Very good place to ride:



Then Hwy 40 over the Mts:



The beach:



The parking area, love the fog:



And finally, the Stoner fans:



I much prefer Laguna to Indy. Rob and I hope to go next year. maybe see some of you guys there.

[Matrix]

I too went through Bakersfield on my way to Laguna. I was at Cannery Row on Saturday night and spent Sunday at Laguna. I actually looked for myself in the background of your Cannery Row pics and I couldn't have been more than 20 yards from you at the Cork Screw. I almost feel like a stalker!

I'm trying really hard to remember if I saw your bikes out of all the bikes I saw over 2 weeks, but I don't. I was with my wife and daughter, so we were in the cage. I think that to get the most out of a trip to Laguna, you really need to be on a bike. I did that in 2010 and I can't wait to do it again. I agree, Cali has great roads for bikes, but too many cops.

One last thought on Cali: Don't you come home thinking what a great idea lane sharing is? What kind of a moron bike rider would oppose lane sharing? (Oops, did I say that outloud?)

Glad you had a good time and a safe trip. Thanks for sharing your pics.

It's almost bike overload their are so many. And what's suprising, is that you don't see many of the same thing. With the expection of a few Repsols and Duc Multi's, everything else looked like a one off.

As far as cops, we took gross liberty with the speed limit and didn't even get a nod from a cop. In fact, once we got away from the event itself, we saw very few. Its much worse in Gilpin county then what we saw.

Line splitting is a great idea. Maybe its the lane splitting or maybe the people are nicer then what you see here, but we had tons of people pull off in the twisty's to let us pass and while lane splitting, no one did anything stupid. It worked just like you would expect it too and even with limited experience doing it, I felt completly safe.

Next year, will need to do a better job of cordinating with others who plan to attend.