Packed and ready to go. My 2002 Triumph Sprint, which I just bought a week before was to be my first experience on a ‘sport touring’ bike, this one being more sport than touring, but that’s ok
My first “Official” stop of my trip was at the Don Pedro Reservoir on Hwy 49
I had opted to avoid Hwy 12 to Rio Vista and Lodi like the Plague, or maybe I should call it self-preservation. Doing so, I headed north on I80 then dropped down on 49. What this saved me was the windy and unpleasant ride on 12, but it gained me some miles, traffic and heat on Jackson Rd (Rt 16) I had to endure between Sacramento and Drytown.
My intention was to avoid Yosemite because I had visited it almost every year since moving here in 2000. Not to be the case. I made a wrong turn and ended up in Big Oak Flat after a ride up Priest Grade on Hwy 120. Not far from Yosemite at this point, I decided to stay in Lee Vining on the east side for the night.
Before continuing my trip the next morning, I made the obligatory trip to Mono Lake on Hwy 120 east which afforded me some great riding time and some good photo ops. prior to entering Yosemite for the ride back west.
]
Yosemite, being one of the most beautiful National Parks we have, was well worth the trip. Although the traffic is bad at times, it allows you to spend more time enjoying the scenery than just blasting through and eating up the miles.
Now it’s on to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Is it possible that the only way to Kings Canyon was by way of Fresno? I asked a few locals if this was the case and the answer was the same…”yes” Was it because they were all driving SUV’s and Pick up trucks and not motorcycles, probably!
On my way down Hwy 41, I ran across this old Prospector in Coarsegold, CA. Just couldn’t resist getting a picture
I read somewhere that Kings Canyon is actually deeper than the Grand Canyon. The good thing about Kings Canyon, is that there was very little traffic and you are able to ride through it, from top to bottom. I set out to see what I could see. On Hwy 180, I got some great views and great roads on my way to ‘roads end’. Ya know what, that’s just what it did. Ended then and there. Well, it was getting late, I was hungry, tired and needed gas. So I went to the lodge. The restaurant was closed, strike one, they don’t have gas, strike two, and the rooms are about 180 per nite. Need I say ‘strike three’? At this point, without anything to eat, I was on a mission to get the three things I needed most, sleep gas and food. The trip down the valley, which took me almost an hour and a half, took me less than an hour back up the mountain and into Grant Grove Village. I was able to get gas, found lodging more reasonably priced ($69 for a cabin with electricity but no running water) and a market where I was able to buy a pre-made egg salad sandwich and a couple of bottles of ice cold Guinness. Yes, now that I was home for the night, I could have a couple of beers. The cabin was kinda cool with a covered patio complete with a large picnic table and small wood burning stove. I was able to park my bike right outside, just like home!
From my palatial digs of the previous night, I set out to see some really big trees in Sequoia National Park. Before I get into that, let me regress a little. Not much said on Kings Canyon, for no other reason than it was absolutely beautiful, awe inspiring and a fun ride. As I said before, very little or no traffic, winding roads, you get the picture. I did ride through it twice, once to ‘roads end’ then a quicker ride to Grant Grove. Both trips had their merit.
Sequoia National Park was more great roads, beautiful scenery and BIG trees. The world’s first, second, third and sixth tallest trees can be found here. Just follow Hwy 198 south. That little speck of yellow by those great big trees is my bike, to give you some perspective on their sheer size
Oh, this is Hwy 180 to ‘roads end’. I was enjoying the scenery on the way down, and on a mission on the way up, hence the reason for the almost 50% cut in travel time.
After exiting Sequoia NP, I headed south on 65 to Porterville, where I turned east on 190 and followed that to Camp Nelson, Quaking Aspen and Kernville.
What a great looking place, unfortunately, it was closed at the time, no lunch for me.
It was at this point, I realized I had a bit of a problem. Here it was Thursday late afternoon and I had told my friends in Yuma, Az that I would be there by noon on Friday.. So my plan is to head east on 40 to Needles where I will spend the night, then leave there and make it to Yuma before noon. I could have ridden thru L.A., and saved an hour or so, but I decided to stay away from the traffic there.
Before I make it to Hwy 40 east, there is still some riding on backroads to be done.
I made it to Needles by 9:30 or so. Got a good nites sleep, then on my way to Yuma via Hwy 95 south. This was quite a change from what I was riding through the previous day!
Well, I got to Yuma at 11:45 am on Friday. Spent the next four days with a couple of really good friends of mine, went on a ride with the local HOG chapter to San Diego via some back roads.
set off on my trip home on Tuesday at 7am. My original plan was to see Lake Havasu, the London Bridge, ride up 395 to one of the passes and make it home by the weekend. The weather forecast was for temps of 109 to 110 in the areas I planned to go. Plan changed. On to San Diego, hit the coast hwy asap and ride that to Monterey. I never rode Hwy 1 that far south before. Good reason, LA is stoplight after stoplight. Lots of traffic. Once I got to Malibu, it opened up and was better, except for the wind, brutal. Stopped in a little town named Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara. Spent the night there got on 101 to San Louis Obispo, took the Morro Bay exit hit 1 and headed north.
I stopped here for breakfast. I believe it is called Ragged Point Inn and Restaurant on Hwy 1 before Big Sur. Great stop along the way, good food, reasonably priced. But for some reason, everyone that was in the room I was seated in, looked strangely ‘Harleyish’. Chaps, bandanas, HD t-shirts. But that’s a good thing, they’re generally good people
Well, I made it home in one piece, which is a plus. Everything performed well, bike, my stamina, only one wrong turn, which led to a ride thru Yosemite. Not too shabby. And, I beat most of the rush hour traffic heading north out of SF.
About me and my bike. (this picture was taken by a ‘chap’ from the UK who was really thrilled when he saw my bike)
I am 57 and have been riding on and off for over 40 years. In the past 7 years, mostly cruisers and touring bikes. This is my first sport bike. Kinda going backwards, shouldn’t I be looking at cruisers and the like? Maybe so, but I just had to try this. I purchased my ’02 triumph Sprint RS just a week before the trip. Had the local dealer check it out and everything was OK. I purchased some Nelson Riggs saddlebags and seat bag on line and they fit great. I have a tendency to over pack for these trips, this one was no exception. Being a cruiser or touring bike rider, I am used to good mileage on my tires. This was a planned 3000 mile trip, so 50% tire-life should get me there and back. Wrong. In Yuma I had to buy some new Michelin Pilot Power tires (2CT) Only $439 installed. (ouch). When I got home I checked the Pashnit Group Buys, $268. wow, did I take it in the shorts. (can I say that ?). The day I left home, (Tuesday), I ordered a Throttlemeister direct. Told him I was going to be in Yuma on Friday and needed it then. NO PROBLEM he said. It arrived on Thursday. Good people. So on the way home I had that going for me. When I left I had 9500 miles on my bike, now I have 12250. The bike performed flawlessly. Now all I need is a touring windshield. My friends from Yuma are planning on trailering their bikes up in August so we can take two weeks and ride up to Oregon. I never rode there, been to all parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. Loved every bit of that, I’m sure Oregon will be great too.
Linear Mode
