Well, I somehow convinced GVB into actually doing an 8 day 'Helge' style motorcycle adventure down to the southern California desert. I think he may have been swayed by some promises of fame, grandeur, sun, and warm weather. Oh, and a beer or two may have been used in the coercion. Poor guy will never be the same again.....
The intent of the trip was to bomb down I-5 to Yreka on the first day and then on to Visalia on day 2. A total of 1000 miles for the first 2 days and then begin to explore once we had made it to the warm sunshine of the southern CA desert. There was to be much camping and much basking in the sun. So the big GS was loaded with gear and GVB and I met at a Bothell coffee house for the beginning of our big adventure.
We were actually blessed with fair weather for the first day of the trip and this was the one I was most concerned with. Of course my biggest concern was getting over Siskiyou Pass in southern Oregon without encountering snow. Bombed along I-5 at around 70-mph and we were over the pass before dark. There was some talk of trying to make Redmond on this first day but rain and darkness convinced us otherwise and we ended our day at the Best Western in Yreka. Of course, we did have to do the Mexican Dinner thing with a couple of Dos Equis and then a few Sierra Nevada's at a local pub before calling it a night.
Day 2 started with a bit of an ominous look to it but broke off nicely and became one of the nicest of the entire trip. As many times as I have driven the I-5 route I would have to say that this was one of the more scenic trips. Colors were really brilliant and the Redmond-Redbluff region was as green as I have ever seen it. As we traveled south through the Central Valley temps began to creep into the low 70's and I was thinking life is good! We made our destination of Visalia in the early evening hours. Once again, we partook of the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in relatively massive quantities. This was to become an all too frequent event and would become the downfall of all my best laid plans for frequent morning runs during this trip.
In the morning Mr. GVB had some academic responsibilities that needed to be attended to so I decided to go for a run. It is amazing just how much the lingering effects of to many alcoholic beverages will effect your performance on a run. I did about 5.5 miles at an 8.5 minute pace and every bit of it was just plain ol' ugh.
A few points of note on the City of Visalia:
- The city is far prettier than I remember as a transient kid living in a migrant workers camp.
- The city is far more affluent than I remembered.
- The city has a very large christian population, they even have large subdivisions dedicated to them.
- The city is flat as a pancake.
- The Sierras to the east are magnificent!
GVB and I were now in full on relax and take our time mode and the route out of Visalia was chosen based on its exploration value. The southern Sierras hold many tiny threads of roadways that wind their way through the foothills and canyons and the spring weather had the wildflowers in full bloom!
The roads were about as twisty as you could get. There were a couple where you needed to be practiced up on your slow speed maneuvers. Most were just right though and made for some really fun spirited riding.
The original route had to be scrapped though due to snow conditions and road closures so we ended up having to loop right back to 99 and Bakersfield. It was good to see that the oil industry was doing their job continuing to exploit and rape the earth so I can keep riding this fossil fuel burning beast.
By the way, this is about the point where the weather really decided to take a turn for the worse and never let up for the rest of the trip. As we headed east out of Bakersfield the winds began to pick up and the temps to cool down. By the time we had reached Tehachapi and stopped for a late lunch and a warming cup of coffee the winds were blowing at a steady 30-40 mph with temps in the low 40's. As we pushed on toward Barstow the winds just continued to build. I've had experience with cross winds on the bike before but this was GVB's first and it can be a bit disconcerting to say the least. By the time we reached Barstow I do believe that my traveling partner was considering hopping a plane and leaving me to figure out how to get the both bikes home. Can't say as I could blame him though.... those winds were nasty. We stayed at a hotel in Barstow hoping that the 'morrow would bring better conditions.
Why the heck does Barstow exist? I realize that it is a major coming together of several transportation lines including 2 major freeways and 2 major railways. I also know that it's a pretty big military hub with 2 bases in close proximity but, damn. This place is a real hole with not much redeeming quality to be found. Even the pub, which took some hiking to find by the way, was tough to understand. The clientele appeared to be more of a redneck bunch but the jukebox was blaring hardcore hip-hop???? Oh well, that didn't keep me from drinking more Sierra Nevada than I should have.
Another morning run skipped.
Winds were still blowing in the morning but I think my traveling mate's senses may have been dulled by the previous nights libations and we readied the bikes and headed south for J-Tree. We are now officially in the SoCal desert and, you know, it's still not warm. I'm beginning to feel a bit cheated. Temps are in the 30's and the wind is blowing friggin' sand storm! It's a short trip though and we are soon in front of our favorite desert cafe 'Crossroads Cafe' in beautiful downtown Joshua Tree.
And then after provisioning
we head up into the park proper.
After setting up camp we decided to do a bit of exploring.
What a beautiful desert.
And our little desert road seemed to wind on forever.
I was once again reminded that my big gazillion pound motorcycle does not like deep sand. Almost lost it a couple of times but somehow saved it just before the point of no return and saved face.
We played for quite some time out here but camp and beer were calling and these cravings could not go unheeded. I know it looks all warm and stuff but..... damn it was cold!
We did at least take the time to watch some of the more hardcore climbers endure the cold and do some routes.
And we did buddy up with our camping neighbors and drink more Sierra Nevada.... lots more.
Another morning run scrapped.
From J-tree we headed north through little desert towns and the Mojave Preserve on our way to Death Valley.
Did I mention it was cold?
Oh, and gas was expensive? Fighting a headwind had reduced my fuel mileage from a respectable mid 40's down to a dismal 31.
I've always wanted a picture of my bike in front of the Amargosa Opera House. You talk about the middle of nowhere!
We are definitely in the desert. It's hard to find life anywhere in these hills. At least it's dry.
It's cool to see negative numbers in the elevation column.
But the wind is blowing another sand storm up.
I think a motel in Beatty sounds better than camping in this stuff!
Guess what. They served Sierra Nevada in that joint!
Another morning run skipped.
At this point I do believe that Greg and I were both thinking that maybe the warm Pacific Northwest may be a better option for riding. So with that thought, we started heading north through the high desert of western Nevada thinking we could easily make Susanville by early evening. We stopped for a late breakfast in Tonopah at around 11:00AM and the temp gage on my bike read 29 degrees. Damn, it was cold. By the time we made it to Reno it was a balmy 57 degrees though and we were beginning to thaw out. We continued on and made it to Susanville at around 6'ish and found us another hotel for the night.
Of course, we went for dinner and, once again, found Sierra Nevada was served. So after a fine meal and several Sierra Nevadas I pretty much determined that any training while on this trip was out of the question and just gave up on that idea.
Morning broke clear and cold..... of course. Did you know that pretty much all of Nevada, a good part of northeastern California, and most of eastern Oregon are all pretty much at 5000 foot elevation? It's hard to get warm at those elevations when you've got a cold front breathing down the back of your neck.
That lake you see in the background, it's FROZEN! Yep, it was cold. We continued north and decided to take a detour and run into Lava Beds via the tiny road that enters from the south. It was a really cool road.
From there we chased little rural roads up through my old childhood stomping grounds. I found it amazing how the old routes came back to me as I went along but yet I couldn't have given anyone directions if my life depended on it. We even took the old Squaw valley short cut up to Sprague River where we just had to stop for lunch at this little joint.
Of course the food wasn't any good but the place was interesting to say the least.
We then headed west and picked up 97 at Chiloquin and made our way up to Bend for the night. Bend has a really cool little downtown area that includes the Deschutes Brewery so..... we decided maybe some food and a few beers would help take the chill out of the days ride. It worked, of course.
While we were eating breakfast in the morning the snow began to fall. Damn, we didn't beat the front. Loaded up the bikes and quickly headed north as conditions were supposed to continue to deteriorate through the day. The snow continued to come down but the temps stayed above freezing (barely).
But the farther north we got the better the weather got. By the time we reached the Columbia river the sun was shining and temps were pushing around the mid 50's. We did run into some fairly heavy rain from Kelso to pretty close to Tacoma on I-5 but all went well and we made it safely home by around 6.
All in all, it was a great trip. I of course would have preferred some warmer temps and less wind but that all just added to the adventure. I would have brought more long pants and less shorts but that made for less laundry once I made it home. Another sign that the trip was good... every time someone referenced the nasty weather and said they felt sorry for us on our bikes I immediately thought "don't". I'd still rather be on my bike than stuck in your mini van with those noisy kids and disapproving spouse.
I had an amazing time!
Cheers to all!
