Ok, this will be brief. I've been slacker than normal with updates as I deal with a small issue.
You need a passport to fly internationally, right?
Yeah, thought so.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...
9th June. Mammoth Lakes, CA to Las Vegas, NV
I set off from Mammoth Lakes on the interstate for an hour or so - fairly humdrum stuff. It was another beautiful day - plenty of blue sky for the most part.
Once I passed through Lone Pine, I started on to Death Valley - how hot can it really be? I guess I'd find out soon enough. In the distance, the sky had started to turn grey and look stormy - I didn't know if I should be praying for rain or not? Nothing eventuated other than some very light showers towards the end of the day.
After some interesting twisties, the road started to dip into the valley. It started to warm up reasonably quickly - not that it was cold earlier anyway. Some names of towns/stops in Death Valley - Stovepipe Wells, Furnace Creek, Hell's Gate, etc. I get the impression it gets hot. Fuel (gas!) gets expensive as well. I saw one place advertise it at $5.20 per gallon. Normal prices, depending on the state, vary from $2.60ish to $3.30ish per gallon. The record temp for Death Vally is 134 degF. That's 57 in real temperature speak!!! You can keep that to yourself.
Once in the valley, the road started to straighten out, and develop woops. Umm.. if you don't follow motocross, that may not make a heap of sense... look at the pic below - you may have to click on it to see the 'woops' better. They made the road interesting in a weird sort of way and gave it a type of rhythm that nearly became hypnotising. There wasn't a tonne of traffic, but I was enjoying the road - in a bizarre kind of way.
The temp had increased a fair bit - to the point that it was actually cooler to have my jacket fully zipped, and to have my visor fully closed. As soon as I cracked the visor a little bit, it became harder to breathe - not incredibly so, but it was way easier with the visor down. I had to stop at Furnace Creek to pay for a park pass - the temp was showing 107 degF (42 degC). I could have done without knowing that. I don't know how those tough dudes on the Harley's would have handled the heat with an open faced helmet and short sleeves.
There were a lot of things to see along the way, as with all National Parks, but I couldn't be bothered stopping for some reason? At one point, the road dropped to 100 feet below sea level. The lowest point in the US is in Death Valley at 282 feet below - but I either missed it, or didn't ride along that road.
I ended up going through a town called Pahrump. For some reason, I started singing "The Little Drummer Boy" for the next 20 mins. You know the part in the song that goes "parr rumpa pum pum". Maybe you don't? Maybe the heat affected me more that I thought and I should've turned on some music... moving on.
Next highlight was Vegas baby. I tried to guess my way to the strip, but got mixed up in the freeways that crisscross the city. When I stopped to get my bearings, I was only about 5 mins away. Not a bad guess.
Anyway, once I hit the strip I was blown away. It was wild - especially coming from the desert. The weather was still reasonably warm in the stop/start traffic, but I didn't mind that much. People everywhere, huge building-sized video screens advertising the latest attractions and performers, buildings of all shapes and sizes - it was a lot to take in all at once.
I found my hotel easily - a block and a half off the strip. Once i got cleaned up, I went for a walk along the strip. The first order of business was to get my glasses fixed as I still only had the one nose-rest after losing one in Merced. Once I got it fixed I was a lot more comfortable. I walked through a stack of casinos and shops.
Some of the casinos are amazing. I think it's the Venetian and Palazzo casinos which have a canal system that works its way through the casinos and also outside - complete with gondolas and opera singing boatmen - it was impressive. I ended up walking around from about 3:30pm to 11:30pm and was pretty knackered after an evening of pizza, a few beers and a full day of riding as well. It's the kind of place that would've been good to have a couple more days and to also have a few other people to knock around with.
I didn't take any decent photo's of Vegas - just watch a few episodes of CSI or watch Ocean's 11.
Miles today - 330
Total miles - 2089
I set off from Mammoth Lakes on the interstate for an hour or so - fairly humdrum stuff. It was another beautiful day - plenty of blue sky for the most part.
Once I passed through Lone Pine, I started on to Death Valley - how hot can it really be? I guess I'd find out soon enough. In the distance, the sky had started to turn grey and look stormy - I didn't know if I should be praying for rain or not? Nothing eventuated other than some very light showers towards the end of the day.
After some interesting twisties, the road started to dip into the valley. It started to warm up reasonably quickly - not that it was cold earlier anyway. Some names of towns/stops in Death Valley - Stovepipe Wells, Furnace Creek, Hell's Gate, etc. I get the impression it gets hot. Fuel (gas!) gets expensive as well. I saw one place advertise it at $5.20 per gallon. Normal prices, depending on the state, vary from $2.60ish to $3.30ish per gallon. The record temp for Death Vally is 134 degF. That's 57 in real temperature speak!!! You can keep that to yourself.
Once in the valley, the road started to straighten out, and develop woops. Umm.. if you don't follow motocross, that may not make a heap of sense... look at the pic below - you may have to click on it to see the 'woops' better. They made the road interesting in a weird sort of way and gave it a type of rhythm that nearly became hypnotising. There wasn't a tonne of traffic, but I was enjoying the road - in a bizarre kind of way.
 |
| Death Valley - somewhere |
There were a lot of things to see along the way, as with all National Parks, but I couldn't be bothered stopping for some reason? At one point, the road dropped to 100 feet below sea level. The lowest point in the US is in Death Valley at 282 feet below - but I either missed it, or didn't ride along that road.
I ended up going through a town called Pahrump. For some reason, I started singing "The Little Drummer Boy" for the next 20 mins. You know the part in the song that goes "parr rumpa pum pum". Maybe you don't? Maybe the heat affected me more that I thought and I should've turned on some music... moving on.
Next highlight was Vegas baby. I tried to guess my way to the strip, but got mixed up in the freeways that crisscross the city. When I stopped to get my bearings, I was only about 5 mins away. Not a bad guess.
Anyway, once I hit the strip I was blown away. It was wild - especially coming from the desert. The weather was still reasonably warm in the stop/start traffic, but I didn't mind that much. People everywhere, huge building-sized video screens advertising the latest attractions and performers, buildings of all shapes and sizes - it was a lot to take in all at once.
I found my hotel easily - a block and a half off the strip. Once i got cleaned up, I went for a walk along the strip. The first order of business was to get my glasses fixed as I still only had the one nose-rest after losing one in Merced. Once I got it fixed I was a lot more comfortable. I walked through a stack of casinos and shops.
Some of the casinos are amazing. I think it's the Venetian and Palazzo casinos which have a canal system that works its way through the casinos and also outside - complete with gondolas and opera singing boatmen - it was impressive. I ended up walking around from about 3:30pm to 11:30pm and was pretty knackered after an evening of pizza, a few beers and a full day of riding as well. It's the kind of place that would've been good to have a couple more days and to also have a few other people to knock around with.
I didn't take any decent photo's of Vegas - just watch a few episodes of CSI or watch Ocean's 11.
Miles today - 330
Total miles - 2089
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Yosemite
 |
| Yosemite Village |
So today started off in a crummy way. I gave brekky a miss in the hotel as there was a tour group staying there and they had decided to get to breakfast 5 mins before me. There were only 2 people taking orders and preparing meals and it looked like it was going to take an age to get served and I wanted to hit the road before it got too hot.
I tried to fill up the bike at the servo, but got stuffed around by the pay-at-the-pump system not accepting my card. During this, I had managed to lose one of the nose rests from my specs and it felt like it 30 degC already. To say I wasn't happy was an understatement.
I was headed east, directly into the sun without a cloud in the sky. The ride was pretty uneventful until I got to Yosemite, when all hell broke loose - well, not exactly, but the place was flat out busy with cars and buses everwhere. I've developed an intense hatred of tour buses. They're slow, and full of people that will ruin a view, or a cafe in about 2 mins flat when they're unloaded. It felt like everyone from California was at Yosemite today.
I can see why they'd be here though - it's an incredibly beautiful place. The view from up high are great, and things are just as impressive from the ground. Traffic was pretty busy, and the day hadn't got any cooler - it didn't feel like there was a breath of wind either.
I've got a new bike helmet intercom thingo that I'm still coming to grips with. I've worked out how to stream music via bluetooth OK. However, I found out today that is has voice commands. How did I find that out? Well, traffic is bumper to bumper, I'm about 30 mins away from becoming a well done pot roast in a slow cooker and this idiot decides to stop, turn, and then indicate. I go off my nut at the clown in front of me and the music stopped and the FM radio started searching for channels. I think this happened 3 times today - I need to work out how to turn it off I think.
I was incredibly jealous of the group of people who were floating down the river on inner tubes. I nearly jumped into the river fully clothed. The campgrounds were very full - tents were nearly stacked on top of each other - so much for getting away from it all.
Once again, the National Parks are incredibly well patronised and, ideally, you'd have more than half a day to check it out. A week would be good.
After exiting Yosemite, I head towards Tioga Pass. At one stage I had to wait 30 mins for some roadworks. The car in front of me popped his tailgate and grabbed a can out of his esky. He was decent enough to offer me one. Had I known how long I'd be waiting, I would've taken him up on his offer.
Tioga Pass was stunning. My mood had improved as the roads were free from idiots and much emptier. After that, I had about 30 miles on the interstate to get to Mammoth Lakes.
 |
| Yosemite Village |
 |
| Glacier Point (Yosemite) |
 |
| Glacier Point (Yosemite) |
 |
| Yosemite Village |
 |
| Tioga Pass |
Miles today - 250 miles
Total miles - 1759 miles
Cold to hot
7th June. South Lake Tahoe, CA to Merced, CA
Cool morning to start the day. Today I would be heading over the Sonora Pass (9500 feet)
. This part of the mountains is home to a US Marines training facility, and I would see them throughout the morning in different parts of the mountain.
I realised why I had been seeing so many push bike riders yesterday - today is America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride. One of the loops will do over 1500m of climbing.
I came across my first deer on the road this morning - it was well ahead of me and caused no drama.
The climb to Sonoma pass is incredibly steep and twisty and takes me back into the snowline. I could nearly have done with having the thermal liner in my pants. After the initial steepness of the climb, it evens out and becomes incredibly beautiful scenery. I wished I'd had a GoPro as it would've been the best way to capture the scenery - as it was I didn't take any photos at all today. I end up riding along some quite bare rocky mountains which transform into heavily forested terrain. At one stage I follow a river which was pretty cool.
I passed a group of 5 or 6 Austin Healy 3000's (I think?) heading in the opposite direction. I saw the same group yesterday. They would have loved the section they were on now, but I"m not sure about the steep declines they were about to face.
The weather started to improve around lunch as the terrain flattened out, and before long I'm riding through quite open and undulating country that is not too different from back home. There's not greenery at all, with all the paddocks looking like they've already been through a long summer. Suddenly I'm surrounded by huge olive and vine plantations.
By the time I arrive in Merced it's 33 degC and ends up hitting 38 before the day ends. I can't say I've gone from snow to 33 in one day, but there you go. They're expecting 40 tomorrow morning, but only 24 in Yosemite where I'm headed. As much as I didn't really enjoy the hot weather when I was fully suited up in my riding gear, it was unreal to walk outside the hotel at 9pm and for it still to be in the low 30's.
Miles today - 220 miles
Total miles - 1509 miles
Cool morning to start the day. Today I would be heading over the Sonora Pass (9500 feet)
I realised why I had been seeing so many push bike riders yesterday - today is America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride. One of the loops will do over 1500m of climbing.
I came across my first deer on the road this morning - it was well ahead of me and caused no drama.
The climb to Sonoma pass is incredibly steep and twisty and takes me back into the snowline. I could nearly have done with having the thermal liner in my pants. After the initial steepness of the climb, it evens out and becomes incredibly beautiful scenery. I wished I'd had a GoPro as it would've been the best way to capture the scenery - as it was I didn't take any photos at all today. I end up riding along some quite bare rocky mountains which transform into heavily forested terrain. At one stage I follow a river which was pretty cool.
I passed a group of 5 or 6 Austin Healy 3000's (I think?) heading in the opposite direction. I saw the same group yesterday. They would have loved the section they were on now, but I"m not sure about the steep declines they were about to face.
The weather started to improve around lunch as the terrain flattened out, and before long I'm riding through quite open and undulating country that is not too different from back home. There's not greenery at all, with all the paddocks looking like they've already been through a long summer. Suddenly I'm surrounded by huge olive and vine plantations.
By the time I arrive in Merced it's 33 degC and ends up hitting 38 before the day ends. I can't say I've gone from snow to 33 in one day, but there you go. They're expecting 40 tomorrow morning, but only 24 in Yosemite where I'm headed. As much as I didn't really enjoy the hot weather when I was fully suited up in my riding gear, it was unreal to walk outside the hotel at 9pm and for it still to be in the low 30's.
Miles today - 220 miles
Total miles - 1509 miles
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Yeah, keep right idiot.
5th-6th June. Chester, CA to South Lake Tahoe, CA
Today started off with some good weather in the hills. There were some thunderstorms in the distance, but nothing eventuated thankfully.
I fuelled up in a small town called Graeagle. Usually, I like to pick a servo on the right hand side of the road - it makes it easier to get going again without having to cross traffic. This was pretty much a one horse town, so I had to cross the road for the servo. After filling up, and setting off again, I had a moment of brain fade and started to ride on the left hand side of the road. For a moment I was confused as to why there were several cars coming straight for me - it took me a few seconds to wake up. Surprisingly, I didn't hear any horns, but I had another break pretty much straight away. I haven't done it since thankfully.
About half way to Tahoe, the scenery gave way to a valley and it was a nice change to see some flat land and open skies for a while. Not long after this, I nearly started to head to Reno instead of Tahoe. I think it's the first time on this trip that I had made a wrong turn. I'm pretty sure I got lost every day for the first 7 days last time.
Lake Tahoe is an incredible lake surrounded by mountains. There's also some serious money here as well with some very flash houses directly on the lake shore with some pricey looking boats moored near them. It's also incredibly touristy with people everywhere.
On the way into South Lake Tahoe, I passed a renaissance fair with people wandering around in medieval garb and swords and wooden boats - the lot. Right in the middle of a forest. Bizzare.
South Tahoe is right on the Nevada border. Right on that stateline are two huge casinos that would dominate the skyline if wasn't for the ring of mountains that surround the whole area. Traffic is pretty mad and it's obvious that this is a very popular holiday destination.
I had two nights here, so on the second day I did a lap through the Sierra Nevada ranges surrounding Tahoe. I found one stretch of newly sealed road that was an absolute blast. It would've been more fun on my VFR rather than the FJR as I really noticed it's weight as I tried to throw it around some of the tighter corners.
I now know the signal in the US for police up ahead. If a biker pats his head, watch out up front. It's saved me a few times now. Also, I still reckon the US drivers are way more polite than Aussie ones. I've lost count of the number of times that cars/SUVs have pulled over to let me through - even when they're already doing close to the speed limit themselves. I don't reckon it's ever happened to me back home.
One of the passes though the mountains was Ebbett's Pass (8,700 feet) which was a bit hairy in places as it's not wide enough to have a centre line. Given how big some of the SUVs are over here, I wasn't wild about coming around a corner face to face with a huge Ford or Dodge grill, so it was a slow trip through some pretty amazing country. At the same time, I was again aware of how little armco is used in the National Parks. It's a long way down some of these hills.
Somewhere along the way I turned right instead of left and found myself in Nevada when I should have been in California still. It then decided to rain as I jumped on the highway back to Tahoe. Once the rain cleared, the temperature started to rise, I saw on a time/temp display on a bank that it was 89F (31c), which wasn't so bad as long as I kept moving.
Miles today - 327 & 215 miles
Total miles - 1289 miles
Today started off with some good weather in the hills. There were some thunderstorms in the distance, but nothing eventuated thankfully.
I fuelled up in a small town called Graeagle. Usually, I like to pick a servo on the right hand side of the road - it makes it easier to get going again without having to cross traffic. This was pretty much a one horse town, so I had to cross the road for the servo. After filling up, and setting off again, I had a moment of brain fade and started to ride on the left hand side of the road. For a moment I was confused as to why there were several cars coming straight for me - it took me a few seconds to wake up. Surprisingly, I didn't hear any horns, but I had another break pretty much straight away. I haven't done it since thankfully.
About half way to Tahoe, the scenery gave way to a valley and it was a nice change to see some flat land and open skies for a while. Not long after this, I nearly started to head to Reno instead of Tahoe. I think it's the first time on this trip that I had made a wrong turn. I'm pretty sure I got lost every day for the first 7 days last time.
Lake Tahoe is an incredible lake surrounded by mountains. There's also some serious money here as well with some very flash houses directly on the lake shore with some pricey looking boats moored near them. It's also incredibly touristy with people everywhere.
On the way into South Lake Tahoe, I passed a renaissance fair with people wandering around in medieval garb and swords and wooden boats - the lot. Right in the middle of a forest. Bizzare.
South Tahoe is right on the Nevada border. Right on that stateline are two huge casinos that would dominate the skyline if wasn't for the ring of mountains that surround the whole area. Traffic is pretty mad and it's obvious that this is a very popular holiday destination.
I had two nights here, so on the second day I did a lap through the Sierra Nevada ranges surrounding Tahoe. I found one stretch of newly sealed road that was an absolute blast. It would've been more fun on my VFR rather than the FJR as I really noticed it's weight as I tried to throw it around some of the tighter corners.
I now know the signal in the US for police up ahead. If a biker pats his head, watch out up front. It's saved me a few times now. Also, I still reckon the US drivers are way more polite than Aussie ones. I've lost count of the number of times that cars/SUVs have pulled over to let me through - even when they're already doing close to the speed limit themselves. I don't reckon it's ever happened to me back home.
One of the passes though the mountains was Ebbett's Pass (8,700 feet) which was a bit hairy in places as it's not wide enough to have a centre line. Given how big some of the SUVs are over here, I wasn't wild about coming around a corner face to face with a huge Ford or Dodge grill, so it was a slow trip through some pretty amazing country. At the same time, I was again aware of how little armco is used in the National Parks. It's a long way down some of these hills.
Somewhere along the way I turned right instead of left and found myself in Nevada when I should have been in California still. It then decided to rain as I jumped on the highway back to Tahoe. Once the rain cleared, the temperature started to rise, I saw on a time/temp display on a bank that it was 89F (31c), which wasn't so bad as long as I kept moving.
Miles today - 327 & 215 miles
Total miles - 1289 miles
Doh!
4th June. Gold Beach, OR to Chester, CA
Today was to to be a pretty big day - ended up being 373 miles (600 kms), but I didn't realise it in the morning. I stuffed around a bit, had a late brekky, and only looked at the map when I was done. Needed to get my skates on, as within the 600 kms, there was some twisty mountain stuff to do which takes longer than I usually think.
From Gold Beach, I continued to head south along the coast into California. The coast road continued to have some good views and roads, and I was pretty happy to see I'd be going through the Redwood forests. I headed through the northern section which was pretty cool - the trees are absolutely huge. I didn't stop to take any pictures as I was intending to go through the southern section via the scenic byway. However, because I was in a bit of a hurry, and kinda travelling a bit fast, I managed to miss the exit off the main road. I didn't realise this until I was well south of the forest. To say I was ticked off is an understatement. If I didn't have so far to go, I would've tried to back track.
At one point I was doing 75(ish) in a 65 zone and noticed a police car sitting on the other side of the road. I thought for sure I was done, but nothing happened. Cool. Then about 40 minutes later, the same thing happened - yeah, I'm a slow learner. Turns out, unless you're doing 15+ over the limit, you're not likely to get done. I did slow down after the second time - for a while.
I ran into some roadworks that held me up for over 25 minutes. It seemed much longer, but it was long enough as I could see some rain clouds heading my way. After they let us through the roadworks, it did start to rain - which was a bit of a worry in places, as there was sand all over the road in different places. Thankfully everyone else was going at a fairly slow pace, so all was good.
Towards the end of the ride, I entered the Lassan National Forest which was more tight and twisty mountain riding. The road moved from < 1,000 feet of elevation up to 9,000 feet in pretty quick order. Mt. Lassen's peak is at 10,300 feet. Again, for reference, Mt. Kosciuszko is only 7,300 feet. Naturally, it started to get colder with plenty of snow about on the ground. There was also a partially frozen pond as well. Thankfully, there wasn't as much cloud cover, so there were some pretty cool views in different places.
After Mount Lassen, I had a quick trip into Chester where I stayed for the night.
Miles today - 373 miles
Total miles - 837 miles
Today was to to be a pretty big day - ended up being 373 miles (600 kms), but I didn't realise it in the morning. I stuffed around a bit, had a late brekky, and only looked at the map when I was done. Needed to get my skates on, as within the 600 kms, there was some twisty mountain stuff to do which takes longer than I usually think.
From Gold Beach, I continued to head south along the coast into California. The coast road continued to have some good views and roads, and I was pretty happy to see I'd be going through the Redwood forests. I headed through the northern section which was pretty cool - the trees are absolutely huge. I didn't stop to take any pictures as I was intending to go through the southern section via the scenic byway. However, because I was in a bit of a hurry, and kinda travelling a bit fast, I managed to miss the exit off the main road. I didn't realise this until I was well south of the forest. To say I was ticked off is an understatement. If I didn't have so far to go, I would've tried to back track.
At one point I was doing 75(ish) in a 65 zone and noticed a police car sitting on the other side of the road. I thought for sure I was done, but nothing happened. Cool. Then about 40 minutes later, the same thing happened - yeah, I'm a slow learner. Turns out, unless you're doing 15+ over the limit, you're not likely to get done. I did slow down after the second time - for a while.
I ran into some roadworks that held me up for over 25 minutes. It seemed much longer, but it was long enough as I could see some rain clouds heading my way. After they let us through the roadworks, it did start to rain - which was a bit of a worry in places, as there was sand all over the road in different places. Thankfully everyone else was going at a fairly slow pace, so all was good.
Towards the end of the ride, I entered the Lassan National Forest which was more tight and twisty mountain riding. The road moved from < 1,000 feet of elevation up to 9,000 feet in pretty quick order. Mt. Lassen's peak is at 10,300 feet. Again, for reference, Mt. Kosciuszko is only 7,300 feet. Naturally, it started to get colder with plenty of snow about on the ground. There was also a partially frozen pond as well. Thankfully, there wasn't as much cloud cover, so there were some pretty cool views in different places.
After Mount Lassen, I had a quick trip into Chester where I stayed for the night.
Miles today - 373 miles
Total miles - 837 miles
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
You're entering a tsunami zone
3rd June. Jacksonville, OR to Gold Beach, OR
The weather today was much nicer than yesterday, with clear skies all day. I had about 90 miles of interstate, which wasn't awesome, but at least it was interesting patch of interstate, ie. a relatively twisty stretch. One thing I've quickly realised is that speed limit signs only serve to remind you how much you're exceeding the limit by. The interstate was posted at 65mph, but most of the traffic was doing 75. So, when in Rome..
The westward stretch after the northern interstate was really nice roads - sweeping corners, some great countryside, and a river to ride alongside for a while.
When I headed south, I was on the Pacific Coast Hwy (PCH) which also had some cool roads, and some OK coastal views. At various points, I would see these signs advising that I had entered a tsunami zone. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with this information, as I'm pretty sure that once you know a tsunami is on its way, it's too late to do anything about it. I'm sure there's more to it?
Can't recall much else about this day, other than it was incredibly windy in Gold Beach - drove me nuts going for a walk into town from my hotel. No pics taken at all.
Miles today - 238 miles
Total miles - 464 miles
The weather today was much nicer than yesterday, with clear skies all day. I had about 90 miles of interstate, which wasn't awesome, but at least it was interesting patch of interstate, ie. a relatively twisty stretch. One thing I've quickly realised is that speed limit signs only serve to remind you how much you're exceeding the limit by. The interstate was posted at 65mph, but most of the traffic was doing 75. So, when in Rome..
The westward stretch after the northern interstate was really nice roads - sweeping corners, some great countryside, and a river to ride alongside for a while.
When I headed south, I was on the Pacific Coast Hwy (PCH) which also had some cool roads, and some OK coastal views. At various points, I would see these signs advising that I had entered a tsunami zone. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with this information, as I'm pretty sure that once you know a tsunami is on its way, it's too late to do anything about it. I'm sure there's more to it?
Can't recall much else about this day, other than it was incredibly windy in Gold Beach - drove me nuts going for a walk into town from my hotel. No pics taken at all.
Miles today - 238 miles
Total miles - 464 miles
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