Member Contributer Lorne Posted October 8, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2013 Roads - here are some favourites from this trip: We spent a week riding down to the World Superbike race at Laguna Seca. It is said that every journey begins with a step but living on an island means that it begins with a ferry. Which gives you an hour and a half to contemplate the weather. I must have run out of good karma because it rained for the first day and a half - most of the 700 km to Grants Pass, Oregon. On the last 10-15 km into Woodburn it was so heavy that I-5 was flooded an inch or two deep. The wake from nearby cars was perfect for water skiing - though perhaps not deep enough for a slalom's fin. How about your gear, you ask. Well, my Aerostich Roadcrafter 2-piece worked great, my gloves succumbed to the monsoon, and my boots - well, air isn't the only thing that gets into vented boots. Imnsho, crossing Washington & Oregon is a pain in the ass. I mean, why take a ham sandwich to a banquet? Early Monday afternoon, crossing Siskiyou summit the overcast broke and for the next week we had sunshine. Gotta love California. Unfortunately, we had more rain on our return. From Santa Rosa to Clear Lake in California, though it cleared up from there to Yreka. And the next day from Roseburg, Ore to Port Angeles, Wash was very damp indeed. On balance I prefer heat to rain. Gazelle-Callahan road (s. of Yreka) Hwy 3 from Weaverville to Hwy 36 has the most delicious constant-radius curves and grippy pavement Hwy 36 from Hwy 3 to Red Bluff - especially, the roller-coaster section about 20 km west of Red Bluff Hwy 70 through Feather River Canyon with several high bridges spanning the river Gold Lake Hwy Hwy 49 especially the stretch from Hwy 120 to Mariposa has lovely curves on a couple of ascents/descents Hwy 25 from south of Holister to Hwy 198 hugging the west side of a narrow valley has more of the curves & pavement that makes California so great Hwy 198 from Hwy 25 to Coalinga Hwy 58 from McKittrick to SLO takes you from the oil fields in the Mars-like central valley to the coast Hwy 1 the Pacific Coast highway in California has a near perfect combination of curves and ocean views. The crowds at Laguna Seca were down a fair bit from July's MotoGP and there were fewer vendors. Otoh, we were allowed to access the track via Hwy 68 which cut in half the round trip from our motel in Pacific Grove. The racing was quite good, especially both WSBK events. For some reason Laguna Seca tends to have string-of-pearls races with little passing. Definitely not so this weekend. My guess is that it suffered from being the last of four International races in the US this year. Since Laguna Seca is off the MotoGP calendar for next year perhaps WSBK will get a summertime date. Views from across the street from our motel on an early morning departure. Pounding surf, sunrise, and an avid surfer: Bet you all recognize this view. Two long days left us only a quarter mile ride to the Coho ferry on Wednesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted October 8, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2013 Beauty! Great photos. I miss riding in California! Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jimbob Posted October 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted October 10, 2013 Great, no wait, Fantastic Pics.. some of the best ive seen.... thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4 Rosso Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Stunning scenery. Thanks for sharing the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted October 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted October 10, 2013 Awesome, thanks for sharing. Love the white VFR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer DucatiTerminator Posted October 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted October 10, 2013 Beautiful pics. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer 2thdr Posted October 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted October 10, 2013 Thanks so much for the photos. Wow, who says motorcycling is dangerous? I can't believe that surfer in the midst of all the rocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayarearider Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 North Coastal riding season has begun..;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspanglish Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 LOVE IT!!! Did highway one and some of the roads through Yosemite... the Apalachians... woh, some 15 years ago now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boattail Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Wow! Fantastic photos! Would love to do some riding over there! Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted November 28, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted November 28, 2013 Nice ............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MaxSwell Posted December 3, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted December 3, 2013 Fabulous scenery. CA is on my bucket list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Nice pics. I'd love to go to Laguna Seca again when the town motels are not overloaded with people and thus able to price gouge (MotoGP). Maybe they still will for SBK. Maybe I'll just go for Big Sur outside tourist and RV season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer DucatiTerminator Posted December 4, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted December 4, 2013 Nice pics. I'd love to go to Laguna Seca again when the town motels are not overloaded with people and thus able to price gouge (MotoGP). Maybe they still will for SBK. Maybe I'll just go for Big Sur outside tourist and RV season. It wasn't nearly as crowded nor expensive during WSBK at Laguna this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Good to know. Nice pics. I'd love to go to Laguna Seca again when the town motels are not overloaded with people and thus able to price gouge (MotoGP). Maybe they still will for SBK. Maybe I'll just go for Big Sur outside tourist and RV season. It wasn't nearly as crowded nor expensive during WSBK at Laguna this year. Good to know. I used to go every year, sometimes twice. Got burned out on the crowds, cops, costs in recent years. Maybe next year, although I'm focusing more on Indy MotoGP. Something about 3 Grandsons plus other friends and family in that state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer DucatiTerminator Posted December 5, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted December 5, 2013 Good to know. Nice pics. I'd love to go to Laguna Seca again when the town motels are not overloaded with people and thus able to price gouge (MotoGP). Maybe they still will for SBK. Maybe I'll just go for Big Sur outside tourist and RV season. It wasn't nearly as crowded nor expensive during WSBK at Laguna this year. Good to know. I used to go every year, sometimes twice. Got burned out on the crowds, cops, costs in recent years. Maybe next year, although I'm focusing more on Indy MotoGP. Something about 3 Grandsons plus other friends and family in that state. There is a certain charm about Laguna that will hold it as one of my favorite tracks. I think I've gone to every MotoGP and WSBK race there since 1988. While I love the history of the Brickyard, I'm not as enamored with the track, especially in the reverse layout they run for MotoGP. I do love the paddock atmosphere there though and hanging out in Indianapolis, probably more so if I had family there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Laguna is great, lots of memories. I have special memories originating from Sly McFlys one year. Have not been to Indy, town or track. So far. Note to Indiana visitors, they don't sell beer on Sunday! Lucky my location last time was 8 miles from Michigan and the state line quikeemart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer DucatiTerminator Posted December 5, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted December 5, 2013 Laguna is great, lots of memories. I have special memories originating from Sly McFlys one year. Have not been to Indy, town or track. So far. Note to Indiana visitors, they don't sell beer on Sunday! Lucky my location last time was 8 miles from Michigan and the state line quikeemart. I'm not familiar with the blue laws in Indiana. On Sunday, we're usually at the Red Bull party after leaving the paddock late, and they have a couple of very well stocked bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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