The Mobius Trip

"we're leaving the TAT here 'till next time" photo...



only, we got turned around trying to circumnavigate Upper Lake on the East Side. It probably can be done, but not without opening a lot of gates, getting chased by dogs, and riding some technical, gnarly two-track.... and we just weren't in the mood. You know when you continue on past the



("End of the Trail Ranch") that things aren't gonna get any better.

into Fort Bidwell, and retook the photo there:



We were pushing the envelope of our fuel range. We still had most of the stove fuel, but when I saw the Chevron signs, I thought maybe the gas station had re-opened, and rode over to check it out...



The last time these pumps had run, gas cost $1.08/gal

along Surprise Valley, on pavement,



and while it felt great to be moving faster than 40mph,



it definitely felt strange to be among other vehicles, coming at you, and have to remember to stay to the right, etc.



Does that cloud up ahead look funny to you?

two miles from Cedarville, putt, putt, putt....



I made it the rest of the way on reserve. But closer than I'd have liked it to be. 165mi on the tank, I'd gotten 185mi before. But not through all that terrain. Note to self: it makes a difference.

Gas, booze, and groceries.



We sat in front of the Post Office and split a sandwich. People were coming and going, picking up their mail... compared to where we'd been, it felt like Times Square.

a dirt, and a paved route over the Warner Range. We talked to some locals who thought the dirt passes would be open, but no one knew for sure. Based on the snow we'd seen from Nevada, we opted for pavement.





Maybe we could have made it over on dirt... maybe not.



It just felt so good to fly unimpeded by the terrain... even for just a few miles, it was worth it. A real morale boost.

It wasn't long before we hooked back up with the dirt route.

was to move south through



and then jump west, over to the Lassen N.F. and find somewhere to sleep (probably camp) and the next day to loop around the west side of Lassen Volcano N.P. before heading south along the Sierra Range the day after that into Plumas N.F. and then our last day riding back East to Reno.

Not knowing how much snow would be left, I had plotted a higher elevation route, and a lower elevation one.

These forest service roads were just what we needed.



C'mon. seriously, doesn't that cloud look weird?

just a few miles can make. Amazing.



We started to see snow, and smell campfire at about the same time.



It was the strangest thing. The woods were full of lingering smoke. :huh



We slowed down... it was spooky, like there had just been an air assault, followed by and artillery barrage, followed by an infantry attack, and then everyone left, and we were riding through the aftermath.



In a few places we saw open flames smoldering at the base of trees...



A forest fire? :eek1 Should we turn around? Ride ahead?



we passed a N.F. fire crew. I stopped and asked if they were doing this on purpose, and if it was safe to continue on. They laughed, and confirmed that they had set the fire two days previously. Whatever, guys. It's not real clear to me why 2-strokes are banned, and emissions regulations are so much tighter in California when y'all are intentionally spewing tons of carbon into the atmosphere with these controlled burns... guess it makes sense somehow.

Just make sure you clean up afterwards, and leave no trace and all.

and gassed up again. We weren't the only motorbikes in town. Just the only sober ones.



Owner of the cool red truck talking to a couple of other guys out front. Topic: economy, unemployment, difficulty finding work, etc.

that we would embark on our run across non-N.F. land from Modoc to Lassen N.F.

We were thwarted. The line on the map, and what I thought was a legit trail scouting on GoogleEarth was an abandoned, overgrown barely visible road behind a locked gate, clearly uninviting.

Damn. I sat and tried to plot a go-around for about 5 minutes. I could tell that LDF was getting impatient, but I didn't anticipate this, and I wasn't finding an easy re-route.

"Didn't we just pass a campground back there before Likely?"

"Yeah, but I think if we head south a little, I'll be able to find something that gets us west. We need to go southwest from here, so since we can't go west, we'll just go south until we can go west. But going back to that campground takes us back east, and a little north, which is the opposite way we want to go."

Even through the sunglasses and goggles, I could tell her eyes were glazing over.

"Whatever. It's getting late, you know."

"Late? It's only like 5:15... we'll go 'till 6pm and then find a place to stop."

Famous last words.

and I think I have found a go-around. We start heading up Likely Mountain Road. It seems promising. We climb and climb. It gets more and more technical. We're nearly to the top, and instead of going up and over a pass... the road continues to climb, spiraling up to the peak where there's now visible a lookout tower and some antennas.

Double damn.



It's a nice view, anyway. I stop to get my bearings. LDF is not amused, nor impressed with my navigational skills. she says... "Let's go back to that campground... Mill Creek I think it was"



"Give me a second" I get oriented. I can SEE where we need to go. Rather, where I want us to go. Just. Over. There.



I look at LDF. I have maybe one more chance to get it right.



It's now 5:40... I still have 20 minutes to do good. Or screw up. "I think if we head even further south, I can get us west on pavement."

"and then what?" she asks.

"I don't know. we'll find somewhere to camp"

We head back down off of Likely Mountain. On the way down, I spy a side road. This is IT, I think.

I have her wait, and I ride down a little ways. It's it, all right. But we would be the first vehicles down this road in a long time, certainly this season. It's muddy, and it's steep. Maybe deadfall... Ain't gonna happen. Not today. I know better than that. Let's see if we can get there on pavement.

>"spewing tons of carbon into the atmosphere with these controlled burns... guess it makes sense somehow."

Controlled burns are used to remove understory debris at relatively low fire temps that don't damage the trees. Periodic cleanup helps prevent development of severe & destructive forest fires (the ones that incinerate everything).

If you ever get up close and personal with a major forest fire you'll see some 'serious' smoke.

Your descriptions bring back very familar feelings and thoughts Doc. It is truely and epic journey that you described so well.

or so south, on pavement. To Madeline. We see an RV park, and the same two guys who were talking to the red truck guy. I ask if they know the area. They say no, they just pulled into town. LDF follows me heading west, while we're talking, arguing really on the Scala's, I have a realization. What the heck am I doing. WAY too goal-oriented. She's absolutely right. We should have stopped at Mill Creek at 4pm. It looked like it would be lovely, and I got in my head that we had to make it into Lassen N.F. and when it wasn't happening, I was too stubborn to cut our losses and backtrack.

I stop. I tell her she's right. Of course, she doesn't believe that I'm conceding the arguement just like that, and I'm sure she believes this is some ploy to induce guilt and be manipulative and get my way in some backhanded sneaky manner. It's not. I ask her to lead and follow her GPS tracks back, since mine had already rewritten the tracks all the way back to the campground.

We ride the entire way back in silence. We pull in at 7pm.



A total of 60 miles for nothing. But in retrospect, it was worth it, because it helped me get off the "got-to-make-the-miles-and-stick-to-the-route" mentality which is appropriate (to a certain extent) when riding the TAT, but now we were on our own route, and we really could do what we wanted. We could skip Lassen entirely (and we would). We could stick to pavement (we wouldn't). We could be in Reno tomorrow and check into a spa (we didn't). Simply put, we didn't have to kill ourselves keeping up a pace. It was OK.

I understand the legit (yet somewhat controversial) use of controlled burns (my bro does research on forest fires -- not that that makes me an expert, or anything), but that's not what I'm questioning. I'm curious how the amount of carbon released in controlled burns stacks up against the amount of carbon NOT released by virtue of California's stricter emissions regulations. Which is more? how much more? And does it make practical sense to make the extra effort on vehicles if, say 10000X that amount is released in controlled burns. It's just a question. The best info I've found is here. And some other info here. Still not completely clear to me. Just food for thought.

a lovely campground.



not many photos of dinner and camp and campfire. But it was nice. We talked over what we'd try to do for the remaining days of Mobius 3, and we decided to attempt the higher elevation routes, knowing full well that we'd likely be thwarted by snow. It didn't matter... anything to stay out of the desert that we had grown so weary of, and instead, to enjoy as much of the high sierras as we could.

We figured if we got turned around by snow, we'd hit pavement if we had to, but even now, we were within striking distance of Reno, and we should be under no pressure whatsoever to meet a daily mileage goal.



232 miles, and nearly 11 hours, boots on to boots off. Way. Too. Much. I vowed to sleep in the next morning. Even longer than LDF if I had to.

Ohhhhhhh Yeahhhhhhh......

The desert looks fun, but nothing better than Mountains and TREES IMO. Maybe mountains, trees & Bourbon.

Really enjoying the ride. When does Mobius 4 start. Can't wait for the next one even though you're still not finished with this one.

>"I'm curious how the amount of carbon released in controlled burns stacks up against the amount of carbon NOT released by virtue of California's stricter emissions regulations"

The strict California emission regulations don't have much to do with CO2 levels. They are targeted at reducing the amount of unburnt hydrocarbons, sulfur oxides, oxides of nitrogen (etc.) that make photochemical smog, cause lung disease (yada). The only thing that reduces CO2 emissions is fuel effeciency.

Unfortunately, early generation emission controls reduced effeciency and we traded a reduction in one type of pollution (smog) for increased CO2 production. (CO2 effects are debated daily in the basement)

I need to let you get back to your wonderful ride report!
Is there more coming?

I figured as much. Really, I sort of brought it up as a backhanded example of random thoughts that come to me on these rides... mostly thinking about stuff I don't usually think about, or thinking in different ways than I usually think. And I realize how much I don't know, and how much my opinions are based on presumptions that may or may not be valid. Then I come home, full of questions, and look things up, and try to educate myself, at least for awhile, until I slip back into my usual ruts, routines, etc... It's the aspect of a mental vacation that these trips are for me.

You betcha. Another couple three days of riding, and a day in Reno stuffing the rabbits back in the hats .

Mobius 4 will depart NYC Sept. 12 for two weeks, riding from Reno north to complete the OR TAT, and then up to the Seattle environs.