Bay Area Adventure Riders Club

Lovely mini-RR.

Todd - hit up ThumperTalk in the DR section - there are some people that are building some impressive DRs -- RM fork swaps, big HP motors, DIY fuel injection, etc. Fun reading if nothing else.

John,

Thanks for the info and Pics...

Hey you FFs,

I'm planning a three-day ride to Northern California on my GSA. I've been to Mendocino National Forest before and plan to ride the M1 and FH17.

Can you recommend other good routes for an adventure bike in Shasta/Trinity or Six Rivers National Forest? I'm interested in fire roads mostly, nothing too technical since I'll be on my own.

The plan is to ride 101 north to Pillsbury Lake, then M1 to FH17. Camp. Pick up 36 on the east side of the range, make my way to 299 and the coast. Camp. Back on 1.

Suggestions welcome. Thanks!

wamba

Here's what I would add to that route, and I think you'd like: Take 36 west rather than 299, 36 is one of the best motorcycle roads in the state. 299 is nice too, but it gets a lot more through traffic. From 36, head south on mad river road (I think that's the name) past ruth lake to the Ruth-Zenia road. At Zenia schoolhouse road, take a left- it will go past kettenpom and become Mina road, which becomes dirt, and goes all the way to Covelo, near where you got on FH17. If you've got time for a bit more fun, take the turnoff at Dos rios over to Laytonvillle, and from Laytonville take branscombe road to the coast.

I second Slack's comments. 36 is amazing, and Mina Rd. from Zenia is beautiful. It's not technical (paved in parts, gravel in others) but there are great mountain overlooks and you probably won't see another car the whole way.

If you want to head over the the lost coast, you can take Briceland Rd. heading out of Garberville towards Shelter Cove, then head down Usal Rd. to Mendocino, then back on highway 1 to Laytonville. I think that's my favorite section of paved road in California. Usal Rd. can be a bit muddy depending on how wet it is, so check the recent weather conditions before attempting on a big bike.

John

Hey, John! Did you mean to say Highway 1 to Leggett? The section where Hwy 1 passes Usal and heads inland towards Leggett? If so, that is my favorite section of pavement in the state, too! It's nice and flow-ey and it is nothing but supreme fun the whole way. Perfect pavement, too. It always seems to be in good shape, even if a bit wet sometimes.




WoodsChick

Hi Tami

Yup, just checked a map... highway 1 from the coast to Leggett. I can't believe how smooth the pavement is for such a remote road. Sections of 36 are like that too. I gotta get back there this summer.

Yeah, we wanna get out there, too! We've got a good loop from just south of Leggett proper out to Usal and then back east (or thru the Lost Coast, depending on time) and out to the Eel River for some remote bike camping. Can't wait til Eric is able to ride again!






WoodsChick

Oh, I love those roads too- I actually didn't mention Usal road because I've seen fairly recent reports of it being very muddy- Not well suited for the big bikes right now.

Yeah, hwy 1 between legget fort bragg is wonderful. And then you can head down 1 a bit farther to the Comtche-Ukiah road. . . .

That's a good one, too! My sister used to live in Albion and she worked out on Comptche-Ukiah Road. It's lots of fun!



WoodsChick

Man, I've got to get in on some of these rides while I'm in the area. I've got an XR650R, and my brother's riding a 450EXC, and we're in Morgan Hill.

Ah, bummer. How did that happen?

Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I'll try to remember to submit a ride report if I can figure out how to upload pictures.

wamba

Hi wamba,

I finally figured out posting photos after three years; looking forward to seeing yours from the Lost Coast ...

Hey All,

I'm planning on heading up from San Francisco Friday morning to wind up in Aubern for Fast Friday's Speedway Racing, camp out Friday night near Auburn and then head through Georgetown and the Eldorado NF to end up in Placerville ...

Not familier with Eldorado NF except for Wentworth Springs - Ice House Road ... found some NF maps here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/recreation/travel/index.shtml and did a google search of ADVrider.com of "Eldorado NF" ...

I'm looking at the Georgetown and Placerville District Maps ... going to try our luck on the roads just east of Georgetown down south to Kelsey (maybe take Bayne Road from Coloma?) on Saturday ...

We'll probably look for some dual-sport roads east of Placerville and south of Hwy 50 on Sunday ...

Anywho ... overloaded KLRs on D606s ... any Eldorado NF route ideas welcome, or if anyone is planning on being up that way over the holiday ...?

I'll try to get some speedway bike pics to post next week ... see where the snow is, etc ...

-- SFMCjohn

Eric broke his shoulder blade while we were in the Pueblos over Memorial Day. I had to ride him out and then retrieve his 640 the next day...story here... http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=587062

"Bummer" is right




WoodsChick

I was up at PiPi in the El Dorado NF this past Sun/Mon. I saw 2 loaded KLR's and an XL650...was that you? Damn, it was hot...



WoodsChick

Hi WoodsChick,

No, wasn't us ... we're heading up July 2nd ...

Hot is good to know ...

What was "PiPi"? Did you have fun? Any roads or places in Eldorado NF to recomend ...?

Thanks,
SFMCjohn

PS: Sorry to hear/read about Eric's broken scapula ... sounds painful ... I'll be extra careful when riding at a walking pace ... seems to be at that speed when I always drop my bike ... ha.

PiPi was the campground we were at. Most folks call the riding area Elkin's Flat, as that is the name of the main staging area, but I've always called it PiPi for some reason. The campground is right on the Cosumnes River and there are great places to play in the water. Don't even think about going there over the holiday, though. We were one of maybe 6 campers in the whole place, and we were in the very last spot on the end near the swimming hole. As we pulled out Monday afternoon there were "reserved" tags on each and every one of the 51 spots for the upcoming holiday weekend! Yikes! If we were on the bikes we'd have been camping remotely.

There is a ton of stuff in the Eldorado NF. Don't know how gnarly you like your terrain on the big KLRs but the trail that runs along Squaw Ridge just south of 88 is a ton of fun. It runs right along the border of the Mokelumne Wilderness and is gorgeous. Anywhere you go is going to be beautiful...lots of reservoirs, tons of forest roads to explore...just pick a direction and go

Edit: Oh yeah, did I have fun? Absolutely! My new WR125 is now a 144 with the addition of an OEM kit and it is rockin'! Can't wait to ride it down at Kennedy Meadows in the Sequoia NF next week


WoodsChick

I'm headed up from SF to Usal Beach on this Thursday or Friday for an overnight camp and lost coast exploration. I'm pretty flexible on timing - and any if you FFers are most welcome to join me. Cheers, Nate

Hi WoodsChick,

OK, I see Elkin's Flat ... we'll be staying at a home in Placerville on Saturday night, but it looks like we can get over to Elkin's Flat by taking Emigrant Trail and North - South Road ... to Plummer Ridge/Route 31 loop, 'til it gets hard ... then we'll turn around ...

Maybe we'll be able to find/explore the Squaw Ridge trail south of 88 ... the KLR and I do not like long, steep and rocky, but I'm sure we'll have fun finding where the trail begins ...

Have fun at Kennedy Medows! We're leaving tomorrow morning to make the Speedway Racing at Fast Fridays in the evening ... I think it's supposed to be 97 deg. tomorrow in Placerville ...

See you out there,
-- SFMCjohn

PS: here is a really cool website to all the National Forest Visitor Maps near the Bay Area: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/forestvisitormaps/
I was able to click on sections within each map and print it out on 8.5x11 printer paper for some of the routes I'm thinking of for this weekend ... pretty neat!

We just got back from a lost coast trip on 4 wheels. Usal was dry and would be easy to ride out to Usal Beach. We started up the next section (towards Shelter Cove) but it wasn't much fun in the truck (erosion gulleys, but dry - should be fine for a dual sport) so we headed out via Leggett and cut back in at Garberville. Kings Peak Road north towards Mattole Road was in great shape. Given what we saw, the whole lost coast (from Usal to Mattole) should be rideable. Have fun out there!