California Camp Trip

[alanmcorcoran]

Got back Sat from my planned "big trip." Ended up doing 2055 miles in 8 days, 564 of them on the last day. Got in a lot of practice! I took about 350 photos, but most of the interesting things happened when I was on the bike. That's fellow member "Moedad" (in the Rock Store photo) who escorted me out of "The OC" last Saturday.

[pbss:36yciv5i]http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/alanmcorcoran/CAMCtrip/?action=view&current=a70cb69e.pbw[/pbss:36yciv5i]

[3-D Video]

Wow! What a great trip, and great photos. Thanks!!!
But, they sure made me miss my home state... Good stuff :2tup: :2tup: :rawk:

[dhgeyer]

You've got some great pictures there, Alan! Looks like you had some pretty good weather. Thanks for posting the photos.

[Water Warrior 2]

Looking good Alan. The pics are very nice and show a lot of different locations and points of interest. The Power Ranger suit looks good on you too. Did the actual camping part of the trip work as well as you expected ? Any do's and don't's for next time ?

[alanmcorcoran]

Thanks Water: Here is roughly where I went (google limits you to 25 stops)

[Water Warrior 2]

That is a nice route and very little slab riding. Quite a variety of terrain too from mountains to coastal roads. Good thing the alphabet is not shorter. lol.

[alanmcorcoran]

Water: Here are some Things I Learned...

1) Actually have a consistent technique for riding twisties now. Approach, throttle control, etc.
2) If camping, eat stuff that doesn't require dishes, pots, pans, utensils (or cleanup.)
3) Gas up at a half tank in the Boonies. Trust me.
4) Avoid Fridays, especially Friday afternoon and evening.
5) Keep your "layers" in a handy spot (saddlebag is good.)
6) Riding is pointless, but if you go places you've never been and ride challenging roads (to improve), it is more interesting.
7) Riding is not the same as driving.
8) 30 miles of twisty = 90 miles of highway.
9) Plan 2-4 "sessions" of riding per day with breaks/meals in between. Don't ride all day. Pick interesting roads for "sessions".
10) Some days are mostly fun days, some days are mostly "getting there" days. Try to maximize the first.
11) If you really hammer you can do 600 miles in one day. Don't plan on doing it more than once if you are over 50.
12) Tires are expensive and they don't last long.
13) Always check that your saddlebags are really closed.
14) Key in ignition, then jacket, then earplugs, then gator, then helmet, then glasses, then gloves.
15) Don't read books about mass murderers loose in the National Park at night in your tent in the middle of nowhere.
16) Bears are cute, and can run very fast.
17) Eat where the locals eat, but don't piss them off. The food and service is better and cheaper. Tip well.
18) Park your bike where you can see it.
19) Look for places where you can recharge your phone. Turn your phone off - (not on standby) when not in use.
20) Riding is more fun than camping. Plan accordingly.

[alanmcorcoran]

That is a nice route and very little slab riding. Quite a variety of terrain too from mountains to coastal roads. Good thing the alphabet is not shorter. lol.

There were actually quite a few more "interesting" roads I went on than show on the Google Map. Here are ten of them that I remember in the order of awesomeness:

1) Armstrong Woods - about 6 feet wide with impossible grade hairpins, loose gravel and eventually dirt. After I completed this one without dumping, I declared myself a newb no longer.
2) Stewarts Point Road. Runs from the Coast to Healdsburg. 47 miles of twisty, sometimes super twisty, only saw 4 cars, none in my direction. Lake Sonoma towards the civilized end.
3) Joy Road, Mountain View Road, River Road, Bodega Highway - all in Sonoma County. Joy was well named - like Space Mountain on a motorcycle. Almost got killed taking a picture on Mountain View when a guy rounded a hairpin and barely missed me. No more pictures on that road.
4) California 33 through lower Los Padres. Super twisty, steep, etc,
5) Kanan Dume and Mulholland, Malibu.
6) Route 180 to "Road's End" in Kings Canyon National Park. Stunning. Twisty. Gorgeous.
7) Route 120 over Tioga Pass (Yosemite National Park)
8) Route 128 from Cloverdale to Albion (Redwood highway). Passes through Booneville and Philo.
9) California 1 - still hard to beat, especially above San Fran.
10) Rte 395 - Not a nice road but hotter than hell and windy as hell and if it doesn't kill you will make you stronger (and sore.)

[Water Warrior 2]

Water: Here are some Things I Learned...

1) Actually have a consistent technique for riding twisties now. Approach, throttle control, etc.
Fun isn't it.
2) If camping, eat stuff that doesn't require dishes, pots, pans, utensils (or cleanup.)
When possible treat yourself to a nice eatery.
3) Gas up at a half tank in the Boonies. Trust me.
You need a Vstrom tank.
4) Avoid Fridays, especially Friday afternoon and evening.
I even hate that with my Ranger.
5) Keep your "layers" in a handy spot (saddlebag is good.)
Ran out of handy spots.
6) Riding is pointless, but if you go places you've never been and ride challenging roads (to improve), it is more interesting.
And a lot more fatiguing so we have to be doubtly careful.
7) Riding is not the same as driving.
Driving is like watching paint dry but with A/C included.
8) 30 miles of twisty = 90 miles of highway.
Ride the Dragon. 218 curves in 11 miles.
9) Plan 2-4 "sessions" of riding per day with breaks/meals in between. Don't ride all day. Pick interesting roads for "sessions".
Totally agree, you get a break and a change of posture.
10) Some days are mostly fun days, some days are mostly "getting there" days. Try to maximize the first.
Getting there days are like work and no play.
11) If you really hammer you can do 600 miles in one day. Don't plan on doing it more than once if you are over 50.
Just wait till you are 65 and plan a trip.
12) Tires are expensive and they don't last long.
But you do keep the economy happy and healthy.
13) Always check that your saddlebags are really closed.
I can relate to that.
14) Key in ignition, then jacket, then earplugs, then gator, then helmet, then glasses, then gloves.
A ritual leads to less oops.
15) Don't read books about mass murderers loose in the National Park at night in your tent in the middle of nowhere.
Nice hotels have a better class of killers.
16) Bears are cute, and can run very fast.
A moose does not need to run to be fast.
17) Eat where the locals eat, but don't piss them off. The food and service is better and cheaper. Tip well.
Truck stops or a chain you trust.
18) Park your bike where you can see it.
Yup, you will loose less stuff that way. Around here theft is considered a trade.
19) Look for places where you can recharge your phone. Turn your phone off - (not on standby) when not in use.
Always.
20) Riding is more fun than camping. Plan accordingly.
Haven't camped in 35 years for a reason.


21 ) Always carry a spare set of keys to all locks and bikes. You never know.

When is the next trip Alan ??

[Water Warrior 2]

After those last 10 roads you may well want to invest in a more adventure type bike. It isn't fast but have you ever looked at a 2 wheel drive Ural side car rig. You don't have to worry about picking them up.

[alanmcorcoran]

I had the spare key - learned that one before ;). Not sure when the next trip will be. Possibly October - might have some days off from my project in there. Death Valley/Nevada is a possibility. Be cooler then.

[3-D Video]

Riding is more fun than camping. Plan accordingly.
Alan. I have taken my "quadracycle" to several events put on by the International Brotherhood Of Motorcycle Campers (http://www.ibmc.org/). You might be surprised by how much fun camping can be :)

[alanmcorcoran]

Thanks for the tip 3-D. I might sound like a novice to camping, but I'm actually a reasonably experienced outdoorsman. I was a Boy Scout and earned all the major "merit badges" and have done many weekend and weeklong camping trips with my kids. I've done backwoods hiking in Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Tetons, Rocky, etc. I have also done many weeklong and a couple of monthlong RV trips, which, is more akin to driving than camping, but competes for many of the same resources.

The problem I have with camping is mostly the other campers. I go outdoors for the quiet of nature and in this I am in the minority. Most everyone else seems to go in the outdoors to play ranchera/rock music, drink, yell at each other, possibly fight, drink, burn things (other than wood), and generally behave like a bunch of drunk a-holes. Drinking and making noise is a lot of fun, and I suspect that these folks cannot do this as much at home, possibly for police reasons, so they head to camprounds where the rules are somewhat unenforced. I also don't like crying/screaming kids, car alarms, generators, and loud piped motorcycles. If there has to be noise, crickets will do. (Or maybe some hot, giggling supermodels that need help setting up their tent. :) ) There are still nice places to camp - but they are a challenge to find, and you still run the risk that the McAssholes will setup shop next to you with 27 people and ten cases of Pabst in a one tent site.

I'm exploring the idea of "walk-in" back country camping where I can be alone to commune with nature (and mainly eat and sleep.) But I will check out your site.

[alanmcorcoran]

3D... checked out ibmc, looks like a nice group. They say, "We have a saying in our club: "It only takes two people to make a campout." I say it only takes *one* but I'll keep my eyes open for one of their events locally. As you can tell, I'm a bit of a loner, but sometimes I find a person or group that can stand me for a day or two.

[Moedad]

Looks like you had a great ride! I agree that you should be stripped of any sort of Newbie status that may have remained before this trip.

[alanmcorcoran]

Thanks Dan. You got me off to a good start. How did your shock seal drama pan out? I see you made it home in one piece...

[Moedad]

Thanks Dan. You got me off to a good start. How did your shock seal drama pan out? I see you made it home in one piece...

I was just careful not to do anything too sudden that might involve fork dive and got home fine. I rode by the shop and showed them how it was leaking and they apologized and said bring it back next week and we'll take care of it. Took it in on Tuesday and they apologized again for the inconvenience and replaced the seals. According to the tech, the old seals were "deformed" when he got into the forks. He didn't know why :skeptical: , but how many reasons could there be? Either they were the wrong seals or they were installed wrong. At any rate, I'm good to go now.

[alanmcorcoran]

maybe Death Valley/nevada in October? Think about it. Was out today on the Geezer - I must be nuts. Beautiful day for riding though.

[3-D Video]

The problem I have with camping is mostly the other campers. I go outdoors for the quiet of nature and in this I am in the minority.
Motorcycle camping is somewhat minimalist by nature. The advantage to an IBMC camp-out is that you can quickly find what works for you, what doesn't, and what solutions others have found… Maybe even a heads up to a few places where there aren't so many ants on the flower :)

[alanmcorcoran]

I might even make a friend!

Not to be too boastful, but I ended up doing pretty well with my planning and gear selection. I read a number of motorcycle camping books (mentioned on here previously) my daughter is somewhat of a backpacking expert (has actually taken college courses in it!), Moedad recommended a Thermarest air mattress (the pro lite plus is what I got i think and it was unbelievably comfortable for such a thin and light piece of equipment.) I did bring some things that I didn't use: rope for instance, but I ended up using nearly everything (except my frying pan and my two-egg holder [which was sort of a family joke]) at least once. There were some questionable items that I used, but minimally, such as my kermit chair, my Jet Boil-er and swim trunks - but when I had a use for them, they came in handy. Some of the difficulty arises when you mix different situations - National Park camping can be very different from RV park camping.

Here are some things that really performed well for me:
1) Thermarest Pro Lite Plus sleeping pad. Awesome.
2) REI Half Dome 2 Plus tent. Up in 5 minutes, down and packed in 10. Amazingly clever design.
3) Mountain Hardware ultramariner? sleeping bag. light, warm, a little too short - go for the long if you get one and you are over 5'10".
5) Mesh jacket. Scorpion Exoskeleton something or other. Fantastic.
6) Lowa Boots. Good for riding, good for hiking.
7) Teva sandals - good for everything else, even easy to moderate hiking, especially in rivers/wading. The Lowas and the Tevas were my sole (:)) footwear for the eight days.
8) Ex Officio polypropylene underwear or whatever it is made out of.
9) REI safari convertible pants
10) T-bag Super T. Easy on, easy off, holds a S-load of stuff, rock solid at 90 mph plus a 30mph headwind. Occasional 60 mph side gusts no prob. Lots of straps to hold other stuff if so inclined. Optional Roll Top add-on for two up campers.
11) Starbucks Via instant coffee. Had the Jet-Boiler coffee press - but this is way easier and tastes nearly the same.
12) SureFire Saint Minimus LED Headlamp. Pricey, but really increases your options once it gets dark.
13) Surefire 6P LED Flashlight. You could find your keys in deep grass on the Dark Side Of the Moon with this baby. (BTW, the batteries they came with lasted the entire week and are still going strong.)
14) REI Picnic Cooler. Big enough to hold a bag of ice, an eight-pack, a steak and kitchen stuff. Small enough to sit on the pillion seat. Kept my Diet Doctor Pepper and Red Bulls icey cold in all-day 100 degree plus desert riding.
15) Kermit chair. This one is iffy. If you want to sit next to your fire, you want this chair. If you don't have a fire or don't car to sit near it, it's a big packing price to pay. It is small, lightweight well made and assembles and disassembles in under 2 mins. But it is the third largest piece of gear after my tent and cooler.
16) REI Quick dry towels. Small one as a washcloth, bigger one to dry off. Stay clean, dry quick and don't get mildewy if packed damp.
17) Toob Travel toothbrush. Nothing special, but compact, stores your own brand of toothpaste in the handle, good size.

I took and used a lot of other stuff, including a nifty camping knife, a small hatchet, leather gloves, water bottles, a waist pack, hiking shirts, camp shirts, rain gear, etc. but those are all pretty standard. The stuff in the list made me forget I was living outside for 8 days. Camp gear has come along way since I was a Boy Scout (Think leaky canvas tents that weighed 1000 pounds and set up with 2 by 2's... and Spam.)

[3-D Video]

Here are some things that really performed well for me:

3) Mountain Hardware ultramariner? sleeping bag. light, warm, a little too short - go for the long if you get one and you are over 5'10".

If you've got the bucks, you can't beat these bags :drool:
'Till recently they were custom tailored. Maybe still can be?
http://warmlite.com/sleeping-bags/bag-technical

[alanmcorcoran]

Looks like a cool bag, but perhaps a bit more than I need on the bike. Mine weighs only 31 ounces and when stuffed occupies 6.5 x 12 inches. (it is actually called an ultralamina, not mariner.) Check it out here: http://www.rei.com/product/747873

[3-D Video]

Mine weighs only 31 ounces and when stuffed occupies 6.5 x 12 inches.
Looks good. Small, light… and I like that the fill will dry fairly quickly.
My Eddie Bauer bag is pretty heavy, and over 50 years old. But, it's good on the glaciers :2tup:
When traveling light I use a tube tent, hammock, some cord, and an emergency blanket.
It's interesting how broad the range of definition can be for what "camping" means to any one person :)

[alanmcorcoran]

I have a (faded) blue wool Eddie Bauer overshirt I use as a camping jacket that I "borrowed" from a college roommate in 1977. Still going strong (all the original buttons remain firmly attached!) and went on this latest trip. Proves you can make stuff that lasts if you want to.

[BusyWeb]

Wow riding, Mr. Alan.
I missed forum couple of weeks for my other bike projects, and just see this today.
Looks like you had a very happy touring, and successful riding without bad memories...
Ha ha ha, what I remember on those long riding, so many bad riding experiences... (not much prearead for weather or time schedules, kind of things)
And very nice photos, thanks for the sharing.

[alanmcorcoran]

Thanks Busy. I did have a pretty good week, but sometimes the crappy stuff makes the ride all the more memorable (and more interesting to others!) I always feel like, on my other trips at least, I was going over ground you already covered - hopefully I hit some stuff that you haven't already seen on this one. After my Illinois run on saturday, I think we should be very grateful for the variety of MC roads we have right in our backyard.

[BusyWeb]

Thanks Busy. I did have a pretty good week, but sometimes the crappy stuff makes the ride all the more memorable (and more interesting to others!) I always feel like, on my other trips at least, I was going over ground you already covered - hopefully I hit some stuff that you haven't already seen on this one. After my Illinois run on saturday, I think we should be very grateful for the variety of MC roads we have right in our backyard.

Even though I have not been on the other states roads many times, I always feel; when riding the bike on the roads, that California roads are for the motorcyclists...not for the Driving... ha ha ha
Many different options, long highway for crusing, many mountain/valley twisties, even found recently many nice easy dirt roads, extreme desert roads, and you may add others...
Thanks that, I live in here as one of the motorcyclist.

[alanmcorcoran]

Yeah, the locals here are telling me I have to go 200 miles north to find some decent riding. Long way to go. At home, I can get to decent canyon twisties in about 15 minutes and bike-magazine worthy roads in less than an hour. I am starting to think of my Illinois run as The Appreciation Ride. Afterwards, I appreciated:

1) My seat on the Strat.
2) The Roads in California. There's no mountains here and apparently no need for the roads to bend.
3) My Helmet (the one I got with the rental left a red band of pain right across my hairline - eventually I abandoned it and went cross-town Chicago helmetless.)
4) Mesh Jacket. (Gets pretty hot here... and it ain't a dry heat.)
5) My windshield. Actually the wind didn't bother me too much, but the bugs were like rain at points.
6) CA speed limits. Lot of 50... then 45... then 35... then 20...(!) here. And saw a fair share o' bear.
7) Starbucks. Not as popular out in the IL countryside as on the left coast.
8) Did I mention my seat? Long, long day for my ass on the Honda saddle.

I may give it another shot in a week and a half, but I'm debating the value of going four hours plus to get to "The good stuff" And I won't do it on a 750 or without my own helmet.

[Water Warrior 2]

Alan you really must aim the Strat for Washington and British Columbia. Nice roads, great scenery, fine folks and StarBucks of course. Find a wandering path to Grande Coulee Dam in Wash. You will absolutely love the area. Mount Baker is another great destination.

[alanmcorcoran]

Ww, years ago I went up the oregon coast from eureka to coos bay? Dunes, rogue river, Portland sea-tac needle and best of all: mt st Helens. Was good stuff but was in a tiny toyota rv. it's all different on a bike so I gotta do it again. Also have driven a econobox from anchorage to Fairbanks - another potential ride. Most of my time driving in bc I think I was stuck in some bridge traffic. Nice and green though.

[Moedad]

And I won't do it on a 750 cruiser or without my own helmet.

Fixed it for ya.

[dannylightning]

you got some great pics alan, looks like a great time ....