Hwy 1 N CA Dec ride

RichVee4 · December 30, 2014, 04:12:42 PM

Thought I would post a trip report from our three day N CA ride Dec 27 - Dec 29. Departed Reno at 6:30am and trailered the bikes to Napa. It was a cold morning and bikes hadn't warmed up above freezing in the trailer. Bikes were covered with frost when we unloaded, first time for that. A few minutes in the sun and they thawed out, except my Shorai battery which apparently doesn't like the cold so needed a jump to get started.

Rode N on hwy29 through Napa Valley to Calistoga were we had lunch. Nice day with blue skies and green hills. From there headed up toward Lakeport taking hwy 175 part way then to 101 north to Willits. Then took hwy 20 to Fort Bragg, arriving about 4:30. Weather clear and cool, temps ranging from 38-52 throughout the day. Enjoyed a nice dinner at North Coast Brewery and was joined by Laura who was staying in Fort Bragg.

Second day headed S on Hwy 1 down the coast to Mill Valley, left Fort Bragg about 11am to allow temps to warm up some. Beautiful day along the coast, temps in 50's. Some other bikes out and light traffic. Enjoyed nice warm bowl of clam chowder and crab/shrimp sandwich in Bodega bay at Sandpiper restaurant. Arrived in Mill Valley just before dark, headed inland near Pt Reyes due to limited lodging along lodging on coast.

Third Day, woke up to morning fog so cancelled Marin headlands side trip and instead got back on Hwy 1 and headed N. Hwy 1 is closed part way to the coast but the detour sends you up toward Mt Tamalpais which we wanted to ride anyway. Rode to the top and views were limited due to the fog but the coast was clear and had some amazing views above Stinson beach, W Ridgecrest rd was a highlight. Even found a goat road that took us back down to hwy 1. From there headed back to Napa via Petaluma, via backroads were we could.

Discovered some amazing motorcycle roads and beautiful scenery. Pace was casual and we needed to be careful in some areas due to moisture on road in shaded areas and cool temps. Imagine we didnt use much tire tread on this outing! Looking forward to repeating the trip again, if temps were normal it would have been perfect, but the below normal temps made it chilly at times. At least it was warmer than here !!!

RichVee4 · December 30, 2014, 04:16:37 PM

pics

RichVee4 · December 30, 2014, 04:17:32 PM

pics

RichVee4 · December 30, 2014, 04:18:41 PM

pics

GreenMachine · December 30, 2014, 08:39:10 PM

That so sucks! You guys having fun riding, making everyone else jealous puts you on top of my end-of-2014 hate list.

Santa will remember that in 2015!

j/k Looked great R & M!

slmoto · December 31, 2014, 07:12:34 AM

Looks like a great ride guys. Nice to be riding in Dec.
From the pics you'd never guess it was cold, looks like some beautiful days.

I was near the coast for the holiday as well but unfortunately in a car. Saw lots of bikes out, wanted to be riding so badly. I wish rental cars had tow hitches, i would have brought my bike as well.

GreenMachine · December 31, 2014, 02:00:01 PM

Rich, how did you manage to park your truck/trailer where it would be safe until you got back?

RichVee4 · December 31, 2014, 04:14:29 PM

Have some family connections to a house in Napa so was able to park in front of that.

If you find Red Seal Ale from N Coast Brewery anywhere I would recommend it. Worth a return trip on its own merits alone!

flamecrow · January 01, 2015, 02:24:36 PM

awesome Rich! Thanks for sharing

288RR · January 01, 2015, 03:54:05 PM

That sounds like a great ride r and m.

flamecrow · January 03, 2015, 07:07:39 PM

Gave me motivation for me to take my bike out for a first 2015 ride lol

RichVee4 · January 04, 2015, 08:23:03 AM

That looked like fun, enjoyed watching your ride around town. What no burn outs on the ice, jk. Be careful! I agree winters are a long time to wait. I hope we don't have to wait 4 more months to get out riding together, N. CA in spring is the perfect time.

We drove to Tahoe yesterday and saw two HD guys coming into Reno on 80, roads are clear just dirty and cold.

GreenMachine · January 04, 2015, 09:53:31 AM

Enjoyed that too FC. You're a crazy like SL! Please do it for yourself, not for our satisfaction. Icy roads can exact a heavy toll.

I agree with Rich. California in Spring is worth the ride if you can make it over Truckee without freezing your extremities. 20 years ago it used to be that it was warm enough to ride there by the beginning of March. But with our mild Winters, I'm betting riding over the summit to the sunny warm climate over there will be doable in two to four weeks. Hope I'm wrong and we get four months of constant snow, but it's not looking like that again this year. $:-\$