Newbie Ride Sat 7/19/14

[BC-2]

Oh, I hope you can make it Jim!  Always a pleasure riding with you.

[Mel]

Hey Jimbo, I do consider you a regular but wasn't sure if you would be interested in a newbie ride as you have been riding for years ! You are more than welcome to ride with us, but I hope you won't get too bored with the pace!

I'm going out tomorrow for a ride to select a route that has a little bit of everything.

I'll put up the time and route tomorrow night, and I'm looking at an earlier start too, maybe leaving around 8:30am.

Mel

[288RR]

slmoto and Richman, looking forward to seeing you there! Still waiting to hear from a couple other regulars...RenoRider75 and 288cbr where are you !

Mel

As long as I'm not working I think I can make it,  and that's also if I get my new clutch cable by then.

[Mel]

Cool Daniel! Hope you can make it work!

Mel

[Mel]

Hey guys,

We will meet at the Starbucks on N. McCarran Blvd by the I-Hop off of 80. It will be kick stands up at 8:30am, but I will be there by 8:00am, and the rider's meeting will be at 8:15am.

I chose a route that a couple of you have been on with me. It is made up of many different types of roads and goes through lots of cool country settings. Yes, I included a couple sections of goat roads, but these are very short, not scary at all, and pretty smooth which I feel is a great introduction to goat roads for those that have not ridden on any. Here's the route with a couple notes below.

-West on 80 and then a right on Magra Rd/Rollins Lake. It will be an immediate left as you exit the freeway onto Norton Grade Rd, which is a short, smooth, and fun goat road.

-Left on Rollins Lake Rd

-Left on 174

-Left on S. Auburn St

-Left on Placer Hills Rd

-Right on Dog Bar Rd

-Right on Rattlesnake Rd

-Left on 174 into Grass Valley

-Right on 20

-Left on 49

-Right on Ridge Rd (some of you call this Pike) up to the fire station (6 miles) and back down to 49

-Left on 49

-Right on Pleasant Valley Rd (This has a short, smooth goat road section before it drops down to the river and covered bridge. We will take a break there and those that want to learn some more skills on goat roads, I will take you back up the short goat section and back down at a little faster, but very safe pace.

-Left on Bitney Springs Rd

-Left on Rough and Ready Rd into downtown Grass Valley.

-Right on Mill St and then look for parking to have lunch at the Old Town Café.

-Over a couple blocks and left on 20.

-Left on Washington Rd which will be 6 miles down to Little Washington, then back up to 20.

-Left on 20

-Left on 80 and back home.

Some of these directions are just quick lefts and rights going through town. You can get on Google maps and follow this route very easy and then click on satellite for a good overhead view of the roads. Trust me, this is a very fun route and short enough to not be an all day event. Let me know if you have any questions, and we can talk more about the route and stops at Starbucks before we leave. See you guys and gals on Sat morning !

Mel

[dub]

CLICK HERE FOR MAP

I've done most of those roads with Mel before; it will be a fun loop.

[feenickz]

Hey im new to the forums, I was directed here by flamecrow. is there anyway you can make a google maps map of the route. Im thinking about coming out for this ride, but would like to see the route, im not too familiar with the area, so im having trouble following the text directions

[Mel]

Feenickz, unfortunately I'm not a techie guy and don't know to do a google maps map of the route. Maybe someone on here can do it!

[nvgixxer]

Hey im new to the forums, I was directed here by flamecrow. is there anyway you can make a google maps map of the route. Im thinking about coming out for this ride, but would like to see the route, im not too familiar with the area, so im having trouble following the text directions

See one post above your initial one.............dub did the map for everyone. Click on the green colored text.

[feenickz]

Thanks I just noticed the link

[flamecrow]

I didn't realize how far the destination is. Never really ridden the highway that long either 

[Mel]

flamecrow,

There's a first time for everything ! Your bike will do just fine on the highway as I don't like to speed on 80 and will keep it down basically to 65mph, but never more than 70mph. As for the length of the ride, this one is not an all day thing like some rides, maybe 300 miles or so with breaks. You will have fun...trust me !

Mel

[slmoto]

I didn't realize how far the destination is. Never really ridden the highway that long either 

I've only been riding for about 4 months prior to riding with SSA and hadn't been doing this long of rides either before hooking up with SSA but it's been good. A little sore in the seat at first but the more you do the longer you can go before you start getting sore, so it seems for me.  From another newbie, I think you'll enjoy it. I sure have so far!

Thanks for putting this together Mel, I'm looking forward to it!

[RichVee4]

Looking forward to Sat and some new roads.  I've only heard of a few of those roads and ridden even less.    It looks like Monica is coming with her friend Laura.  Laura has a GSXR6 and previously had GXR750, R1 so not new to riding.  I will try to get my son, Greg, out for a SSA ride too, would be a good introduction trip.  He is 18 need I say more!  He is actually a good rider and responsible for his age at least as far as I know

Will need to keep an eye on weather, thunderstorms possible thru Sunday.   Storms generally aren't an issue until later in the day.

[dub]

I didn't realize how far the destination is. Never really ridden the highway that long either 

No big deal, it's not like you have to pedal. Just sit there and hold the throttle open. Keep an eye on what traffic is doing up ahead of the group, stay in formation with the rider in front of you, look around to take in the scenery every once in a while, and you'll be there before you know it. No one prefers the super slab, but sometimes it's necessary to get to the better bits.