Quick 4-Day ride to California

[betoney]

I have a 7-Day ride to Northern California scheduled at the end of June with my brother and a few friends... but that's a month and a half away, I want to go NOW, besides, this was a completely different route than we are taking next month. 

Of course, the week that I plan on going out of state the entire Pacific coast gets a cold front...damn weather. 🤬 But, that's a part of the adventure.  I had originally planned a completely different route with the help of @maximo but it was all at higher elevations with with this cold front the forecast for that region was rain and snow... no thank you, so at the last minute I planned a new route.

To fit in as much good riding as I could in essentially a long weekend, I decided to boogie down the interstate through Washington and Oregon and stay near the Oregon/California border in Klamath Falls, which meant 2 things, 1. I got to ride OR66 (Green Springs Highway) through the Siskiyou Mountains as the final stretch of the day 👍 and 2. I was staying at over 4,000' elevation, - COLD mornings. 👎

I got on the road early taking 97 to Mount Shasta with very light snow flurries swirling about.  At Grass Lake summit there was a light dusting of snow and it was 33F degrees.   The mountain was hidden by clouds.

I hopped on I-5 and headed down to Red Bluff, it was warming up nicely.

  By the time I got to CA36 it was getting close to 70F degrees.  Twisties in the warm sunshine!!!  If anyone has not received the memo, CA36 from Red Bluff out to the coast is perhaps one of the finest roads you can ride in Northern California, unending twisties with a lot of elevation changes.  Riding Nirvana!

I cut CA36 in half and rode the East half to CA3 on Thursday and the West half back to CA3 on Friday morning.  I rode CA3 into Weaverville and then finished the day in CA299 out to the coast, not too shabby.

 

[betoney]

The following morning I rode down HWY101 and then got back on CA36 for more fun.

The roads go on like this for miles and miles... fantastic country side scenery 😎

I rode to CA36 until I got to CA3 again and ride that North up through Trinity Lake and into Yreka.  I finished the day with a nice side trip up OR227 and ended up in Roseburg, Or.  The skies got really dark with the threat of a storm and the winds were blowing pretty good as the temperature dropped, I didn't stop for any photos, I kept on the gas to get to the hotel for a hot shower.

This morning on the way home back blasting up I-5, I decided to take a side route detour on OR20 over Santium Pass... as I reached the summit at over 4800' visibility dropped to almost zero, the fog was so dense I could see about 50-70'.  I white knuckled it over the summit at very low speed and then just as quickly it was perfectly clear on the East face of the summit.  I continued on OR22 to Detroit Lake which is nestled in some pristine forest surrounded by mountains.  Last year @keithu reported that it was devastated by wild fires, so I headed up there to see for myself. 

This was 2-3 years ago.

And this is what is now left of the store and marina, photo taken from the same vantage point. very sad to see. 

The rest of the ride was uneventful through Portland back home to Washington.  Just got back and already looking forward to the next trip to California.

[nvzman]

Nice scoot report.  Looks like nothing has changed on gas prices in Fortuna.  Always on the steep side.

[betoney]

1 hour ago, nvzman said:

Nice scoot report.  Looks like nothing has changed on gas prices in Fortuna.  Always on the steep side.

Premium was a full dollar per gallon higher than in Oregon but I have to say, with riding that good, it was worth every penny!

[nvzman]

Yeah, I agree.  If you're going to worry about gas prices on a bike ride you just might as well stay home and east Cheetos all day.  And getting 40-50 mpg on our bikes kinda takes the sting out of $4.50+ per gallon fuel.  

[texscottyd]

😳

Yep, I’ve been trapped in Texas for way too long… 

[betoney]

21 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

😳

Yep, I’ve been trapped in Texas for way too long… 

You owe it to yourself to take a trip out West.

[Salish900]

On 5/22/2021 at 5:35 PM, betoney said:

But, that's a part of the adventure.

So Awesome! Glad you went and glad you are back safe. Those rides sound divine. I've done some of the CA riding. Can't wait for rides down to the Bay later this summer and fall. Your gold chain really stands out nicely! 

[betoney]

57 minutes ago, Salish900 said:

Those rides sound divine. I've done some of the CA riding. Can't wait for rides down to the Bay later this summer and fall.

I always have to have some restraint when planning routes into California, so many good roads that I get carried away.  Its so easy to want to add 1, 2 or 3 more days because when you look on the map, EVERYWHERE is a twisty road.

[craz1]

Nice write up. I will have to check out those roads someday.

[maximo]

10 hours ago, betoney said:

I always have to have some restraint when planning routes into California, so many good roads that I get carried away.  Its so easy to want to add 1, 2 or 3 more days because when you look on the map, EVERYWHERE is a twisty road.

Yeah, riding in NorCal is like dating the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. The whole squad. 

[keithu]

Nice report! I've been through Detroit a few times now since the fire and it makes me sad every time. Almost as sad as this damned cold front we've had for the last week after a month of summer-like weather. ☹️

[maximo]

<<I cut CA36 in half and rode the East half to CA3 on Thursday and the West half back to CA3 on Friday morning.  I rode CA3 into Weaverville and then finished the day in CA299 out to the coast, not too shabby.>>

 

CA3 is a hidden gem, it kinda gets lots in the grandeur of the better known roads around it. But on its own it really stands up to any of them. 

[duckie]

96 is not to be overlooked. Plus there a few more hidden gems in the area....Sawyers Bar....Salmon River.

On one ride up there, we took a un maintained logging road between 299 and 36. We had to ride around fallen branches and other debris but it was paved road. Got to see a logging helicopter picking up logs and flying them out....quite a road and Ive been trying to find it on maps for a few years now. 

36, 96 ride is for sure on my list for this year.

[koth442]

52 minutes ago, duckie said:

96 is not to be overlooked. Plus there a few more hidden gems in the area....Sawyers Bar....Salmon River.

On one ride up there, we took a un maintained logging road between 299 and 36. We had to ride around fallen branches and other debris but it was paved road. Got to see a logging helicopter picking up logs and flying them out....quite a road and Ive been trying to find it on maps for a few years now. 

36, 96 ride is for sure on my list for this year.

I think I've been on that road too. National Forest Service road 1 or something like that? Absolutely amazing!