RemoteMoto.com West Coast NZ

I've stolen this image straight from HERE. Malcolm sent me the link and it's been a real good reminder that there's some amazing rides to be done in NZ, especially if you can head out off road. When we were in the States last year I remember thinking it was cool to be somewhere new because I'd ridden just about every road in NZ. This post here on RemoteMoto.com highlights the fact that that's not true! And kinda makes me wanna get a decent on-road/off-road kinda bike again... I guess like the DRs we rode in America. Which is probably why Malcolm sent this to me. Well played sir, well played...

The Last Ride.

So here we are at the end. The last ride. As if the universe empathized with my state of mind I woke up to cloudy skies and a forecast of rain. Great. I packed everything in plastic bags and headed out of Kernville expecting to get wet. The sky was grey and you could smell it wanting to rain. It didn't yet though and I pulled off the road at Lake Isabella to hoon around in the dirt a bit for one last time. I considered unloading the bike and really going for it, but I got worried that it'd be stupid to drop it right at the end of the trip, right before I wanna sell it. Also I realized I was being watched by a ranger. I got back onto the road and headed for Bakersfield, which Warren had raved about after he went there with Connie.

The road to Bakersfield was actually pretty cool. Later on Tucker told me there was a better, more twisty and remote one I could have taken. But considering what I was expecting – long straight roads, traffic, and rain – it was all good. The road was full of sweeping bends, there was hardly any traffic, and it didn't rain! I got to Bakersfield and rode around aimlessly for a bit trying to remember what Warren had told me was good about the place. I remembered something about the 'Buck Owens bar' and also a guitar store...

What a bloody goldmine! Front Porch Music in Bakersfield is awesome. Almost like a museum. It was hard on me though as I was on a motorcycle and also very close to totally broke. Hence I didn't actually spend very long there at all... I couldn't handle the temptation. Check out that Sunn stack!!! And just so many guitars. I coulda stayed there all day, but I would've ended up remortgaging the house and buying half the place.

I hit the road pretty quickly, partly because Bakersfield had a bit of a weird vibe, kinda dero', but also because it was really looking like it was gonna piss down. Big black clouds had been following me there and I thought if I took off again I could stay ahead of them...

It sort of spat a little here and there, but I got back to LA without getting wet at all really. When I arrived back at the Tucker compound James and Colleen were just about to tend to their bees, but James had been working on Joe's yellow DR. It looked amazing, like a new bike almost. The engine was spotless. I was amazed. It was funny seeing Joe's bike again, I'd really dug riding on my own but I sorta missed the boys again now.

I now had a week to spend in LA visiting people and doing work related stuff. Half way through the week these two young Norwegian guys showed up (you can follow their trip on ADVRider here) to begin their full year long trip. It kinda sucked watching them getting ready to go as I was only days away from returning to my real life – work, shitty house, terrible weather etc. They were great guys though and we had a good time all hanging out with the Tuckers. The day before we all were about to go our separate ways the Tuckers took us for a ride up into the mountains behind LA and to a great bar/restaurant called Newcombe's. It was an amazing and fast ride up into the mountains, and we were lucky enough to catch the last ten laps of the Spanish MotoGP there too.

We rode back to LA via a bunch of back roads that I can't remember and visited the San Andreas Fault. This seemed an appropriate way for me to end my trip given that I'm returning to a city that was all but destroyed by an earthquake 4 years ago now. Back in Christchurch things are feeling pretty grim to be honest. It's colder than I'd been expecting, work's stressing me out again already, the house needs soooo much work, and my sister's new dog died while I was away. So I set up a new account and put $600 in it towards the next trip... until then, it'll be back to business as usual around here I guess.

Yosemite to Kernville

I got up and left Yosemite National Park as soon as I could. Needless to say I guess, if you read my last post you know I wasn't really digging Yosemite. A shame, because it was beautiful, just too many fucking people, cars, buses, and rangers... who're basically cops. I mean I know they're doing their job, a good job, an important job, but... it's kinda killed it. Well for me it has. I was looking forward to getting the fuck away from the masses again, and today I knew exactly where I was going...

Today I was headed south to re-ride a road we'd done as a group about 4 weeks ago now, but in the other direction (north). That ride had been amazing, a highlight of the trip so far, and I was excited about both the ride and the kinda country I knew I was headed back into.

To cover some ground quickly I took main highways/interstates for a bit. I took the 41 to Fresno, got lost for a bit, went to Starbucks again, and found my way onto the 99 south to Visalia. From Visalia I knew I could find the quaint little back road we'd taken a few weeks back by finding the gas station we'd stopped at on the 198 which would take you up to Sequoia National Park.

I found the gas station, and stopped for water and to take my jacket off. This was the hottest days riding so far. I don't know what the temperature was but it was nuts! Way hotter than anything I'd experienced before. It was sorta uncomfortable but whenever I thought about the weather I'd be heading home to (cold!) I felt good and enjoyed the fuck out of it. We never get to ride in t shirts at home!

I found my road – Yokohl Drive. A beautiful little twisty back road that runs along the foothills of the mountains, past golden grass farms and ranches. My photos above start here, on this road. I was in heaven, and the rest of this day was to be certainly one of the best most memorable rides (probably?) of my life.

I was headed for the Pierpoint Springs cafe/diner in the mountains that we'd stopped at with Nick last time. I took Yokohl Drive to Springville, and then hung a left onto the 190 that takes you up into the mountains. This road – the 190 up to Camp Nelson – is motorcycle gold. A winding up-hill road where the bends are super consistent so you kinda get a feel for them and can just start taking them faster and faster. Dangerous probably. But fucking fun! The DR handles like a dream on these kind of roads. I'm really surprised by it's ability to corner. You can just keep tipping it over, and it's also super forgiving. You go in too fast, hit the brakes, and it just sinks into the shocks and absorbs your mistake, popping you out of the corner right side up! Brilliant!

Anyway, after a great ride up to the diner, I ate a big lunch and congratulated myself for how many miles I'd done already that day by downing a couple of pints of some local beer. I reminded myself when I left to take it easy. I was now headed into the wooded mountains that we'd previously camped in with Nick. There are dirt roads leading off in every direction up here. I chose one at random and decided to just see where it went... it went and went and went, and then ended at what I guess was a sort of free campsite by a massive meadow that just appeared out of nowhere from the forest of big trees. I was stunned by this sight and spent time just looking at it. These meadows amaze me, the way the just appear within these massive forests. I always imagine I'll see a bear cavorting in the sun and grass?

Not having seen any signs of anyone for a long while now I decided I risk leaving the dirt road and heading out onto the meadow. Real naughty I know, but fuck it, after Yosemite I just wanted to get as far away from humanity as I could! I rode the length of the meadow and then up into the trees beyond it. It was easy riding up through the trees and I went for  quite a while like that, eventually stopping and thinking about setting up camp. I was pretty stoked to be really in the wild now, and I sat around for a while and drank another beer. I started to get paranoid though that if I did get busted by a ranger up here I'd be pretty screwed. I also started thinking about mountain lions and bears. I mucked about for ages, unpacked my bike, procrastinated for a bit, and then repacked the bike. I decided to head back to the dirt road and find an actual campground. Especially since I knew there was no one at the campgrounds in this area, it didn't seem like too bad a compromise.

Riding down the mountains now it was evening but I swear it was getting hotter. I'd been riding in a t shirt all day, and it I was sticky and disgusting, so when I came out next to (what I'm guessing was) the Kern River it was too tempting to get off the bike and go for a swim. Even though it was about 7pm I think. I found a great swimming hole – deep! – and jumped in. Man was this a relief! The sweat and dust of the days riding were gone and the cool mountain water made me wake up again. I felt quite rejuvenated, and then sorta just kept riding... past all the campgrounds... to the pub at Kernville. We'd stopped here, at the pub, on the way up too. The beers were good, the food was good, and the locals had seemed kinda cool. I decided I'd do the same – have some food, some beer, and then ride back up and find a campsite. However once at the bar I started yakking to a local girl and drank too much beer. Needless to say I didn't end up camping but crashed at the motels right next door to the pub!

What a fucking day. I hope I remember this one on my death-bed.

Palo Alto to Patterson, CA

So having had a great day with Lisa in Palo Alto I left at about 4pm thinking I'd head to Yosemite. I had a quick look at the map and saw a road – Highway 130 east – that seemed to head there in a straight line... a shortcut I thought. Well not exactly. Not at all!

The 130 from San Jose to Patterson was certainly no shortcut, but it was one of the most amazing rides of this whole trip. This road even has it's own Wikipedia page, and if you look it up you'll see the first part of it at least is very popular with local motorcyclists. It starts off extremely twisty and rapidly climbing until you eventually get to an observatory at the top of what I think must be Mt Hamilton? Then dropping down the other side you head into these beautiful valleys. And it just carries on for aaaaaages. It's awesome. Beautiful and fun to ride, but it takes a lot longer than it looks like it might. I saw a bunch of wildlife on the road (deer, snakes, and goats), and a car accident – some chick had missed a tight corner. There was already a fire truck etc there, so I didn't stop.

Needless to say I didn't make it to Yosemite! I popped out the end of the magnificent HWY 130 to find the town of Patterson, which, given the beauty of what I'd ridden through, I thought might be a pretty cool town. It wasn't! It was pretty damn awful I'm sorry to say. So I hit the road for another few miles and pulled into an interstate truckstop kinda place. A shitty run-down old motel that only cost $40 for a night. I actually really liked this place. The lady there was nice, and it was kinda beautiful in a dilapidated way. It was pretty much dark by the time I got there. I took the photo in the morning.

LA to Laguna Seca

So I'm, as usual, playing catch-up here. This is the start of my ride last week. First ride on my own since Malcolm and Joe left and I went to NYC for a couple of weeks. Fuck it felt good to be back on my bike and on the West Coast again! Sorry New York but I think our time is done now I've found California.

Anyway I left LA with grey skies above, but they soon gave way to clear blue and increasing heat. It got real hot by the time I got through the hills north of LA on the I5. I was trying to make it most of the way to Palo Alto as I had a meeting there with Lisa, my old MDes supervisor, at Stanford the next morning. So I had a bunch of miles to cover!

I turned onto the 46 off the I5 and headed for Paso Robles. It was good to be off the interstate! These bikes aren't great on that sorta road. The 46 was nice, but I was soon on the 101 headed north. A fast, full on, and windy ride for the next hour or so... until at Greenfield I turned off onto a road Tucker had told me about. A back road to Monterey, the G16 to the Carmel Valley.

This road was beautiful. Stunning even. I hardly saw another car, just twisty old forgotten two-lane blacktop through gorgeous countryside. I started to think this might be the best road of the whole trip? Only problem was it was so twisty it was taking a lotta time to cover much ground. I could tell I wasn't gonna get that close to Palo Alto tonight!

Before I'd left Tucker had suggested camping at Laguna Seca, the racetrack I've watched many a Moto GP on. I knew I was close and so thought I might look for it. Little did I know the G16, just past Carmel Valley township, pretty much spits you out at Laguna Seca!

Laguna Seca campground!? WTF? I never would have guessed you could just camp here. There was no racing on when I arrived, although I think there was the next day. I knew I was gonna have to get up super early to get to Palo Alto in time to meet Lisa though, so I didn't get too excited about being able to see any racing. Still it was pretty fucking cool to camp here, and wander around the outskirts of the track. It was cool being there when it was so dead. there was hardly anyone around and it had an 'air' to it, like something was about to happen (which no doubt, I guess, it was). I'd highly recommend stopping and camping here if you're passing this way. They have hot showers too! It costs $35, but that's sorta normal up around here, and hey it still beats a motel.