Sierra goat roads

[NevadaWolf]

I'm a lurking member on Sierra Sportbike Associations forum, but due to living out in the sticks, I've never been able to join them on any rides. But I have used their maps for planning my own routes so am always daydreaming about the twisties they have found.

One of the members there, Mel, loves narrow, winding, old mountain roads - goat roads in other words. The few I've been on have been an absolute blast and I mentioned so on the forum. Well, this weekend Mel texted me and asked if I wanted to go riding. After some back and forth on scheduling (Street Vibes and all that) and then some weather issues (30% chance of rain, want to cancel? No. Ok!) we met up for some follow the leader.

Mel's basically an A group rider on the street, but he seriously toned it down so he never left me in the dust. My mental image was of a Great Dane out for a stroll with a little Pom running like mad to keep up. I thought I did fairly well and really enjoyed tailing along behind him. It was great watching someone so smooth and relaxed which really helped me set up my corners and keep my forcus ahead of me rather than mentally bouncing around all over the place.

We did explore a few new roads to me which made the day awesome! Norton Grade Road jumps off I-80 outside of Colfax and cuts down to the town. Narrow little one lane road with some tight turns hidden behind trees and brush on the side of the road. Short section but one I had to really concentrate on due to the width and sharpness of the corners.

Ridge Road, off Hwy 49 north of Nevada City, goes up and is a wide two lane road (with a surprise CHP coming down) and we were able to open up the throttle a bit as we climbed through the turns. On the way down, Mel let me lead and I only &$^#ed up once - coming into a left hander, I tried only using my front brake rather than both, failed to scrub enough speed, took the corner way to hot and wide, and managed to get back on line after shouting some very colorful words at my own screw up. Thankfully, IMO anyway, we came upon two horse trailers that slowed us down and gave me a chance to shake off the mistake.

Mel led the way back and we had enough gas for the return trip so on down towards Washington and a very twisty little road that dropped down. Very very fun sweepers and tight hairpins with enough tree cover to give it a surreal feel to this desert rat. We stopped at the bottom where the bridge cut over the river and Mel pointed out a popular swimming hole just up the bend. He let me lead and this time I remembered I was on a new road and to not do anything foolish. Made it up while maintaining a smooth speed and no issues other than a big fat grin on my face.

We headed back to Reno and waved farewell. The day was overcast, cool but not cold, and a wonderful Sunday to hang out and eat up some miles. One of the fun things I saw was as we were inching our way through the packs of bikers heading out of Reno, a BMW GS came up beside me loaded down with gear. As the rider inched forward to make the pass, my thought process went like this... "Oh, cool bike! Hey, nice riding suit. Personalized place, nice. Wait, what!?! IRON BUTT RALLY RIDER!?" (spotted the special plate backing they get.) Too many bikes on the road to keep up with that bike but it was spiffy to see nonetheless.

I have to confer with my GPS to verify this route. The roads were so new to me, I was basically lost all day and just out riding for the fun of it. I may have forgotten some specifics in the haze.

[Alex]

What was Mel riding? (burgundy FZ6?)

[NevadaWolf]

:digs through forum to find out:

Yep, it was maroon/burgundy, and he says he rides "an old man's sportbike, a Yamaha FZ6"

[Alex]

Ridden with him quite a bit out here, before he moved up to your neck of the woods. Great fun to ride with.

[NevadaWolf]

I love this small world.

[Alex]

http://www.southbayriders.com/forums/members/6835/

[NevadaWolf]

Yep, that's him. We talked about his work over lunch in Grass Valley. Cept he was sporting a black and red/orange Arai helmet yesterday.

[alex.s]

my family used to live off of highway 80. we had a couple gold mines near the town of downieville up in the sierras. miles and miles of beautiful roads up there.

[JohnnyBravo]

Yes yes good friends an gooder roads!

I want me gold!!!
Discuss :/

[Mocha Man]

Pics next time please! Sorry, I just enjoy them lol Don't worry about it if you don't want to

[NevadaWolf]

I have video i need to straighten out and put together. So there'll be images of the ride sometime in the future.

[Liquidtoon]

If you ever get board you can try making it out to hell hole road. any way you go will be a core workout. Might be a bit of a drive for you but I think I like that side of 80 a little better. just my

[NevadaWolf]

Where's Hell Hole Rd?

[Liquidtoon]

other side of 80. You went north, if you go to the south you'll see be able to search google and find it. I live down in Sac so I turn off the free way and head up that way from old 49 but looks like some options coming from the reno side too. It is probably a bit far for you to ride but the roads headed out there are equally fun.


I have no idea how to add a map so here is an attempt. . .

[NevadaWolf]

Little more to it than just the link, I'll edit this with the thread on how to add the map. Really handy bit of code @Alex gives us here.



Is that paved?? Kind of hard to tell from the Google view due to the snow. If it is, hey @tfkrocks, you up for an exploratory adventure?

[tfkrocks]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

Is that paved?? Kind of hard to tell from the Google view due to the snow. If it is, hey @tfkrocks, you up for an exploratory adventure?

As long as we make it out alive!

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by tfkrocks

As long as we make it out alive!

It's the area we were in before, but instead of turning down mosquito ridge, we continue north to I-80. Time this right and we might be able to swing up to Sierraville then down through Nevada City to finish the loop.

(AH HA! I win against the map!)

[NevadaWolf]

@tfkrocks, since this is the easiest way I know to display a map...

How does this look for a route? There's several areas where we can bail if it gets too late, but it looks like this gives both of us a fairly easy way home. Is heading up 80 to Truckee ok with you to start?

Or am I being way to ambitious?

[Alex]

I'm pretty sure Soda Springs is paved; I believe I was on it 2 or 3 years back on a ride in that area.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by Alex

I'm pretty sure Soda Springs is paved; I believe I was on it 2 or 3 years back on a ride in that area.

Would you happen to recall if it was smooth-ish paved or the last time they laid asphalt was during the Gold Rush? Google is giving 2 hours to cross that 37 miles. Granted on a bike the curves are easier, but still!

[Alex]

It'll be fine.

[Alex]

Look at me - trying to lead people astray in the wilderness. After some google-fu, I'm starting to think my memory is flawed, confusing that road with others I've been on in the area. These links make it clear that it's not paved:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=612752
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148395
http://forums.mtbr.com/california-no...ad-854761.html

[Liquidtoon]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

Or am I being way to ambitious?

First, you're past ambitious on that ride. That would be a 2 day trip for me . I wouldn't ride B->C in anything but great weather really. I haven't done this exact path but there is a lot of high mountain roads with no guard rail, sharp curves and huge elevation changes.

All that in mind I add it to my todo list for the future

Hell hole is paved, I head there from sac so not positive on route for you but I would think it is.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by Alex

Look at me - trying to lead people astray in the wilderness. After some google-fu, I'm starting to think my memory is flawed, confusing that road with others I've been on in the area. These links make it clear that it's not paved:

Alex! What are you trying to do to me man?! I know i am attempting to turn my bike into an all around tourer but come on, i haven't got knobbies or the right suspension in yet. Ok, Soda Springs is out.

Originally Posted by Liquidtoon

First, you're past ambitious on that ride. That would be a 2 day trip for me . I wouldn't ride B->C in anything but great weather really. I haven't done this exact path but there is a lot of high mountain roads with no guard rail, sharp curves and huge elevation changes.

All that in mind I add it to my todo list for the future

Hell hole is paved, I head there from sac so not positive on route for you but I would think it is.

Hurm, I feel something is missing here.

Hi @Liquidtoon, I'm NevadaWolf. I'm crazy. I take my Ninja off road and really try to make my trips in the realm of 400-500 miles for an easy day. And unless its snowing or icy, i'm taking my bike out to play. Been on the Ice House/Wentworth Springs/Mosquito Ridge Rd several times and don't mind going back. A long day, when i start getting mean, is after 21 hours in the saddle. Shorter than that, bring it on!

I'm really trying to get to the point where the only limit is the time in a day. Had i been thinking of doing this on a Saturday, I'd totally risk it (though some reviewing of the pics on AdvRider is needed).

[Alex]

I think I was confusing it in my brain with Soda Lake road, which is a very doable road in a different area of California. (Runs southeast from Highway 58 through the Carrizo plain, and is a good shortcut, even though it is unpaved).



http://goo.gl/maps/NQsJ8

[NevadaWolf]

Soda Springs, Soda Lake, close enough.

[NevadaWolf]

OK, a better road without the excursion off pavement. Only 250-odd miles.

[Liquidtoon]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

Hurm, I feel something is missing here.

Hi @Liquidtoon, I'm NevadaWolf. I'm crazy. I take my Ninja off road and really try to make my trips in the realm of 400-500 miles for an easy day. And unless its snowing or icy, i'm taking my bike out to play. Been on the Ice House/Wentworth Springs/Mosquito Ridge Rd several times and don't mind going back. A long day, when i start getting mean, is after 21 hours in the saddle. Shorter than that, bring it on!

I'm really trying to get to the point where the only limit is the time in a day. Had i been thinking of doing this on a Saturday, I'd totally risk it (though some reviewing of the pics on AdvRider is needed).

Best of luck 4+ is the end of my happy riding. I can sit and do it longer but it just isn't fun at that point. Guess I'm lucky Mosquito Ridge Rd is about 30-40mins from the house and just gets you warmed up to get in the turns then 2 hours around the ridge and its back home.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by Liquidtoon

Best of luck 4+ is the end of my happy riding. I can sit and do it longer but it just isn't fun at that point. Guess I'm lucky Mosquito Ridge Rd is about 30-40mins from the house and just gets you warmed up to get in the turns then 2 hours around the ridge and its back home.

Conditions have sort of demanded i become a LD rider. Takes me an hour to get anywhere and then another hour just to get to someplace to play. So, learn to nom on miles and watch the world roll by.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by Mocha Man

Pics next time please! Sorry, I just enjoy them lol Don't worry about it if you don't want to

Well, the video is done, but because i had to straighten and zoom in to fix the camera angle, the quality is crap. And then YT goes and "stabilizes" it!

So, here is it but this is definitely the worst video i've published. The video covers three weekends, so skip to about 5:40 to see non-track stuff.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Mocha Man]

Hey thanks for the video! It sure looked like fun. Just curious, what video editing software do you use? I've been using Pinnacle Studios for about 4 straight years and between deleting my files and unsuccessfully rendering my videos, I'm certainly wanting a new one. I'm hoping to get Vegas soon but I still have to pay for computer programming software haha.

[NevadaWolf]

Er, i do everything on the iPad. I load the card from the Contour using the Camera Connection. Kit. Then I use Pinnacle Studios for the bulk of the processing, with the minor tweaks being done by other apps. Um, Video Swivel lets me flip and rotate the video while GameUrVideo lets me do a split screen.

The music i rely on YT since anything i add gets marked as a third party source and YT restricts playback to exclude mobile devices.

[AlanDog]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

Little more to it than just the link, I'll edit this with the thread on how to add the map. Really handy bit of code @Alex gives us here.



Is that paved?? Kind of hard to tell from the Google view due to the snow. If it is, hey @tfkrocks, you up for an exploratory adventure?

So funny, I saw this and was like NO! NO! It's dirt! Then I read the rest of the thread... just think where you could go on a dual sport, I'd be into that if I had the money.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by AlanDog

So funny, I saw this and was like NO! NO! It's dirt! Then I read the rest of the thread... just think where you could go on a dual sport, I'd be into that if I had the money.

Honestly i think I am trying to turn my Ninja into an all around ride. I do want to attempt that road for the heck of it, but not in the winter.