Carson Tahoe Moto Aug 21-24, 2014

[NevadaWolf]

http://carsontahoemoto.com/

Is anyone else interested in going? This'll be my first year and I am really tempted to take advantage of the street rider training on Friday and looking forward to the tours onto local roads.

Be cool to see some Ninjetters.

[NevadaWolf]

This weekend was an awesome one for riding. I was blessed with beautiful weather, fabulous roads, amazing riders, and a shared love of two wheels. So, as is normal for me to say to you TL;DR folks – I rode, a lot. Yes, I’m crazy. Kthxbai

Thursday, August 21, 2014

I had asked if I could take half a day off, so I only worked until 11 before bugging out quickly to head to Carson, then Reno, to rescue my bike. She was in for her 50k mile service and to have Galfer brake lines installed. I just got the plain stainless steel ones, no fancy smancy colors. Bike saved, then gear on, and I was off to Gardnerville.

First stop was to check in at the Carson Tahoe Moto booth (14:36). Both J and Buffy were there and I was stoked to get to talk to her since the time I met her was after my SaddleSore and I was a bit loopy that night. I ended up with event papers, a sticker, T-shirt, maps for paved and unpaved routes, a poster, gift cards, and drink tokens. I also signed up for the Five Passes Challenge. Since time was a-wasting, let’s get going!

First stop was Carson Pass, at 8,574 ft. Luckily, there is a large parking area at the top so I was able to easily pull over and get my first picture of the afternoon (15:26). As I was heading down, which really was the first time I descended Carson Pass in the daylight, I saw Red Lake and stopped to get a picture.





Continuing on, I grabbed gas in Markleeville and headed up over Hwy 4 to Ebbetts Pass at 8,730 ft. Second picture taken and second pass claimed (16:16). There isn’t much parking right near the sign since a cattle guard is right there, but my bike is little and I pulled over easily. On the way down, I found a pull over that had a great view down the valley so got the shot.





The way back over to Hwy 395 included crossing over Monitor Pass, my third goal, at 8,314 ft. Pulled over onto the soft shoulder to bag my third selfie of the afternoon (16:51). I love Monitor and always have fun coming down it towards 395. Snapped a picture looking south towards the valley and it was time to pick up speed back on the highway.





My fourth pass was Sonora, rising to an impressive 9,624 ft. The turn at the summit is quick but there is a dirt lot near the sign I was able to pull into to take my fourth sign pic (18:00). Across the street is a full info sign that also claims the pass is 2 feet higher on that side of the road. On the way down, I was looking for my scenic shot and while carefully pulling into a dirt turnout, missed the lip of the pavement, and my bike took a nap while I met some nice fellows going up the mountain. Bollocks!





Back down the mountain, the longest stretch was ahead of me as I headed down towards Lee Vining. Curving down the pass going towards Mono Lake is always an amazing view coming around this huge sweeper. Grabbed some fuel and headed up towards Tioga Pass, the eastern entrance to Yosemite and my highest stop at 9,945 ft. A very nice ranger let me in without paying (not that I needed to, I have the NPS Annual Pass) and as I was struggling with aligning the selfie, a nice woman from one of the cars waiting to exit hopped out and took my picture for me (19:44). THANK YOU! It was now twilight and COLD so I added in my heated gear as I found my scenic shot. The cool thing was that this view down the canyon, with the road hugging the edge, and the taillights of the cars all lined up seriously reminded me of the original Tron movie after the Lightcycles escaped the game.





Challenge met and I covered about 350 miles since picking up my bike. Collapsed into bed around 10pm.



Friday, August 22, 2014

Today was the day for the Streetmasters training course, so I headed down early. I hung out awhile in the tent, drinking coffee, and socializing with the other early birds. Then off to the classroom where Walt Fulton and Nancy Foote were setting up. I introduced myself and there was a moment where all three of us looked at each other in that “I know you… but how?” pause. We’d all briefly met when I crashed the Big Money Rally banquet earlier this year.

The class started with a quick PowerPoint of what they would teach, what they wouldn’t teach (sorry, no elbows on the ground here), and some drawings on how to read a corner and identify the apex. They taught using a late apex – staying to the outside of a corner until safely able to see around it before coming in and exiting close to the opposite side of the lane so you could easily enter the next corner with as much room and visibility available as possible. Um, makes more sense when seeing a picture….

(Close but not quite)


We then grabbed our gear and headed out towards a short curvy road. I was grouped up with Steve (Hall?), who led out our motley group of a Harley, Yamaha, and my Kawasaki. First time getting to use the intercom of my headset! Steve led for a while, pointing out the apexes, and then let us lead one at a time, all the while giving comments, suggestions, and critiques of our riding to improve the technique they were teaching. I tended to wait too long and turn too sharp towards the apex vs anticipating it and smoothly transitioning towards it. The only part I couldn’t follow was the braking at the beginning to accelerate out since I prefer to set a speed and maintain it throughout the curves. (Later, J was able to articulate what I struggled with – being on a low powered bike means a struggle to regain the lost speed and it’s just easier to hold onto a set speed.)





Lunch in Markleeville was awesome at a cute little sandwich shop I’d never stopped at before. Then the whole group went over Ebbetts Pass to continue practicing but also to emphasize the importance of being able to see around a corner before committing to it. Then it was back over Monitor before heading back to Carson Valley Inn.



The lectures were shuffled around a bit since riders were still out playing on the roads, so I managed to go to both of the ones I was interested in rather than choosing. There was a great talk on basic first aid if you are first to a crash scene that included a demonstration on safely removing a helmet if necessary. We all left with handy road rash kits that will now live in my tail bag. Dinner followed, provided by CVI, and I sat with the first aid presenter (I suck at remembering names) and her husband, the three Streetmasters instructors, and Mary McGee – an amazing woman with a huge history I can't even begin to remember. I loved her laugh, her smile, and her joy at everything around her. She was a blast to talk with.



Total today was around 225 miles, mostly back and forth over the mountain (shucky darn, LOL)



Saturday, August 23, 2014

The theme today was Dirt. There were three routes that covered long and very technical, short and technical, or long and not so technical, along with the Dirty Streetmasters course to improve dirt riding. There was also another group that was going to cover the paved passes not played on yesterday. Since my Ninja is nowhere near technical and I knew the street route, I opted to explore on my own.



First there was the talk from yesterday that was moved to this morning. Keith (?) from Carson Motor Sports demonstrated how to remove a tire to pull a tube out. While I have tubeless, I did watch to see how to get the tire off the rim and see the tools used. May have to get some of those….



The paved map provided showed one loop way south between 120 and 395 that went over Lake Crowley (yes, Supernatural fan so I giggled). Since I know and love the section of 120 between Lee Vining and Benton, I went to explore and play. If you haven’t been this road, all I can say about it really is WHHHHEEEEEEE! It is one major long and hilly roller coaster with swoops thrown in for good measure.



The loop began at Benton Crossing Road, a narrow road favored by cyclists today. The curves were nice enough I could practice the skills I learned yesterday and wow I felt like I was back on the track for how well each one lined up with the next. Back and forth, no sudden movements, and everything just flowed. But the real treat on this loop was the scenery. O. M. G.!!







Once I got back, we relaxed under the tent and chatted. I was craving sugar for some reason so slammed down several Cokes as I talked with Mary, Carolyn (who I swear I’ve met before, but neither of us can remember from where), William, and the others whose names I’ve blanked on. George Swetland called everyone’s attention and went over dressing properly for adventure rides using a proper base layer, a good mid layer, and a quality outer shell. He is really involved with Klim and so that helped me a lot as he covered a lot of the details as to why Klim is the best (and most expensive) gear out there. I really want the Latitude gear….

Next up was a talk on lane splitting given by Surj. He covered the skills and mentality needed to correctly and safely split in traffic, when to do it, how to do it, and how to be a good ambassador for other riders to other drivers. It was informative and hopefully the word gets out that when done responsibly splitting is beneficial to all. *This may sound like a change of heart from my prior “I couldn’t care less” attitude, and it is. While I still don’t care as I have no need to split, having spent some time in 100*+ heat in El Paso and Baton Rouge traffic, I can definitely see the argument now.



Then it was off to dinner, a very tasty BBQ at the nearby park. There was a lot of chatting and getting to know the rest of the riders and the overall friendly vibe was awesome. Carl stood up and thanked all the volunteers and ride leaders who took care of us participants. Then it was time for awarding the Five Pass pin. While 12 signed up to attempt it, 4 of us finished. I really tried hiding behind the folks at my table, but George had already seen me there. He brought up my IBA rides and our ride for Eddie’s Road last May (the Team Lyle Silver State Round Up). Two of the others went unnamed as they were unable to attend the BBQ so the only other pin to be awarded was to Shawn – whom I had met during my Bridgeport ride with J. We chatted awhile on this challenge and that was fun.





Total today was about 290 miles, and I was psyched to finally get 200 miles to a tank again. Hopefully the blasted fuel issue is over with now that the charcoal canister has been axed.



Sunday, August 24, 2014

Not much today, just hanging out and drinking coffee as folks drifted by on their way out. I like listening to folks as they share stories and ideas so it was fun to just relax and listen. Really enjoyed talking with Buffy and George and J and Nancy and Walt and William and everyone else who came by. But the event was over and it was time to head out.

I decided to play over Kingsbury, and grab some pictures of Tahoe, before continuing to Incline Village and down Mt. Rose. Then, because it was only noon, I headed over Geiger Grade and down the truck route. Hurm, still only one o’clock, so rode up to Spooner Summit and back down. I practiced the cornering technique when I could and found my lines to be MUCH smoother and steadier throughout the curve. I loved the feeling coming down the truck route as it was beginning to click. Must practice more!












2 o’clock rolled around and since I was back in town I simply went over to the Firkin & Fox to meet up with Kyle from the Carson City Visitors Bureau. He wanted to talk about motorcycling in Nevada and the Carson “area” (huge region that is just a day away from Carson) and wanted to ask if I would be willing to be linked to the Visit Carson City motorcycle webpage to share my reports, pictures, videos, and just adventures in the area. Sure! Sounds like a lot of fun. As you can tell from this novel I love sharing where I go and what I do.

When I got home, my Dad and I (mostly – well, completely him) worked on removing the grips I had installed backwards and fixed those to be more comfortable. I also installed the new levers that LittleRedNinjette had sent me. I am giggling over the fact my bike has a lot of her bike’s parts now. Hey, she has good stuff she is upgrading from.



All in all this weekend has been awesome. I met a lot of really good people, hung out more with the folks I would really like to be good friends with, put a lot of miles on my bike, and saw more of the wonderful area I call home.

Life is pretty darn good.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[NevadaWolf]

Oops, forgot I did this. @Alex, would you merge this with the ride report, please?

Thank you!

[Alex]

/merged

[EternalNewb]

As usual, a superb ride report from @NevadaWolf

[Motofool]

She keeps taking me to extraordinary places.

Thanks, Teri !!!

[NevadaWolf]

Thanks @EternalNewb.

I am trying to give you a virtual vacation @Motofool.

[fry1024]

Very nice report. Next best thing to being there.

[NevadaWolf]

Thank you @fry1024.


Added a video to the end of the report.