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Come out to thunder hill on June 25th with us  PM me for deets!
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May 27, 2018 16:51
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Just got back from doing Thunderhill west reverse which was fun. Folks were constantly running off the end of the front straight at turn one, since you crest this little hill and suddenly are confronted with trying to find your braking point. little toasty though, I think if I was going back to Thunderhill it'd be in the spring or fall. mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 05:18 on May 29, 2018 |
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May 29, 2018 05:14
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I've been doing the 84-1-92-35 thing quite a bit lately, still digging it. I got my bike just last October, and it took me awhile to get comfortable, so having the extra daylight to play with is just great. I'll be on my way home and just randomly decide to keep going all the way to the coast. I've been surprised how sparsely populated the roads up in the hills are during rush-hour; I guess the weekends are rush-hour up there. Anyway, I've been having a hankering to go on something resembling a proper motorcycle trip. I'm looking for a destination that's like 2-4 hours away from Redwood City; I'm thinking just ride somewhere on a Saturday, explore/drink, stay the night, then ride back. Nothing too special. I don't even need to go anywhere particularly scenic (it's the ride that matters); I was thinking of going to Fresno by way of Hollister. Everyone knows Fresno is terrible, but I've never been. There's a good chance I'll be leaving California in the next couple years, so I want to explore a bit, even the lovely parts. So I ask the thread: What is the best motorcycle route to Fresno by way of Hollister? Alternatively, what are some alternate destinations of similar distance? Capn Jobe fucked around with this message at 00:21 on May 31, 2018 |
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May 31, 2018 00:13
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Capn Jobe posted:I've been doing the 84-1-92-35 thing quite a bit lately, still digging it. I got my bike just last October, and it took me awhile to get comfortable, so having the extra daylight to play with is just great. I'll be on my way home and just randomly decide to keep going all the way to the coast. I've been surprised how sparsely populated the roads up in the hills are during rush-hour; I guess the weekends are rush-hour up there. Anyway, I've been having a hankering to go on something resembling a proper motorcycle trip. In my book a 2-4 hr one way trip doesn't require a stay. It's easy enough to get some food and just ride back. Look in the OP for some good rides. Some suggestions: 1. Taking highway 1 up north to Stewart's point and Skaggs road is quite fun. You could stay in some winery-infested town. 2. Similarly, you can take 1 south past Monterey until you hit the closure around Gorda - feel free to stay in Big Sur or stop there for a hike. 3. You could also ride through Yosemite to Mammoth Lakes and stay there. That should be sweet. Afaik, there is no "good" ride to Fresno. 130 up mount Hamilton is a blast, but the rest of the ways is jsut straight boring highways. Hwy 10 by Hollister is great but doesn't go to Fresno. One of our moto goons, mental contempt, lives there. It doesn't sound like it's all that great for riding.
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May 31, 2018 00:31
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pokie posted:Afaik, there is no "good" ride to Fresno. 130 up mount Hamilton is a blast, but the rest of the ways is jsut straight boring highways. Hwy 10 by Hollister is great but doesn't go to Fresno. One of our moto goons, mental contempt, lives there. It doesn't sound like it's all that great for riding. Yeah - Fresno itself, and probably most of the routes here from elsewhere, are not especially exciting. Coming down from Yosemite, or maybe via Highway 49 through gold country, would be exceptions. I’ve only ridden to Hollister and back once (to ride with Pokie), and a lot of the ride is not great. I took 152 through Los Banos (flat and windy) then up over the Pacheco Pass (extremely windy!) and down to Hollister. The best I could say about it is that you will see a chunk of California’s agricultural heartland. Didn’t really enjoy it until the bottom of the pass, and the actual ride from Hollister down to Coalinga. That would be another option for getting to Fresno from Hollister (go to Coalinga, take 198 over to 145 or 41), but again, not necessarily exciting. There are lots of places to ride in the foothills and mountains outside of Fresno, which is where I usually go on weekends - but if you were planning on stopping here and turning around, you’d miss them. Yosemite was mentioned, and there are lots of back roads to various lakes and forest areas and stuff like that. Highway 49 from Oakhurst and on would be interesting. If you want to PM me or if you are in the Layerdan Slack chat, I’d be happy to go into more detail. And if you end up choosing to ride here, I feel like I should present you with some sort of commemorative “I rode to Fresno...and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” souvenir.
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May 31, 2018 02:17
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Thanks for the recs, guys. I thought of Fresno pretty much because it isn't exciting. In fact, taking a leisurely cruise through farm country and maybe some gentle hills is the sort of thing I'm looking for in this trip. Also, there is just something inherently funny about taking a trip to Fresno. I'd just like to explore a new place, eat some food, go drinking, etc. I want to start with something pretty low-stress, with as few variables as possible so I can get used to riding a bit longer distance. Trips up/down highway 1 I think will be good for my next trip. My dad's suggestions were to go up to Mendocino/Fort Bragg, or down to San Simeon; both area great ideas, as are the ones provided here. But I'd prefer to start with something simpler. As far as getting down there, can I take Highway 9 to Santa Cruz? It might be fun to go through Boulder Creek and the like; haven't been there since I was a kid. Last time I was around there was at least couple months ago, and I was going the other way (taking 9 to Los Gatos from 35). There were some signs indicating that there were closures on 9 on the way to Santa Cruz; is that accurate?
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May 31, 2018 19:58
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Not afaik. I have had great success with this resource: http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ You can select the blue options menu > road conditions > full closures
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Jun 1, 2018 02:03
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Capn Jobe posted:Thanks for the recs, guys. I thought of Fresno pretty much because it isn't exciting. In fact, taking a leisurely cruise through farm country and maybe some gentle hills is the sort of thing I'm looking for in this trip. Also, there is just something inherently funny about taking a trip to Fresno. I'd just like to explore a new place, eat some food, go drinking, etc.
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Jun 1, 2018 06:38
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pokie posted:3. You could also ride through Yosemite to Mammoth Lakes and stay there. That should be sweet. I like to stay in Bridgeport. Take 108 out and 120 back. Wake up real early the second day and having breakfast in Yosemite. You can easily get there before the crowds.  Sonora Pass. 9,600'.  Mono Lake at sunrise.  Nearly empty Yosemite Valley.
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Jun 3, 2018 17:36
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What time of year is that, dema? I only really go to Yosemite in the winter for some climbing since it's much less busy.
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Jun 5, 2018 03:32
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Was mid week, mid July.
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Jun 16, 2018 06:24
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bobbert posted:I went camping and crabbing out at Lawsons Landing/Dillon beach with my FZ1. Only the third time I have used my Ventura rack setup and it worked out great. I thought the bullshit crab net I could fit easily on my bike wouldn't work but I pulled up 6 dungeness crabs on Thursday morning in the first three hours of the day. I would recommend it if you are looking for something like that. Here's our crabbo. We got one on our first try. 
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Jun 24, 2018 23:05
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pokie posted:Here's our crabbo. We got one on our first try. OH man you made it that's awesome! Did you have fun? That looks like a pretty fat dunge in the cooler there. I am glad that net worked out too it was great for me.
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Jun 25, 2018 21:20
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Might as well post to give heads up - looks like I'm gonna rent a bike for a couple days when i'm out there for Fleet Week. I'll remind crew when the date approaches but figured i'd give early notice. Love to meet up with some crew and roll around, though you may have to deal with my first-season-itis. that KTM 1090 that one shop has looks pretty sweet
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Jun 26, 2018 06:00
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bobbert posted:OH man you made it that's awesome! Did you have fun? That looks like a pretty fat dunge in the cooler there. I am glad that net worked out too it was great for me. Yeah, it was neat. The gf was in a bad mood, and it cheered her up. It was cold and bleary out there. There were only a dozen people or so on the pier. But we got our crab petty fast and had fun eating it later :].
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Jun 26, 2018 21:10
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Jonny 290 posted:Might as well post to give heads up - looks like I'm gonna rent a bike for a couple days when i'm out there for Fleet Week. I'll remind crew when the date approaches but figured i'd give early notice. Love to meet up with some crew and roll around, though you may have to deal with my first-season-itis. that KTM 1090 that one shop has looks pretty sweet Not to be that guy, but didn't you just start riding? And you're going to rent a liter bike?
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Jun 28, 2018 16:17
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A smaller bike would be better anyways, I commute on my FZ1 daily and once I am in the city I just want a Duke 690.
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Jun 29, 2018 19:32
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Brand new rider on unfamiliar liter bike in Bay Area traffic = loving dumb. I'm glad you're super enthusiastic but cool your heels a bit. You're either in or will be quickly approaching the "holy poo poo this is cool and I'm a great rider I can do anything" phase of new riderdom when you're prone to do things you don't have the skills for (like trying to keep pace with seasoned riders on technical roads you're not familiar with). Bad things happen. Don't be that guy. You might not even be able to rent a bike given you just got your endorsement.
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Jun 29, 2018 22:14
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TBF I don't know that I would call a 1090 a "Litre Bike" in the common parlance. Its a pretty docile bike, especially when you dial down to the lower ride modes, but also yes unless you are comfortable riding very torqey, tall, lightweight bikes in gridlock traffic thats probably a bad idea my dude. Rent something sensible that wont make you hate and|or hurt yourself.
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Jun 29, 2018 22:50
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Hey, let's go a little easier on 290. After all, he might have type O and we are short corneas out here.
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Jun 30, 2018 00:34
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Haha, yeah, i've decided that I should probably drag my 30" inseam to a shop and straddle something before I slap money down. Sound advice all around, thx. We'll see what else they have as the visit approaches. and you don't want any of my blood or organs, theyre worthless trash
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Jul 1, 2018 01:35
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Alright, the trip to Fresno is actually happening tomorrow. I decided last-minute to take the week off from work, so I was fresh out of excuses. I'm going to start in the hills up 84, then take highway 9 to Santa Cruz. From there it's 156 (I wanted to go through San Juan Bautista) and 152. Once I get to Los Banos I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to cross the valley, but I'll figure it out. Got a hotel booked downtown, so I'll have a solid half day to to explore Fresno. The way back will be a bit more straightforward than the way out; probably won't go through Santa Cruz, but I can play it by ear. Wish me luck!
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Jul 2, 2018 00:59
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Capn Jobe posted:Wish me luck! Don't die on the death roundabout!
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Jul 2, 2018 16:54
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Capn Jobe posted:Wish me luck! Welcome! Stay hydrated; we’re hitting triple-digits this week. If you’re staying downtown, Tioga-Sequoia Brewing is in that area (near the baseball park) and has a beer garden.
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Jul 2, 2018 21:54
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mentalcontempt posted:Welcome! Stay hydrated; we’re hitting triple-digits this week. If you’re staying downtown, Tioga-Sequoia Brewing is in that area (near the baseball park) and has a beer garden. Haha, I actually found my own way to the brewery. Nice place. I'm debating trying out the Club One Casino next, but I want to make my way to the tower district. So, things I've learned on this trip: 1. The Kriega tailbag (10 liter size) I bought is only barely big enough for an overnight bag. It also has no carry handle, so everytime I get off the bike I have to hold it under my arm. Good news is, I can always mount it on to another bag in the future, or use it as a tank bag. 2. The USB ports on my bike apparently don't work, and I forgot my Anker battery. As a result, I took a slightly more boring route here than I was planning (couldn't use navigation). 3. People drive really fast out here in ag country. I was going 80 in the slow lane through the Pacheco pass. 4. Not a lesson, but an anecdote. I spent awhile on highway 9 being tailgated by a Prius that had some issue where anytime they braked hard, it'd make this horrific scraping sound. Kinda distracting when going through those hairpins. I was able to find a turnout after a few miles and let him pass, but drat that was unnerving. 5. My Dad (total dadcyclist: BMW bike, aerostitch, the works) recommended, as a way to help with the heat, wearing a neckerchief and wetting it in the sink when stopping. Gotta say, this is a great idea. Edit: one more! Those Heat-out garments that Cycle gear sells work great. Well, they don't really keep you cooler, but they definitely cut down on swampiness. Totally worth the $15 sale price. Capn Jobe fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Jul 3, 2018 |
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Jul 3, 2018 01:21
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Capn Jobe posted:2. The USB ports on my bike apparently don't work, and I forgot my Anker battery. As a result, I took a slightly more boring route here than I was planning (couldn't use navigation).  mode:2. Memorize your route. 3. That's the fun part! 4. There is only one hairpin 9 afaik. 5. Best Dad. Yeah, wet neck is great. I almost never ride w/o something on my neck anymore - getting sunburned sucks.
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Jul 3, 2018 19:34
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Nice avatar picture thing Capn Jobe. I've ridden motor bikes with the ArnoCorps lead singer dude a few times.
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Jul 5, 2018 17:14
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dema posted:Nice avatar picture thing Capn Jobe. I've ridden motor bikes with the ArnoCorps lead singer dude a few times. That's awesome. I read the interview with him in CityBike (they were giving it out at a show), so I figured he did his share of riding.
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Jul 6, 2018 06:37
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As suggested in our off-brand chat, let's have a goon ride, next weekend or the weekend after. Suggestions welcome, I don't know where you all live.
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Jul 18, 2018 00:10
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I am in.
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Jul 18, 2018 00:14
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okay, sure. i'm in the city itself so i can go wherever
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Jul 18, 2018 20:26
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I was coming down hwy 9 at about 12:30 and passed a herd of about 100 groms/z125s looking like they were having a grand old time edit: typical 
mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Jul 29, 2018 |
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Jul 28, 2018 22:13
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Tried to go camping off 108 this weekend   Kinda gross
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Aug 6, 2018 03:46
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Also in. Also in the city.
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Aug 6, 2018 03:52
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I did 108 on Saturday morning. Beat the fire. They closed it that evening.   Did an out and back on 120, from the Eastern side, on Sunday morning. Was awesome, barely any other traffic and was totally clear. Had to do 4 on the way home. Bit narrow with no center divider and a lot of traffic due to 120 and 108 being closed. Would have been really pretty if it hadn't been smokey though. Oh and 4, West of Angels Camp, was awesome. Fun and freshly paved. Not much traffic. Though, while I didn't see any cops, it kinda struck me as the sort of place that would have heavy enforcement. I'm a little scared of anything central valley and between towns.
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Aug 8, 2018 15:27
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Nice pics. Cool that you got a chopper in a shot. I never go to the Sierras on the weekends myself - it's such a pain.
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Aug 8, 2018 17:36
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I am here to whine about the Dainese store in SF. I took my lady there yesterday and she spent almost 2 hours becoming a power ranger: racing leather pants, racing jacket that zips to said pants, boots to match - you get the picture. She is blessed with a wonderful figure, which bike gear does not accommodate as well as one might wish. So it took some time figuring it out. The sales rep did a lot of work trying all kinds of stuff until it all worked. When we got home, I realized that the top-of-the-goddamn-line jacket Dainese sells does not come with a back protector (3 out of 4 jackets I have bought for myself came with one stock). So I shoved one in, and now it doesn't fit anymore, not with the winter lining anyway, and a little iffy without it. Goddamn. I understand that I should have thought of it, but so should have the sales rep, especially given the amount and specificity of fit feedback he received from his customer. E: They made it right after all; got the jacket exchanged for another one that works. pokie fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Aug 17, 2018 |
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Aug 13, 2018 15:38
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Anyone for awkward convo pauses Sunday, August 26th; let's say the classic Kings @ Skyline, Alices, 84, etc.. 9AM?
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Aug 19, 2018 01:36
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Sure, that works for me
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Aug 19, 2018 02:14
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Niacin, shall we meet at Alice's at 9?
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Aug 23, 2018 01:28
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