The biggest Burrito Ride Extra of 2008: San Francisco and Lake Tahoe

[Maverik]

The rainy season is now here. While I hate this time of the year the most (no dry riding, no snow), viewing pics of rides and remembering is not a bad way to spend days like that.

I thought I'd want to share my biggest ride of 2008, which I left here on 9/30.

Day 1:
Nothing really exciting on my first day, I couldn't get up early. I left here a bit before lunch time, took I-5 to save time. Stayed in Beaverton, OR (west suburb of Portland).

Day 2:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=beaverton,+or&daddr=estacada,+or+to:detroit,+or+to:rainbow,+or+t o:NFD+702+Rd+to:oakridge,+or+to:chemult,+or&hl=en&geocode=%3B%3B%3B%3BFUiyngIdUjq3-A%3B%3B&mra=ls&via=4&sll=44.028371,-122.159729&sspn=0.584535,1.142578&ie=UTF8&z=7
I had some nice pastries and bought a turkey sandwitch from Whole Foods Market (http://www.wholefoods.com) for lunch, knowing I'll be out of nowhere around lunch time today. I was happy that they were only a few min. ride away from my hotel.

I went through Portland suburbs and headed to Estacada. Took SR224 to the end which becomes a forest road, continued to Detroit. That road is twisty in some part, remotness is great. Then took SR22 to east, found a picnik table in Idanha, I pulled over for lunch time. Then I continued SR22, brifly took US20 west, then took SR126 south. I don't have much memories anymore on those roads, I didn't think they were bad, but not too outstanding either. Then I took another forest road from Rainbow, passing by Cougar Dam. There were some sand on the road, but that road had a lots of twisties along the lake created by the dam. After lots of twisties, I took a side road with a sign says 'Oakridge'.

I was already hungry so I had some burgers, salad, etc at McD there. It was still 3pm ish, so I decided to continue. I took SR58 east, the road was rather boring. It then marged with US97. I decided to spend a night at a small town with nothing but gas stations.

The motel's owner in Chemult was a South Asian, he said he used to live in Surrey. I asked him how's the life in out-of-nowhere Oregon. He said he's fed up with high property tax, he'd rather go back to Surrey. Many of motels in USA (in Canada, too?) are run by South Asians. I often ask them why so. They say running motels is a round-clock business, nobody but South Asian can do that kind of work. I wish they opened up more Indian restaurants, so it'll give me more choices on food when I'm on the road.

Chemult does have Subway, but not much else. I didn't feel like subs, I just had some hot dogs, then called it a day.

I never imagined US97 is heavy with traffic, the trucks were passing by through out the night. I was able to sleep because I was tired, but it was pretty noisy at the roadside motel.

[Maverik]

Day 3:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Chemult,+Oregon&daddr=livermore,+ca&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=20.702819,36.5625&ie=UTF8&ll=40.84706,-121.750488&spn=4.91955,9.140625&z=6
I've booked a hotel for 4 nights in Livermore, CA (suburb of San Fran) when I left home, so I need to get there by tonight.

The distance that I have to cover is 5-600km today, I didn't want to arrive there too late, I decided not to make any side trips.

US97 is really boring with heavy truck traffic. It runs through flat land in southern Oregon. Only joy is to see the mountain of Crater Lake in distance, and Klamath Lake. I'd say it's still better than I-5 though.

I was hoping some nice brunch in Klamath Falls, but I failed to find anything, even after riding though their downtown. Their downtown is nothing spectacular, I ended up eating burgers and salad at Burger King.

Outside Klamath falls, US97 started to climb hill, then crossed California border. Soon as I crossed the California border, the road was full of tar snakes. In a small town called Dorris, I spotted a mobile taqueria and a Mexican restaurant! Too bad I wasn't hungry anymore.

Eventually, US97 became twisty, and I was enjoying the view of Mt. Shasta. I then merged to I-5. That part of I-5 is pretty twisty for a freeway, but not much fun riding with other trucks and cars, hoping they don't crash into me. It descended a lot of elevation, and temperature went up like crazy. By the time I got to Redding, it must've been around 30C. Then I found a sign for the state tourist info in Red Bluff, I got off I-5. I was too busy riding freeway, so I was still dressing in layers. I took them off right away, stuffed them in my bag.

That tourist info had a mini museum with a free internet access, I caught up with replying mails.

I continued I-5 south, the scenery looked more and more like that of Mexico or Spain. I started seeing a lot of olive trees. Very exotic.

One thing I noticed was that California doesn't seem to have signs along freeway indicating what kind of stores are available at the exits. Even though I was looking for a Starbucks, I couldn't know when to get off I-5.

I think at one time the speed limit was like 75MPH, and I was doing around 80MPH. My bike ate a lot of gas! I'm pretty sure it got only 35mpg or so, while usually averaging 40-50mpg.

As I get closer to San Francisco, there were more and more cars. The speed limit around there is ubiquitus 60mph, but average drivers are doing 70-80mph, with occasional hooligans a lot faster than that. During my 5-day stay, I only saw a few people got pulled over, so maybe enforcement isn't very strict.

I got to Livermore around dinner time.

[Maverik]

Day 4-8:
I stayed in Livermore, about 50km southeast from San Francisco. Why Livermore? Because my hotel there was cheap. I didn't mind the distance from SF, in less than 1hr, I was in heart of SF.

At one point, the freeway runs pararel to BART (name of transit there), it runs pretty fast! I was riding around 70mph, but it passed me! I increased my speed, it seemed like it was running at 80mph (around 130km/h). It's pretty fast for a train in USA!
Livermore happened to be one of wine countries, and has a nice little downtown.

Most days there, I'd get up a little late, then head to San Francisco, then come hotel late.

The weather was nice around 20-25C, but I see very few bikes on freeways. I'd see a lot more bikes on Hwy1 in a lot colder Vancouver.

About lane splitting there, I already posted about it: http://www.bcsportbikes.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1186480&postcount=23

It didn't seem like sidewalk parking is going on anymore in SF, but I saw a lot of motorcyle only parkings with parking meters. The price? 10c/hr!!!! I worried how many months...or years to just pay off that parking meter machine (which takes credit cards, pretty high tech).

The food was great there, and not expensive (with the exchange rate at that time). I've seen US$1.70 dim sum, 80c Chinese milk tea, etc.

One night, I went to In-n-Out Burger for a late night snack. I thought I liked their food, but not this time. The french fries were dry, the burger was just ok. Maybe I went to a wrong location? Good thing about them is their dining room is open late. When you're riding, you don't want to go drive-thru and eat it at parking lot, right?

One day for lunch, I went to a winery not far from my hotel. Some of them have desent restaurant. I had a smoked salmon pasta, it was pretty good. It's nice to dine outside, when it's around 25C in Oct., with a view of vinyard.

I'm not going too detail about what I did in SF, it's a sportbike site, after all.

[Maverik]

Day 9:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Livermore,+CA&daddr=pinecrest,+ca+to:38.694085,-119.761963+to:south+lake+tahoe&hl=en&geocode=&mra=dme&mrcr=1&mrsp=2&sz=8&via=2&sll=38.513788,-119.723511&sspn=1.272249,2.285156&ie=UTF8&z=8

After enjoying SF and its wine country, I started missing twisties. I started off with Livermore's backroad, which runs almost pararel to I-580. This turned out to be a very interesting road running through Meditteranean looking golden hills with lots of windmills. Sure Californians need a lot of electricity! The traffic was very light, but more than half of vehicles I saw were motorcycles. It must be a famous local bike road.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265557/Picture069.jpg

Now you can see the twisties running through the hill:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265557/Picture070.jpg

I had lunch in Sonora, it was still warm, but getting colder. I took SR108 east, with some tight twisties with lots of elevation changes. At the summit, I saw some snow on the side of the road.

It ends with US395. I headed north, was going to take SR89 right away. But I see the sign saying Nevada is only a few miles away. 'Welcome to Nevada' sign wasn't really spectacular, I didn't bother to stop taking pics. So this was a typical Nevada border town with a casino with cheaper gas station. Are casinos prohibited in California??

I filled up my bike, but the day I visited they didn't have prime rib special, so turned back to Calif.

The SR89 is Destination Highway's #1 in Nor. Cal., but I wasn't too impressed. While the road is pretty fun and view is great and exotic, it wasn't twisty enough for me to have fun at speed limit of 50mph. Like many other roads, the road got full of tar snakes. I don't know too many roads in Calif., but I definitely prefer roads in Oregon.

I called it a day in South Lake Tahoe.

[Maverik]

Day 10:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=south+lake+tahoe&daddr=quincy,+ca+to:40.515887,-120.772705+to:adin,+ca&hl=en&geocode=&mra=dme&mrcr=1&mrsp=2&sz=9&via=2&sll=40.57224,-120.643616&sspn=0.617534,1.142578&ie=UTF8&ll=40.195659,-120.563965&spn=2.483932,4.570312&z=7

I woke up hungry, I headed to the buffet at Harrah's Casino. South Lake Tahoe, CA and State Line, NV are like sister cities, their downtown are connected each other. Generally speaking, CA side has lots of smaller hotels, and NV side has large casino complex, starting right beyond the state border.

Although the sun was out, it was pretty chilly. I saw frost on my bike. After 10 min. of riding from my motel, I was at Harrah's.

Their buffet is on top of the building, I think it was on 18th floor. The view was great: view of Lake Tahoe and mountain right behind the building. For some reasons, I didn't take any pic of it.

The food was just ok, maybe slightly worse than Gilnetter's. I was expecting something like Las Vegas quality.

By the time I finished breakfast, it was almost 11, but it was still a bit chilly. The pavement around the lake on NV side was good.
Look at the water! They say Lake Tahoe has one of the best clarity in the USA:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265557/Picture072.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265557/Picture075.jpg

I took US50 east (north), then SR28 north. SR28 was nice and twisty with a great view of the lake, but unfortunately, the traffic was too heavy. I often had to follow slow trucks.

Back to California, then SR287, SR89. SR89 was just ok, the traffic was heavier than I imagined. Pavement quality was good though. After a long time riding on SR89, I split by taking SR147, then SR36. I took a county road A1 going west of Eagle Lake. It was pretty twisty in some part, but not sure if it's worth coming for it all the way from Canada. Then traffic turned to be very light, I don't see gas stations or even stores for a couple of hours. I then took SR139. Still no store, or even a motel. The sun was setting, and it was getting cold...around 10C. Maybe less. By the time sun sets, I got to a little town called Adin, failed to find any motel. I stopped at a general store, bought a cup of joe (50c!!). I asked if there's any motel there, and the lady told me it's south of town, which I just passed by.

I turned back, and sure there's a motel. I don't know how I missed it. After I checked in, lubing chain, unloading bags, then I saw 'No Vacancy' sign. Thank god, there's no other motel at least 1 hour radius from there.

By the time I got ready for supper, it was passed 8. I headed back to that same general store which has deli, it was already closed. Darn. There's no bar or anything in this town. A gas station was still open, bought some factory made burritos...gotta love small town. The most of guests at my motel was for hunting. They were all gone by the time I woke up next morning.

[elevation]

:rockon

Awesome Maverik. A California trip in October! what a way to end your season. Thanks for the write up, pics and maps. Keep up the good work AND the good riding (when most of us don't ride!)

[SHANE]

i agree good stuff hopefully global warming makes its way here for the winters hehehe

[Maverik]

:rockon

Awesome Maverik. A California trip in October! what a way to end your season. Thanks for the write up, pics and maps. Keep up the good work AND the good riding (when most of us don't ride!)

It's too early to call this was my last ride of the year! Sure it was the biggest, but one more report is coming.

October was good overall...it'd be scorching hot in Livermore, so as most of my return trip route if I did that in summer. The sun sets early, but motels / hotels have lots of rooms available.

[Maverik]

Day 11:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=adin,+ca&daddr=42.811522,-120.476074+to:bend,+or&hl=en&geocode=&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=7&via=1&sll=42.463993,-119.783936&sspn=2.398943,4.570312&ie=UTF8&ll=43.421009,-119.750977&spn=4.723794,9.140625&z=6

I love Weather Channel. I spend more than 2 hours watching (because unlike internet, you have to go through all the forecasts in different regions, right?)them each night deciding route. They said the cold front is coming in a couple of days. I know that the road north of Burns, OR is nice, but I don't want to get in stuck with cold weather (or worse white stuff). I decided to head northwest. The shortest route from Adin is to get to Klamath Falls, OR, then take US97, but I've already done it and didn't really like it, so I decided to go through Lakeview, OR.

I had 14 days in total for this trip, but because of the cold weather forecast, I cut it short to 13 days, minimizing fun detours.

I could call that 50c coffee and some pastries at general store a breakfast, but I didn't feel like it. I held it to Alturas, CA. From here, the road became boring, it's not completly flat, but the route is avoiding all the small hills.

I got to Alturas around 11. I was looking forward to Starbucks (or Pete's Coffee, but I'm not really expecting that), but this town is just big enough to have a half dozens of restaurants, no fastfood. I had a nice burrito with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale before I say good bye to Calif.

I noticed that I entered Oregon when the speed limit changed from 60 or 65mph to 55mph. Oregon seems to having this universal 55mph for all non freeway hwy's, no matter the road is twisty or straight line for 100mi. And when the road is straight, people often drive over 65mph (I don't, nothing is more stupid than getting speeding ticket on flat straight stretch of the road). I don't think the enforcement is strict in Oregon on open roads.

In Lakeview, I pulled over at a gas station. As a veteran of Oregon tourist, I wait for the attendant to hand me the pump. As in a border city, it also had a warning on the pump 'No self serve gas in Oregon!'. Nobody was coming out. I finally see the lady saying I can go ahead and pump. I'm not a fan of this strange Oregon law. Some attedants are very loyal to this, and scream if I start pumping by myself after waiting for them for minutes.

Around here, the road is still boring in terms of sport motorcycling, but the scenery is pretty exotic. These are one examples. When I looked at the map today, it says it's a marsh. I imagine it goes back to regular mash when the spring comes, flooded with snow melting water:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265557/Picture076.jpg

No, this is not a close up of my skin:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265557/Picture078.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265557/Picture079.jpg

From there, I started seeing some kind of smoke ahead of me. As I got closer, it was steam rising from Summer Lake. I wanted to feel that warm water, but all the lake shore was private property, used as range area. Near the water, there's a high fence for cattles (and tourists like myself). I finally see some safe space to pull over, but when I do, it's so far from water. I'll take some pics of it next time around.

It started getting really cold, the sun's out, but I'm pretty sure less than 10C. This SR31 doesn't have any gas stations for more than 50mi. Then I took US97 north, and finally found a gas stations with tables inside. I warmed myself up with a cup of joe. The gas attendant was complaining cold weather, he was hanging around inside as there was no cars around the pumps.

I made a last push du jour, made it to Bend. I passed by Newbury Nat'l Volcanic Monument, but the sun was setting and that cold, I didn't dare to make a stop.

I enjoyed first Baja Fresh since I left Livermore. A great way to end a day.

[Maverik]

Day 12:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=bend,+or&daddr=45.28455,-121.646118+to:hood+river,+or+to:NFD+25+Rd+to:morto n,+wa+to:Alder+Cutoff+Rd+E+to:puyallup,+wa&hl=en&geocode=%3B%3B%3BFaY8wAIdoFK6-A%3B%3BFd53ygId7na2-A%3B&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=9&via=1,3,5&sll=45.278752,-121.714783&sspn=1.132536,2.109375&ie=UTF8&ll=45.935871,-121.827393&spn=4.477459,8.4375&z=7

I again got frost on my bike when I was checking out from motel at almost 11. The sun is up, but it's still around 5C. It's going to be a cold day.

Bend happened to be a very nice little city with lots of sophisticated restaurants. My favorite Baja Fresh and Whole Foods Market are also there.

Knowing that I get back to Vancouver in 2 days, but I haven't had any Chinese food since I left San Francisco, I couldn't help but going to a Chinese restaurant. The one I went, the decor was pretty 'modern', they call it a NY style. It was a buffet, they also had things like dim sum (from frozen) and sushi (not authentic, of course) on top of regular Chinese food. It was pretty good for a small city in Oregon.

After a brunch, it was still cold, probably lower than 10C. It was so cold, I stopped at a Safeway only after 30 min. of riding, which has Starbucks inside. Am I the only person who feels that the Starbucks coffees under Safeway aren't same as those from stand alone places?

As I get closer to Mt. Hood, it got colder and colder. At least there was snow on the road, but I started seeing it the sides of the road. The road to Hood River was ok, not too challenging for my taste. It got warmer and warmer this time as I descended.

Hood River was much smaller than Bend, but that's another charming town. Lots of sophisticated restaurants and cafes. I had a cup of coffee with a muffin at one of cafes. In Hood River, I think it was around 10C, but it was still cold for riding.

I booked a hotel in Puyallup for that night, which is east of Tacoma. It was before 5pm when I left Hood River, it was a dilemma for me to go thru forest roads by Mt. St. Helens or take I-5. I took a chance, and decided to go through Mt. St. Helens.

I was underestimating the time and the temperature. About mid way through the Mt. St. Helens, the sun has set. While it was beautiful, the traffic was extremely light, I haven't seen any bike since I left Carson, WA. After the sun set, it got very COLD. I bet it was around 0C. Luckily, I didn't see any ice on the road, but it was in total dark, especially near the end as the woods were so thick. Even I stopped and treated my visor an anti-fog, it fogged like crazy, I decided to ride with it opened as I wasn't riding fast anyway. It was surely one of my rides from hell.

From Randall to Puyllup, it was more than 1hr cold ride, but I've done it!

[Maverik]

Day 13:
Not worth showing the route map du jour, I just took I-5 all the way from Pulyallup to Blaine. Even on I-5, it was still cold below 10C. I had a nice Indian lunch in Seattle. I bought a bottle of wine at Rite Aid in Blaine. It's very funny when you think of it, but the drug store chain Rite Aid has good pricing on alcohol. Their stores in California even carry hard liquors like vodka, gin, rum, tequilla, etc.

Conclusion:
Everybody says roads in Calif. are good, but this time I couldn't really agree with them. I must be missing something. I imagine roads between Sierra Nevada and Sacramento Valley are nice, but SR89 wasn't challenging at all. Roads in Calif. in general, pavement quality wasn't good either, inferrior to WA and OR. Full of tar snakes. I'll try other roads west of I-5 in Nor. Cal. next time around.

Riding in Calif. in Oct is very good, but getting to and getting back from there can be a pain, depends on weather.

[SkydiveSonic]

Nice write up :thumbup

[jfviffer]

Thanks for sharing, a great ride report. It makes me really regret my procrastinating over not doing a fall nor-cal trip