Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 57

Thread: Cooter rides the west coast!

  1. #1
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    10,877

    Cooter rides the west coast!

    Every year just after my B-day, I like to pick a direction (not a destination), load up the saddle bags and go. Anywhere.
    The only 'rules' I have for myself are to do the least amount of freeway miles possible, and If I start feeling like I'm in a hurry... to slow down.
    The STT has morphed into the perfect bike for me to do that. It's super comfortable for 400 mile days, lots of suspension, and can kill corners even when loaded down with Bigfoot 'fridge magnets and stolen brewery coasters.

    This year I left Los Angeles and headed North. I live on the coast, so thats how I went. Stopped at Big Sur to camp for a week with a friend. No cell service for a week!, yay!

    WOXN6mXkR1ugOWW3zh4Lxw by Cooter!, on FlickrWoHJ1ldzRieMm9hLSmMBzA by Cooter!, on FlickrIMG_4604 by Cooter!, on Flickr

  2. #2
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    10,877
    I'll seriously try to not put 1000 pics in this thread, but DANG that place is beautiful!
    A waterfall onto the beach!?!

    IMG_4617 by Cooter!, on Flickr

    Did some really epic hiking, and saw an Airstream trailer with a million dollar view. Whoever owns that is my hero.
    oleZWKCzSrCFqncM1+plzg by Cooter!, on Flickr

  3. #3
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    10,877
    You can see the smoke from the fires all the way from Nor Cal!

    After a week of silent camping bliss, I hopped on Stella and headed north on the PCH. That highway is seriously amazing. I fully expected sweeping vistas and epic backgrounds to my trip. Lots of good corners and surprisingly little traffic. Lots of sightseeing foreigners in rental cars and motorhomes, so be prepared for people to stop on the highway in front of you to snap some pics. Must. Not. Kill...

    Anyway, I wanted to ride the Golden Gate Bridge. I've been up in the area on my bike before and done the rest of the bridges, but touristy/ cheesy was on the list. Little did I know I would do it 4 times.
    Had a good breakfast next door to the Antique Vibrator Museum (gotta love SF)
    QwGnvWQtReSTm+9ja1Y5jg by Cooter!, on Flickr
    and took a note in case I need an attorney
    bDdN7LjnRZCq7DGFmHPSbQ by Cooter!, on Flickr

    I stuck on the coast and left.
    San Fransisco always provides the most stellar scenery! The road to John Muir Woods (do it)
    gZrmrabaSO2BuWUNwB1qeQ by Cooter!, on Flickr

  4. #4
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    10,877
    The 1 from North SF to Point Reyes Station is 3 gold star, Cooter approved, chicken strip burning heaven. I was literally LOL-ing like a psychopath in my helmet.
    It's also about a full tank of gas away from the city, so when you try to get gas in PRS you realize the hotel clerk didn't hand back your license and credit card
    Oh well, you remind yourself that:
    A) You aren't in a hurry
    B) It's your fault
    C) You now get to do that whole section of road again!
    D) I like making lemons into a tasty beverage.

    I decided on a different route back to SF, thankfully I stayed on the North side! And went across the Golden Gate bridge again, this time a bit of fog had burned off, so I could see all the way to the guardrail. Got my stuff, went down the road to John Muir Woods at a much brisker pace and as a happy accident I got to stop by Ernies Tin Bar for lunch. It's a great stop I like to make and I would have missed it passing by at 9am (the first time)

    Theres NOTHING around it and it's alway happy and full of local farmers playing dice on the bar. Today was no exception
    c3O6h5+0S3G3GOUhFhmGbA by Cooter!, on FlickrEaQcUAJnQ1WAKN%XeIVYBA by Cooter!, on Flickr

  5. #5
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    10,877
    Back to the Ol' highway again...
    mmJWQwofRQqjTvHoWvRWqw by Cooter!, on Flickr

    Literally 100's and 100's of miles of this
    3UesWhtZTDC3FrMt4VXPQA by Cooter!, on Flickr
    xXJGwg1sSRqjPxjXijNoUQ by Cooter!, on Flickr

  6. #6
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    10,877
    Redwoods are big
    zA%STBIIRiq5osU54SHPiw by Cooter!, on FlickruASanX1gQsybFI3lAcedoA by Cooter!, on Flickr

    You can't see in the pics but my Michelin PP3's are super hot and sticky. The section of highway in Nor Cal, where the 1 turned towards (and into) the 101 is another bucket-list stunning ride to do. There's 22 miles of back to back 20-mph (recommended, haha) corners that are all perfectly paved and clean.

    Like I said... Cheese.
    Hmt5G2HoTquvyPpRE3D%vg by Cooter!, on Flickr

  7. #7
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    10,877
    All that wood! This lumber mill was 4 miles long. 4 MILES long. MILES!
    pWqRXE8aTf+P7dLH5%SQYQ by Cooter!, on Flickr

    And to the Klamath river!
    Found a secret road that turned to gravel, then single track
    d80B9dYfReOfIEfD475%%A by Cooter!, on Flickr
    And a 1/4 mile hike to a camp spot with this view. Yes that sand is black! I'm pretty sure it's obsidian. Crazy weird though.
    Sz6JmHO9SfurJtk2RPXIsQ by Cooter!, on Flickr

    Redwoods! I'm in Oregon now and my path is clear. I now know my purpose for this trip.
    KZ2fl3c9RDqyAutmqLatEw by Cooter!, on Flickr

  8. #8
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    10,877
    Pie. This pie to be exact.
    fullsizeoutput_82c by Cooter!, on Flickr

    Marionberry pie from Betties. She makes them fresh of course. She has a cabin/ diner just outside Crater Lake.
    .000000022 seconds later
    od0C4Vz9Qvy3Oeuc0MJKsg by Cooter!, on Flickr

    Crater Lake is one of my top 5 beautiful places in the world list. And currently on fire
    See that smoke?
    EN8FRg4ERP+eYoWLI0gzUw by Cooter!, on Flickr

    I couldn't even see the lake when I got up there. But the roads were worth it! It was completely empty because of the fires so I had the place to myself! My own personal race track, nothing to worry about but the deer. I came out the other side sweaty and panting. Felt like a track day! Haha.

    Next stop was to find Green Peter Lake. I was told it's a "must see".
    dd71IVByQbW3bG3MaT43tA by Cooter!, on Flickr

    Its a Hard-as-hell-to-find-with-no-signal
    otxCxkSuTNWSufKWMsw6vw by Cooter!, on Flickr

  9. #9
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    10,877
    It is in nowhere so gas up before you start looking (I didn't). It also has a road that is empty, perfectly paved and begging to be apexed. Until is gets narrow. Then the lines disappear, then is gets bad, then turns to gravel
    My one complaint is that Stellas range is about 150 miles IF I uncomfortably stretch it. Side note: I had put a different tune on her before I left and it killed my MPG leaving me to actually coast into my first gas stop. I dropped my AFV to 95 at that stop but still have a bit of range anxiety.
    My trip 2 reads 110 and I know for a fact I've been corner killing for 31, which would leave me back on the highway at 141 and I hadn't seen a gas station (or a person) for the last 40 miles south.

    This road is obviously not going to have a walmart super center at the end of it so I flip her back towards the beginning and hope theres a town north of where I turned off to this pretty lake.

    k8CQGaNsQzStJSCKSrdGqQ by Cooter!, on Flickr

    Cliff notes, Yep I made it!
    Last edited by Cooter; 09-04-2018 at 07:11 PM.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    10,877
    Being that far north on Orygun, and my Mom lives in the PNW so theres only one thing to do!
    Laundry at Moms!

    I was a kid up there when Mt. St. Helens blew, and we both remember it vividly so i took her on a road trip to the center up there. So worth it! What a great display.

    I remember it being bigger?
    6HwZu6cZTaqXv%+o5GiLHg by Cooter!, on Flickr

    lol, nope, just more crushing fog. Couldn't see a thing I'm sensing a theme to this trip.
    Stayed with my Mumzy-lady-of-the-manor-master-of-all-she-surveys for a few very relaxing days. Got a new rear tire Michelin Road 5 (should last a little longer than the PP3 I hope) picked up a pair of nice non-perf gloves to save me from frostbite on the coast, and headed out.
    I swear this is my last breakfast with her. Marionberry pie and delicious coffee. She knows how to treat a house guest!
    97r1CVMZSemEWHSjXupx4A by Cooter!, on Flickr
    Next destination on the way to the coast was Tillamook. I hadn't been there since I was 8 years old.

    It's grown up a bit They just finished the new "Tillamook Experience" 9 months ago, and being a saturday it was packed with mid-western cheese enthusiasts.
    B8i9fj5UTX6jbJap16kxfA by Cooter!, on Flickr

    Pugrrrrr-ific!!
    B87kHWpKQAyqjVbYiEjgUQ by Cooter!, on Flickr

    Remember I'm traveling alone, so perspective that I'm doing this silly crap by myself



Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •