Date of trip: June 30 thru July 2, 2010
The weather was predicted to be nice in northern California and Nevada, with high temperatures of only about 80. Usually the high temps are about 90-100 in June and July. With the good weather in mind, I contacted Ed (goldylocks303) and suggested we go for a ride. He agreed and we decided to go northeast from our homes on the San Francisco Peninsula and check out some of the roads in the Plumas National Forest. We also contacted Mitch (endo) in Carson City to see if he'd like to meet us it we went through Carson City, Nevada. Mitch said he'd be happy to meet us, so our 2 overnight stops were determined. First night Chico, CA and the second night would be Carson City, NV.
The map
Day 1
Ed had an appointment he couldn't miss and would not be able to leave until about 3 pm. So we decided to meet in Chico and I'd leave earlier in the day. I left my home about 10:30 am and headed east on Hwy 92 across the San Mateo Bridge and then on to Hwy 580 before turning north on Vasco Road in Livermore. While on Vasco Road, I decided to take a short detour to Los Vaqueros reservoir and check it out. The road to the reservoir was a dead end, but the ride to the end was quite nice with no cars and wide sweeping turns. It's probably a crowded road on the weekend.
The road to Los Vaqueros Reservoir off of Vasco Road in Livermore.
Leaving Los Vaqueros, I continued on Vasco Road through Brentwood and then across the Antioch Brigde to Hwy 160 and the Sacramento Delta. The Antioch Bridge rises about 150 feet above the water and the wind blows hard most of the time at the high elevation. It's quite exciting to cross on a motorcycle. Down on the flats after crossing the bridge, Hwy 160 follows a levee along the Sacramento River delta. Traffic was very light and the highway has many long sweeping curves.
Highway 160 in the Sacramento Delta
Crossing the delta I needed to get some lunch. As I passed through the town of Isleton I saw Isleton Joe's Restaurant which advertised Crawdads. I had to stop - and I was glad I did. I had the 1 pound of Crawdads and an order of french fries for lunch. There's not a lot of meat on a crawdad, but they sure taste good. I filled up on french fries after eating the crawdads.
Isleton Joe's - the place to go for crawdads
French fries and 1 pound of crawdads
After eating lunch, I continued on Hwy 160 to Sacramento and eventually made it to Hwy 70 north of Sacramento. Hwy 70 is straight and featureless for many miles going north. I stopped for gas in Marysville and continued on towards Oroville. A few miles south of Oroville, I turned east on Palermo Road and followed the twisty roads and signs to Oroville Damn. The damn was virtually deserted - I saw maybe 6 people while riding near the reservoir and over the damn.
The view from Oroville Damn
Leaving Oroville, I continued on to Chico on Hwy 99 where I checked in to the local Super 8 Motel. I got in about 5:30 and Ed, who took the slab all the way, arrived about 7:30.
Day 2
The next morning we got up early and headed up Hwy 32 going north east out of Chico into the Plumas National Forest. A few miles out of Chico, the road began a steady climb up into the mountains through evergreen forests.
Getting ready to leave Chico.
Highway 32 northeast of Chico
Highway 32 eventually intersects Highway 89, where we turned north to ride towards Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Highway 89 near Mt. Lassen
Arriving at Mt. Lassen, we learned that the road through the park was closed due to snow!!. We decided to pay the $5.00 to enter the park anyway and go to the end of the road.
The road in Mt. Lassen National Park
At the road closed sign in Mt. Lassen, it looked like the road had been plowed and that it might be possible to ride through the park. we debated whether or not we should go around the Road Closed sign and see how far we could go. However, we decided to not try and would find an alternative route around the park.
Ed on the road outside of Mt. Lassen
Leaving Mt. Lassen, we turned west on Hwy 36 and rode to the town of Paynes Creek and turned north on Lanes Valley Road and followed the twisty back roads to Shingletown and Hwy 44. Turning on Hwy 44 we headed east again. On Hwy 44 we were stopped for a few minutes due to road repair. We had a nice conversation with the flagman that told us the road through Mt. Lassen Park was blocked by 9 feet of snow, and that it was good we decided not to try riding though the park. He said they were going to have to bring in some heavy snow removal equipment to clear the road.
Once past the road construction, we continued on Hwy 44 and stopped for lunch near the town of Old Station. After lunch we continued on Hwy 44 through high plains and evergreen forests.
Highway 44 near Old station
From Hwy 44 we turned south on Mooney Road, about 30 miles east of Susanville. Mooney Road is a county road running through the Lassen national Forest. Where Mooney Road intersects Hwy 36 we turned west toward Westwood where we turned south on Hwy 147 south and rode past Lake Almanor. Then we turned on the Hwy 89 south and made it to the towns of Quincy and then Blairsden. Before getting to Quincy, I learned that if you are going to pass vehicles by crossing a double yellow line, you should make sure the vehicle is not the local sheriff. There were no marking on the back of the sheriff's SUV, and as soon as I got past him, I knew I was toast. He gave me the ticket for passing over a double yellow line, but then went on to tell me where the CHP was working so I wouldn't get caught again. That was my first ticket while riding a motorcycle - after 30 years of riding, I guess I was due for one. Shortly after getting the ticket, we saw 4 police cars in less than an hour. From Blairsden, we turned east on Hwy 70 until we reached Hwy 395.
Highway 70 east of Blairsden
By now it was about 6pm and we rode fast to get to Carson City. We checked into the local Super 8 and Mitch came to pick us up and go to his house. We had a couple of beers, a great dinner, and great conversation. Thanks Mitch!
Day 3
The next morning we left the motel about 10am and headed south on 395 to Topaz Lake where we turned west on Hwy 89 and headed over Monitor Pass.
Highway 89 east of Monitor Pass
Monitor Pass
From Monitor Pass we rode through Markleeville on our way to Hwy 88. At Hwy 88 we turned east and rode through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Jackson. The ride through the Sierras was fast. I was following Ed and Ed was on a mission to have as much fun as possible while riding. So stopping for a picture or taking a photo while riding was out of the question. Suffice it to say, Hwy 88 is a great road for riding - it is actually my favorite Hwy to cross the Sierras. Hwy 88 has wide lanes, long sweeping curves and beautiful vistas.
We stopped for lunch in Jackson before our last dash across the central valley and then on to our homes. Rather than take Hwy 88 from Jackson, we decided to try some back roads and hopefully avoid most of the Friday afternoon traffic. So a few miles east of Jackson we turned south on Buena Vista Road and found we had the road to ourselves. Buena Vista Road twists and turns through the Sierra foothills and passes just east of the Camanche reservoir. There were a few turns and the road changed names, but we followed the road as it crossed Hwy 12 in the town or Burson, then it continued past farms and orchards until we hit Hwy 26. At Hwy 26 we turned west to Stockton.
The roads near Buena Vista and Burson
We stopped for gas in Stockton before heading west on Hwy 4 across the Sacramento delta. We once again got on Vasco Road to Hwy 580 and then Hwy 92 for the final push on home. We got home about 6pm to complete another fine ride.
Total mileage was about 1000 miles in 3 days.