45 Days on a Gen3 Hayabusa - 2023 Pashnit Touring
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Niiiiiice, but…all that traffic!
I wanted to see the progress on the all new bridge across the American River outside Placerville, but couldn't get very far.
This is what they are building across this canyon.
The single lane switchbacks soon won't be use anymore, they are quite fun! On a motorcycle that is.
20 years ago, the wife and I looked at buying property in Mosquito, where this fancy new bridge is headed. Mosquito is a tiny mountain community right outside Placerville, but on the other side of a deep canyon. The only way to reach Mosquito is a twisty single lane mountain road (see below). The wife & I both worked in Sacramento & we had a new baby. This would have been our daily commute in our '87 Olds Cutlass Ciera.
Ya nope, Mosquito got veto'd and we bought a house in Camino instead, another nearby tiny mountain community at the 3000 ft level.
Can you imagine this as your daily commute to work? Yup, people do it, just not me.
The fancy new bridge across the canyon is to replace this, the Mosquito Bridge, one of the last single lane wooden bridges still in daily use anywhere.
Article I wrote about this historic bridge: Mosquito Rd - Rock Creek Rd | El Dorado County | California Motorcycle Roads
This is what they are building across this canyon.
The single lane switchbacks soon won't be use anymore, they are quite fun! On a motorcycle that is.
20 years ago, the wife and I looked at buying property in Mosquito, where this fancy new bridge is headed. Mosquito is a tiny mountain community right outside Placerville, but on the other side of a deep canyon. The only way to reach Mosquito is a twisty single lane mountain road (see below). The wife & I both worked in Sacramento & we had a new baby. This would have been our daily commute in our '87 Olds Cutlass Ciera.
Ya nope, Mosquito got veto'd and we bought a house in Camino instead, another nearby tiny mountain community at the 3000 ft level.
Can you imagine this as your daily commute to work? Yup, people do it, just not me.
The fancy new bridge across the canyon is to replace this, the Mosquito Bridge, one of the last single lane wooden bridges still in daily use anywhere.
Article I wrote about this historic bridge: Mosquito Rd - Rock Creek Rd | El Dorado County | California Motorcycle Roads
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Seeing the progress on the new bridge over the American River Canyon was a bust, I had to turn around and backtrack into Placerville.
There is a creek crossing on Luneman Rd, this is what you're all doing with your Busa's right?
See the debris on the tree across the creek? That's how deep the water was short time ago.
Weber Creek was about 12 inches deep. The Busa burbled right across.
Couple months ago there was huge levels of flooding through there, take a look at that tree at far left. That's how high the water was, couple feet higher.
First time I rode through this creek was on my '90 Yamaha FJ1200. That long ago. I have a very distinctive memory of this creek crossing. First time I tried this creek crossing on the FJ1200, I got panicky and put my foot down. Then quickly realized I wasn't touching the ground. Finally hit ground, and the water was deeper than my Sidi boot which filled with water. Holy crap. Funny now all these years later.
The FJ1200 in the same spot many years ago.
I think I've ridden every bike through it over the last 30 years.
Road or driveway? It's a county road.
There is a creek crossing on Luneman Rd, this is what you're all doing with your Busa's right?
See the debris on the tree across the creek? That's how deep the water was short time ago.
Weber Creek was about 12 inches deep. The Busa burbled right across.
Couple months ago there was huge levels of flooding through there, take a look at that tree at far left. That's how high the water was, couple feet higher.
First time I rode through this creek was on my '90 Yamaha FJ1200. That long ago. I have a very distinctive memory of this creek crossing. First time I tried this creek crossing on the FJ1200, I got panicky and put my foot down. Then quickly realized I wasn't touching the ground. Finally hit ground, and the water was deeper than my Sidi boot which filled with water. Holy crap. Funny now all these years later.
The FJ1200 in the same spot many years ago.
I think I've ridden every bike through it over the last 30 years.
Road or driveway? It's a county road.
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Luneman Rd is not exactly a high volume highway
Pretty sure this road was just suggestion closed. Weber Creek was flooded a few months back, but the water has receded to normal levels.
The locals seem to be ignoring the signs. (I guess i'm local, my homebase isn't far from here).
There were two of these signs side by side, and the locals just drove over the sign, likely stole it, and threw the rest of it into the ditch.
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Niiiiiice, but…all that traffic!
Terry , Jesus Maria Rd is not too far from you. Super fun ride!
Jesus Maria Rd, Calaveras County | California Motorcycle Roads | Pashnit
Ride Calaveras County Motorcycle Roads, Sierra Nevada Foothills
www.pashnit.com
Terry , Jesus Maria Rd is not too far from you. Super fun ride!
Jesus Maria Rd, Calaveras County | California Motorcycle Roads | Pashnit
Ride Calaveras County Motorcycle Roads, Sierra Nevada Foothills
View attachment 1673880
The first time is always the best memory huh? I liked that bike.
We should plan a tour out of state someday. North to Glacier NP via New Meadows ID and the Lolo Pass, ride up to the Canadian border above St. Mary and Babb MT, have a huckleberry shake, then SW thru White Horse and Eureka MT, Bonner’s Ferry ID, or east to Pike’s Peak, Devil’s Tower, Deadwood, Crazy Horse monument, Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone NP, Jackson WY, then back west to Baker City and John Day OR, Crater Lake OR and just about any road heading west from Crater to find the Rogue River to 101 near Crescent City CA and south from there thru the big redwoods. Lots of combinations there, just sayin. You could tell everyone that I’m your uh, outta state ambassador.
In 2012, I had an idea to create a motorcycle tour focused on the mountain range that borders the Pacific Coastline north of San Francisco. I called it the Coast Range Tour. It wasn’t the most popular idea at first. Just 5 people signed up in 2013. We started this ride from Napa and wiggled our way towards the Pacific Coast through Calistoga, over the super twisty Hopland Grade-Highway 175, had ice cream at Be Bops Diner in Ukiah and out to the ocean via Skaggs Spring Rd ending up in Point Arena along the Pacific Coast the first night, then wiggling our way back and forth across the Coast Range northward to Shelter Cove the second night. That first ride in 2013 was just six bikes, it was a small, fast, cozy group.
Motorcycle tours generally have a shelf life of about 4-5 years then they are retired, and I design something else. When I let my buddy Mark know my plan, that I was considering retiring this ride, he got mad and said it was ‘The Perfect Tour’ and it should stay in the roster. I took his advice, and it has since become one of the most popular ride Pashnit Motorcycle Tours offers.
Last year/ten years later, 21 motorcyclists signed up and 14 made it in 2022. Then in 2023, 27 riders signed up and we had 16 make it. For 2024 next year, we’ve already got 24 riders on the list. No, we won’t have that many bikes, some of those are on the waiting list hoping someone will cancel. We’ve come a long way since the 5 of us were on this ride a decade ago. Many of our Pashnit Tours Alumni have ridden this ride through the years, and many sign up for it year after year consecutively, signing up for this tour multiple years in a row.
Next Coast Range Tour will be July 2024: Coast Range | Pacific Ocean Motorcycle Tour | Pashnit Tours
Early morning ride to meet the group, I had heard about a Graffiti Bridge near the tiny town of Winters. Had to go check it out.
Motorcycle tours generally have a shelf life of about 4-5 years then they are retired, and I design something else. When I let my buddy Mark know my plan, that I was considering retiring this ride, he got mad and said it was ‘The Perfect Tour’ and it should stay in the roster. I took his advice, and it has since become one of the most popular ride Pashnit Motorcycle Tours offers.
Last year/ten years later, 21 motorcyclists signed up and 14 made it in 2022. Then in 2023, 27 riders signed up and we had 16 make it. For 2024 next year, we’ve already got 24 riders on the list. No, we won’t have that many bikes, some of those are on the waiting list hoping someone will cancel. We’ve come a long way since the 5 of us were on this ride a decade ago. Many of our Pashnit Tours Alumni have ridden this ride through the years, and many sign up for it year after year consecutively, signing up for this tour multiple years in a row.
Next Coast Range Tour will be July 2024: Coast Range | Pacific Ocean Motorcycle Tour | Pashnit Tours
Early morning ride to meet the group, I had heard about a Graffiti Bridge near the tiny town of Winters. Had to go check it out.
We were joined by Ken who drove out to CA from Utah in a sprinter van. He keeps the bike in back, and drives the 650 miles from Salt Lake City to Sacramento to join these tours. Ken is my eldest rider, he's 78 this year and has no intention of slowing down.
David came out from Steamboat, Colorado to ride his second year in a row on the same tour.
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New guy Mike rode up from SoCal. Mike used to be the CEO of Guess and is newly retired. He wants to ride a lot more & discovered me. Bruce was getting ready to leave for India to ride the Himalayan Mountains for an organized tour to the highest elevation roads in the world but he's local and we've been riding together for 15+ years.
Good variety of bikes for this tour group
Two Tenere's
Good variety of bikes for this tour group
Two Tenere's
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