45 Days on a Gen3 Hayabusa - 2023 Pashnit Touring

[WuzzaCBXRider]

Terry, I think you're referring to The Junction. A tiny little restaurant <at a junction> in the middle of nowhere. I'd like to use this place as my lunch stop this coming tour season. And you are right, there's nothing out there, yet a zillion people live just a few miles away in the East Bay and the South Bay.

View attachment 1675527

Yeah that’s it, if it’s still open. I heard somewhere that it went out of business. Surprising that it stayed open as desolate as its location was. Whenever I was there I never saw a motorcycle pass it w/o stopping, even if just to look at all the other bikes in the parking lot.

 

[BigBSBusa]

Wonderful pics and history.

 

[pashnit]

Fire lookout in the distance

The backside of Mount Hamilton, twisty twisty

Rustic eatery

 

[pashnit]

Although, there's not much to to it.

But it's been here for decades, kinda a Bay Area biker hangout in the middle of nowhere, at a junction. Coming off the top of the peak, It was getting hot & everyone was hiding in the shade. It's August & it's stupid hot. 100 degrees is the norm.

Mines Rd into Livermore

 

[pashnit]

Mines is a well-known East Bay road for bikers (& bicyclists). It's generally a straight trek, but heads up a canyon & wiggles left right left for about 30 miles.

Best part is it goes single lane in the middle. Just watch out on the blind corners!

 

[pashnit]

At some point, I have to find some shade and re-layer in the heat. Pull out the cool vest & put that on. Keep it wet in a ziploc bag and it's ready for days like these. I'm not a fan of the extreme heat. Thankfully our Busa gives off zero heat. My TL1000R will roast you alive on days like these.

The temp on the dash reads 88 & climbing rapidly.

15 miles later when I reached Livermore, it was 102.

Still single lane wiggle fun

Very dry area & remote. No water out here most of the year. Only rains in winter. But there's a homestead out there.

 

[pashnit]

Headed down into Livermore. The goal is that next range in the distance.

That's Mount Diablo, the third sister of the day.

 

[pashnit]

Headed up Mount Diablo

 

[pashnit]

 

[pashnit]

Finding shade in the heat, still nearly 100 degrees.

 

[pashnit]

 

[pashnit]

Twisty ride up to the summit

 

[pashnit]

The ride to the summit of Mount Diablo

 

[pashnit]

Mount Diablo is only 3800 ft, but it's surrounded on all sides by relatively flat land.

 

[pashnit]

The name "Diablo" comes from the Spanish word for "devil," and the mountain was given this name by Spanish explorers who saw the red glow of sunset on the mountain's rocky slopes. The mountain was an important landmark for early explorers and settlers in California. In 1851, a survey party led by Lieutenant William Sherman climbed to the summit of Mount Diablo to determine its exact location. This survey helped establish the boundary between California and Nevada.

In the aftermath of the 1851 survey, the mountaintop was selected as the starting point for a survey of the public domain. Ignoring the excitement of the Gold Rush, surveyor Leander Ransom and his men erected a flagpole at the summit of Mount Diablo and began to extend the grid lines that we use to this very day in official land surveys. Mount Diablo base and meridian lines are referred to in legal descriptions of real estate throughout two-thirds of California and parts of Nevada and Oregon.

Following the 1850s gold rush, Mount Diablo was also used as a signal station during the Civil War to communicate with San Francisco. Toll roads up the mountain were opened in 1874, and for many years there were two stages every day connecting Walnut Creek and Danville with Mountain House, a 16-room hotel about three miles from the summit. Much like nearby Mount Hamilton, the first roads built on Mount Diablo were intended for horse and wagon. Present day roads follow the original paths carved out in the 1870s. In 1911, Mount Diablo became one of California's first state parks and a road was planned to the summit. Standard Oil placed a ten-million-candlepower aerial navigation beacon on the summit in 1928. The beacon was so powerful that it could be seen by ships 100 miles at sea.

 

[pashnit]

 

[pashnit]

The Summit Building & Museum was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s, the beacon tower sits directly on top of the highest peak of Mount Diablo. The sandstone for the building was quarried from nearby Rock City. Remnants of ancient fossils can be still be found on the building.

Part of Mount Diablo was acquired for State Park use in 1921, but it wasn't until 1931 that enough land was annexed before the park was formally dedicated. In present day, Mount Diablo spans 20,000 acres or about 30 square miles of protected land surrounded by encroaching East Bay cities.

Still stupid hot, but got down to 90 at the summit, nowhere to hide from the sun. Pour water all over inside my leathers and head back into down into the heat.

I realized August was not a good time to do this tour & moved the tour date to early May.

But I was able to ride three peaks in one day. Proof of concept. The new Three Sisters tour is sold out. Stay tuned!

Three Sisters | Pashnit Motorcycle Tour

Ride the three peaks surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area

www.pashnittours.com

Nobody up here. I think it was too hot for the bicyclists or just people. Who wants to bicycle up a mountain in 100 degree heat?

 

[pashnit]

Headed down off the mountain. Steep in some parts with a 10% grade at the steepest.

 

[pashnit]

 

[pashnit]

Reaching home base, tipped over 10,000 miles of riding in 6 months, and it's 102.

And it's time, again.

Changing tires every four months. I need to get one of those Rabocondas.