Why we ride. A Pashnit Tour.

[pashnit]

Wow! Great response guys! Glad you love this sort of thing so much, pleasure to be able to share it with fellow busa owners. Shot a ton of pics this ride, some 400 shots, and whittled it down to these.

One other new thing I tried (besides the macro stuff) was shooting video with the digital camera and just see what happens. No video camera, no PDR, just plain ole digital mounted on a sportbikecam.com mount on the tank. (Busa needs a 'long bar' & 'height extender' to work with tank bag)

I'm new to this whole video thing, but objective was just to give someone a further idea of what the ride is like. I shot just two, and spent a couple hours figuring out the program and making it all look pretty.

First one is Bolinas Ridge Rd, just north of San Francisco, the marine layer above the ocean at left is pretty visible at times.

Vid is 16M, 2:00-- Clicky for Pashnit Ride Video

Bolinas Ridge Rd, Marin Co, CA

Then tried it a 2nd time in NorCal's Forest Rd 1, aka Titlow Hill Rd. A ride I've often lauded as a true NorCal treasure, 50 mile long goat trail on a mountain ridgeline. 30 mile views either direction. This is the northern end coming down off the mountain top. Downside to digital is it doesn't refocus so the view is bit bleeded out on 2nd half, but you get the idea.

This one is with Jeff on the Aprilia Tuono in front, and Craig on the Hayabusa in front of me. Good times.

Video 20M, 2:20 - Clicky for Pashnit NorCal Ride Video

Titlow Hill Rd, Humboldt Co, CA

 

[Poppy]

Wow! I'm almost speechless!! The scenery is stunning. One day I will definitely ride there, hopefully on a Pashnit Tour.....

 

[SuzukiRider]

wOw ... just watched the videos ... hella cool ... those roads look crazy fun.

great videos ...

 

[shortBoarder]

Tim - Thanks for the sweeeeet ride! I'm finally back to normal life after an extended vacation AFTER the Norcal ride

Now I've gotta get through the 300+ photos that I took

Word to the wise: If you ever go on a Pashnit tour - and I very highly recommend that you do - make sure you've got a decent amount of rubber on the tires. I thought my Pilot Powers were in ok shape when I left SoCal, but by the second day of the four day tour things were getting dicey. By the end of the tour, they were TOAST.

All in all, it was ~2400 miles round trip, and an insane amount of fun with good people (one of whom flew from Australia just to ride Cali roads!) Thanks Tim, and I'll see you later this year up in the Sierras...


My front at the end of the ride:

 

[shortBoarder]

OK, one more for now. (I'll post my photos in this thread when I get through them)

This was one of the highlights of the trip. If you EVER get to NorCal on two wheels, you're bat-$*it insane if you don't ride the Leggett section of Hwy.1 (ok, that and the 36, but that's another story..). 24 or so miles of fast twisties through the shadows of a dense forest. Traffic was light when we hit it, so it was crank up the iPod and make like you're in Return of the Jedi. By the end of that, I was literally giggling for 10 straight minutes. My only regret is that I didn't turn around and do it AGAIN. No matter - right after that we headed down the Mattole Road to the Lost Coast for a completely different adventure. That was a really really really good day.


I don't have any photos of the road - there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that I was stopping while having all that fun - so here's a shot of the GPS to give you an idea...

 

[PaNDeM1C]

... beautiful photos, P!!!

Thank you for keeping the Busa spirit alive for leading the way by your actions... and your photos! Thank you for your time and efforts!

I appreciate you (along w/ many others here)

PaND!

keep riding.... and always remember to get gas! (bigdiesel needs to remember!!!)

 

[pashnit]

(shortBoarder @ Jun. 13 2007,21:16) I don't have any photos of the road - there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that I was stopping while having all that fun - so here's a shot of the GPS to give you an idea...

Here you go Craig

Yep, hard to stop. Probably one of the best stretches of tarmac in the whole state.

What's typically going on there.

 

[Luvanicebum]

Kick a$$ videos w/ totally cool music. Good stuff man!
Gonna have to start buying more camaras and mounting them all over.
Thanks for this whole thread. Gotta make it out that way someday.

 

[shortBoarder]

here's my photos from that journey...


1st day was driving up from Venice, CA to the Bay Area via some nice back roads and Hwy. 1, before the the summer Winnebago convoys take it over...

I took this same shot the last time I left for a Pashnit tour. This is out in Oxnard CA, about 45 minutes from my house...

 

[shortBoarder]

this guy was walking by, and aside from the fields behind him, he was the only bit of color out there that AM. He looked at the Busa, hung his head in shame, and walked away, humbled and crying softly.

 

[shortBoarder]

Halfway there - this is a beach by Hearst Castle where the sea lions rest and get their freak on. They're graceful in the water, but look like giant slugs on dry land.

 

[shortBoarder]

No other photos from Day 1 - Hwy.1 was foggy and windswept, and I had 500+ miles to cover that day. So...next day, met the crew and headed up Mt. Tam, stopping just above the clouds that typically hang over the Bay area...

 

[shortBoarder]

As Dr. Thompson would say, "we need fine machinery"

 

[shortBoarder]

The guy who rode this ST4 rode down from Canada, and he rode that thing like a DEMON...

 

[shortBoarder]

The guys, eyeing the Busa with suspicion...

 

[shortBoarder]

...it was simply too much for them. God shined some holy light onto the the Busa. Some turned away, overcome with emotion; the ones that continued to stare were quickly turned to dust. Alas, the trip had started tragically.

 

[shortBoarder]

This called for a moment of solitude.

 

[shortBoarder]

We stared at the horizon for a few hours, trying to make sense of it all.

 

[shortBoarder]

Trying to make sense of it all, continued.

 

[shortBoarder]

Then Tim (the Pashnit guy) showed up and we forgot all about it.