jwhite518
Well-known member
[SIZE=18pt]Intro[/SIZE]
This ride has a complicated backstory. The actual ride report begins further down, for those who just want to look at the purty pitchers. Awhile back, my endurance riding friend Ken Meese and I began discussing various rides we wanted to do. One of them was the Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest, which was a bonus in the 07 Iron Butt Rally. It had been described by rally riders variously as "brutal," "challenging," and "fun." It was a dirt road that led from Highway 168 in the Eastern Sierra, up to a grove of the oldest living things on earth. One tree was over 4,000 years old. When I found out last April that I'd been drawn for the 09 rally, we decided to really do it.
As I began planning the California Courthouse rides I found out that Hanford is the county seat of Kings County. That jogged something in my memory bank. Whenever the topic of good eatin' comes up on the LDRider list, folks say the Superior Dairy in Hanford has the best milkshakes in the country. As an ice cream fan I knew I'd go there some day. It was an easy idea to make that my last county and call a Ride To Eat there. People will always ride for good food, and I could get a lot of friends in my last courthouse photo. Conveniently enough, LD Riders Tom and Rosie Sperry also live in Hanford. I told them about my idea and they instantly said, "We'll host it at our house. "
I asked George Z if he would bring a pot of his gumbo to feed the masses. He said he'd love to, as long as his expenses were covered. So we all worked out a date and I posted the RTE here and on the list. Later, George had a business opportunity come up and ended up dropping out as an RTE partygoer, though he made sure the gumbo got there. Our simple pinecone run had morphed into a rather grandiose thing involving courthouses and gumbo shuttles. Then there was the whole Reno John affair, but that's better left unspoken.
OK, that's the intro.
[SIZE=18pt]Ride Report[/SIZE]
I left my house Friday night and rode to Markleeville, the Alpine County seat. Being a holiday weekend there was a lot of traffic and it took much longer than I expected. I took Highway 4 and crossed over Ebbetts Pass. This was a really nice ride, even in the dark. The road narrowed to one lane for much of it. There were patches of snow on the sides of the road. Fortunately those black spots of runoff on the road were water, not ice. The motel keeper had left the room open for me and I got to sleep near 1 AM.
Next morning I took care of business. Here's the courthouse.
The whole town is about 100 yards long so I photographed every building there.
My motel.
The crick.
I saddled up and headed out. The morning was perfect for riding. It was sunny and not too cold. The light in the mountains was gorgeous. Heading over Monitor Pass I stopped for some shots.
The road descended to the high desert of US 395. Southward I rode. Stopping in Bridgeport I grabbed the Mono County courthouse.
Being ahead of schedule, I had been wanting to stop at a cafe for coffee and a sweet roll. Before I saw one that was open, I spotted a Mexican joint with a patio. There was enough time (or so I thought) so I ordered a breakfast burrito and sat down to call home. The burrito was a thing of beauty, and delicious. Sorry, I didn't have the presence of mind to take any photos of this gastronomical masterpiece. And do I remember the name of the place? Of course not, but it's on the east side of the road in case you're ever there.
There were signs on the road indicating that 395 was closed in Bishop due to a special event. Hm. Wonder what that's about. Maybe a parade? Well, it turned into a pretty big delay as I got stuck in holiday traffic jam. I used my GPS to detour the detour. At least I was moving, though the mileage turned out to be longer. I made it to the Meese rendezvous spot about 15 minutes late. That was a lesson for rallies - don't burn your extra time on trivialities, you may need that time later.
We said an LDRider hello ("Hey. Let's go.") and started up the pass toward Bristlecone. Right away we caught up with a couple of Harley riders in their t-shirt and beanie helmet riding gear. The first one let us pass but the second one thought he'd have some fun with us. Bra-a-a-a-a-a-a-p went his bike and the chase was on. We didn't want to make the guy crash in the tight turns and sharp dips, so we held back slightly. At the first straightaway we exercised teh awesome power of our I-4 motors and he was in our mirrors. Later, dude.
Turned north on White Mountain Road and climbed through the park. Pretty soon I saw the turnoff for Pinyon Pines Campground, which is where Paul Peloquin and I first met during a Cal 24 rally. Hi Paul! At one turnout we stopped to photograph the mountains in the west. It appeared that we were actually higher than those snowy peaks, though I can't figure out how that worked since there was no snow where we were.
We kept going until the pavement ran out. The sign said 12 miles to the Patriarch Grove. At first I went gingerly. This was the whole reason for the ride, to get some practice on dirt. Eventually I started getting my sea legs and sped up some. It still wasn't a great pace, and I couldn't imagine riding 400 miles of this to Prudhoe Bay. And finally, we made it to the top!
Unfortunately the last mile to the actual IBR bonus spot was inaccessible by vehicle, as a snow drift covered the road. We thought about walking it, but that would take a long time and was really unnecessary. The point of the ride was the ride, not the photo. We wandered around a bit right there, and took some cool shots under the closest ancient tree. My GPS elevation reading was over 11,000 feet.
Here's the roadblock (and the snow.)
Patriarch Grove
The tree. I wonder how old this one was.
Closeup of yours truly.
Well, that was that. Time to head back down. Ken and I had a chat about dirt riding and off we went. With my newfound confidence we cut off some time on the return trip. Hmmm...maybe I could do Prudhoe after all. Here's a shot of the road.
Once we got back on pavement it seemed effortless. I was banging my boots in the curves for the first time ever on that bike. I was enjoying the solid pavement and and the feeling of accomplishment at doing the Bristlecone road, but not pushing the turns very hard. Meese had other ideas, so he passed me and took a big lead. Hm, a familiar riding order for us. At least my new bike doesn't require a tow rope. I knew I could keep up if I wanted but I didn't.
Then we were back at 395 and turned south. Ken mentioned to me that he thought my topcase was bouncing too much. I had also felt things shaking around back there but just thought it was the contents moving around on the dirt road. We pulled into the first gas station in Big Pine and inspected. Dammit! Something was broken. You could see cracked bodywork and broken metal. We decided to tie the top case to his bike and secure my tail section with straps. That repair took awhile but I was glad he was there to help. Off we went. Here are some pics of the broken subframe, taken when I got home.
Just a few miles later was the Inyo County courthouse in Independence. I suppose a town named Independence saves its parades for 4th of July. Surprisingly big courthouse for such a small town.
At this point we were pretty late for our Hanford gig. We rode straight there, stopping only once for gas. The road over Walker Pass and past Lake Isabella was fun, though slow in places due to holiday traffic. The lake sure looked nice and I envied all the campers down on the beach. We pulled into the Sperry's street at 6:00 PM, an hour past our intended time.
The party was in full swing. There had been 30 RSVPs but some last minute dropouts put it down to a couple dozen. We chatted with everybody and I even managed a dip in the pool. Then it was time to ride to the courthouse. We rode through Hanford in parade formation with T&R leading the way. Once downtown we parked with military precision, that is, if we were an army of drunken clowns. Eventually we assembled on the courthouse steps and I had my 58th and final courthouse photo. My quest was over, and I was touched by all the people who were there to help me celebrate.
A Great Day in Hanford
The Dairy was right across the street. Rosie suggested everybody get their food and come back to the park to eat. So we had an ice cream picnic on the grass. It was a very pleasant way to end the day. And the ice cream? Delicious! Most folks said their goodbyes from there, but a few of us went back to the house to watch Speed TV and sleep over. I owe huge thanks to Ken, Tom, and Rosie. You guys really made this thing happen. Also to George, for being a man of your word. And of course, to everyone who showed up, thanks for making it a very special day.
Here's a link to my pix from the ride and Rosie's pix of the people at the party.
Total SJC10K mileage: 8053
This ride has a complicated backstory. The actual ride report begins further down, for those who just want to look at the purty pitchers. Awhile back, my endurance riding friend Ken Meese and I began discussing various rides we wanted to do. One of them was the Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest, which was a bonus in the 07 Iron Butt Rally. It had been described by rally riders variously as "brutal," "challenging," and "fun." It was a dirt road that led from Highway 168 in the Eastern Sierra, up to a grove of the oldest living things on earth. One tree was over 4,000 years old. When I found out last April that I'd been drawn for the 09 rally, we decided to really do it.
As I began planning the California Courthouse rides I found out that Hanford is the county seat of Kings County. That jogged something in my memory bank. Whenever the topic of good eatin' comes up on the LDRider list, folks say the Superior Dairy in Hanford has the best milkshakes in the country. As an ice cream fan I knew I'd go there some day. It was an easy idea to make that my last county and call a Ride To Eat there. People will always ride for good food, and I could get a lot of friends in my last courthouse photo. Conveniently enough, LD Riders Tom and Rosie Sperry also live in Hanford. I told them about my idea and they instantly said, "We'll host it at our house. "
I asked George Z if he would bring a pot of his gumbo to feed the masses. He said he'd love to, as long as his expenses were covered. So we all worked out a date and I posted the RTE here and on the list. Later, George had a business opportunity come up and ended up dropping out as an RTE partygoer, though he made sure the gumbo got there. Our simple pinecone run had morphed into a rather grandiose thing involving courthouses and gumbo shuttles. Then there was the whole Reno John affair, but that's better left unspoken.
OK, that's the intro.[SIZE=18pt]Ride Report[/SIZE]
I left my house Friday night and rode to Markleeville, the Alpine County seat. Being a holiday weekend there was a lot of traffic and it took much longer than I expected. I took Highway 4 and crossed over Ebbetts Pass. This was a really nice ride, even in the dark. The road narrowed to one lane for much of it. There were patches of snow on the sides of the road. Fortunately those black spots of runoff on the road were water, not ice. The motel keeper had left the room open for me and I got to sleep near 1 AM.
Next morning I took care of business. Here's the courthouse.
The whole town is about 100 yards long so I photographed every building there.
My motel.
The crick.
I saddled up and headed out. The morning was perfect for riding. It was sunny and not too cold. The light in the mountains was gorgeous. Heading over Monitor Pass I stopped for some shots.
The road descended to the high desert of US 395. Southward I rode. Stopping in Bridgeport I grabbed the Mono County courthouse.
Being ahead of schedule, I had been wanting to stop at a cafe for coffee and a sweet roll. Before I saw one that was open, I spotted a Mexican joint with a patio. There was enough time (or so I thought) so I ordered a breakfast burrito and sat down to call home. The burrito was a thing of beauty, and delicious. Sorry, I didn't have the presence of mind to take any photos of this gastronomical masterpiece. And do I remember the name of the place? Of course not, but it's on the east side of the road in case you're ever there.
There were signs on the road indicating that 395 was closed in Bishop due to a special event. Hm. Wonder what that's about. Maybe a parade? Well, it turned into a pretty big delay as I got stuck in holiday traffic jam. I used my GPS to detour the detour. At least I was moving, though the mileage turned out to be longer. I made it to the Meese rendezvous spot about 15 minutes late. That was a lesson for rallies - don't burn your extra time on trivialities, you may need that time later.
We said an LDRider hello ("Hey. Let's go.") and started up the pass toward Bristlecone. Right away we caught up with a couple of Harley riders in their t-shirt and beanie helmet riding gear. The first one let us pass but the second one thought he'd have some fun with us. Bra-a-a-a-a-a-a-p went his bike and the chase was on. We didn't want to make the guy crash in the tight turns and sharp dips, so we held back slightly. At the first straightaway we exercised teh awesome power of our I-4 motors and he was in our mirrors. Later, dude.
Turned north on White Mountain Road and climbed through the park. Pretty soon I saw the turnoff for Pinyon Pines Campground, which is where Paul Peloquin and I first met during a Cal 24 rally. Hi Paul! At one turnout we stopped to photograph the mountains in the west. It appeared that we were actually higher than those snowy peaks, though I can't figure out how that worked since there was no snow where we were.
We kept going until the pavement ran out. The sign said 12 miles to the Patriarch Grove. At first I went gingerly. This was the whole reason for the ride, to get some practice on dirt. Eventually I started getting my sea legs and sped up some. It still wasn't a great pace, and I couldn't imagine riding 400 miles of this to Prudhoe Bay. And finally, we made it to the top!
Unfortunately the last mile to the actual IBR bonus spot was inaccessible by vehicle, as a snow drift covered the road. We thought about walking it, but that would take a long time and was really unnecessary. The point of the ride was the ride, not the photo. We wandered around a bit right there, and took some cool shots under the closest ancient tree. My GPS elevation reading was over 11,000 feet.
Here's the roadblock (and the snow.)
Patriarch Grove
The tree. I wonder how old this one was.
Closeup of yours truly.
Well, that was that. Time to head back down. Ken and I had a chat about dirt riding and off we went. With my newfound confidence we cut off some time on the return trip. Hmmm...maybe I could do Prudhoe after all. Here's a shot of the road.
Once we got back on pavement it seemed effortless. I was banging my boots in the curves for the first time ever on that bike. I was enjoying the solid pavement and and the feeling of accomplishment at doing the Bristlecone road, but not pushing the turns very hard. Meese had other ideas, so he passed me and took a big lead. Hm, a familiar riding order for us. At least my new bike doesn't require a tow rope. I knew I could keep up if I wanted but I didn't.
Then we were back at 395 and turned south. Ken mentioned to me that he thought my topcase was bouncing too much. I had also felt things shaking around back there but just thought it was the contents moving around on the dirt road. We pulled into the first gas station in Big Pine and inspected. Dammit! Something was broken. You could see cracked bodywork and broken metal. We decided to tie the top case to his bike and secure my tail section with straps. That repair took awhile but I was glad he was there to help. Off we went. Here are some pics of the broken subframe, taken when I got home.
Just a few miles later was the Inyo County courthouse in Independence. I suppose a town named Independence saves its parades for 4th of July. Surprisingly big courthouse for such a small town.
At this point we were pretty late for our Hanford gig. We rode straight there, stopping only once for gas. The road over Walker Pass and past Lake Isabella was fun, though slow in places due to holiday traffic. The lake sure looked nice and I envied all the campers down on the beach. We pulled into the Sperry's street at 6:00 PM, an hour past our intended time.
The party was in full swing. There had been 30 RSVPs but some last minute dropouts put it down to a couple dozen. We chatted with everybody and I even managed a dip in the pool. Then it was time to ride to the courthouse. We rode through Hanford in parade formation with T&R leading the way. Once downtown we parked with military precision, that is, if we were an army of drunken clowns. Eventually we assembled on the courthouse steps and I had my 58th and final courthouse photo. My quest was over, and I was touched by all the people who were there to help me celebrate.
A Great Day in Hanford
The Dairy was right across the street. Rosie suggested everybody get their food and come back to the park to eat. So we had an ice cream picnic on the grass. It was a very pleasant way to end the day. And the ice cream? Delicious! Most folks said their goodbyes from there, but a few of us went back to the house to watch Speed TV and sleep over. I owe huge thanks to Ken, Tom, and Rosie. You guys really made this thing happen. Also to George, for being a man of your word. And of course, to everyone who showed up, thanks for making it a very special day.
Here's a link to my pix from the ride and Rosie's pix of the people at the party.
Total SJC10K mileage: 8053
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