California Loop 2018 Day 5 Part 2

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In this video, I rode from Redding, CA to Cottonwood Campground Creek Campground in the Tahoe National Forest, just south of Sierraville, CA. Following Google Maps like a lemming, I turned onto the wrong road, Verdi Grade Road which was a bumpy dirt road with numerous sizeable rocks and wash outs.

Once I decided that I was on the wrong road, I turned around and was headed back to the California Highway 89 where my forward progress was halted by a large rock and of course there was a deep washout where I went to put my left foot down.

Dexter’s curb weight is about 850 pounds, figure about 200 pounds of gear and add my weigh of around 265, total weight is in the neighborhood of 1,200 – 1,300 pounds. That is freaking heavy lol and near impossible to hold up once the bike tips past a certain point. So, Dexter took a dirt nap. I tried to pick Dexter while still loaded, yeah not gonna happen. So there on the dirt road / path I unloaded the heavy stuff and did manage to pick Dexter up, reloaded and turned into the Campground which was maybe 500 feet from where I turned onto this interesting road.

Dexter is a 2005 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic, this bike is very much designed for pavement or at least a groomed gravel road. I had no business being on this road…buy hey, now I have a story to tell 🙂

USA Midwest 2023 – T Minus 7 Days

Today is one week until my USA Midwest 2023 trip begins. It has been three years since I have done a long distance trip. I did a regional trip from Atlanta (Douglasville, GA) to Charlotte of 685 miles and a regional from Atlanta (Douglasville, GA) to Myrtle Beach of 793 miles in 2021. I did not do any riding in 2022 at all due to working a second job that I quit in December 2022 (one year part time warehouse work) – have to pay for my toys (and never-ending home projects) somehow.

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California Loop 2018 Day 5 Part 1

In this video, I depart the Burlington Campground – Weott, CA and roll north first on Avenue of the Giants and then Hwy 101 to Eureka, CA where I turn east onto California Highway 299 to 11 miles west of Redding, California.

Avenue of the Giants and CA Highway 299 had some exceptional scenery and some nice sweeping curves on CA Highway 299. Also some very nice scenes along portions of the Trinity River.

California Loop 2018 Day 4 – Redwoods / Chandler Tree

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Today was another scenic ride in the California Redwoods. I rolled south from Weott, CA (Burlington Campground) to Legget, CA. First on the Avenue of the Giants and then US Highway 1010.

In Legget, I drove thru Chandler Tree in Drive Thru Tree Park and then headed back north to Burlington Campground in Weott, CA.

California Loop 2018 Day 3 Part 3 – Lost Coast, Petrolia – Capetown

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In this video, I ride from Petrolia, California to Capetown, California along California’s Lost Cost on Mattole Road. The remoteness of this area of California along with the scenery makes this area a great ride and place to explore.

After my roadside pitstop at Captetown, I discovered that the angle on my GoPro mounted to the top of my helmet was too high. A bit of a bummer that I didn’t capture any usable video of Ferndale, California. This is a charming small town and there was parade on this day that I rolled through (I don’t think the parade was in my honor though).

On my next helmet, I have mounted the GoPro on my chin. I like the viewing angle better from here as you can see some of my motorcycle. However, my wife prefers the view from atop of the helmet, better for scenery she claims. Who’s right?….who knows (until she reads this, then of course she is right!) 🙂

California Loop 2018 Day 3 Part 2 – Lost Coast Honeydew to Mattole Point

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On this day, I ride from Honeydew, California to Lost Coast Mattole Point on the Mattole Road and Lighthouse Road. The road was in pretty bad shape and I was not as comfortable on Dexter as I am now.

At the time of this video, it had only been 8 months since my nasty motorcycle accident where I high sided off the bike, and only 5 months since I had purchased Dexter. So, a long story not as long, I rode very slow though many portions of these roads the were peppered with potholes, washouts or in some cases half the road was gone. Also a fair amount of gravel where the asphalt had washed / worn away.

Regardless of the sketchy road conditions (and my inexperience with Dexter at the time) the scenery was fantastic and this was a very memorable portion of this trip for me.

California Loop 2018 Day 3 Part 1 – Humboldt Redwoods

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On this day, I rode from my camp in Burlington Campground onto the Avenue of the Giants and Mattole Road, riding through Humboldt Redwoods Sate Park.

Put your headphones on, Sit back and chill to this soothing and relaxing video.

This vide is one of three videos covering California Loop 2018 Day 3

California Loop 2018 – Golden Gate Bridge

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This video focuses on my ride over the Golden Gate Bridge and some of the Recreational Area.

Video is taken from the second half of the video, California Loop 2018 Day 2 Part 1.

California Loop 2018 Day 2 Part 2 – Redwoods

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On Day 2 Part 2, I ride from the Golden Gate Bridge – San Francisco north on US Highway 101 thru the California Redwoods and end the day at Burlington Campground in Humboldt State Park – Weott, CA.

I camped 3 nights at this campground nestled among the California Redwoods.

On day 3, I explored the Lost Coast and on day 4 rode the Avenue of Giants south to Legget, CA to ride thru Chandler Tree.

California Loop 2018 Day 2 Part 1

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On this day I rode north from Salinas, CA to San Francisco for breakfast, photos at Twin Peaks Park, and finally rolled across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Allot of riding through residential areas offers up the opportunity to view some of the unique architecture in San Francisco.

Riding across the Golden Gate Bridge is always enjoyable. As the marine layer rolled in, I rode trough the wisps of clouds as they rolled over the hilltops on Conzelman Road.

Being Memorial Day Weekend, the bridge was quite crowed and lots of traffic on the bridge itself and in the Golden Gate Recreation Area. I did not spend allot of time around the bride wanting to make camp before nightfall. Looks like a good excuse for another future vacation to explore San Francisco in more detail. 🙂