recovered memories of Fish Rock Road ( sorta long)

Ok, so Saturday could've been a typical day in heaven. We left Red Bluff at
745 and rode CA36to Wildwood, where we had breakfast and took a break from
the never ending onslaught of turns ( oh no!!)

We rode all the way to Fort Bragg , winding up on another main event road,
CA One from Leggett to Fort Bragg. Yummy.

But Sunday, when we discovered that our third most favorite road, CA 128 was
chip sealed from Boonville to Cloverdale ( I mean crap sealed) we took a
right onto Fish Rock Road ( can we ask what *is* a Fish Rock?) .

Well I thought for sure it was the same little road I took a few years back,
from Gualala to Boonville. Well ../%#@*
I thought wrong...
It really was:
30+ miles of steep uphill and downhill ( 15% at least!) of dirt, ruts,
switchbacks ( yikes) , potato sized rocks ( not Fish sized), and 115 degree
heat.

So on a pair of streetbikes, my friends BMW R100S, and me on my 2003 R1 ( I
know, I know) later we were ready to give up and call the helicopter
motorcycle rescue service.
Oh but there is no such thing. And no cell phone service either.
Waaaaaa
John crashed coming down one of the above mentioned grades, it took us 15
minutes of grunt and maguyvering to get it vertical again. It was so steep
and the surface covered with sand and ball bearings made to look like rocks,
so we had a hell of a time even getting the bike lifted up. 600 lbs at
least!! Pichler fairing and you name it.

Luckily I managed to convince my R1 that it was a KLR with knobby tires, and
got over the very steep up sloped switchbacks, a plume of dust and rock in
my wake.
But I have to admit coming down the other side towards the coast was
ridiculous. But we finally , after 3 hours of sweating it out, found some
old lumpy pavement, and so we stopped just long enough to kiss it.
At that point I had nearly quadroupled my entire dirt riding portfolio.
Then we blasted down to Gualala and consumed vast quantities of water, frech
toast, and other breakfast stuff.
this clip shows a little of how wonderful the road is.
http://colevalley.net/road/movie/Dirt.wmv

Needless to say we relished the ride down the coast, marveling at how
wonderful asphalt is, in any shape.
I did want a adventure this weekend though, so I have no right to complain.

--
Jim Stinnett
R1100RS
VTR1000
YZF R1
http://moto-rama.com

 

Don't you just want to blast 299 and 36 in mad loops for a couple of weeks?
Maybe not in this heat. Thanks for the warning about 128. You know 253
rocks out of Boonville I'm sure. Do you think you were the first R1 on Fish
Rock? It's always possible to recover the good feelings by hitting Chilenos
on the way home if time permits.

I am thinking of a weekday 3-day ride outta the ba in early October. I-80
E, I-5 N, and then loop 49 and 70 to enjoy the fall colors. Chill, and then
hit 299 W. Enjoy the river and some fast cruising, aim for the coast, but
sniff around a bit too. Go coastal before hitting 36 E, and check the
schedule (ie how much do I miss my dog) to see if I should just blast south
or jog east and check out Ponderosa Way and Hogsback Road before droning
homeward. Planning on leaving wed early am so if the schedule is extended
because the riding is excellent, sat and sun act as a buffer. Companions
and suggestions welcome. What up with CA 162--looks good on a map.

Later!
Alex C.

 

On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 02:05:56 GMT, "mentALEXcersize"

.. What up with CA 162--looks good on a map.
The Eastern End of 162 is aka Spanish Ranch Road, aka Oroville-Quincy
Road, aka Oroville-Bucks Lake Road. Take it from Oroville Dam to
Quincy, then ask me why I nevewr told you about it before. And while
you're up that way, do the Quincy - La POrte Road as part of a loop.
You will never forget it.
It's paved, too.

See:
http://www.pashnit.com/roads/cal/OrovilleQuincy.htm

Jim S
VTR1000
R1100RS
YZF R1
http://moto-rama.com