Eric K
Riding to Death Valley in January, I thought during the trip that I had stopped on the moon on more than one occasion. The landscape, the odd terrain in places, and the quirky little Inn I stayed the night at, reminded me of some of the old space movies that I have seen or maybe even Mars in some places.
Riding into Death Valley I got the chance to stop along the way and visit the Trona Pinnacles. I remarked to myself, inside my helmet that I may have actually landed on Mars somewhere in the confusion of dusty roads that I had been comparing on my map. Riding down the sand filled access road the Pinnacles waited for me, rising from the desert floor in all of their odd splendor. They seemed vaguely familiar and even though I was only 5-7 miles from the main road, I already felt like I was on another planet. What a sight. The Tufas rising out of the desert floor and a light cloud of dust from the road traffic settling around the horizon almost looked like some type of moon fog. If there were such a thing.
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On a ride development trip to Death Valley earlier this year I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed at the vastness of the land before my eyes. And that desription doesn’t do justice to the incredible amount of land mass that Death Valley covers. It has an area that covers about 3,000 sq mi. And yet on the map it looks so neatly packaged. And obtainable. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Its vast. And it seems like you are going to be alone forever riding through it. And then out of nowhere there are people, or wildlife, or at least signs of life, in a place that you couldn’t imagine would sustain life. Its unimaginable how hot it gets there in the summer. In the middle of January I had to ventilate my textile jacket. And then nightfall brought about freezing temps and bitter cutting cold that pierced my heated gear.
A few people have asked me about the Zebra in the pictures that I have taken on my rides through the Lost Coast. Here’s the skinny. They are real. Not horses painted weird or hybrids. Good ol fashion African Zebra.
If you have riding motorcycles in Northern California, you may have heard about this place called the Lost Coast. But few have been there, and even fewer know about it. What is it about this place that is so spectacular? In a few words; It is magical. Spectacular scenery on a remote part of California’s coast filled with history and mystery.It has been named by National Geographic as one of the last, unspoiled, vacation destinations. And it’s the kind of place that you dream of riding a motorcycle to. And there is the easy way and the hard way.
The hard way takes you through the Sinkyone Wilderness and across the Kings Range. The easy way (but not much easier) takes you through a series of goat roads from the main roads and onto this fascinating stretch of coast.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. And that is true. But here is the story behind this picture.
You would think that in today’s modern age that the engineers of parking lots and such would see the need for motorcycles specific parking spaces.
After all we are motorists also. And just like people driving cars, and trucks we have the need for parking.
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We have added 2 new tours to the 2012 lineup and we will be adding 2 more over the next week. Tours have been sorted by region and the dates are listed as well. For more specific information on a tour visit the tour article page by clicking on the respective link name. Check them out here.
Tonight we had the honor of attending the International Motorcycle Shows – San Mateo after being given free tickets by Carla King. We had a chance to look at all of the different manufactures and vendors in each area of the show. We were very excited to see the unveiling of the new Triumph Explorer. In fact we were some of the first few hundred people in the USA to see it so far in person. So we decided to shoot a promo video with Gail Weaver who was working at the Triumph booth. Gail one of the key salesmen at Cycle Specialties BMW-Triumph in Modesto, CA. Check out the video as he talks about the new Triumph Explorer.
On this Gold Rush day ride we wont be chugging along. If you are local you may have heard the phrase “Little Dragon” used by riders to refer to a section of road near Yosemite that defies logic. For many people this road resembles several MotoGP tracks combined. Many people dream of riding a road section this twisty and travel from miles away to experience such a road. However most don’t know that beyond the Little Dragon lies a vast road structure of endless twisties ready to be ridden. And history comes alive in this area. Continue reading