[ST] Weekend Report

[Matt Knowles <matt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well the weather wasn't spectacular, but I was determined to get some 
ride time this weekend. I've been spending most of my weekends since 
December in firefighter training. This weekend the only training 
activity was with a CDF helicopter so I didn't mind. Here's a picture 
of my house from the air. Right now I live in a desert in the middle 
of an oasis.

http://www.knowlesville.com/matt/images/2004-05/2004-05-08.jpg

Saturday, I had just enough time to get the KLR out for a quick spin 
on Monument, a road that runs on a ridge top between Ferndale and Rio 
Dell.

The main event came Sunday, when not only did the Sprint get a wash, 
I took it out Hwy. 36. The plan was to ride 36 up to Mad River, then 
cut over on Route 1 to 299 and then take that back. It's been awhile 
since I really got the bike out and it had a brand new tire so I took 
it easy to start, but after awhile everything started feeling more 
natural and the lean factor began increasing. Stopped in Dinsmore for 
coffee, and then another short blast to Mad River where I turned off 
onto Route 1. This road is barely a lane and a half wide and runs the 
ridge top most of the way. On a clear day you can see Mt. Shasta and 
the Pacific Ocean from one spot. Normally this road is so deserted 
you are lucky to see two other vehicles coming the other way in the 
50 mile length it runs. About 10 miles up I was surprised to see 
there was still snow along the road. Then another mile I was 
surprised to see snow a foot deep on the road, with tire tracks being 
the only way to proceed. This worked fine for about three crossings 
until I came around one corner and found a pickup truck stuck in a 
fairly deep snow bank, right in the middle of the road. The driver 
wasn't around, but this person had about a 10 mile walk up and down 
hills to get to the nearest house, which was actually a trailer, that 
I would have been cautious approaching. I think there was a reason 
this person wasn't living near society.

I turned around and went back the way I came, stopping once more in 
Dinsmore to call the CHP. The dispatcher had never even heard of 
Route 1. In Dinsmore there were two guy on brand spanking new R1's. 
One of the guys had just finished breaking his in and dropped in on 
Platino Rd. Banged his knee and broke a few things off his new bike, 
but now he was trying to figure out how he was going to ride back to 
Monterey, a distance of about 400 miles, with a knee that didn't want 
to bend. Didn't sound like fun.

My ride back was just as fun as the ride out. Other than the snow, it 
was a rather uneventful ride, but sometimes (as in the case of the R1 
rider) that is best.

- -- 
Matt Knowles
Aesthetic Design & Photography - www.aestheticdesign.com - (707) 786-4643

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