2013 Blog
Miles to date - 8,706.3
January 5th - Andrea took the MSF course out at the Shafter Airport. I took her lunch and did a little riding around. 62.5 miles
January 21st - Replaced my front tire this weekend. I put the last one on the bike at 37,288 miles and this one went on at 52,262. That front tire lasted 14,974 miles! That is fantastic mileage! That front tire did at least 3, 1000 plus mile days. Today I rode Old Hwy 58 over to Avila and had lunch at "Fatcats". Had the fish and chips. Pretty good. I would recommend them to someone. Total miles for the day, 250.2
February 2nd - Today I rode over to Death Valley and had lunch with Chris Purney in Furnace Creek. Great day for a ride to DV. Overcast and 70 degrees. Turned the jacket on going over Walker Pass coming and going. Left at 0800 and returned home at 1830. Chris and I kicked tires and told lies for 2 and a half hours. 457.2 miles
February 9th - Rode the Glenville/Woody Loop. Snow on the ground at 3000 feet. 40 degrees in Glenville. 88.2 miles
February 17th - While everybody else was with the crowds in Kernville for Whiskey Flat Days and crashing on Hwy 178 Andrea and I rode up in Twin Oaks and visited the Ponderosa Stunt Ranch in Black Canyon. The Geo-Cache I had placed there for the DKC was still there so I recovered it. Nice little ride. Weather was great! 117.8 miles
February 23rd and 24th - Rode to Death Valley and spent the night at Furnace Creek with Mike Reede. There is a ride report pending on this adventure.
489.1 miles
March 2nd - Change the rear tire at 53959 miles. This rear lasted 5046 miles. Just a little shy of normal.
March 2nd - Rode to Pine Mountain Club and had lunch. Nice little ride.
160.5 miles
March 3rd - Rode the Glenville/Woody Loop just for something to do. 85.4 miles.
March 10th - Andrea and I have been sick and stuck at the house for a week. The weather is nice so we rode out to Blackwells Corner and bought some nuts! Ran into Uncle Bill and Aunt Wanda there. They were on their way home from the coast. 108.8 miles
March 11th - I rode the Glenville/Woody road up to Glenville. I then headed towards Poso and then west on Old Stage Road. Took that the Fountain Springs and out to Hwy 65. South on 65 to 155. East on 155 to Woody. Took the high road over to Glenville/Woody Road and then Home. 132.1 miles.
March 16th - Andrea and I rode with the Pashnit Group today. Hooked up with them in McKittrick and then rode to the coast. Lots of great roads and a great group of riders. Had dinner a Jockos which was excellent. Andrea and I rode home. Great day! 317.3 miles
March 24th - Brad, Bobby Wahl and I completed a Saddle Sore 1000 in just under 18 hours. My total ODO mileage was 1036.0 miles and my total GPS mileage was 1049.5. I always use GPS miles for this blog. Ride Report to follow.
March 30th - Rode to Jalama Beach with Reede and Groucho. JO and MO started out with us but had to turn around because of a clutch problem. They made it back okay. We had great weather and a great hamburger. Ride report to follow with pictures of those hamburgers! 370.1 miles
April 13th - Rode over to 229 and 58 to meet with Shelly. While we were there Tim and a Pashnit tour showed up for a break. I got to meet Tim finally. Shelly and I rode See Canyon over to Avila and had lunch at FatCats. We rode See Canyon back. I went and picked up our Jan Cris wine order and then home. 292.6 miles. It is starting to get warm! 90 degrees riding into the valley!
April 14th - Rode with Johnny and Micki to Black Rock Reservor via Trimmer Springs Road. Fantastic views of Pine Flat Lake and the Kings River. Seemed like all I did all day long was turn and shift, shift and turn and shift. When I got home I was beat! When I get time I will post up a few of the pictures.
417.0 miles.
April 20th - Another weekend of Riding with Johnny and Micki. Kenny Sporer also joined in on the fun! This trip took us up to view the Mammoth Pools from the "Mile High Lookout" Very nice views. Ended up running in to some snow and had to turn around. Ride report to follow. 446.2 miles
April 28th - Re-conected with an old friend, Alan Wyatt, who also has a GS. Met up this morning and went for a bit of a ride. We went up and over Breckenridge, down to Bodfish and then on into Lake Isabella. Around the lake to the Kernville Airport for a burger. After lunch we stopped in and said hi to Wendy at CycleSmiths. After our quick visit it was up and over 155 and home. Great day of riding! 148.0 miles
May 5th - Alan, Dan and I rode 155 over to Kernville for breakfast and then rode it back. Good day of riding! Got back to Bakersfield and the wind was blowing hard. I rode through a tumbleweed bigger than a VW Bug! 155.6 miles
May 11th - Alan and I bought some Heidenau Scout Tires from Revzilla and we took them up to Wendy at CycleSmiths in Kernville today to put them on our bikes for us. Thank you Wendy! Alan also bought a SPOT today from Wendy. We went up to Kernville over Hwy 155. Because we had these new agressive tires on our bikes I figured it would be fun to ride as much dirt home as possible. We rode Old State Road up to Alta Sierra and the we took Rancharia Road down to Hwy 178 and then home. I was a little sketched out when we first started out on the dirt! I had not riden in the dirt like that for over a year, maybe closer to two. By the end of the dirt section I was braking into turns and accelerating out of them. Maybe not the smothest, but it was fun and good practice. I really like the Heidenau's so far. Going to see how they last and how they handle on the road in the twisties. 142.7 miles
May 16 thru 19 - Alan and I rode to Mormon Lake Az for the Overland Expo. We had a real good time riding the dirt roads in Az and made some good friends. I will be posting pictures and a little write up about the weekend. 1610.0 miles
May 25th - I wanted to ride in a bit of dirt but could not find anyone to ride with me so I went up Poso Flat Road to Rancharia Road. Rancharia to Old State Rd. Went down Old State Road and over to Kernville to wish Wendy a Happy Birthday. I then road up Old State Road and ran into my friend Paul Cooper at Alta Sierra. Chatted with him a bit and then road 155 home. Good afternoon of riding. 135.1 miles
June 5th - Started bonus hunting for the DKC 200 so I cannot really say where I went. I will say this, there is going to be a little dirt available to you if you are into that kind of thing! 114.6 miles
June 14th thru 17th - Andrea was in a class up on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe during the week. I rode up on Friday the 14th. I rode up via the 41 to the 49 to the 4 over Ebbetts Pass, down the east side of the hills and then north on into South Lake. Saturday Andrea and I spent the day exploring around Nevada. We went to Carson City and had lunch with Andreas aunt and then to Virginia City to check out the shops and what not. We then went to Washoe Valley and found the house Andreas Grandparents built when she was a child. The last time she had seen the house she was eight years old. It has changed a bit. Sunday I took Andrea up Hwy 4 and we had lunch at the Lake Alpine Lodge. Great day of riding and Andrea got to see some country she had not ever seen. Monday we headed home. I chose to ride over 108, Sonora Pass, on my way home. Was a beautiful ride! Sonora Pass has got to be a favorite of mine. 1046.4 miles
June 22nd and 23rd - Alan Wyatt and I rode up to Black Rock Reservoir and spent the night in the PG&E owned and maintained camp ground. Very nice place! Thanks for the dinner Alan! Good job! I'll post up some pictures soon. 359.4 miles
July 16th - It has been a few weeks! I finally got the chance to ride today! Went over Breckenridge through Lake Isabella and over 155 back down to Bakersfield. Felt good to be back on the bike! It was 75 degrees on top of Breckenridge and 99 degrees in Bakersfield! 150.0 miles
