California Ride to Markleeville
When I was awaiting the arrival of my '99 Tourer I posted some of my plans for the new bike, including plans to go on one of my favorite rides from Oakland
to Markleeville, CA near the Nevada border. I invited anyone who wanted to come along.
Two forum members replied; Rod, who lives in Sacramento, and Roger, a longtime resident of Lake Tahoe. Last
Saturday we hit the road.
All of you reading this know what it's like to view the road, the scenery and the miles passing by when you go for a long ride. That's what I did Saturday with two new friends, experiencing every sensation, every turn in the road and every wide-open throttle trip through the gears thinking, "This is it. This is why we ride."
I left my house in Oakland early Saturday morning heading northeast to State highway 4. As I've mentioned before, it's one of my favorite rides. CA 4 goes East- West from San Francisco bay almost to Nevada, about 230 miles. For part of my ride east to meet the Rod and Roger, I found myself at the head of a group of about 10 riders from the Oakland Motorcycle Club. (They were all proudly wearing their colors, non-threatening orange windbreakers.) We rode together across the Delta from Discovery Bay to Stockton. They disappeared heading someplace else when we reached Stockton.
The plan was to meet Rod and Roger at a burger joint I had been to before in Angels Camp. Just one problem. The place I remembered was in further east, in Arnold, not Angels Camp. I rolled into Angels Camp about 11:05. I topped off the tank at the West end of town and rode to the East end expecting to find the burger joint and Rod & Roger. Well, there was no burger joint and no Rod & Roger. I continued on 4 a ways and turned around. I rode up 49 a mile or so (49 goes North-South through the heart of the Gold Country and is named in honor of the Argonauts of 1849.) and came back towards town. I was in the middle of a U-turn and wondering where to look next when along came a pair of Honda Shadow Ace Tourers. What are the chances of seeing two of these rare bikes together coming right at me? It had to be them. It turns out they had seen me go by in town and were trying to catch me. After introductions all around we were heading East on 4 as planned.
Rod led us to a Mexican restaurant in Arnold, about 15 miles up the road. It was nearly right across the street from the "burger joint" that I thought was in Angels Camp. Oops! At lunch, we visited and got to know each other a little bit. The conversation alternately was about past rides and riding adventures and cameras, particularly film and its high resolution and suitability for artistic expression (Rod's position) versus the convenience and adequate expressiveness of digital photography. (My position and I gathered Roger's position too.) We finished our meal and set out for Markleeville. We saw a lot of other riders out on the road too. Every kind of bike- and trike- was represented. We saw vintage Harleys, sportbikes galore, choppers, modern Harleys and a pride of Goldwings riding over the Monitor Pass.
It turns out the lunchtime discussion of photography was not merely academic. We stopped numerous times to shoot our bikes, the scenery and each other. Some of my pics are here: http://s231.photobucket.com/albums/ee173/oak1099kevin/Ride%20in%20the%20mountains%20090807/
It was worthwhile taking all the pictures. The scenery is breathtaking where we were in the mountains. The Shadow ACE Tourer is very photogenic too!
I continue to learn the ride and handling aspects of the Tourer. It's amazing to me that a bike so similar to my previous mount ('99 Shadow ACE) can ride so different. The comfort and riding position is exactly the same, perfect for me. But, the acceleration and smoothness of the T is so much greater! I can't quantify it. I know there are horsepower ratings but they don't reveal how much more versatile this engine is. Each gear has more useful range at the bottom and the top of the revs. Wide-open throttle is more "hang on for dear life" than "we'll get there sometime". That's fun! The ride and handling is softer and more compliant yet more precise and "grippier" than my old bike. That's probably the radial tires doing their job. I love it!
We skipped Markleeville and went over the Monitor Pass instead. That road is spectacular! A few hairpin turns mixed with 55-65 mph sweepers overlooking the great Nevada desert from above- and it goes on for 30 miles or so! If you search Google maps, hybrid view, for "Markleeville" you'll see the from left to right; the Sierra Nevada Foothills, A section of the wooded Sierras and then desert beyond- way beyond! We stopped at a Restaurant overlooking Topaz lake for sodas and post ride recap.
We made loose plans to ride together again. The riding season here is nearly year round so I know we'll be on the road again soon.
So there's the inevitable question: Where to next? Whom will we meet along the way? What adventures does the future hold?
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