Oracle 195 Posted June 1, 2015 Well, May was a busy month for me....just like every other month...but I managed to set a few days aside for an epic ride. The original plan was for a 7 day ride to tackle the AZBDR trail with two or three other guys. But life happened and I ended up with 5 days and one buddy to make the trip with. Now, if you have ever mapped out the AZBDR, while doable, you probably came to the same conclusion I did. 5 days would be pushing it. And since I wanted to make this trip enjoyable, and as stress free as possible, I decided to roll with the punches, plan a more local route, and leave the AZBDR for another time. With the help of Kato, Afry, and Google, I was able to put together a route that would take me a total of almost 900 miles, approximatley 500 of which were on dirt, over 5 days, and to some of the most beautiful parts of California. My buddy Jeff (on a 990 Adventure) and I (on a 950 Adventure) started the ride from my home in Ramona on Wednesday of last week for Big Bear, our first stop. We left around 9 am and arrived at our campsite around 6 pm. The first day was the same route Kato mapped out during his epic 4 day solo adventure documented here... http://dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.php?/topic/19539-sd-to-el-paso-mnts-the-long-way-a-solo-venture/ I have a lot of pictures of this day but they are basically the same as Kato's, so I'll forego posting too many of mine. The first half of this section, up to Thomas Mountain, is pretty well know by many of the members here. The riding past that point is similar, but in some places even better. While riding up Alder Creek Rd. toward Crestline, my first surprise came as I rounded a bend in the road and came face to face with a brown beer. Luckily he was more afraid of the big guy wearing orange gear and riding an iron horse, than I was of him. I wasn't sure if I should grab my Glock or my camera...as it turns out I didn't have time for either as the bear flew off the side of the road with amazing grace. Alder Creek pops out at highway 330. From there it was short, but fun, slab up to Crestline, where we grabbed beer and water. We headed down to Silverwood lake, where we camped on night one. A couple 24 oz CL's and half bottle of Fireball provided for a solid 8 hours of sleep. We were up and on the road by 8:30 am on day two. From Silverwood lake, we started west on Cleghorn. Kato was right, this is a nice route. From the top of Cleghorn, you can see in many different directions and can note that many different route options, whether you want to head west toward Wrightwood, north toward Death Valley, or east toward Barstow. You eventually drop down into the Cajon Pass, where we encounter our first detour. Kato's route headed north, but we were forced to continue west under the 15 because of a closed freeway on ramp. This was a pleasant surprise as we worked our way through some nice trails, and a river crossing, as we made our way over to the Angles Crest highway, where we hit our first major slab in two days. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted June 1, 2015 As we headed east on Angles Crest highway, we enjoyed some empty twisties for 20 or so miles, before we came to our next section of dirt, which was to take us down to Palmdale area for lunch. But the forest service had other plans, as we came across our first locked gate... This is where paper maps come in handy. Never rely completely on GPS. Always bring paper maps of the area you are riding. We found another forest road that would take us to our desired location and set out for it. To make a long story short, we found another locked gate and had to backtrack quite a ways to continue west on Angles Crest highway, where we connected with Big Tujunga road, and road twisties down to Palmdale. After lunch, we started out on Kato's tracks west of Palmdale but soon found ourselves running out of time and energy (it was hot). We decided to bypass the next section and hit the slab so we could make it to Sequioa before night fall. We took the 14 north and then the 58 (this is where Kato's tracks and mine go separate ways) west into Bakersfield. A quick fuel up and we started up Rancheria Rd. toward the Sequioa National Forest. This is a great road that is worth adding to your tracks of you are heading that way. It takes you all the way from the valley to the top of the mountains, through some beautiful areas. We made to Evans Flat campground around 6 pm and set up camp. The campground was nice (free) and had pit toilets, but no water. We settled in for some gourmet dehydrated sweet and sour pork, cold beer, and more Fireball. Another good night sleep and we were up early for a long day. Our original plan was to continue heading north each day but we decided to make this spot our base camp for at least two day because there was so much to explore. We laid down several hundred miles of dirt trails and roads over the next two days and had a blast. Our campsite was about a 12 mile dirt ride down to Lake Ysabelle or Kern Ville. We made use of this twice to beer, water, and gas up. As it turns out, hard Hepco side bags make good ice coolers. On Saturday, we were heading north toward the Trail of 100 Giants. I have never been to interested in video taping my rides because it never does it justice. I'd rather live it. But at one point I stopped and turned my phone around in the Ram mount just to see what kind of video it would deliver. A couple of minutes into it, a couple bears came charging out of the forest and ran across my path. It was a bit exciting for a So Cal boy. I'll try to post the video later, but be forewarned, it's on the lousy side. So sure enough, Sunday came along and it was time to pack up and head home. We were up and packed by 6:30 am. We worked our way down to Lake Ysabelle, fueled up, grabbed a pack of gem donutes, and hit the road for home. 5 hours later, my bike was back in my garage and I was wiped out. Close to 900 miles over 5 days...the majority of which was dirt. There are so many other options for this ride too...I can't wait to do it again. Keep it on two wheels...LB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EddieEarl 6 Posted June 1, 2015 SWEET ride! Great write up. Would love to see the lousy vid of the 2 bears! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 559 Posted June 1, 2015 Wow, I have been riding in remote parts of Sequoia National forest many times, but the closest I have ever gotten to any bears was run through a pile of bear poop on the trail! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wierdrider 187 Posted June 1, 2015 Awesome journey. Ditto on the bear video. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
danrider 5 Posted June 1, 2015 I still have my Bear Spray from Alaska, No kidding.... Guaranteed that you will not get mulled... I like your trip I up for that!!! . Going to get on my bike next week and wrap my ribs to see how I do on a Ramona Tral. I am up for this kindof ridding mid july. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted June 1, 2015 I definitely have ideas on additional routes...including riding all the way to Yosemite on dirt. Still working on the vid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EddieEarl 6 Posted June 1, 2015 I definitely have ideas on additional routes...including riding all the way to Yosemite on dirt. If you figure that one out I'm there! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MacDuncan 131 Posted June 1, 2015 Congrats on a great trip, just one more that I live vicariously through the riders - hahaha. Looks warm already so no snow up that way I am guessing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted June 1, 2015 No snow...and very little water. Most creeks were dry. We had a couple very minor water crossings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vanjoosten 4 Posted June 2, 2015 No snow...and very little water. Most creeks were dry. We had a couple very minor water crossings. Great news for your ride, not so much for CA... The ride looked EPIC! Sorry I missed this one. I've seen you almost hit a deer before, but two different Bears? If the impact didn't get you, the pissed off bear could be an issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted June 2, 2015 No snow...and very little water. Most creeks were dry. We had a couple very minor water crossings. Great news for your ride, not so much for CA... The ride looked EPIC! Sorry I missed this one. I've seen you almost hit a deer before, but two different Bears? If the impact didn't get you, the pissed off bear could be an issue. Missed you on this one bro. Three bear encounters total. One fox. And 5 or 6 snakes... Here's a link to the bear video. Bear cross in front of me from right to left at the 40 second mark. There was another bear that crossed before this one but wasn't capture in the video. http://vid1291.photobucket.com/albums/b546/baileyclan5/Brown%20bear%202_zps2bw7zvoh.mp4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vanjoosten 4 Posted June 2, 2015 Maybe if you weren't going so damn fast on that fully loaded 950 they would have had time to be on their way! Or you just need louder pipes.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted June 2, 2015 I was just cruisin' through the woods minding my own business.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr.JAJA 380 Posted June 2, 2015 I like to get a group together and do a trip like this, some times end of this year. Any taker's BMW 1150Adv. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
danrider 5 Posted June 3, 2015 If we plan it out I am a go, don't need a bunch 4 at most. 3 is even better, 2 is the best. What do you think Diego? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mikey777 44 Posted June 3, 2015 I am in! Looks fun. Love how Oracle slowed down after the bear ran across...I bet you could hear "Holy Fu$&!, that was a bear" coming from his helmet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted June 4, 2015 I am in! Looks fun. Love how Oracle slowed down after the bear ran across...I bet you could hear "Holy Fu$&!, that was a bear" coming from his helmet. Yeah, but it didn't take me too long to get back on the throttle... I edited the last couple minutes out....at the end I jumped off my bike and got out in front of the camera for a post bear encounter interview... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted June 4, 2015 If someone wants to plan the ride, I'd be happy to help with route. I have some ideas that would make the way up even better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted April 24, 2016 Thinking about this route again. There are so many options. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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