Another practice trip

Long enough

So I’ve been staring at my maps and computer long enough.  It’s time to go on another practice trip.  I wanted this trip to be down roads that were typical of the ones I was thinking of choosing for my trip, state highways and lesser traveled roads and somewhere between 300-400 miles.  I didn’t have a lot of time, so I planned for an overnight.  The eastern Sierras would be beautiful this time of year, so I looked for something there.

The gear I’m taking.

Got a destination!

I found a campground near Lake Crowley called French Camp, in the Inyo National Forest.  I decided to take California State Highway 49, the historic state highway which follows the route of the “49ers”, those gold seekers of the past.  I had driven this road years ago and remembered pretty scenery and lots of curves, so this was the road I chose.  I would cross the Sierras on State Route 108.  I picked this road because on a backpacking trip several years ago, a mate of mine met me there to resupply me and I wanted to see the road that she had travelled to give me some food.  State Route 108 would take me to Highway 395, and that would run me right to my campground.  On the map, it looked perfect.  This would be a good test for what I might be getting into by choosing roads from a map.

I left the house about 8:00 am and caught the California State Highway 49 in Grass Valley.  I was having a great time, the road familiar.  I hit the American River Canyon part of the highway in Auburn, CA.  This road goes down rather steeply with tons of curves.  Thelma had been rather difficult for me to handle on curves going downhill, so I instantly started to worry that I would struggle to handle Lucille.  Of course Lucille is a completely different girl and she swept into and out of the curves so sweetly, I forgot to be worried.  I took my time for the first couple, and then began to feel really comfortable.  By the time I started heading up the canyon, I was having a blast.

Trouble

Trouble didn’t start until Placerville.  I’m always slightly uncomfortable when I don’t know where I am, and there was road construction in Placerville.  I have been through here probably 50 or more times, but always on the same roads.  Now I followed a detour.  The roads that made up the detour went through neighborhoods, were incredibly narrow and steep, and I was feeling lost.  I crested a hill only to have the road drop away from me on an oh so steep downgrade with a stop at the bottom and no room to get out of the way of any cars that came.  I stopped short of the stop sign as there was a large drainage which my bike would straddle at the sign and where I would be unable to touch the ground.  After making my turn I found my way back to the highway.  What a relief!

Goin’ on up

In case I wasn’t afraid of enough things, bridges also give me a little thrill of fear and I crossed one at New Melones Lake.  This bridge is right when you make the turn from State Highway 49 to State Route 108.  I crossed without a problem and congratulated myself on a job well done.  Then I started to go up.  I think the intersection of 49 and 108 is about 3,000 feet, but soon I was over 5,000 feet.  The air was pleasant, the curves were fun, and I was having the time of my life.  The road narrowed and continued up.  Now there were signs saying RVs and large trucks were not advised.  I was the only thing on the road, so I ignored them as I cruised on by.  Soon I was at 7,000 feet and starting to get chilly.  The road now though was narrow enough that there was no shoulder into which I could pull off to put on another layer of clothes.  And then I caught up to an RV, a rental RV, driving about 5 mph on the now very narrow road, full of tight, hairpin turns.  This slowed my progress significantly.

The RV was either too large for the road, or the driver was having a difficult time negotiating the tight curves.  He kept straying from the road to the five inches or so of gravel on the side of the road and spraying the gravel into my path in the street.  If he wasn’t in the gravel, he was crossing the yellow line and taking up much of the next lane, causing everyone to slam on the brakes.  This was stressing me out.  The road climbed to over 9,000 feet and by this time I was freezing.  I gratefully found a turnout and used it.  This would let me put on another layer and let the RV, and the long line of vehicles behind him, to get a way down the road.

A real pleasure

Back on the bike and the rest of the way to the campground was uneventful and a real pleasure.  Yep, I could definitely see myself crossing the country this way.  I rolled into the campground at about 3:30 pm and pulled over and read the signs.  It looked like any open campsite was up for grabs, so I drove in.  The asphalt was broken up and covered with gravel and the road into the campground went pretty steeply up.  All of the campsites were back in, but most had broken up entrances that I would never be able to get the bike over.  I finally found one, number 29 that looked promising, so I rolled past it and backed in.  Now, fully loaded, Lucille weighs about 800 pounds and she’s really tall.  I cannot flat-foot this bike.  So if I hit an incline while I’m backing up (this motorcycle doesn’t have reverse gear), I’m done backing up.  There is no way for me to push her up any kind of hill.  She rolled off the road, and the second her front tire left the street, she stopped.  I knew I was out of the way, so I put the kickstand down and leaned her over.

Uh-oh

She kept going.  I had failed to account for the fact that the campsite driveway was also on a slant.  Lucille didn’t stop where she usually does, she tipped way over.  To the point, I wasn’t sure the kickstand would hold her.  But, I thought, no big deal.  I’d get off, stand her up, and roll her back a little ways to straighten her up a bit.  So I thought.  I got her off the kickstand, but holding that weight against gravity didn’t give me any leverage to roll her back.  I set her back down.  I went through this operation a couple of times with different techniques, all to no avail.  There was no way I was moving that bike.  Well, nothing to be done about it now.  I was here and I could only set up camp, and deal with it in the morning.

                 

Lucille is LEANING!                         Got the space set up, but will Lucille stay upright all night?         

I set up my camp, talked to a mate of mine that happened to ring me, texted the family, ate dinner and tried to sleep.  My campsite was at over 7,000 feet, so it was cold.  And, I was really worried about how I would get Lucille out of here.  That worry led to all kinds of fears.  What was I doing driving such a huge motorcycle?  Why did I drive so far from home?  Why didn’t I travel with a friend?  Why did I take a giant touring bike on a dirt road?  All this led to a sleepless night.

Morning

I got up in the morning and made coffee while I envisioned just lifting my bike, without any problem and driving off.  I had a second cup of coffee then started packing up.  Once I was mostly packed, I made some oatmeal and drank a final cup of coffee.  I loaded up the bike, dressed in my gear, got on the bike and tried to stand it up.  That thing didn’t move a millimeter!  I got off, removed my helmet and jacket and started at Lucille.  I took a deep breath, then another.

 

                

Lucille was still standing in the morning!                       The sunrise was amazing!

                                    

There just wasn’t a bad view, no matter where I looked.  

Asking strangers for help

I am also quite nervous around strangers and have some terrible social anxiety.  And, as a woman alone, I need to be somewhat careful.  I approached a campsite that had several men, women and children.  I asked them with a trembling voice if one or two of them could come give me a hand with my bike.  Six of the men, one of the women, and a tiny dog followed me up to my campsite to help.  They asked me what I needed and I told them if they could just gently lift the bike until I could balance it with my right foot, I’d be fine.  They were less sure.  I had an idea.  I asked them if they could roll it back to where the ground was a little flatter.  Five of them stood it up and rolled it back, then gently set it down.  One of the guys asked me if the bike was mine, if I was alone, and why I drove such a big bike.  They didn’t believe me when I told them they put it in the perfect spot, and they rushed to help me stand it up once I got on.  I lifted it on my own, thanked them profusely and drove off.

Plans

I had planned to see the columns at Lake Crowley and set the GPS to take me there.  Following the road, I left anything that looked remotely like civilization further and further behind.  I drove across the top of a dam and up a hill.  And there the paved road ended.  From here on, the road was decomposed granite and there was no way I would be able to drive Lucille through that.  Disappointed and shaken by the turn of events, I turned Lucille around and texted the family that I was coming home.

                            

The view was amazing.                                                            Disappointed, I headed for home.

Change the route

While the plan was to take State Route 120 to Highway 6 to Highway 95 through Nevada.  I was very discouraged me that I got the bike stuck and was not able to see the columns.  I chose to run up Highway 395 to get home.  The ride was wonderful! The weather cool and sunny, just an amazing day for a ride.  The scenery was amazing, the ride so pleasant, I couldn’t imagine not taking Lucille across the country.  It’s amazing what a day can do.