MyRidz.com: Get out there™

	Post Your Ride
	Add Profile
	Post Your Cool Bike

SoCal - Desert to Pacific Ride

This ride's
Cool Roads

This ride's
Cool Places

This ride's
Cool People

SoCal - Desert to Pacific Ride Thumbnail

Author: kevin
Region: Southwest | States: California
Starting City: Laguna
Days on the Road: 3 | Miles Ridden: 1,060

Just had top get out of town for a few days of good riding. So we left the OC at about 1PM and headed north of Rte 91 to Rte 15 to head up to Death Valley. Yeah I know it's May but how bad could it be?� These two roads are freeways - so they kinda suck especially the 91. But out past Victorville on the 15 we cranked it up to over 100MPH tucked in behind the windshield and flew past the few cars we saw on a raod with great surface and great views. We did not see a cop the entire way - I think.

Freeway to Death Valley

From Rte 15, we took the Rte 127 turnoff for 45 miles into a desert town called Shoshone. More on this later. This road is beautiful. We rode it as the sun set - I highly recommend it. As the sun set the moon was rising and there was not a single car for the entire 45 miles. The road surface is pristine and there are a few big right and left hand sweepers begging to be taken at high speed - so we did. There was no Highway Patrol out there. They roll up the tent a little earlier according to the Shoshone locals.

Shoshone

The next moring we got up early to beat the heat - it was not too bad the entire day. We took Rte 127N and headed into Death Valley as the sun was rising. The scenery is very cool - if you like desert scenery - I do.

I suggest you get through this part of the ride early between May and November because the sun will kick your ass and turn you into a babbling dehydrated idiot.

From Rte 127 we got on to Rte 190. This is an OK road.� It is pretty straight AND you are traveling through the lowest place in North America - that is worth something on the "cool experience" scale.

We stopped at the Furnace Creek Hotel for some coffee and watched a few nuts head out to the golf course for a day of sun stroke.� What does that make us? After about 75 miles you come to another turnoff - this is Rte 178W. We stayed on this cool little road for about 85 miles headed for the lovely dessert oasis known as Trona.

Furnace Creek Coffee Bar

Be aware that this turn off is not well marked but it is a left and it is clearly visible. If you have a BMW this is your kind of road but Harleys and Sportos can take it too. Te road surface is a little more challenging. But it is completely paved. It is very windy with lots of ups and downs as you climb up out of the valley. Don't charge this road, take it easy and your sphincter will relax and you will love it.

Death Valley Scenery

Death Valley Scenery 2

Just off this road - before you come to the Ranger station - there is a right hand turn that does not look like a real road. It is. It is the road to Trona. In fact it looks like a dirt road. That's because it is for about 10 miles before it returns to pavement. If you are thinking about turning back - don't. We were on big bikes and had no problems. In fact we had a blast riding through this tight little canyon. Oh yeah - so far this morning we have seen 5 cars. None in the last hour. You are on this road for 40 miles into Trona. More on Trona in the Cool Places entry.

From Trona just keep going to Ridgecrest. There are no choices of roads just keep driving. Stay on RTE 178W out of Ridgecrest and head out to Lake Isabella. After the hot ride in the dessert you are now entering a lace where there are TREES! This is an A+ road. It is beautiful with lots of turns that you can have fun in. From Ridgecrest to Lake Isabella is about 40 miles.� Ther is one turn near the lake - a huge sweeping banked right hander. We went back and did it a few times to find the perfect line. The Lake Isabella area is the gateway north to Sequoia National Park. Here is a google view of the area.

At Lake Isabella get onto Rte 190 - the entrance is clearly marked. This is a GREAT road. We stayed onit riding up into the mountains for the next 110 miles. There is some traffic early on in the ride, but it thins as you climb. The roads are narrow so you have to be on top of your game and be careful in those right handers. Control your speed or you can - on some of those blind rights end up in the oncoming traffic lane. This is not recommended.

Lake Isabella - Sequoia

Lake Isabella File Photo

The first place you pass is Kernville. You need to stay left onto Tre 190. Of course we DID NOT and ended up circumnavigating the lake and ending up an hour later in - yes Kernville a quaint little town with 2 stoplights. Hey if you have the time i recommend wasting this hour it is a great ride around the lake. The roads are cool and if your a sport biker you willlove the turns and the views.

From Kernvilee you follow the Kern River up into Sequoia. We were there in May and the Spring melt from the Sierra Nevada was in full roar. Too cool. Class 4 rapids at least. You will come to several forks in the road as you travel RTE 190 just keep heading higher and aim for the signs that say Camp Nelson / Pearsonville. The scenery at this point is of course crash inducing - so stop to look and take photos.......

OK we didn't - tghat's why there are no photos here. We were having too much fun flicking the big bikes through the unending turns Heeeeeee Haaaaaa!

The last 20 miles into Pearsonville are like riding in the Swiss Alps - al downhill hairpins. Take your time and when they post 25MPH - THEY MEAN IT. Just when you can't take any more and you are exhausted a little road house appears on the left and it is packed with --- yes bikers of all types! What a surprise. Stop here. More on this place in Cool Places later.

After lunch we got back on the same road to head out of Sequoia. You are looking for a right hand turn to head to Three Rivers. If you see a sign saying Welcome to Springfield"� you missed it (like we did) about 10 miles back up the road. This road has no other marking. It is a small twisty road but great fun to ride and great scenery. The last part of the day's ride was on Rte 198 for 25 miles into Three Rivers a very cool town ans we recommend that you spend the night there.

The last day of the ride (Sunday AM) we left Three Rivers and headed for the ocean. Take Rte 198 for 55 miles to Shandon. If you like agriculture and the smel of manure - this is you road. You are heading out of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada into the great breadbasket of America - the Central Valley. Kind of a zen like feeling. Anyway.

From Tre 198 get on Rte 41 for about 80 miles heading west. This is an open, flat road with wide vistas. After passing under Rte 5, the road changes completely as you ride into the coastal mountain range. In several sections after you pass the Rte 229 cutoff it runs through ranching country. NOBODY is out here and the roads are perfect and full of great turns. So just crank it up and have fun. We did. You might even want to go back and ride the last 10 miles of the route - it is that much fun. Never say the Highway Patrol - though we felt their presence.

From this road we got on The Coast Road heading south US Hwy 101. It is of course a beautiful road but a little boring and you are back in traffic and somehow after all the riding in the country the experience can feel somewhat jarring. Since it is May and you are near the coast it gets cool so you might have to add a layer of clothng here or zip up the vents. We stayed on RTE 101 for 45 miles and took the Rte 166 E turnoff. The first 40 miles of this road offer the most fun for flat out high speed - low speed turn ridng you may ever experience. Ther is noboby on this road and the the road surface is perfect and the turns are numerous and sweeping. The last 20 miles of this road befor ethe turnoff on Rte 33 to Ojai are flat and boring - but who cares the first 40 are worth the ticket price.

Rte 33 is an A+ moutain riding road. It is sport tourer / sport bike paradise for ceratin, but there wer eplenty of Harley's and others out there that Sunday morning. The last 25 miles of this 40 mile ride into Ojai are uphill mountain twisties. Just be careful as you are coming down the final set of hills - the road is out on the right hand side and there are concrete barriers - like the ones used to stop terrorist bombers ACROSS the road. This was our one scary moment. But a combination of trail braking and cool heads allowed us stop in time. They really need a sign to say - SLOW DOWN OR YOU WILL BE PLANTED ON A CONCRETE WALL IN 25 YARDS. As you exit the mountains on RTE 33 you will see a raodhouse on the right. Stop there. I highly recommend it. More about thjis in cool places.

After lunch get back on Route 150E for 20 miles. It gets C rating - C meaning construction. This road is always being rebuilt. It is crowded and not very pretty except for one 2-mile section in the middle somewhere. But there is no other way out of Ojai heading east - so you have to take it.

Twisties into Ojai - Fun!

Then get on Route 126E for 35 miles. It is a two-lane highway (each way). Crowded and flat. However there is one big right-hander near the end. As your lawyer I recommend cranking it up to 110 and firing through it. One day this once country road will be consumed by the big city and become just another part of LA too. I give it about 2 years. The whole city is acquiring real estate going north as fast as it is east and this will no longer be a country road. The last part of the trip is Freeway

Interstate 5 South for 110 miles to the OC. Just shoot me. Did I mention i hate freeways?

Shoshone � http://digital-desert.com/shoshone-ca/ � Population: 24 - not kidding! Combined number of criminal convictions: 88.

Shoshone City Limits

There are no stop lights and only about 10 buildings and a gas station - a Chevron that closes at 830PM and opens at about 830AM or whenever Daryl gets there to open it. Call (760) 852-4335 for information. I can't guarantee who will answer.

http://reservations.hotel-guides.us/hotel/10006044-11287301O.html> Highway 127, Shoshone, CA 92384

�? Rated very low by guests

�? Hotel review: Old and ugly - not a good value - Mar 2006

�? Hotel review: Clean and comfortable - good value - very nice warm springs pool - enjoyed my stay - Feb 2006

�? Hotel review: Close to Death Valley - room was very basic, but clean - felt safe - sheets didn't fit bed - hole in bottom of door - Feb 2006

�? Hotel review: Felt like the 50's - located on main highway out of national park - only 2 electrical outlets in room, and one chair - very poor TV reception - only 2 hangers in closet - very small bathroom with no wash basin - Sep 2005

You get the picture - now my review:�

The Ritz, it is not - if that is what you want keep going another 50 miles to the Furnace Creek Hotel. � This is a guy's on the road hotel. � Cool funky, nothing fits, but you accept that. � There is a cool courtyard, where people gather and drink beer from a six-pack and talk about the drive that got them there � - and if that leads to other conversation (which it did) it makes the stay worth it. � It is a real 1950's American west experience. � If you need cable it has it - and a really nice person runs the office. � Oh yeah if you need sandals you can't get them in this town. � Beyond that drop the yuppie crap - stop your whining and have a nice stay. � There is supposed to be a pool/hot spa near the hotel. � We could never locate it. � Not certain if we went the wrong way or the beer affected our judgment and vision. So I got to wander around in the night walking on cactus with bloody SANDALS!

Make sure you eat at the Crow Bar Café http://digital-desert.com/shoshone-ca/crowbar.html. The food is great, the crowd pretty sketchy, and the margaritas are powerful. After dinner you can play pool right there in the restaurant. If Daryl is around, buy her a few drinks and she will share her expertise about Pahrump with you. Pahrump is a town about 50 miles away famous for its "women of the night".

Trona http://aeve.com/digitaldesert/trona/tp01.html

Population: 224: OK I really don't know how many people live in Trona, but if more than that many choose to live there, I'd be surprised. OK, sorry... Trona seems like a fine place. There's a little café on the main route on the right side of the road next to the Sheriff's station and across the street from the scorched earth mining operation. The proprietor serves a pretty good egg burrito and a passable smoothie (if you're a health nut or something and have to have one - I did). OK. It's not really a "café" where you would dine al fresco or something, but it is food, and it is all there is Trona.

Our next stop just a little further on was Ridgecrest... Population: Larger than Trona at about 760). We stopped at the Yamaha / Honda Dealer on Route 178 because my goggles were trashed from blowing sand. This dealership is one you must experience. This guy has more unsold inventory than a Sno-Cone salesman in Anchorage http://www.ridgecrestmx.com/RMSC_Events.htm.

You can by any motorcycle accessory you need here. I DID get some very cool goggles. There is enough inventory stacked in the aisles to stock a Wal-Mart. This is an owner who has never heard of lean management or that inventory turns are a good thing. In fact he probably never met a deal he did not like. He has new bikes from several years back stacked up in a warehouse across the street because - you guessed it - he ran out of storage room. If you are looking for a good track bike go here and make him a deal. They are still in the shipping crates. Yamaha and Honda must love him. He never said no to a piece of merchandise they came to sell him. He has piles of stuff to prove it too.

Three Rivers http://www.threerivers.com/ - a small artsy town. They were celebrating Red Bud Festival when we were there in May. It is a very big deal. Yes we asked and no it was not that red bud kind of party. The road into Three Rivers is big wide and mainly boring. But the view of the reservoir is cool, and there are some big sweeping turns to keep your attention. Yes there are three rivers that junction here ahead of the reservoir. They too were in spring melt and roaring powerfully to the north of the road. Just beautiful country. And since the roads are flat wide and straight, they are full of Harley riders. The swarming crotch rocket guys of the mountains were only a memory.

Three Rivers Accommodations - Holiday Inn Express

I am sure there are "cooler" places in Three Rivers but we were trashed and the hotel had a pool so we stayed there. We checked into the Holiday Inn Express, and noticed there were at least a half dozen new looking Harleys parked near the doors to rooms on the ground level. They were all spotless, a fact we filed away for further consideration later

We listened in on the conversation of a couple of Harley guys discussing their ride and learned that they were on a Hog Only ride and that some of the people on the ride weren't following the rules of the ride that were set out by the Ride Captain - the guy we were listening to. I don't want to be disrespectful, but we went on this ride to AVOID rules! So it goes.

Have dinner and drinks at the River View Restaurant. It is the best location in town. It s right next to the river which in May is roaring hard from the spring melt. The bartenders are cute and really nice and the food is good. The crowd is the best part and the action heats up a little later when the sun goes down and the pool sharks come out. We managed to keep the table for a good while before bowing to the superior talents of a little blond eight-year kid. He was good and we just had to have him beat us. If you are there look for this kid and his Dad. He may be eight but he conducts himself like an old pro - with a whole bunch of swagger and attitude - at the table. He said once, "Hey nice try, but I would have made that." and "Hey this is lights out for you!" Too damn cute. He is going to be one difficult teenager.

The Deer Lodge http://www.ojaideerlodge.net/home.htm

2261 Maricopa Highway
Ojai, CA 93023

805.646.4256

The Ladies

Stop here for lunch. Yeah, it's a biker kind of roadhouse and worth the stop. The food is good. There are lots of bikes to gawk at, and the waitresses were well... good to look at also. In fact far better than the iron in the parking lot. Noticed something interesting about the parking arrangement though, and I did look for a sign to see if this was the rule( there was none), all the Harleys are parked neatly at the NORTH end of the lot. The sportos all parked at the SOUTH end. Hmmmmmmmmm. C'mon guys we can mingle and talk can't we?