2014 Golden State Gathering

Occasionally there is chatter on this board about a statewide VFR gathering in our lovely/bankrupt state of California (most recently seen in a thread about the Lost Coast).

As I somehow have become the de-facto leader of pretty much every Bay Area/NorCal ride -- and given the NorCal-meets-SoCal success of the Central Sierras ride last September -- I've started to think about making this happen for real.

Obviously, there are a million great places to ride in Cali. Ideally, I would think an equidistant meeting point would be the first priority, and of course, there would need to be epic riding in close proximity. Somewhere like Sonora or Mariposa perhaps.

My intent isn't really to grab the reins and steer this in any particular direction, or even to be in charge of it. I just want to gauge interest and maybe even put feelers out for possible dates.

Thoughts?

I'd be interesting in meeting with our SoCal bros again.

I don't recall ever being to Mariposa ...what do you know?

September would give us the most time to plan (earlier is ok).

We could be flexible with a Sat ride along with an optional Sun ride plus bonus Mon ride?

Hotel for Sat, Camp Sun?

My initial thought was late September or even early October. I'm in Colorado from July 25th - September 3rd.

I was thinking more like optional Friday, then Saturday rides, Sunday morning rides, and an optional Monday.

Campers could base camp somewhere, hotelers could do the same somewhere nearby. Everybody meet up in the morning.

So the possibilities are the last 3 weekends of Sep or first 2 weekends of Oct (all good for me btw)?

Any idea of what the southernmost and northernmost towns might be (for the optional Friday and Monday extensions)?

Good idea. Been thinking the same. Posted up a ride in early October in Southern California coinciding with the lunar eclipse. Southwest members would be able to attend but northwest not so much.

I like Monterey but might not be north enough.

I really enjoyed last year's NoCal/SoCal meet, and would be up to doing it again. Since I missed out on the Central Cal ride this weekend, I need something to take its place. I was chatting with Rogue_Biker and a possible September ride came up, this could be the one stone for two birds ride for me. Thanks for the bringing this up Brian, let's keep the momentum going!

Recalcitrance

I like Monterey but might not be north enough.

My thinking (or at least what passes for that in my brain) was to have it be no more than about 8 hours ride from anyone who might participate. Obviously, for those in say, Redding, that's gonna be mighty tough. But that was the goal.

I figured people could take a half day at work on Friday, arrive that night, ride on Saturday, then ride the morning of Sunday and head home (or repeat on Sunday and head home on Monday).

ecn

Any idea of what the southernmost and northernmost towns might be (for the optional Friday and Monday extensions)?

Probably Placerville to the north and Kings Canyon NP to the south. There is a metric s--tload of good riding in that area. Also very popular with the touristas, hence wanting to wait until after Labor Day. If we really push it we could even get some nice fall colors.

The last 2 weekends of September and first weekend of October would avoid colliding with folks coming back from long labor day Holidays and preserves the lunar eclipse opportunity. My favorite is the last weekend of September but any of the original 5 weekends works for me.

Adding Tuesday would provide a crack at meeting up with folks from Redding.

If this happens and overlaps with the lunar eclipse, I wouldn't care since I'm fairly sure we'll end up somewhere with open skies and minimal city lights. :tour:

I'm game to help make this happen if people are on board. :fing02:

Recalcitrance

If this happens and overlaps with the lunar eclipse

I don't think it would overlap, since that's a mid-week thing. I'd really like to go on that ride, but he who burns all his PTO on a 5 week dual-sport trip must go back to work and never leave again. Or something. I also have two potential work-related events that could shaft me for the last week of September and the first week of October. Waiting on people who [undeservingly] get paid more than me to decide if they will happen.

Let's get a few more people chimed in before we try to lock down dates.

Regardless of the dates, I'm in, so that's a plus 1 for the potential roster.

If rides don't fall too close together, I'll take almost any excuse to ride north. :wheel:

(Without work, excitement and appreciation for rides/trips wouldn't be as high. *silver lining*)

This sounds like an awesome idea. And, it's still far enough in the future that we should all be able to work our schedules out. I'm in.

To be honest, if I was to only get one great ride in this year, this would be the one!

Im in depending on if I can get a friday off from school and if I have a test the following week. I will be on a 2012 Super Tenere. But you can all pretend I am on a VFR.

tc339

I will be on a 2012 Super Tenere. But you can all pretend I am on a VFR.

Notice how I very carefully omitted "VFR" from the title. Obviously VFR-centric, but if some of the usual suspects show up on random machinery, we won't chase them away with pitchforks. Maybe.

Ah yes, the Golden State round up. Any of the planners and route makers efforts are greatly appreciated!

Participating will be fun provided there isn't a wedding, graduation, WSBK nearby, bar mitzvah, Haley's Comet interference (Blood Moon accepted) or the ever present "HoneyDo list"

Rack it up!!

Don't mean to scare anyone off, but I think I'd be in for this. Dates are open.

That's good news in my book mk2davis.

Another spin on Greg's take:

Did I mention I'm looking forward to this?

I"ll be in, now to decide which 4th gen to ride and when and where

Probably can do. I'd like to know dates and stuff, but I'm fairly open that time of year.

Cowboys herding cats. :laughing6-hehe:

Definitely lurking, maybe thinking about it.

Also want to make a trip back east.

Not sure if both could happen or not.

Time to get planning. :schla15:

Oooh sounds interesting. I might even bring the wife... She will have her own bike, of course. Because, I don't think anyone will be able to hold on now that she has been flashed... :tongue:

Brian, I'd like to try and make the trip. I'm already signed up for several rides this summer and will see how September turns out. My work and (and therefore home calendar) is not that predictable so pick dates and I'll join if I can.

On location, I'm good with any routing really. I've ridden a lot of the NorCal foothill routes. They are wonderful - but I'd definitely enjoy seeing something new. So open here as well.

Thanks for revving it up.

Ernie

This sounds awesome. I need to find a job that offers more than 2 weeks off per year.

ridered

I need to find a job that offers more than 2 weeks off per year.

My thoughts exactly.

Despite the possibility that I might not even be able to go, would the weekend of September 27th work for everyone?

Obviously not everyone will be able to go on any given weekend, but let's start with that.

Lots of interest so far, which is cool. The "possible" list:

BrianF (Central) 27th ?

ecn (Central) 27th Y

wagzhp (Central)

tc339 (Central)

bayarearider (Central)

trjerm (Central)

crazybro (Central)

crazybro's CBR wifey (Central)

Willy (Central) 27th ?

dadofseven + 1 (Central/Reno) 27th Y

St. Stephen (Central) 27th Y

vfrcapn (Central) 27th N

PorradaVFR (Central) 27th ?

Recalcitrance (SoCal) 27th Y

Duc2V4 (SoCal) 27th Y

mk2davis (SoCal)

thtanner (SoCal) 27th Y

estanner (SoCal) 27th Y

VFR4Lee (SoCal)

riderd (SoCal)

My god that's a lot of cats to herd.

Sep 27 works for me. It's actually perfect.

I'm scheduled for LASIK in late August and doc says I need a month before I go on long rides, so this ride might be the very first time I'd be able to see the California coast properly. Excited to see the world through new eyes. (Currently at -10 so I have no idea how correct my registration of the world is through contacts and glasses.)

Recalcitrance

Sep 27 works for me. It's actually perfect.

I'm scheduled for LASIK in late August and doc says I need a month before I go on long rides, so this ride might be the very first time I'd be able to see the California coast properly. Excited to see the world through new eyes. (Currently at -10 so I have no idea how correct my registration of the world is through contacts and glasses.)

Hope it works for you as well as it did for my mom. She rides a Harley and says it's the best decision she ever made (the Lasik, not the Harley :goofy: )

I split up the "interested" list into NorCal/Central/Southern geographical regions, and you'll notice we don't yet have anyone from deep in Northern California. If that continues, I'd be inclined to move the meeting point further south, maybe even to Kernville like last year.

I'm open to input on that, so if you have suggestions let me know. I don't know Big Sur that well, or I'd probably make that the riding area. I'm up for whatever though.

My VFR riding wife (estanner) and I are a "yes" for the weekend of September 27th.

BrianF

ridered

I need to find a job that offers more than 2 weeks off per year.

My thoughts exactly.

Despite the possibility that I might not even be able to go, would the weekend of September 27th work for everyone?

Obviously not everyone will be able to go on any given weekend, but let's start with that.

Lots of interest so far, which is cool. The "possible" list:

BrianF (Central) 27th ?

ecn (Central) 27th Y,06th Y, 20th Y

wagzhp (Central)

tc339 (Central)

bayarearider (Central)

trjerm (Central)

crazybro (Central)

crazybro's CBR wifey (Central)

Willy (Central)

Recalcitrance (SoCal) 27th Y

Duc2V4 (SoCal)

mk2davis (SoCal)

thtanner (SoCal) 27th Y

estanner (SoCal) 27th Y

VFR4Lee (SoCal)

riderd (SoCal)

ecn edited to readd tanners..sorry

My god that's a lot of cats to herd.

im in...Gonna see if I can con the wife into going 2up...27th. Anywhere within 300 miles of Reno will keep me on the same schedule as anyone else. I can leave Reno on Friday after work, hit an overnight and meet at the start point Saturday.

I split up the "interested" list into NorCal/Central/Southern geographical regions, and you'll notice we don't yet have anyone from deep in Northern California. If that continues, I'd be inclined to move the meeting point further south, maybe even to Kernville like last year.

I've only got to try it once, but whichever roads we took from Kernville north eventually to Three Rivers were awesome.

I recall rating it like (crazy twisty) Latigo Canyon, times 10 in length. It seemed to go on forever. :beer:

BrianF

.... you'll notice we don't yet have anyone from deep in Northern California. If that continues, I'd be inclined to move the meeting point further south, maybe even to Kernville like last year.

I'm open to input on that, so if you have suggestions let me know. I don't know Big Sur that well, or I'd probably make that the riding area. I'm up for whatever though.

I think the size of the group will determine where the overnight halt will be. I'm game for meeting and staying in Big Sur, though $$$$ might be an issue.

When the head count gets a bit more definitive, I'll start contacting hotels in and around the area(s) if necessary.

Early fall sounds good, I'm in. Only conflict would be a winning lottery ticket and the resulting trip to the motogp at Misano.

Sounds good but 9/27 may not work, dad's 70th bday and all. A week earlier or later would be fine. I am a project manager so I heard cats all day, every day, nothing new! :wink:

I'll say yes to the 27th, hopefully I will not have another project that will get in the way!

BrianF

I split up the "interested" list into NorCal/Central/Southern geographical regions, and you'll notice we don't yet have anyone from deep in Northern California. If that continues, I'd be inclined to move the meeting point further south, maybe even to Kernville like last year.

How about meeting here?

http://www.langersdeli.com/

Or bring some of that up from SoCal. Maybe for another trip to points very south.

Not gonna make a link up in LA...its 500+ from Reno...if the route takes you North to San Fran, or close....Im good...

dadofseven

Not gonna make a link up in LA...its 500+ from Reno...if the route takes you North to San Fran, or close....Im good...

I'd bet we do not end up meeting in LA but how far south or west is open for ideas. Last year we started in Kernville and stuck to canyons and passes of the Sierras heading north (I guess the folks with healthy tires made it through the Tioga and Sonora passes?...) essentially it ran Friday through Monday with folks dropping out and joining in each day. It was kind of funny to watch the early route proposals...for a while I thought it was going to pass through Vegas.

Brian, could you please post what the final route turned out to be last year?

Maybe we could flush out coastal routes and get a feel for whether to either switch to the coast, blend the 2 or split in 2?

From a coast standpoint around Big Sur, I know Carmel Valley road is nice and have heard of Nacimiento Fergusson but I have no experience there. Maybe it would be possible to link hwy 25, hwy 130 and either toss in 152, 35, 84 in between and head out to the Sierras or stick to the Coast and run up to the Napa area?

Meow? Add me to the maybe kitty list. My wife is traveling in September so hopefully the dates won't overlap.

Hwy 1 north of San Francisco is awesome! There's also The Lost Coast in there. Then Napa Valley is not that far from it.

I honestly don't remember, but I think the route was something like this: http://goo.gl/maps/ATR7k

I continued on through Reno with FHR, then did Icehouse/Wentworth and Mosquito Ridge before heading home. I would certainly be fine with anything between Kernville and say, Pine Flat Lake. Such good riding in that area, high elevation so not too hot, and 1/2 day's ride away for anyone south of about Lake County.

In order to avoid spreading things out too much, I think it's wise to either pick ocean or mountains. I like the mountains more.

I also don't want to end up running too far north, as I don't want the SoCal peeps to have too far to go on the ride home. I'll have a rough route posted pretty soon. Patience.

Brian, could you please post what the final route turned out to be last year?

Too far north I think. Lost Coast especially.

While we're at it, let's move the list up to the current page.

BrianF (Central) 27th ?
ecn (Central) 27th Y
wagzhp (Central)
tc339 (Central)
bayarearider (Central)
trjerm (Central)
crazybro (Central)
crazybro's CBR wifey (Central)
Willy (Central) 27th ?
dadofseven + 1 (Central/Reno) 27th Y
St. Stephen (Central) 27th Y
vfrcapn (Central) 27th N
PorradaVFR (Central) 27th ?

Recalcitrance (SoCal) 27th Y
Duc2V4 (SoCal) 27th Y
mk2davis (SoCal) 27th Y
thtanner (SoCal) 27th Y
estanner (SoCal) 27th Y
VFR4Lee (SoCal) 27th ?
VFR Capt.Bob (SoCal) 27th ?

Hwy 1 north of San Francisco is awesome! There's also The Lost Coast in there. Then Napa Valley is not that far from it.

I was able to confirm that Kennedy Meadows is a nice place on 108 just before you start up the west side of the Sonora Pass...recommend this for lunch if it goes that way. My better half and I cage camped there this weekend and chatted with a a GoldWing rider at a Sonora pass overlook and recognized him a day latter coming down the monitor pass with a huge only in the Sierras grin on his face as he recognized us.

Don't try and keep me off the list, Brian! :comp13:

I am 27th Y.

I should have a more flexible schedule in both those months. I would be up for this.

mk2davis

Don't try and keep me off the list, Brian! :comp13:

I am 27th Y.

Oh man, geez, I uh, guess I forgot? [insert pushing bike uphill joke here]

I'm just going to say it: MONTEREY

Easy to get to. Fair enough midway mark (won't exceed the 8 hour travel limit). Easy to find lodging. Easy to find things to do (for those of you bringing wives/gfs who may want a hen's day out while the bikes play). No shortage of roads nearby and mostly scenic roads to get to wherever you want to go.

Could even swing by Laguna Seca for a group photo at the entrance.

Coming up from SD, OC, or LA would warrant a quick overnight in San Luis Obispo and dinner at Margie's Diner. Get the slab out of the way, manage a good night's rest, and from there, it's a beautiful 144 miles up the coast, through Big Sur, and straight to the the heart of Monterey on Cannery Row.

I know I mentioned this on page 1, but I'm going to put it out there again seeing that the list of North/South Yes's is leaning more towards the South.

STC

BrianF

mk2davis

Don't try and keep me off the list, Brian! :comp13:

I am 27th Y.

Oh man, geez, I uh, guess I forgot? [insert pushing bike uphill joke here]

Oh, sure, bring up old stuff that happened! I promise, no more team building exercises,

Recalcitrance

I'm just going to say it: MONTEREY

Easy to get to. Fair enough midway mark (won't exceed the 8 hour travel limit). Easy to find lodging. Easy to find things to do (for those of you bringing wives/gfs who may want a hen's day out while the bikes play). No shortage of roads nearby and mostly scenic roads to get to wherever you want to go.

Could even swing by Laguna Seca for a group photo at the entrance.

Coming up from SD, OC, or LA would warrant a quick overnight in San Luis Obispo and dinner at Margie's Diner. Get the slab out of the way, manage a good night's rest, and from there, it's a beautiful 144 miles up the coast, through Big Sur, and straight to the the heart of Monterey on Cannery Row.

I know I mentioned this on page 1, but I'm going to put it out there again seeing that the list of North/South Yes's is leaning more towards the South.

STC

Don't get me wrong, I'm not really opposed to Monterey. I just don't know the area that well. I could drive to Laguna in my sleep, and Highway 1 of course, but beyond that, it would be all new roads for me. I just don't take the bike down there much. I wouldn't make for a good leader if I had no idea where I was going. Also, as you mentioned, price may be a factor.

On the flip side, I've done probably 75 days worth of riding in the Sierras. I know where to go, and more importantly, where not to. It's more about comfort level (and the fact that I like mountains more than oceans).

At this point, the likely scenario is we'll post a couple of different options, and let everyone pick which they like. Democracy at its finest.

I've never ridden the Sierras so that would be new and exciting for me. Maybe start a thread with suggestions for locations and votes? Start a pole in this thread?

Lake Tahoe?

Sounds good to get routes and figure out when folks vote to do all of them. It's sort of a double edged sword having so many places close by and so little time off to enjoy them.

Looks like we have a Bay Area / Norcal..Tahoe for May 31 and the Sept Sierras option would be close to what Brian posted for last years Norcal/Socal meet:

http://goo.gl/maps/ATR7k

There's some nice videos from the Sierras trip above:

Stucky

Brian

For a Monterey trip, would it make sense to add in the Watsonville / Santa Cruz area like in the "Skyline to Hecker Pass" thread?

http://goo.gl/iBVf6b

Whatever's clever as far as route is concerned. I'd prefer not to travel all the way to SF and beyond though.

Forgot about the Norcal Tahoe ride. oops.

I was just hovering around Google maps and found highway 190 which heads east into nowhere. Also 180 and 198 seem fun.

Sierras look nice and I spend enough time on the coast. An experienced guide would be good to have if we're going with a larger size group.

Anybody who was on the NorCal vs. SoCal ride last year can vouch for the quality of roads in the Southern Sierras. And at that time of year, we'll be the only ones out there.

So, if the Sierras are the location, the next question becomes: point-to-point, or base camp? For point-to-point, I'm highly inclined to follow the same route as last year and meet up in Kernville Friday night. There's a good bar across the street from the Kernville Inn where you can do karaoke, drink cheap beer, and try not to get stabbed. Leave Saturday morning and head up the Great Western Divide Highway. It was epic the first time I rode it (about 10 times ago), and remains so. People can peel off whenever as their schedule requires.

Something like:

Day 1 (Saturday) Option A (short) -- Stay at the Cedar Grove Lodge ($135 or so) in Kings Canyon.

Day 1 (Saturday) Option B -- Stay at el-cheapo chain motel in Oakhurst

Day 2 (Sunday) from Option A -- http://goo.gl/maps/tcmtu

Day 2 (Sunday) from Option B -- http://goo.gl/maps/k7rRr

If we base camp, Mariposa or Oakhurst has to be the winner. Because of their proximity to Yosemite, they have chain hotels, food, things to do for non-riders, and nearby camping for us cheap asses nature lovers. We could have a couple different ride options each day, sort of T-Mac style (as I understand it).

Perhaps:

Day 1 (Saturday) Long Option -- http://goo.gl/maps/aE1Jw

Day 1 (Saturday) Short Option -- http://goo.gl/maps/j1X5o

Day 2 (Sunday) Goat Option w/some dirt -- http://goo.gl/maps/NAiQU

Day 2 (Sunday) Speedy Option -- http://goo.gl/maps/trUhm

Hopefully no one I work with is on this forum, I'll be fired immediately. Thoughts?

Nice work Brian..I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth...they're all good. Thank you.

Let the voting begin.

The base camp short day 1 with a speedy day 2 seems like a good fit.

I might try the goat trail as a 3rd day desert...if you don't hear from me it means I got lost in the dirt.

Hmm, I need to digest these for a few...Thanks for putting these together Brian.

You're fired. :wink:

I keed. We don't have a branch office in Napa Valley so we probably don't work for the same company. I'm just lurking at this point to see where this leads to.

I'm liking the basecamp idea, day 1 short, day 2 speedy, but any of those maps look excellent.

I'm also liking the base camp option.

All maps looks great.

I just realized that is soccer season, and I coach my Daughter's team, so I am most likely out.

Start point around Lake Isabella is GTG...it's a straight shot down 395 from Reno, and well within 300 miles or so....still trying to convince the wife....right now she is in!

Rogue_Biker

You're fired. :wink:

Oh, thanks. I'm astounded that it's taken this long.

In other, more depressing news, I might be forced into the base camp option. The event I'm hosting on September 29th just went from "pending" to "go," so I probably won't be able to take Friday off. Sunday may be out too, but that depends on a bunch of different things. I'll continue to act as though I'll be there Friday - Monday, because, well, I'm delusional.

Basecamp is in the lead at the moment, and the more I think about it the more I like it.

Delusion in moderation is what visionary cat herding calls for..we're lucky you came up with these options..thanks Brian.

If a group liked the long point to point route more (i.e. most likely everyone who did it last year), they could meet up with a base camp group in Oakhurst at the end of day 1...right?

It would be great if you could edit your original post so one can easily find the date, and location info.

Been doing a south Sierras ride every fall for 5-6 years now, but last one there were only 4 of us. If it turns out to be a bust this year might do this instead.

MBrane

It would be great if you could edit your original post so one can easily find the date, and location info.

Agreed. That or lock this thread and start an official thread once location and route are final.

We're fine with any of the route ideas.