Hi Coasters and PCHers,
The 2008 September PCH ride is in the history books. It was a great
ride
marred by tragedy.
We started gathering in Cameron Park (near Placerville) on Saturday,
the 6th of September.
About 10 of us had dinner Saturday evening at Original Mel's Diner (50s
style diner) in Placerville.
Sunday, September 7th, quite a few of us went for the designated side
ride. We had a
good ride in spite of the fact that Jim Ledakis from Montana didn't
make it through one curve. His PC was totaled. Roy Coss, on his
GL1800, ferried Jim
for the balance of the ride back while Roy's wife Julia moved over to
the PC piloted by Bruce Mann. When we got near Cameron Park, I got my
truck and took Jim to the local hospital to get him checked out.
Turned out that Jim had broken his arm. We had dinner at my favorite
Mexican restaurant, Que Viva, across the street from the motel in
Cameron Park.
Monday, September 8th, we left the motel in Cameron Park about 8:30 as
we had a long
ride ahead. We headed south on CA49, through Plymouth, Sonora and
Jamestown. At Chinese Camp we turned south on CA120.
At Lake Don Pedro, we stopped and took a group photograph of the bikes
and the people on the ride. We continued on up Priest Grade to Big Oak
Flat where we stopped for gas.
Continuing on CA120, we stopped at the Yosemite north gate. I flashed
my Golden Age Passport and they let 4 of us through the gate on it.
When
the 4th bike (Bruce Mann) also flashed a Golden Age Passport, they said
to heck with it and let everybody else through on Bruce's pass. Except
for
our Canadian visitor, Malcolm Cook. Malcolm had gotten into a separate
line at the gate and ended up having to pay the motorcycle fee to get
through...
We next stopped at Olmsted point, on the eastern side of Yosemite,
where a nice view of Half Dome from the back side can be
had. We continued on over Tioga Pass (9945 feet), out the eastern gate
of Yosemite and on down the eastern side of Tioga Pass, a very scenic
12 mile stretch, to the town of Lee Vining.
At Lee Vining, there is a Mobil gas station with the Whoa Nellie Deli inside.
There they serve delicious food, prepared under the guidance of a 4 star
chef (Matt "Tioga" Toomey). Lobster Taquitos, Wild Buffalo
Meatloaf, grilled salmon salad are some of the delicacies served there.
Outstanding lunch.
After lunch, we headed north on US395, past the turnoff to Bodie,
through Bridgeport, past Sonora Junction, through Walker Canyon on our
way to Walker. As we reached the northern end of the canyon, we
started seeing emergency vehicles heading south on 395.
When we got to Walker, we pulled in at the Walker Country Store to gas
up. At that point, cars started pulling in and asking us if we were
missing any riders. We realized we were missing two bikes. People
started telling us of an accident at the south end of Walker Canyon
involving two people on a bike that "looked like ours." We decided to
head back south.
When we arrived at the scene, we told the fireman stopping traffic that
we thought the accident involved a bike that had been with us and asked
him for a place to park. After parking we talked with the highway
patrol and with an eyewitness to the accident. We saw an ambulance
leaving which, as it turned out, had John Treiber in it. He was being
taken to a waiting helicopter to be airlifted to a hospital in Reno,
Nevada. The paramedics were still working on Pat, at the accident
scene, trying to save her.
We waited until it was clear that they had not been able to save Pat.
At that point, we left. Dean and Kel Williams rode to Reno to be with
John and the rest of us returned to Cameron Park and the motel. I went
to Applebee's and cancelled our dinner reservations; no one felt much
like eating that night.
The other missing rider was Dave Misunas. Dave had stopped for
pictures and had not seen where we turned off for lunch so had
continued on and ended up back at the motel before us.
Tuesday, September 9th, we made the decision to continue the ride. We
headed north on
CA49 through the American River Canyon, through Auburn, Grass Valley
and Nevada City. Just beyond Nevada City, CA49 turns north and becomes
a 2 lane country highway again. We stopped for lunch in Downieville,
at The Gallows Restaurant. Had lunch on a nice deck overlooking the
Yuba River. Good burgers and hot dogs, among other things.
After lunch, we continued on riding along the river and climbing toward
Yuba Gap. After cresting Yuba Gap (about 7000 feet, I think), we
stopped at a Sierra Valley
overlook for a photo and butt break. We rode on through Sierraville,
Loyalton to Vinton and the end of CA49. We turned east on CA70 and
rode to Hallelujah Junction at the junction of CA70 and US395. We
filled the bike's tanks and drained ours here.
We turned south on US395 and approached Reno, Nevada from the north.
We stopped at the hospital in Reno where John Treiber had been taken.
John's sons Greg and Dave had arrived and we were to meet Dean and Kel
at the
hospital; they would join us for the rest of the ride back to Cameron
Park.
From the hospital, we got back on US395 and headed south for Mount Rose
Highway, NV431. We stopped at a station at this point so Dean and
Kel could gas up their bikes. We then climbed Mount Rose from the
east. After cresting Mount Rose, we stopped at an overlook which
has the best view of Lake Tahoe (from a public highway) that I have ever
seen. Great spot for a butt break and photos.
On down Mount Rose highway to the junction with NV28 at the north shore
of Lake Tahoe. We took NV28 around the northeast side of the lake to
the junction with US50. We then took US50 along Tahoe's eastern shore
back into California at South Lake Tahoe. Leaving South Lake Tahoe, we
crossed Echo Summit on US50 and headed for Saint Pauli Inn along the
American River. We stopped there for an excellent dinner of German
food.
Bruce and Diana Mann had taken their minivan and had driven to
Bridgeport to pick up some personal belongings for John Treiber and had
delivered them to the hospital in Reno. They caught up with us at
Saint Pauli Inn and joined us for dinner. After dinner, Bruce assumed
the role of "deer clearing device" and led us down US50 to the motel in
Cameron Park. He said he felt like the pied piper...
There were no accidents on Tuesday... A sigh of relief was breathed by
all...
Wednesday, September 10th, we started east on US50, through Placerville
and Pollock
Pines to the Sly Park exit . We rode past Jenkinson Lake to the
intersection with Mormon Emigrant Trail. We rode to the end of Mormon
Emigrant Trail and the junction with CA88. Thought we had lost a
couple of bikes here so Jerry Williams and I left the group at the
junction and started back to find Jim Geary and Roy Coss. Didn't go
even a mile before they passed us so we turned around and got back
with the group. Turned out Jim's speedo cable had gotten snarly; it
gave up the ghost later that day.
We rode east on CA88, past Silver Lake, Kirkwood Ski Resort and Caples
Lake. We crossed Carson Pass (8500+ feet) and headed down into Hope
Valley and the junction with CA89. At Woodfords, we turned south on
CA89 and headed through Markleeville to the junction with CA4. We
turned and started toward Monitor Pass (8300 feet or so). A couple of
bikes missed that turnoff but Roy Coss went after them and brought them
back. Up over Monitor Pass to an overlook from which you can see half
the planet. Well, not quite, but it is a spectacular view... After a
butt and photo break, we continued on down the pass to the end of CA89
and the junction with US395.
Heading south on US395, we stopped for gas at the Walker Country
Store. I had planned to stop for lunch at an excellent burger place in
Walker but when we arrived I discovered that they had shifted to their
"fall schedule" and were closed on Wednesdays. We cobbled together
something to munch on back at the Walker Country Store.
After "lunch" we continued south on US395, through Walker Canyon, past
the site of John and Pat's
accident, to Sonora Junction and the start of CA108. We turned west
past the USMC Mountain Warfare Training facility and on up toward
Sonora Pass (9600 feet or so) and its 26% grades. The road on the way
up from the east side consists of VERY short, tight, steep turns and is
a handful. Everybody made it just fine. Going down the western side
of the pass, the grades are not so steep; only 23%. :-) On down the
hill to Donnell's Overlook where we took a photo and butt break.
Spectacular view down into a steep canyon with a reservoir (Donnell
Lake) at the bottom.
Continuing on down the hill through Strawberry, Long Barn, Twain Harte
and on into Sonora. We took Mono Way through town which led us onto
historic Washington Street, a narrow, winding, gold rush era street
complete with most buildings being from that era.
We were now on CA49, the gold rush highway, heading north past Columbia,
through Angels Camp, San Andreas, Mokelumne Hill and on back through El
Dorado and Diamond Springs to Placerville. In Placerville, CA49 comes
down a hill overlooking the town, on a 13% grade descent to Main Street.
From there, we got back on US50 and back to the motel in Cameron Park.
We gathered for dinner at the Sizzler Restaurant in Cameron Park, another
walk from the motel. Again, no more accidents on Wednesday (or for
the rest of the week).
Thursday, September 11th, we headed east on US50, over Echo Summit
(7300 feet or so), through South Lake Tahoe, into Nevada. Skirting the
eastern shore of Lake Tahoe, we turned onto NV28. Riding past the site
of the old Ponderosa Ranch, we continued around the eastern shore
getting great views of the lake along NV28. After passing through
Incline Village, we turned onto Mount Rose Highway. On up the side of
the mountain to the same overlook we had stopped at a couple of days
earlier. We stopped again and got a morning view of the lake from the
same spectacular spot.
On over the top of Mount Rose Highway (7000 feet or so), we headed down
the eastern slope toward Reno. We got off the highway at Wedge Parkway
and had lunch and gassed up. Mount Rose Highway (NV431) ends at
US395. At that point NV341 (Geiger Grade Road) starts. This is the
northern entrance to Virginia City, an old silver mining town. We
stopped at an overlook for a great view of the valley and mountains
around us. Geiger Grade Road is a newly resurfaced, wonderfully curvy
road; we continued enjoying the twisties and the sweepers all the way
into Virginia City.
In Virginia City, we found places to park, mostly on the main street
and spent an hour or so exploring the town. It's a gaudy, commercial
place but most of the buildings are old and original so it is still an
interesting place to visit.
Continuing on, we passed through Silver City (another small mining
town) and saw the '89 PC of Larry Steinberg sitting on a hillside above
us. I don't think Larry saw us but we waved anyway as we went by. We
rejoined US50, rode into Carson City (capital of Nevada) and turned
south on US395.
We turned off US395 onto Jacks Valley Road (NV206) and rode through
Genoa (Nevada's first settlement), past Walley Hot Springs (locally
famous resort) to the junction with NV88. We turned south on NV88 and,
at the California border, saw it turn into CA88. Through Woodfords,
through Picketts Junction and on up toward Carson Pass (8500+ feet).
After cresting Carson Pass, we stopped at Caples Lake for a butt and
photo break. Normally gorgeous Caples Lake is about half empty. The
spill gates at the main dam are leaking and the lake has to be drained
down in order for them to be repaired.
We continued on past Kirkwood (ski resort) and Silver Lake to the
junction with Mormon Emigrant Trail. This is a forest service road
which is maintained as an alternate to US50 which on the western slope
of the Sierra is prone to landslides which often close the road,
sometimes for weeks. This 30 mile stretch of road is used mainly by
logging trucks; we saw perhaps 6 cars (3 each direction) in the 30
miles...
Arriving at the western end of Mormon Emigrant Trail, we were passing
lovely Jenkinson Lake. We turned right onto Sly Park Road, made our
way out to US50 and back to the motel in Cameron Park. We had dinner
at a Round Table Pizza across from the motel.
Friday, September 12th, we again started south on CA49, through or near
several gold rush era towns. At Angels Camp, we turned east on CA4,
heading toward Ebbetts Pass. We passed through Murphys, Avery and
Arnold.
CA4 gets pretty exciting up toward the top of the pass. It is
excellent pavement but it is one wide lane for about 30 miles near the
top. One has to be VERY careful to stay near the right edge of the
road.
As if to demonstrate, a jerk in a big dually pickup came roaring around
the corner at me, right in the middle of the road. Having seen it
before, I was prepared for him. I had also warned everyone that this
might happen and to be on the lookout. At least one other person
reported finding him in the middle but after that he apparently came to
his senses and stayed to the right. Like CA108 (over Sonora Pass) this
road is challenging. Most of the really steep grades (24%) occur east
of the crest (about 9300 feet).
We found a couple of spots, one near Bear Valley, on the way up, and
one just past the crest, to stop for photo and butt breaks. Then we
made our way to the bottom of Ebbetts and the end of CA4. There we
turned east on CA89 and headed up over Monitor Pass to US395. Turning
south, we got gas in Walker and managed to get a good burger at Walker
Burger on this day.
After lunch, we turned back north on US395, rode over Monitor Pass on
CA89 and down through Markleeville where met Dave Misunas and stopped
long enough for Dave to finish his ice cream. :-)
We then went to Woodfords and the junction with CA88. We rode back up
over Carson Pass but instead of turning on Mormon Emigrant Trail, we
continued on down CA88 through Hams Station, Volcano and into Jackson.
In Jackson, we turned north on CA49 and made back into El Dorado.
Turning west at Poor Red's in El Dorado, we made our way back to the
Motel. Dinner that night was again at Que Viva Mexican Restaurant.
Saturday, September 13th, we bade our goodbyes and the few people who
had remained through Saturday, headed for home.
The 9th annual PCH ride had come to an end.
Pictures (links only) and trip reports will also be posted on the ride
web site as they appear.
Leland
--
Leland Sheppard
Placerville, California, USA
...Life is good on the Pacific Coast...
'94 Pacific Coast, "Black Beauty", 211,500 miles
'89 Pacific Coast, "Shadow Dancer", 106,425 miles
'90 Pacific Coast, "Red Baron", 90,050 miles
'96 Pacific Coast/SuperSport sidecar, "Handsome Hannigan", 29,750 miles
'02 Ural Patrol, "Boris Blueanov", 14,675 kilometers
'89 GB500, "Little Bugger", 13,375 miles
'02 GL1800, "Copper", 42,050, '07 Aspen Classic, "Copper's Camper", 1,100 miles
'04 Helix, "Miss Bee", 900 miles (breaking in for my roommate)
iPCRC #72; IBA #10582; AMA #481368
Mother of all PC800 Web Site Lists: http://www.pc800links.net