09-05-30 Not Just Another Tioga Pass Sonora Pass Thread May

[johnny]

well actually it is... kinda...

i look at about 10 moto forums routinely and generally only post on 2... the motobrick owners forum because without them the bugeye motobrick would be rusting on top of mt hood...  and of course the pashnit forum because without them we would never have found mt hood in the first place...

so why do we post ride reports heavy with road photos and such... its payback to those who post ride reports... we get most all of our ride routes and ride ideas from pashnit ride report posts and the pashnit ca motoroads... and then its payforward too... for folks like us who want to explore mother earth on two wheels...

so... we unload the motobrick on tuesday night and take it to cycle specialties on wednesday morning... you see... last weekend i came down the truck ramp a little hot and blew my left fork seal... lesson learned... wont do that again... anyway...for a few years i have been hauling around a set of works performance front fork springs to match my works performance rear shock... i was gonna install them if i were to blow a fork seal... the fine folks at cycle specialities agreed to slide them in for me when they fixed up my for seals... the folks at cycle specialities in modesto are truly upstanding folks...  just remember if you take the bait they will set the hook...

we roll out of tracy ca at first light... we take the 120 to oakdale and pick up waterford road to the 132... we roll past coulterville to the 120...



ca 132...







coulterville... not a another moto to be found... too early for the little dragon slayers i presume...





grizzly hill out of coulterville to the r v infested 120... its like a disease... cruise america and el monte and have mutated into a indefensible strain of 20mph rubberneckers...



we skipped the whole yosemite thing... today is about the sonora pass...

views from ca 120...



waterfalls were still in full rage...



there were coppers everywhere... so watch you 9 over...







trees with roots wrapped around rocks...



its gonna rain... feeling it...



olmstead point...

the world famous rock doesnt need any introduction...



m o thinking the warm n safe is wonderful...



this jersey boy was loaded...



who needs cruise america... just fedex your own...



could hear thunder... could see rain... was just taking it all in...



same place closer zoom... crazy aint it...





high in the sierras in may...  it was gonna happen... there were many scattered showers the rest of the day... luckily they were moving fast and lasting just a short time...



tuolumne meadows...





today was about water... it was everywhere... from bubbling brooks to meandering streams to placid ponds to raging waterfalls...









time for the down hill to whoa nelly for fish tacos...







amazing transformation as the 120 heads down to lee vining...











we could see lightening off in the distance beyond mono lake...



fish tacos for j o...



jambalaya for m o...



the whoa nelly deli is inside the mobil gas station on the 120 just west of the 395...



rolling up the 395 to the sonora pass...



leaving the momo lake area for the big hills...







we rolled into bridgeport to find 8 coppers plugging up the road... so we pulled off for a rest... 4 of the coppers took off and headed south and 4 of the coppers stayed back... they had two motos pulled over... the rders had joker emblems on the backs of their jackets...  we pulled out and headed to north to sonora junction... there a total of 6 more coppers with folks pulled over between bridgeport and sonora junction...

its back... the rain the rain the rain...





o my... ca 108... 26% grade... the sonora pass...  this had gotta be good...









warring machines... human and mechanical were watching...





did i mention today was about water...



so much licorice... so little time...



so much for the licorice... how about some tar snakes...







amazing views from the 108...







the road was good... it was wet most of the way... some debris... not much...







awe ch1t... didnt need to see this... or maybe we did...  we rolled on because we didnt see any moto damage... then as we passed i was wondering why a ambulance if there wasnt a wreck...  then i was thinking perhaps some other medical situation... the wrecker eventually passed us west bound... never saw the copper or the ambulance again... still wondering what happened... hope all is well...



now i got my head totally into the ride... rolling on...









about here is was thinking i should put on my electric jacket... i could see my breath and it was getting a little damp and cold... micki of course has had her electric jack on since 1st light... humm...



hundreds of waterfalls to bee seen today... some were roadside... some were tiny trickles off in the distance...



kinda a precarious spot on a blind right on the crest of the hill... im not getting into the shoulder soup... there goes the wrecker...











c o n e h o l e i o



move on out...

























massive waterfall... hard to see in the next 2 photos...























it was a beauty of a ride... a ride we have wanted to do for a long time... as soon as the tioga pass and the sonoroa open for the season...

about the new works performance front fork springs... wow... what a difference... the bugeye motobrick is ready for streetmasters now... its a new lap record...

there you go...

j o