Hello everyone!

We met for the June ride at CAL Triumph where Kari welcomed us with coffee and donuts and pastries when they opened. It was a small gathering so we decided not to take the ride towards Weaverville but instead head up towards Sonora. After pondering over a couple of maps, we decided there were a lot of nice roads to be had in the Sonora direction. Joachim on his Speed Triple led the ride. Our route was a nice one.

After we road up to Sonora, we headed north on CA 49, then right on Parrotts Ferry Road towards Columbia. After 8 miles we crossed the bridge over New Melones Lake, then 6 miles further turned right onto CA 4. We went into Murphy to visit Mercer Caverns. Our plans had been to take the tour, but we were a bit shy on the wait which was about an hour. That would have been cutting into our riding time, so we left. We then followed the road to Avery, where we returned to CA 4, turning left. We then followed CA 4 through Arnold, Dorrington, and Bear Valley to Lake Alpine. Riding 8 miles further we reached Mosquito Lake at 8070 about feet. Here we took a break to marvel at the beautiful mountains and some small patches of snow still left on the mountains. 76 miles into the trip we reached Ebbetts pass at 8780 feet. About 10 miles further we turned left onto CA 89 North. We followed 89 through Markleeville, and then turned left onto CA 88 at Woodfords Junction.

The roads were magnificent. Talk about sweepers and twisties! 114 miles into the trip we reached Carsons Pass at 8573 feet. Then down into the valley to Silver Lake. A bit further we took a slight detour to get gas at a resort. At 162 miles we reached Pioneer, where we turned left onto CA 26. We followed 26 through West Point to Mokelumne Hill, where we turned left again onto CA 49, returning to Sonora after about 244 miles. It was one of most wonderful rides I have ridden. We all agreed that these were great roads and our bikes loved the turns and the absence of cars except for the usual slow (Volvo or something)hee hee.

We stopped at Applebee’s for lunch and for dinner. Once back in Sonora we then looked for accommodations with little luck because some big kado was happening somewhere that no one could tell us about. We decided that whatever little town we came across that had a vacancy we would take them up on it. That was to be in Oakdale and so there we bedded down pretty beat and ready for sleep.

The morning was beautiful and so off we headed home in our own directions. Overall, it was a wonderful ride. We thank you Joachim for leading the ride and picking such wonderful roads for us to ride on.

Well, that’s it for the ride minutes. If you ever ride up that direction, do check out those roads, they were made for our bikes for sure. We also want to add that Joseph on his Harley 883 really got a workout on those roads (and most likely a sore rump)but he loved the roads as well we all loved the company!

Thank you for joining us Joseph and do come ride with us again!

Don’t forget that Laguna Seca is coming up in July! We hope to see you there!

Rat leader,
Maya