Cyclerides.com Weekly Update
9/10/08 

Greetings Riders,
 
Well, Riding season for those of us in Arizona is now upon us. Weather forecast for the Valley for the next 10 days is highs in the mid to upper 90's. Hallelujah! What that means is that we can go for some rides with perfect weather in the higher elevations and come back home without getting roasted on the way in. By this time of year I generally have trouble waiting for that perfect timing, so last weekend we left home around 7:30am for a little 200 mile loop for breakfast at the Skull Valley Cafe and was home by noon. If you are a fan of Chicken Fried Steak and scrambled eggs for breakfast, you've got to try it there. It was a great ride and scratched my itch for a few days. The bike now has 2250 miles on the new motor and is running great. Can't wait to take advantage of the upcoming riding season.
 
Not only is riding out of the Valley going to get good, so are the bike nights around town. Evening riding will soon be just perfect. I will be adding more next week and will review them all in full. One that is re-opening this weekend is Western Trails Ranch with both day and night activities. See full information below.
 
Readers Rides 2008 Photo Gallery: I know a lot of you have great photos from rides this Summer. Share them with the rest of the Cyclerides.com family. Add them to the Readers Rides 2008 Photo Gallery. Just email me a picture of you or your bike next to a sign or landmark to share with everyone. Email to info@cyclerides.com. Click Here to View photos already sent in.

Women Who Ride Photo Gallery. Ladies! Send in your photos on your bike to be added to the Women Who Ride Gallery. Click Here to View photos already submitted.
 
I got off track a little over the last 3 weeks with articles on Extended Warranties, Break-In Ride to Flagstaff via the back roads and a little 1600 mile ride to Ouray, CO in between. But there were still over 290 photos from those rides, so if you missed any of them, click on the links to catch up. But this week, I'm going to pick up where I left off a month ago with our ride over the Sierra Nevada's. You might remember from past articles I was very impressed with the riding in this area and have actually placed it in my top 10 of places to ride. 

Sonora Pass to Yosemite National Park 

This week I am picking up from spending the night in Sonora, CA ready to ride over the beautiful Sonora Pass and then down to the Tioga Pass to spend the night in Yosemite National Park. This is kind of funny, but as motorcycle riders we tend to seek out the oldest beat up looking place to eat breakfast when on a ride. Not sure why, must be the nostalgia of it all. Another thing we tend to do is seek out these out of the way places to ride to or quirky things to see. Maybe we really do want to see the World's Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, KS. or the World's Largest Frying Pan in Rose Hill, NC. But maybe it is just an excuse to go out of our way to make our ride a little longer.
 
Whatever the reasons, we got sucked into that scenario and rode 50 miles out of our way to see the Longest Covered Bridge in California. It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time, (I mean there is only one Longest Covered Bridge in California and we were about to see it), but when you got there it just didn't live up to the hype. We finally rolled into Knights Ferry, CA and found the bridge. It was pretty neat, I took some pictures since we did make the effort, but I think we could have ridden those 50 miles in the opposite direction and not affected the overall enjoyment of our trip. But we are motorcycle riders and that is the kind of things we do to extend our rides. In case you were wondering, this is the Longest Covered Bridge in California.
 
Once we had taken care of that bit of trivia, we were on our way back to the Sonora Pass, Hwy. 108, to enjoy some awesome riding. The was our 3rd pass in the last 2 days and one that we had done before. Like the other two, this one had its' own personality as well. A characteristic that you will soon discover is how steep the road can be. You will see a sign that you might never see again alerting you to a steep winding narrow road and a 26% grade. One our favorite stops along the way is the old Strawberry General Store that is just fun to soak up some nostalgia. The Sonora pass is a really nice road that features a few twisties, but for the most part it is comprised of long sweepers around the granite and sandstone rock along the way. At 9624 feet in elevation at the summit, it was the highest one that we had traversed, but that record would soon fall that same afternoon.
 
There was still plenty of snow on the ground in late June, but riding weather was beautiful in the low 70's. A must stop along the way is the viewpoint for Donnell Lake. It is a short walk down to the viewpoint for a fantastic view of the lake. And of course, you must do your customary picture by the "Pass "signs so that you can send it in to Cyclerides.com for the Readers Rides Gallery. Coming down the East side of the summit is beautiful as you will wind through the granite outcroppings and the trees on your way to Hwy. 395 that you will follow South to Hwy. 120 which will take you to Tioga Pass and Yosemite National Park. 

When you look on the map you will see that Yosemite National Park covers a huge area of the western Sierra Nevada mountains in central California. It has many lakes, meadows, forests and granite summits with Alpine scenery as far as you can see. Riding through Tioga Pass you will be amazed at the size of the granite monoliths that seem to surround as you serpentine your way through the forest to Yosemite Valley where you will be greeted by El Capitan. At the center is Yosemite Valley, and what might also be called the focal point of the park, is a half-mile deep depression carved by glaciers during the last ice age, which now has soaring 3,000 foot high domes and many powerful waterfalls, including three of the world's highest. 
 
This is almost a surreal experience when you get your first look at El Capitan and these giant granite monoliths followed by the incredible waterfalls that seem to surround you as you ride the loop on the valley floor. Lodging is available right in the park. It is an excellent place to see wildlife including bears, but usually is expensive and full if you are trying to get something on a moments notice. We tend to stay just out of the Park gates along a beautiful flowing river at a place called Yosemite View Lodge. It is reasonably priced for the area and has all of the amenities that you will need including a couple of restaurants.
 
If you were to follow the same route as we did, the Sonora Pass, Hwy. 108 is about 80 miles from Sonora to Hwy. 395. It is then another 42 miles South to Lee Vining where you will then turn back West on Tioga Pass Rd. which is Hwy. 120 for a 70 mile ride through Yosemite National Park to Yosemite Valley. This is only 192 miles total, doesn't seem like much, but it will take most of the day as you make stops to enjoy the scenery and wander your way through this absolutely beautiful landscape that is perfect for travel on a motorcycle. These 4 mountain passes, including Carson Pass, Ebbetts Pass, Sonora Pass and Tioga Pass that criss cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains that I have described over the last couple of weeks are what I consider a must ride for any avid motorcycle tourer. The good news is that if you live in the Arizona area, you can make this trip over a long weekend and a couple of extra days.
 
Click Here for Google Map of the area.
Click Here For 130 Beautiful Photos.
 
Useful Links:
Covered Bridges of California counties.
Sonora Pass
Yosemite National Park
Wikipedia Yosemite National Park 
 

Highlights This Week 

Saturday, September 13th.
Hacienda Harley-Davidson 30th Anniversary Celebration.
Make plans to attend the big 30th Anniversary Celebration Party at Hacienda Harley-Davidson
from 10am - 9pm. FREE BBQ and enjoy Live Music in the Beer Gardens.
 
Saturday, September 13th
Western Trails Ranch Re-Opens!
One of the largest Biker Venue's in the Country re-opens
Saturday September 13th. JoAnn's New Economic Plan for the Recession-FREE FOOD, 

Sunday, September 14th
Thank-A-Vet Poker Run. Event to benefit Operation Freedom Bird. Money is used to send Approximately 50 veterans each year to participate in a four-day healing visit to the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial in Washington D.C. Sign-In from 10am -  Noon at Chandler Harley-Davidson located at 6895 W. Chandler Blvd. Run ends at Graham Central Station, 7850 S. Priest in Tempe. More information call 480-496-6800. 

Next Week 

Saturday, September 20th
Bikers Bay Glendale Grand Opening Party. The Bikers Bay Glendale location is ready to continue the Bikers Bay experience... Personal customer attention, the convenience of "Ride In - Ride Out" service and the highest quality work at the valley's newest and largest bikers bay location. To celebrate this new store we are having a Grand Opening Party and asking you to join us in the celebration. There will be Free Food, Live Music, Vendors and Prizes. Stop Saturday, September 20th from 10am - 3pm at 5670 N. 51st Ave., Just S. of Bethany Home Rd. For more information call 623-842-8580. www.mybikersbay.com
 
Saturday, September 20th
3rd Annual Wheels of Grace Unity Ride. We at WOG are committed to unite together Christians, starting with the Motorcycle Ministries who have the same vision, through an event that we are organizing called the “WOG Unity Ride!” The ride, consisting of all M/M Patches (representing all denominations) will be a visual statement to the world that demonstrates that bikers are living out John 17, united as One! Join us for the Phoenix Ride. Begins at Southwestern College, 2625 E. Cactus Rd. in Phoenix. Registration from 7am - 9am. $10 per rider, plus 1 toy per bike. Ending location: Chandler Harley Davidson, 6895 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler. Enjoy Food, Fellowship and Bands. Click Here for more information.
 
Sunday, September 21st
1st Annual Veterans Motorcycle Fund Raising Meet N' Greet. Proceeds benefit The Fisher House. Tickets $18 Per Person (Includes Lunch) Special Events and Contests include a Motorcycle Rodeo ($10 entry) Dart Toss, Ring Toss, Keg Push, Wennie Bite. Motorcycle Show, Tattoo Contest. Brunch 9am - 1pm, Rodeo 11am - 2pm. Lunch 1pm - 3pm. Motorcycle Show 3pm - 5pm. Giveaways and 50/50 throughout the day. All takes place at the VFW Post 7968 in Apache Junction, 725 W. Apache Trail. Click Here for more details. 

Upcoming Events 

8th Annual Rocky Point Rally
For those of you that have been inquiring about the Rocky Point Rally, it is going to happen and their web site is being updated now. If you are going, I would suggest getting your rooms reserved now. A lot of the rides and activities that have been done in the past will be done this year. Most activities will be at Playa Bonita or on the Malecon this year. One little event that I heard about is that Mogollon will be doing a concert ON THE BEACH Saturday night behind Playa Bonita. That will be fun! http://www.rockypointrally.com/ 

Extras 

You might have seen me using "The Spot" satellite tracker on our trip to Durango and Ouray. Here is a Cyclerides.com reader named Lanny that is on a 5 day trip to California and up the PCH. Since we are not fortunate enough to be on a ride ourselves, I guess we can virtually watch Lanny. Click Here to follow his travels. I still have a few of these units left for the cheapest price that I have seen, $129. Click Here for more information and to buy or email me for more information. info@cyclerides.com 

Cyclerides.com Classifieds are now FREE! Just put 1234 in the credit card blanks and add your Bikes or Parts.
Click Here to add or view.  
 
You would have to think the pucker factor might have been pretty high for this pilot. Didn't quite get it back to square before touching down. Click Here to View.
 
This is a 911 call that is absolutely hilarious! I don't even know how to set it up. I laugh every time I hear this one. Click Here to View.
 
This one is amazing. I had no idea birds were this smart. Click Here to View.
 
Regardless of which side of the political fence you are on, I would encourage you to watch this short video to the end. This kid has just gotten back from Iraq and has a video message to Obama. It is sobering and will make you think. Click Here to View.