Category: Sierra Nevada
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The Tahoe Return
I knew this was going to be a short trip. It was about burning fuel and exercising all of the systems in the motorcycle, as a moving motorcycle is a happy motorcycle. I got in at about 9 o’clock last night after a pretty intense evening ride. I slept hard that night and woke up…
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Moses, the Sun, and I-80
I’m taking a small break from blogging about my time in the Pacific Northwest to focus on some events in the current day. I know, I know – These are small problems but I sometimes worry about my motorcycle sitting too long. Motorcycles are happiest when they are ridden. My motorcycle has been sitting for…
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California Alpine & Low Country Boils
This post is retroactive. All events took place on Memorial Day weekend 2021. A half-written post sat in my drafts folder for almost a year, so it’s now time to finish! I was highly emotional after I got my first shot. After more than a year of relative isolation, I could feel that change was…
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Returning Sonora
After a night in Bishop, I realized I wanted an additional day up here in the Sierras. The air quality was fantastic, and being up here lifted my spirits and so many ways. I was adventuring again in a place I love to call home. There’s so much about this area that’s rugged, unexplored yet…
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Revisiting Yosemite
It’s hard to believe it’s already September. The summer has flown by! In many ways, the pandemic has messed with my head. In particular, the long stretches of stay-at-home due to the virus, the fires, rioting have got me accustomed to staying home. I often laugh that some days accomplishment means, “I got out of…
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Almost Heaven; California!
This post is a continuation of the ride: Trekking for Givi Luggage Here I am sitting at the corner of US 395 and US 50 in Carson City, Nevada. I had a decision to make: do I head south and feed my motorcycling soul or do I head north and fill the heart with good people.…
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Trekking for Givi Luggage
Hard luggage was a game-changer in my motorcycling passion. On my first bike, the Vulcan, I would always have to struggle with various backpacks, duffel bags, and other zippered luggage when leaving the motorcycle. Soft luggage isn’t usually waterproof and is more likely to be stolen. Once I had upgraded from the Vulcan to the…
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FS-96 MRR: Mosquito Ridge Road
Time is a blur these days. As one who regularly travels, I usually segment time in blocks of “at home” or “on the road.” Since October 25, 2019, I’ve spent just about every night in my bed aside from a short work trip in mid-January. I don’t think I have had a no travel block…
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Transitioning to Fall
The Queer Biker Invasion of Death Valley, or QBIDV for short, is a hallmark tradition in the LGBTQ culture here in the West. The ride originally started 26 years ago when Michael wanted to publish a simple ride that others could join him without a lot of planning and overhead. Some 26 years later the…
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An evening in Vikingsholm
In the summer, this place is packed. The Vikingsholm parking lot is overloaded with cars on top of the $10 usage fee that goes to the state parks. What about in the fall, on a Tuesday, at 5 PM? The parking lot is empty. I don’t mind the $10. It’s actually complementary with the California…
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The 5 o’clock ride
Yes, it is true that it is always 5 o’clock somewhere. At this moment, it’s 5 o’clock in Lake Tahoe, California. And yes, it’s time to go out on the motorcycle. One of the key things I look for in a location is the 5 o’clock ride. What is the 5 o’clock ride? The 5…
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The Climb to Eagle Lake
Getting to Tahoe has been a journey. At first, I thought I wanted to live alone and rent an Airbnb. However, I’m so glad I rented a room from friends I know up here. I didn’t know if I was going to have much time both during the day and collectively throughout my entire stay…
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Farm Road 109
This is my first motorcycle ride back from the Sierras since moving to the East Bay and it was decidedly different in good and unexpected ways. I did my first long ride in almost 3 years. That in and of itself is awesome. When riding I’m often a stickler for mileage as it helps place me…
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Mountains of gold – Highway 88
Autumn is in full swing! While there is not one chorus of yellow, orange, and red singing in unison across the mountainside like other years, all of nature is now is in the chorus. I’ve been tracking this Aspen tree sitting in the front yard since I got here. Each day its voice would be…
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Highway 89 – Crossing Monitor Pass
Ask any experienced photographer “what is the best camera?” and they will almost always tell you “the one you have with you.” Having had a few solid point and shoots, a big SLR with interchangeable lenses, and a few iPhones I can now clearly see the wisdom in that statement. With the advent of Lightroom…
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The Squirrley Rear Sprocket
That rattle in the sprocket was really starting to worry me. Whenever I’d touch it before it always seemed solid. I called Santa Clara Cycle who recently (< 350 miles ago) put a new tire on it and they offered to look at it. I was 200 miles away and not really interested in trailering…
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Kingsbury Grade Run
Now with the motorcycle safely in the garage and most of my gear up here (minus my heated vest), it’s time to go riding. I know at home I tend to like to have my heated vest once the temperature drops below 60°. Given that the air is considerably drier up here I’m thinking I’ll…
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Retrieving the bike
So it’s day two in Lake Tahoe. To say it was cold was an understatement. The morning started off in the low 20s. A friend of mine was traveling from South San Jose up to Lake Tahoe with a motorcycle trailer the day before I left. The good news is I didn’t have to trailer…
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Finding Next
Ever have those callbacks to odd cult films in your childhood? Mr. Destiny is that movie for me. Every so often I come back to the scene where Michael Caine and James Belushi discuss how decisions and outcome affect the future trajectory of life. I always find it interesting how actions and reactions pave the…
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It came upon the midnight clear
I remember that warm, summer night lying in my bed at camp just before midnight looking out at the thousands, no hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of stars just beyond the trees. All of camp was quiet. Not a creature was stirring. Not even a mouse! The Sierras are a place I hold close…
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Coworking in Lake Tahoe
I spent a lot of time thinking on the Memorial Day Mingle when my last long motorcycle tour really was. On that ride, a lightbulb went off that it was the Memorial Day Mingle last year. A whole year had gone by without focused time in the Sierras with my motorcycle. Because of that, I wanted to…
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2015 Memorial Day Mingle
There are two rides I’m really proud to have contributed to Homoto’s riding culture: The Mid-Winter’s Tour down the Central Coast and the Memorial Day Mingle through the Sierras. The Memorial Day Mingle celebrates togetherness between riders and the opening of the Sierra passes for the summer. Riding the passes on opening weekend for me…
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Memorial Day Mingle – Day 3
Ibuprofen is a God send. Michael suggested I take some to help reduce the inflammation from the bug bite. It worked like none other! While I wasn’t quite normal, things were looking a lot better. We were originally slated to take US-50 down to Ice House Road to Wentworth Springs Road. A number of us…
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2014 Memorial Day Mingle – Day 2
I was tired last night. I was surprised how hard I had slept. I knew something was not right the moment my face moved. The insect bite really had swollen up overnight. We iced it again which helped, but there was going to be a little extra fluff in my helmet on the ride today. …
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2014 Memorial Day Mingle – Day 1
The Memorial Day Mingle is our “season opener” as most of the Sierra passes are open and it’s time to brush off the winter coat and go have some curve carving fun up in the hills. Sure, it’s California and we ride all year, but there’s something really special about being deep in the mountains. …
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Donovan: 43 miles hitchhiking through California
Up to the mountain This weekend is Homoto’s annual board retreat. One of the members has access to an awesome cabin up in Lake Tahoe. When starting my term as president, I felt it was important to gather the full board to have a time of connection and bonding as well as planning out the…
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Kings Canyon through HDR Photography
I came over the pass at Grant Grove at about 4 o’clock. Why is that significant? I’m well within “crappy afternoon light” part of the day. What is “crappy afternoon light?” By no means is this a standard industry term, I just find photos taken in the late afternoon before the golden hour surrounding sunset…
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The Southern Sierras
Saying goodbye to everyone on the third day of the Death Valley trip is always hard. Many of us see each other only once a year as the group comes from the far corners of California and even places beyond. I slept in as many of us were out late last night and the ride…
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Off to Death Valley
Photography takes a fair amount of time and money to really make photos look great. If you like my work, I’m asking for $5 to be donated for each image to Homoto to help better motorcycling. I’ll then send the full resolution for your use (print, social networks, etc). Use the contact me page to…
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Flat Stanley Comes to California!
Background A few weeks ago I got a special package in the mail from my niece. I had been selected for a Flat Stanley project. Flat Stanley is a children’s tale where Stanley gets a new bulletin board for his room. One night as Stanley is asleep the bulletin board falls on top of him…