GreenHornet
Well-known member
After having successfully ridden the GS on a dualsport route I'm familiar with, the day before, I wanted to push my comfort zone in an attempt to train for my Great Divide Adventure. I got a set of tracks from someone who knows someone who went on a ride ... 
. Supposedly there is an abandoned hotel on the route, which I wanted to see. I love exploring ghost towns and abandoned structures.
This is the route I wanted to follow. Unfortunately, I only made it about a quarter of the way around the loop. I made a few miscalculations, and I also tried to follow all of the little excursions off the main loop because I didn't know where the hotel was. I wasn't sure if the little "fingers" were just exploratory artifacts of creating the tracks or if they had real purpose.
The first was, I started the ride from Sacramento too late in the day, it was already in the high 90's and about 12:30pm by the time I realized that no one would join me, and that I should just go anyway. So I started in the heat of the day but also with much less time before dark.
The next miscalculation was that I decided to try and use Rever for navigation and I didn't download the map content (luckily I had cell coverage for the most part but not always). I also thought that I had put the tracks on my Nav VI (Garmin) but I hadn't.
The last error was that I should have brought my hand held manual chain saw.
The first part of the loop was awesome. It began in Pollock Pines on Forebay Rd. This road is amazing. In the beginning it's a bit residential but eventually, It goes into the Eldorado National forest. It winds down to the south fork of the American River. After crossing the river it climbs up Poho Ridge where it turns to dirt at an OHV staging area. Forebay Rd is tight and twisty but has a flow to it, and not many cagers, it is impeccably maintained and the scenery is breathtaking.
After a short distance in the dirt, for some unknown reason I ended up exploring this rut. On my thumper, I would have just stood on the pegs and rode it out or at least exited it after gaining a little momentum but always in the back of my mind is the potential cost of the GS. So I decided to sit and dog walk it along the rut until I could more easily get out. Did I mention it was hot?? Also, my gortex gear tho well ventilated was hot, particularly so when not creating a breeze by moving.
After this episode, I began to relax and build confidence and the riding was much more enjoyable. Until the trees. The first roadblock was on one of the "fingers" so I just went back to the main route.
The next one was on my main route. I'm beginning to see a pattern here.
Appraising the situation, I felt if I snapped a bunch of the small branches, I could go under the big log and then around the next log on the ground and be on my way.
We are Victorious!!
Alas, the spoils of war were short lived as around the next corner, there was another.
It was time for some introspection. I considered using the engine to walk the bike up the slope and around the obstacle, but I was running out of steam and it was 5:00pm and I was alone in the woods. I hadn't seen another soul for hours, and the thought of spending the night out there worrying the two people who care..... I decided the most prudent course of action was to go back the way I came and call it a success.
But wait, there's more..
She was also tired, time for a dirt nap and a crash bar test
Of course this wasn't exactly planned. I still have a hard time with the sheer size of this bike when barely moving. I wanted to stop for a snap of the view, and I don't recall exactly what I did wrong but she started to topple and I said fuck it. I'm just going to let it go. I'm pretty sure we were stationary, if not we were barely moving.
This was the perfect opportunity to test out my ability to get her rubberside up all by my lonesome. The crash bars make for a great handle and it was no trouble to get her back on her feet. I wouldn't want to do it repeatedly in a short interval but it didn't pose much of a problem.
What I meant to do
These crash bars are definitely worth it as there was not a scratch on the bike.
In retrospect, I'm going to start my next adventure before 9:00am, bring my saw, download my maps, upload my tracks, bring the inReach mini, and the goPro Hero 8 black I just bought. Next time, I'll do the loop in reverse, and see if I end up at the same roadblock. I'm not sure why the roadblocks are even there.
Last pic, if you made it this far.
. Supposedly there is an abandoned hotel on the route, which I wanted to see. I love exploring ghost towns and abandoned structures.This is the route I wanted to follow. Unfortunately, I only made it about a quarter of the way around the loop. I made a few miscalculations, and I also tried to follow all of the little excursions off the main loop because I didn't know where the hotel was. I wasn't sure if the little "fingers" were just exploratory artifacts of creating the tracks or if they had real purpose.
The first was, I started the ride from Sacramento too late in the day, it was already in the high 90's and about 12:30pm by the time I realized that no one would join me, and that I should just go anyway. So I started in the heat of the day but also with much less time before dark.
The next miscalculation was that I decided to try and use Rever for navigation and I didn't download the map content (luckily I had cell coverage for the most part but not always). I also thought that I had put the tracks on my Nav VI (Garmin) but I hadn't.
The last error was that I should have brought my hand held manual chain saw.
The first part of the loop was awesome. It began in Pollock Pines on Forebay Rd. This road is amazing. In the beginning it's a bit residential but eventually, It goes into the Eldorado National forest. It winds down to the south fork of the American River. After crossing the river it climbs up Poho Ridge where it turns to dirt at an OHV staging area. Forebay Rd is tight and twisty but has a flow to it, and not many cagers, it is impeccably maintained and the scenery is breathtaking.
After a short distance in the dirt, for some unknown reason I ended up exploring this rut. On my thumper, I would have just stood on the pegs and rode it out or at least exited it after gaining a little momentum but always in the back of my mind is the potential cost of the GS. So I decided to sit and dog walk it along the rut until I could more easily get out. Did I mention it was hot?? Also, my gortex gear tho well ventilated was hot, particularly so when not creating a breeze by moving.
After this episode, I began to relax and build confidence and the riding was much more enjoyable. Until the trees. The first roadblock was on one of the "fingers" so I just went back to the main route.
The next one was on my main route. I'm beginning to see a pattern here.
Appraising the situation, I felt if I snapped a bunch of the small branches, I could go under the big log and then around the next log on the ground and be on my way.
We are Victorious!!
Alas, the spoils of war were short lived as around the next corner, there was another.
It was time for some introspection. I considered using the engine to walk the bike up the slope and around the obstacle, but I was running out of steam and it was 5:00pm and I was alone in the woods. I hadn't seen another soul for hours, and the thought of spending the night out there worrying the two people who care..... I decided the most prudent course of action was to go back the way I came and call it a success.
But wait, there's more..
She was also tired, time for a dirt nap and a crash bar test
Of course this wasn't exactly planned. I still have a hard time with the sheer size of this bike when barely moving. I wanted to stop for a snap of the view, and I don't recall exactly what I did wrong but she started to topple and I said fuck it. I'm just going to let it go. I'm pretty sure we were stationary, if not we were barely moving.
This was the perfect opportunity to test out my ability to get her rubberside up all by my lonesome. The crash bars make for a great handle and it was no trouble to get her back on her feet. I wouldn't want to do it repeatedly in a short interval but it didn't pose much of a problem.
What I meant to do
These crash bars are definitely worth it as there was not a scratch on the bike.
In retrospect, I'm going to start my next adventure before 9:00am, bring my saw, download my maps, upload my tracks, bring the inReach mini, and the goPro Hero 8 black I just bought. Next time, I'll do the loop in reverse, and see if I end up at the same roadblock. I'm not sure why the roadblocks are even there.
Last pic, if you made it this far.
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