The Lost Coast - ADV Ride

[bdalameda]

My middle son Ben and I took quite a ride over the last few days. Ben rides a Triumph Tiger XC and we traveled from the Central Coast of California north on Highway 1 to the area known as, The Lost Coast. We rode to Shelter Cove for the first night and then took the King Mtn dirt road through the mountains to the small town of Honeydew and then on to Petrolia and to the Mattole Beach area.
We took a very tight 4X4 road up and down to Windy Point close to the abandoned Punta Gorda Lighthouse. This road was quite a challenge as it was steep and very loose with switchbacks. It was a good reminder that exploring roads like this should be done without full gear onboard as you can easily get yourself in trouble as you can get down a road like this but getting back out again is another thing. Heavily loaded ADV bikes on steep terrain can be difficult when you climb out on steep loose terrain as the weight shifts rearward when climbing out making front wheel traction disappear as you hit ruts and bumps. I found this out when I made the first attempt to get out of Windy Point and I lost the front wheel in a rut and ended up in the bushes with the bike tipped over with it leaning downhill. No damage done (Thanks to LoneRider Bags). Luckily my son was with me and it was quite a job to get the bike upright on a steep hill in the rough and then get it back down the hill to try again. The only way to get it out was to unload the bags and gear and ride the AT to the top of the mountain and then take several trips down to pickup small portions of the gear and bring them up to the top one piece at a time. We succeeded in this, and though it was a backbreaking task, we kept our humor and had a good laugh at the situation as we looked back on it.
We the rode Mattole Road further north to Ferndale and since we were pretty much spent we found a room at the Bear River Resort near Fortuna. On a positive note after a nice dinner I put a 20.00 bill in a slot machine at the resort and won $915.00 which paid for the trip.
On our way home we rode the Avenue of the Giants through the Redwood forests back south and picked up Highway 1 and rode the Coast Highway from Legget CA back to my home near Monterey.

For those that don't know about The Lost Coast area and the Kings Range this is one of the most unspoiled and undeveloped coastal areas of the United States. It is like going back in time 100 years. This is not a touristy area but and incredibly remote and beautiful place with poor roads but amazing scenery.
Hear are some pictures

 

[Sadlsor]

Nice!
Coincidentally, the latest Adventure Rider Radio podcast is on climbing steep hills.
Listened to it tonight on my 2hr drive to out of town work.

 

[Still A Badger]

My middle son Ben and I took quite a ride over the last few days. Ben rides a Triumph Tiger XC and we traveled from the Central Coast of California north on Highway 1 to the area known as, The Lost Coast. We rode to Shelter Cove for the first night and then took the King Mtn dirt road through the mountains to the small town of Honeydew and then on to Petrolia and to the Mattole Beach area.
We took a very tight 4X4 road up and down to Windy Point close to the abandoned Punta Gorda Lighthouse. This road was quite a challenge as it was steep and very loose with switchbacks. It was a good reminder that exploring roads like this should be done without full gear onboard as you can easily get yourself in trouble as you can get down a road like this but getting back out again is another thing. Heavily loaded ADV bikes on steep terrain can be difficult when you climb out on steep loose terrain as the weight shifts rearward when climbing out making front wheel traction disappear as you hit ruts and bumps. I found this out when I made the first attempt to get out of Windy Point and I lost the front wheel in a rut and ended up in the bushes with the bike tipped over with it leaning downhill. No damage done (Thanks to LoneRider Bags). Luckily my son was with me and it was quite a job to get the bike upright on a steep hill in the rough and then get it back down the hill to try again. The only way to get it out was to unload the bags and gear and ride the AT to the top of the mountain and then take several trips down to pickup small portions of the gear and bring them up to the top one piece at a time. We succeeded in this, and though it was a backbreaking task, we kept our humor and had a good laugh at the situation as we looked back on it.
We the rode Mattole Road further north to Ferndale and since we were pretty much spent we found a room at the Bear River Resort near Fortuna. On a positive note after a nice dinner I put a 20.00 bill in a slot machine at the resort and won $915.00 which paid for the trip.
On our way home we rode the Avenue of the Giants through the Redwood forests back south and picked up Highway 1 and rode the Coast Highway from Legget CA back to my home near Monterey.

For those that don't know about The Lost Coast area and the Kings Range this is one of the most unspoiled and undeveloped coastal areas of the United States. It is like going back in time 100 years. This is not a touristy area but and incredibly remote and beautiful place with poor roads but amazing scenery.
Hear are some pictures

Thanks for the nice report. I rode Mattole Road 12 (or perhaps 13) years ago, solo on my ST, from the Avenue of the Giants to Ferndale. I stayed on the blacktop all the way, but even that surface wasn't particularly nice or consistent. I didn't know what I was getting into when I first looked at the map. I'm glad I didn't, because had I realized how long, and grueling, the trip would be, I may not have started out - at least riding solo. As it turned out, except for being tired by the time I reached Ferndale (over four hours later, as I recall) , the trip was a marvelous adventure. As an aside, I later learned that the growers in the area didn't take kindly to inquisitive sorts. They are probably less paranoid today, as their product has gained much more widespread acceptance.