Tornado dodging tour of the South

[GTS_Rider]

Rick, how 'bout a comparison between the riding out this way and the roads back in Cali.  My wife and I will be doing three days (not enough, I know) of touring northern califorinia back roads this July so I'd be interested in a comparison.

One thing that struck me after spending a few days up in NC Smoky Mountains area is a lot off the roads I hit, even seemingly obscure low-traffic back-roads had excellent surface quality. Smooth fresh black-top in places you would never expect. Someone told me they have a law in that state that they are actually required to spend their gas-taxes to actually fix the roads. Wow, if we did that in California we should have some kick-ass sweet blacktop here too!

Yeah, you won't get that, for the most part, on California back-roads; ours have much more 'character'.  
Though, there are a few places, like Hwy. 1 Coast to Leggett got a blacktop treatment a couple years back, and that bit of road is in the top 10 in California for moto-roads.

Unfortunately, more and more, a lot of great roads get chip-sealed, which is not only hard on tire wear ( http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/index.cfm?fa=contentGeneric.zvfiihryhlqbrzht&pageId=1235496 ) , but it makes it hard to discern which bit of gravel is loose and/or glued down into the road bed. Personally, I like to stab the rear-brake on road surfaces I'm unsure of, to test the traction breaking point .

Having said all that, we still have a shit-load of moto-roads in California that are maxing on the fun factor with 'wildly' varying scenery (and temperatures/microclimates) to boot. I'm a So-Cal guy, but I still think the crowning jewels of Cali-motoroads are all up in Nor-Cal. Particularly, up around the Trinity Alps area. 3 days is surely not enough, but Hwy 1 North from SF all the way to Leggett , Avenue of the Giants (Redwoods scenic byway), + the entire 150 mile length of (virtually unpatrolled) Hwy 36 Hydesville>Redbluff could be doable. For its length and and wildly varying terrain, I'm still voting Hwy 36 as possibly the greatest moto-road in the entire US, any dissenters ?


edited to add:

Opps a bit of an exaggeration on the length, mapped it out to check, it's only 135 miles....

[Prubert]

I have to give a 2nd to the vote that Highway 36 in CA is one of the best roads in the US.  

I think I like it because of all the different sections that make it up as you ride it, it has a great mix of terrain types that make for a very interesting ride.

I think Cali does lead for moto-roads, the state is so large and it has a lot of mountains, it should have some of the best roads, that and the motorcycle culture out there make it fun to ride.  Lane splitting is fun!

Later.

[Tyrroneous]

... Hwy 1 North from SF all the way to Leggett , Avenue of the Giants (Redwoods scenic byway), + the entire 150 mile length of (virtually unpatrolled) Hwy 36 Hydesville>Redbluff could be doable. For its length and and wildly varying terrain, I'm still voting Hwy 36 as possibly the greatest moto-road in the entire US, any dissenters ?

Thanks for the comparo.  Those roads you called out are already scheduled for days 1 and 2.  

[Yankee Dog]

Picking up JB at Atlanta warehouse...


..................................

who did you use for a shipper and how did you like them.  I am think of doing a ship and ride sometime down the road.

yankee Dog

[GTS_Rider]

who did you use for a shipper and how did you like them.  I am think of doing a ship and ride sometime down the road.

yankee Dog

I booked through http://freightcenter.com  , the actual shipper ended being STI , http://stidelivers.com .
Liked them just fine, no problems so far. My bike just got back to LA today, will pick it up on Monday. It was pretty reasonable for terminal to terminal shipping $550 LA to Atlanta, and for some reason a bit cheaper $535 Atlanta to LA. Though, their door to door rate quotes were quite a bit higher, like $900 bucks each way. I got bids on http://uship.com averaging around 700 door to door and one bid of only 550. Though the terminal terminal thing worked out best for me since I didn't need to set up with anyone in Atlanta to receive it. The bike actually arrived in Atlanta about a week before I did and just chilled in the warehouse till I came to get her...  

[R Doug]

I'm glad you liked your trip.  You had the right tool for the job w/ that Duc.  Thanks for the 411 on the shipping companies.  Someday I WILL ship my bike to Nor-Cal for a similar journey.

[Yankee Dog]

I booked through http://freightcenter.com  , the actual shipper ended being STI , http://stidelivers.com ...................................

did you have to drain the oil and gas?  Also, did you pack the saddlebags full or did they make you ship empty.

YD

[GTS_Rider]

did you have to drain the oil and gas?  Also, did you pack the saddlebags full or did they make you ship empty.

YD

No draining of fluids required for any land-based shippers afaik, shipping by air my be a different story. Didn't bother with the side hardbags for this solo trip, the topcase was enough. Though, I'm sure they don't care if you've got sidebags + topcase packed to the max, your more paying for the real-estate your double-long pallet is taking up on the truck, vs. the weight...

[OU812]

I talked to Robert. It's on again this coming April.

[GTS_Rider]

I talked to Robert. It's on again this coming April.

Hey, cool, I might be back!

Interesting timing on your thread bump. Just a week a ago I took a Georgia rider I happened to meet in Tennessee after I broke with you guys, on a serious 3k+ miles backroads tour of California. He shiped his bike out here to California, but was more manly than me and rode back home to Georgia. Of course, the weather was more in his favor now compared to the tornados and shit goining on when I was considering riding back to California...  

[OU812]

I hope we all can make it again. The NCHillbilly is retiring this November.

[DogBoy]

Don't know how I missed this one. Great report. I've been lucky enough to ride NC, TN and VA a couple of times. Seriously great riding out there.

Alps are your next trip.  

[GTS_Rider]

...Alps are your next trip.  

Yeah, I keep saying that to myself, but it's always hard to make the final decision to part with the duckets to make that happen, vs. what I can do here, right in the good 'ol USA...  

[Rincewind]

Excellent trip and reporting.  Thanks!