I want room for a road, a town or a landscape to surprise me. I like to have the route and the practical pieces worked out, but I try not to research every bit of minutiae. Too much of that and a trip starts feeling like I’m reliving something I already know.
This time it would be California, starting in Los Angeles and finishing in Las Vegas. Five riding days with Dale, Jeremy and Peter. Jeremy did most of the route planning, with some input from me and discussion among the group. We would cross the San Gabriel Mountains, head into the Sierra through Kernville, ride Sequoia and Kings Canyon, pass Shaver and Huntington lakes, then enter Yosemite. Tioga Pass would carry us over the crest to Mono Lake and Highway 395 before we crossed Death Valley into Nevada.
September has become a usual choice for us. School is back in session, some of the summer pressure has eased, and there is still a chance to ride the mountain roads we came for. On this route, that meant balancing a chance of crossing Tioga Pass against the heat of Death Valley.
Day 1: Los Angeles to the Kern River
Rental pickup and regrouping in Los Angeles, then mountain and desert riding toward Kernville and Corral Creek Lodge.
Day 2: Kernville to Clovis
A breakfast windshield removal, Western Divide riding, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, and the evening approach to Clovis.
Day 3: Clovis to Oakhurst
A delayed departure from Clovis, lake roads around Shaver and Huntington, and a cooling stop before Oakhurst.
Day 4: Oakhurst to Bishop
Glacier Point and Yosemite, Tioga Road, Mono Lake and the June Lake Loop on the way to Bishop.
Day 5: Bishop to Las Vegas
An early departure from Bishop, Death Valley riding and the return to Las Vegas.