I think most every sportbike rider would give just about anything to ride somewhere in California if they could.
Well, along with my riding partner in crime Toren Younquist we have ridden around the entire state and along the way I discovered why California sportbike riders never want to leave.
Great weather and some awe inspiring roads that start that start up in the northern end of the state around Red Bluff (Hwy 36 and Hwy 96 come to mind).
There are so many fantastic places to ride your sportbike that it is hard to choose just one road, although I must say I am partial to Hwy 36 heading out of Red Bluff. This road takes you through the full gamit. A little Desert, mountains as it eventually dumps you out on the coast and the Ocean.
As you first leave Red Bluff you wonder if this road is all that good. Trust me. Keep going because it turns into a kick ass ride all the way to the coast and from there it just gets better!
If you divide the state in half, meaning from San Francisco up or down I perfer the Northern side. There are a ton of killer roads in the middle of no where, traffic is minimal compared to the south and the roads are or were all in great shape.
South of Frisco there are still outstanding rides. You just have to deal with a lot more traffic and I don't think the roads are as smooth as the ones in Northern California.
The weather from May through September is usally good. Not like southern California year around warm. Still even cooler days up North can be just as much fun as anything down south.
The views from any road up North are stunning to say the least. There is just so much to take in. The Rocky mountains, Some of the desert areas and the coast line along the ocean. And if you end up in Lake Tahoe you won't be sorry as there are some really twisty sections all along the Serria Nevada mountain range.
The views are unbelievable and when someone who has ridden California tells you that you have to ride there, believe them.
And although I rate the 65 mile run around Mt. St. Helens as the number one sportbike road I have ever ridden in terms of sheer insanity. I have to rate California as the sportbike riders dream state. Number one by a mile. Awesome roads, So many you would be hard pressed to ride them all in your life time. Even the bad stuff is better than most any other roads in the USA.
The Lodge at Torrey Pines. I just had to comment on this place after Karoline and I stayed a few days there.
The Lodge is a AAA 5 Diamond hotel and it is one amazing place to hang your hat for a day or two. It is not cheap with rooms starting at $600.00 and going up to $4,000 per night. It's not your everyday stay for the normal working person.
However if you want to do something special this is a great place to do it at. They treat you like a king. You are paying for it and they expect to exceed your expectations. And they do. The food is 5 star and the rooms are everything you envision.
The building is a powerful post-and-beam structure with authentic clinker brick foundation, metal strap and wedge joinery, expanses of stained glass, and broad roof overhangs with projecting outriggers and raftertails. It is my understanding that they did not use a nail in the building.
If nothing else go to the bar and have a $19.00 burger just to check out this awesome structure.
A California trip is a trip you will never forget.
