Wilsons Sandbox

    Moto Ride S Sierras 1.2014 I had acquired an '06 Yamaha XT225 (Serow) in Dana Point CA in mid Dec.   Dana Point was that location described in Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana where he had thrown cattle hides over a cliff during a smuggling operation when he served as an ordinary seaman circa 1830's in & off Alta California during Mexican sovereignty.   Beautiful sweep of the Pacific, sunny lo 70's, stuffed marina, gorgeous pink & orange sunset the afternoon I was there.  Left Bako 11ish with a full tank. Noticed new windscreen plastic screws were not tight.  Pulled over @ Meadows Field. I had packed some tools, so it  t was a quick fix. Airport fairly quiet. No flights left while I was stopped.   Took Granite/ Glennville road .  Oil patch showed signs of life on this first Monday after the Xmas holidays. Production people checking wells: new drilling continuing. I passed a couple of welding crews working on new pipeline.   Green Grass is really sparse/ poor for this time of year. In most fields, old grass was gone, or nearly so. Frosts retard the new growth. We haven't had rain since early Dec, and little fog. Little soil moisture, so growth is arrested. I pass an oncoming rancher hauling water to his stock on a mid-sized truck. He's over-loaded and knows it. He's paying very close attention to his driving.I have renewed sympathy for dryland ranchers. Several years of drowth have created a feed and water crisis in our area. I wonder if it will get as bad as it did in the 1870's when drowth leading to starvation killed 80-90% of CA coastal livestock and ended the Californio Rancho's control of those properties. The little bike is struggling against the hills. I've come off of a freshly rebuilt (688) KLR650 which has ample power to accelerate up these hills. After trying several miles of gearing down and/or bogging throttle I come to my senses, and quit trying to flog something out of the little bike that was beyond its capacity to give. Happy motors are operated within their "sweet spots" within their capacities. I'd just installed a Trail Tech Vapor multi-instrument. The tach vs. Increased body/ handlebar vibrations told me that the Serow was happy running up to about a 6200 shift point. The little bike was dutiful and competent to run well beyond that and later the Vapor showed a 9900 max rpm on the trip. Better to keep rpm's down; vibration is not the friend of operating eqiuipment. The Kenda 270's that came from the PO with less than 1k miles were giving a comfortable and honest response in the paved twisties. They have a DS waffle tread that had favorably surprised me on my initial ride during the previous week. I'd chanced to hook up with Carlos, another solo rider, in the E Bako hills. He took me hill climbing, something I hadn't done much of since my early 20s. Four hills I failed to climb. In three of the cases my failure to control clutch/ weight-shift resulted in the bike's front wheel coming up and over. I was able to step aside and one-hand the 260 lb.bike to a relatively happy tire landing. In all cases the Kenda rear provided excellent up and side-hill traction on this slightly moisened hard-pack. The front 3.25 also stuck well downhill, and good side hill, but sometimes slipped farther laterally (normally using full knobies) than I was used to when it did slip on the side hills. The tree line was hit at Granite Station. This was one of a series of stage stops built by a John Elden, an early 1870s promoter to serve commerce between Bako and the Kern Co. Gold country. As the mining petered out, Lodges were expanded and excursions created. San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco, and Sacramento residents were enticed to vacation in the scenic and cooler area. At the Poso Flat cut-off I turned right and nearly missed the curve just before dropping down into the creek that I had mildly high-sided on a few years ago. On that occasion, when it all settled, both tires were in the dirt & my L hand-guard was contacting the barbed wire. On this occasion, I was well into the other lane and well reminded that the bike was still unfamiliar and I didn't know these roads as well as I thought. Wisdom prevailed. I slowed down a bit. The Poso community in the bottoms looked neat and cared-for. Signage was courteous. Rain was needed here, also. I'd been noticing winter birds along the route. As I began climbing into the Greenhorns a few grey squirrels scampered about. I was glad to see that relief in hunting pressure, attitude, and practice were allowing wildlife near settled areas. I noticed a giant cable-tie in the now dirt, patchy paved, occasionally erosion-wrinkled area. After passing three, I u-turned and began collecting them. There were seven 1/2" x 40" ties in my clutch hand when the summit was reached and I turned up (L). Reflecting on how I might be able to return them to whoever has lost them, I couldn't find a likely conclusion. There had been evidence of a 2 vehicle collision on a steep section. Inattention? Ice? Mysteries unsolved sans more info. It was good to be in the pines. When the Incense Cedars were reached, their bouquet was a welcome reminder of the beauty and uniqueness of the area. Goodness. Some icy patches remained in shadowed areas, but in most, vehicles had cut tracks to surface in most. The Kendas handled the ice well, but I wasn't in a mood to do snow/ ice experimentation. At Sawmill Rd. I turned R, down into Kern Valley. Isabella Lake is very low & looked small. Shaded patches were like the summit. Wonderful fresh air. Hard pack twisties and few ruts. Joined the pavement near the Dam, turned into Isabella and had lunch at Nelda's Diner, a traditional local and biker stop. Great hamburger. Missed the lunch crush. After Lunch return.ed to French gulch. Little bike and Kendas did well in the sand until it got deep. Front plowed easily. Rear dug but kept momentum. Made a mental note to try it again with underinflated tires later when I had inflation equipment aboard and a riding buddy. Turned S, hit 178 at the dam, took a quick (exit 42) and headed toward Walker Basin. At the pass, turned L toward Piutes. Road closed in 1/4mi.. Rejoined & passed thru Havila (former Co. Seat of Kern Co. In mining days). Court house & school remain. Open weekends. Breckenridge Road gate was open. Took it to the R & headed W over the mtn. Narrowly missed a local who was looking onto property to his left and well over the middle of the road. Such things don't bother me any more. A few years ago, my son's life was spared when a trucker avoided a head-on with him in similar circumstance. Who among us has not been over the line? The Grace of God and the care of our fellow drivers have made all the difference. Mercy & Forgiveness are far better than anger & attitude. Breckenridge shaded ice like Greenhorn. Dead leaves still stuck to Oaks on all this ride. More sign of lack-of-water stess. On S breckenridge was the best grass I'd seen. Vestages of a heavy fall rain that came from a northern flow out of the Gulf of Mexico. Earlier storms from this series had wolloped Colorado and some desert areas in late summer into fall. The sun was past mid-decent. I was glad to have a helmet with a bill to keep the sun out of my eyes. Happy with the XT225 again. Carb worked fine at 7000+. 6 gears with creeper first is my choice for gearing. Kenda 270s fine for hard pack and paved twisties. 15/45 is stock gearing. I'm running a 16/50 (4% under stock). I'm thinking I'll try a 10% overstock gearing so I can run faster on the downhills while letting the motor loaf a bit. Back to Bako. Citizens navigating safely & carefully home. Finish the ride with gratitude for being able to moto year-round in a place that provides interesting, close, accessable, riding. LIG -StoneTail