The Breakfast Club: Nor Cal Camp-out and River Run

Friday–Monday 13–16 Jun 2014

Pictures start here

When the 2014 schedule was being made some of us had recently camped in the Albee Creek campground of the Humboldt Redwood State Park. That ride occured because Death Valley was closed due to the federal government shutdown. For 2014 we decided to combine the Northern Cal River Ride with some camping. Since not all members like camping we scheduled one night camping at Albee Creek followed by two nights moteling in Weaverville. The River Ride loop would take place Sunday. Non campers would meet the campers in Weaverville sometime Saturday. That was the plan, anyway.

Friday

Friday 3 campers—Tom, Markus, and Marc—met at 8 AM at the Two Bird Cafe for breakfast. Dan wasn’t going on the ride but joined us at breakfast. It was an opportunity for us to pick his brain regarding Nortons and center stands. A Norton center stand was the reason given by the 4th camper, Randy, for bailing out on the ride a few days before. Something about a sore back. Dan also led the way after breakfast from the Restaurant into Petaluma.

We took 101 as far as Cloverdale to make the trip a bit faster. The goal was to get to the campground a bit earlier than if we rode the coast. At Cloverdale we took 128 to the coast for lunch at the usual spot in Fort Bragg. The ride to the campground was uneventful save for the excessive number of cruisers on the road once we got back to 101. Seems this was the weekend of the Kiwanis Original Redwood Run — the ONLY True Old School Rally left on the West Coast according to their marketing literature.

We set up camp, consumed beer, and watched Markus do enough exercise for the three of us by riding his Unicycle around the campground. Yes, Markus brought his Unicycle with him strapped to the back of his bike. After dinner and/or snacks we commented how Randy probably would have enjoyed the ride and camp site.

Saturday

Saturday we didn’t have far to go. Not being in a hurry meant we didn’t break camp until late morning. Camping under the trees meant that we could sleep in past sunrise if desired. I didn’t roll out of my tent until 7:30. After breakfast, coffee, a morning fire, and clean up we started to break camp. The plan was to head to Fortuna and the Eel River Brewing Co for lunch. After all, it can’t be a proper Northern Cal River ride without a stop at the Eel River Brewing Co.

After lunch we backtracked a few miles to pick up SR 36 for the ride to Weaverville. This was the first time Markus had ridden SR 36 and SR 3. Great roads. Once at the motel in Weaverville we were surprised that Bob, the non camper who was going to meet us for the motel part of the trip, wasn’t there yet. Phones work in Weaverville and the motel has internet access. Markus checked his email and found a message from Bob… bike problems. He’d not be joining us for the ride. Let it be known that the three beemers on the ride had no issues but the Yamaha kept its rider at home.

When checking into the campground on Friday the camp host asked us where we were headed and when we mentioned Weaverville he strongly suggested that we have dinner at La Grange Cafe. Saturday night we took his suggestion. It was a good one. A short walk from the motel got us there. Great dinner. Guinness on tap. Excellent cobbler and ice cream desert. I’ll go there again.

Sunday

We met for breakfast at 7 AM on Sunday. After breakfast we headed off on the River Run loop (map below). We took SR 3 north along the Trinity River and over Scott Mountain where the road is alongside the Scott River for a while. In Fort Jones we headed west along Scott River Rd. Scott River Rd turns north then NE to NW as it winds around Tom Martin Peak to SR 96 and the Klamath River. SR 96 turns south at the Trinity River and joins SR 299 to bring us back to Weaverville. The loop was 285 miles according to my GPS. Good ride. LOTS of deer. Not too hot (mostly 70s, some 80s). Randy and Bob missed a good thing.

Monday

Monday we decided to take the quick way home. The quick way means about 90 miles worth of I5. That is payment for the ride start: 110 miles of SR 3 and the portion of SR 36 between 101 and I5 that we didn’t take Saturday. It’s a good trade off. The 90 miles goes quick. It would have gone quicker but we needed a stop after the I505 turn off. Tom picked up a bee sting in his helmet and wanted to make sure the stinger wasn’t stuck in the side of his face.

I was home a little before 3 PM. It would have been earliet but the gas station I headed for in Emeryville isn’t there any longer. It took time to find another. I guess that’s what happens when base decisions on 30 year old memories. FWIW my GPS thought there was a gas station there, too.

Good trip. My bike turned over 12K miles and now needs a service. I also need a new rear tire and have one on back-order. I hope it gets here soon.