Calaveras National Forest trail ride.

So man, did I have an adventure today! Got up at 4am, had some coffee and breakfast then hit the road from Stockton to HWY 4 east bound to the mountains. Went past Big Trees and found forest trail 7N09. Took that for a while until hitting a short patch of black top before getting back onto the dirt. This was my first time taking my bike into the dirt with the Shinko 705's. Been on gravel roads prior with PR3'S. Plus this trail was about 40 miles of dirt. From dirt mixed with pine needles, to large gravel several inches thick (where I proceeded to drop the bike from a stop), to soft Sandy dirt, and even some hard packed dirt. Many firsts for me today. 250+ miles all together, 40+miles of dirt, first time dropping the NC, (thankfully no damage) first time bottoming out the rear suspension linkage and center stand. Hondabike Pro skid plate is on my list of things to get next, along with some engine guards.

Left at 5am, got to the dirt by 7am. Outta the dirt by 11:30 am and back home by 3pm. 10 hrs day, 4.5hrs in the dirt and man I'm beat. Anyways enough talking here's some pictures:











Oh, yeah. First low water crossing.


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Sweet!

How did the tires do in the soft sandy dirt?

bamamate said:

Sweet!

How did the tires do in the soft sandy dirt?

Click to expand...

They did alright. It wasn't too deep, but if you went faster than say 15mph you could feel some loss of traction. Then again I'm not sure if I'm the right person to evaluate tires on the dirt as this was my first time on a surface that wasn't maintained very well.

It was fun but man I'm feeling it today. That the most time in one day that I've spent on the bike and the MOST challenging terrain I've ever been on. (Really kinda surprised actually that I only dropped it once the whole day) But it was worth it.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Here's some more pictures:

This one I took at an over look after encountering about half a dozen cows on the trail. Kind of intimidating when you are on a motorcycle and those big animals are starting at you as you approach them.

[/url]IMG_2804 by jde95tln, on Flickr[/IMG]

Stopped at this bridge for a break. Walked out on some rocks in the middle of this creek to take the next two shots.

[/url]IMG_2806 by jde95tln, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_2807 by jde95tln, on Flickr[/IMG]

The view from the other side of the bridge. It wasn't as accessible.

[/url]IMG_2815 by jde95tln, on Flickr[/IMG]

These next shots were where I stopped for lunch after the most difficult parts of the trail. I was beat! This was a wonderful oasis to find after all that hard work to get there. Ate an MRE on the rocks to the right after taking a dip in the water to cool off.

[/url]IMG_2818 by jde95tln, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_2820 by jde95tln, on Flickr[/IMG]

The water was so clear!
[/url]IMG_2821 by jde95tln, on Flickr[/IMG]

The view from where I ate lunch.
[/url]IMG_2824 by jde95tln, on Flickr[/IMG]

After washing the bike and checking it out some more I found that thankfully the only damage sustained appears to be some small scratches to the plastic on my Barkbuster hand guard where it contacted the gravel. Other than that, can't tell that I had to lay her down at all.

Nice ride. Thanks for the pictures, too.
That water does look inviting!

Very nice,lucky you.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Here's a link to the Google Map of the trail. Not sure if it's 100% accurate but this is the general path I took.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.4203212,-120.3015967,10z/data=!4m2!6m1!1szQ6Ei87RL71E.k_7qXdrqr3U8?hl=en

That is a great area to ride, both on and off road

patsmith said:

That is a great area to ride, both on and off road

Click to expand...

Yes, it is! Can't wait to do it again, but might have to wait until next season for that trail. Not sure if I'll get a chance to hit it again before the weather starts to change and the sierras start seeing more thunderstorms.

Thanks for the pics...I couldn't afford that trip with my bike due to being my primary transportation for everything. But, I'm envious that you took it on a adventure. What beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing.