Does anyone have a "Membership" to PASHNIT.COM?

Hi all!

I'm hoping to get away for 5 or 6 days in a couple of weeks and I'm trying to get some info on potential roads to explore in Central and Southern California.

I'd like to get some info from PASHNIT.COM but don't have the $20 to commit to becoming a "member" without knowing if this would be helpful.

Comments from members? Anyone willing to pass on a couple of their "ride reports"?

I'll be heading up to the International Rally in Redmond (I'm a rally first-timer (virgin?)) and am really looking forward to that too!

thanks in advance.

I have one. Pretty good stuff, and a great deal of ride reports with good detail. I worked out there for a year and it came in real handy. A MadMap is cheaper, with some of the same routes on it.....but not the same detail.

What roads are you looking at on the map?

Darryl,
Aren't you in Europe right now riding?

I am thinking of CA 166, CA 178 between Bakersfield and 395, CA 2 (the Angeles Crest Hwy) and then zooming around the San Diego / SoCal mountains for a couple of days. My son and his family live in Lakeside outside of San Diego so I can crash there a couple of nights as a launching point.

jyambrovich said:

Darryl,
Aren't you in Europe right now riding?

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Not yet -- but soon!

I am thinking of CA 166, CA 178 between Bakersfield and 395, CA 2 (the Angeles Crest Hwy) and then zooming around the San Diego / SoCal mountains for a couple of days. My son and his family live in Lakeside outside of San Diego so I can crash there a couple of nights as a launching point.

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CA-166 is a pleasant ride with mostly big sweepers. However, it is (relatively) heavily patrolled by the CHP as the truckers know about it.

CA-178 (Walker Pass) is a nice road, especially as you get towards the top. US-395 is relatively boring and straight, although some of the scenery is nice.

CA-2 over Angeles Crest is, I believe, still closed after the Station Fire last year. It is one of the very well known "biker roads", and because of that, it is heavily patrolled on the weekends. I know the dealer who serviced the bike of the CHP duty officer there until he retired a year ago, and he was reputed to just chase the squids until they crashed. He went through a lot of tires.

If you want a great ride in SoCal, I suggest:

Take CA-152 from Santa Paula to Ojai, then CA-33 north to CA-166 east. Turn onto Cerro Noroeste Rd. and take that south again back to Lake of the Woods and Frazer Park. Take I-5 south to CA-138 and then take the Ridge Route to Pine Canyon to Lake Hughes; alternatively, continue on I-5 to Lake Hughes Rd. in Castaic and follow that to Lake Hughes. Continue and turn right to Elizabeth Lake and turn right onto San Francisquito Canyon (watch for the remains of the St. Francis Dam, one of the biggest disasters in SoCal history and the downfall of William Mulholland, who designed the LA Aqueduct). Or continue on to Boquet Canyon and take that (there's a road house along there that is a biker meeting point).

There are many excellent small roads in the Santa Monica mountains. Look on a map and put them together: Mulholland Highway, Fernwood Pacifico, Tuna Canyon, Stunt Rd., Stage Rd., Saddle Peak Rd., Schueren Rd., Piuma Rd., Latigo Canyon Rd., Encinal Canyon Rd., Decker Canyon Rd., Westlake Blvd., Yerba Buena Rd., Deer Creek Rd. and more. In this area, visit the Rock Store on Mulholland a few miles east of Kanan Dume Rd. and Neptunes Net on PCH (CA-1) at the end of Yerba Buena.

The forum is free to join and there are a LOT of ride reports there.

On the main pashnit.com page, look at the links at the top, the second one from the right is the on line forum.

Not sure if that's what you're looking for, but there is good info to be had.

And yes, Hwy 2 (Forest Highway) is still closed. There are portions of the Crest Highway that are open, I think that one is supposed to be closed for at least another two-three months because of storm damage.

Angeles Forest Highway:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi

Angeles Crest Highway:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/display.php?page=sr39

I'm wanting to do a 5-6 day trip from Santa Cruz / Monterey Bay area to San Diego where my son lives with some scenic and non-superslab riding. I LOVE to ride in the Sierras and on mountain passes (Sonora pass, Ebbetts pass, Monitor pass, Tioga pass etc.)

I'm hoping to break the trip down into two segments (a friend lives in Bakersfield so that would be an ideal mid-point) but am completely open to suggestions. A couple of days in SoCal riding around and then head back home to Santa Cruz BEFORE Memorial Day.

Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions - keep 'em coming!!

Here you go, I take this route from Santa Cruz south often:

Ride out to Hollister, take CA-25 south to CA-198. Take a jog east 1/4 mile to Peachtree Rd., follow that south (changes name to Indian Valley Rd. at one point) until you get to San Miguel. There's a gas station on 10th St. if you need it. Otherwise, continue on River Rd. through Paso Robles and then take Creston Rd. to Creston. Follow CA-229 to CA-58, and CA-58 takes you to Bakersfield.

No freeways, not much traffic, lots of great riding.

If you go to Sandy Eggo instead of Bakersfield, you can stay off the freeways for a while, but eventually you're going to succumb to them. It's all suburbia anyway.

2 days into trip

So, I took Daryl's advice for the first leg of the trip. Between Santa Cruz and Bakersfield I took the route be outlined.
Very nice - thank you my friend! I love riding on Hwy 25 and have only ridden the southern half heading toward Hollister so this was a treat
I left Bakersfield this morning and took Hwy 178 up and over Walker Pass, then on over to Hwy 395. Daryl is right, much of that stretch was straight and boring. However, I saw one of the largest solar installations in the world along 395. Further on is an airplane "graveyard" (couldn't get too close but I knew immediately what I was looking at).
The next two days will be spent exploring on the bike in the San Diego area. I am open to suggestions...

San Diego County Roads S6 and S7.

darrylRi said:

San Diego County Roads S6 and S7.

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mount palomar... the whole area!

Ride report contained in new posting

So, I'm starting to pen the actual ride report. Please check out the thread
"Birthday Tour of Lower California (not Baja).

Enjoy it and thanks again Daryl for your suggestions.

Why don't you pay the $20 and let the guy make a buck for all his hard work!
Sorry but that irritates me...
It is a great Forum, been to some gatherings of theirs. Never about the bikes (brands) but about the Journeys, the roads and Family... He has put in a lot of work, fuel money and time into this.
Anyhow... just my two cents.
Be well...
Ara & Spirit

from a PASHNIT member as well......

Beemerchef said:

Why don't you pay the $20 and let the guy make a buck for all his hard work!Sorry but that irritates me...
It is a great Forum, been to some gatherings of theirs. Never about the bikes (brands) but about the Journeys, the roads and Family... He has put in a lot of work, fuel, money and time into this.
Anyhow... just my two cents.

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I second what Ara said

My membership has paid for itself 100 times over, and then some over the last few years

Tim Mayhew (who I am proud to call a friend) is living and sharing his dream with the rest of the world on a shoestring, and for that "measly" $20.00 we are getting one heckuva deal and are eternally grateful !!

I'm unemployed and I'll give you the $20 bucks if you're that dead set on getting something for nothing

THAT's my $0.02.....

Turkus said:

I second what Ara said

My membership has paid for itself 100 times over, and then some over the last few years

Tim Mayhew (who I am proud to call a friend) is living and sharing his dream with the rest of the world on a shoestring, and for that "measly" $20.00 we are getting one heckuva deal and are eternally grateful !!

I'm unemployed and I'll give you the $20 bucks if you're that dead set on getting something for nothing

THAT's my $0.02.....

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Well said Turkus... Save your $20! Maybe he can stay still one day, save 5 G of fuel and pay that $20 himself! After all...

Be well... Ara & Spirit

but don't have the $20 to commit to becoming a "member" without knowing if this would be helpful.

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Why don't you pay the $20 and let the guy make a buck for all his hard work!

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I'm unemployed and I'll give you the $20 bucks if you're that dead set on getting something for nothing

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Save your $20! Maybe he can stay still one day, save 5 G of fuel and pay that $20 himself!

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I think he was asking if it is worth it, not for your log in and password.

(Edited my snarky comment out, no need to add to this sidetrack.)

I've been a member of their forum for several years and it is FREE. I also subscribe to their California Moto Roads. It's the Best Motorcycle Money I've spent. I use their Maps and Suggestions all the time. 2010 R1200GSA ($23K) Accessories ($4K) Gasoline (>$3 / Gal) Good Journeys (PRICELESS).

Sheesh - calm down!!

Wow, relax a little. I'm not trying to kill Tim Mayhew or denigrate his good work. As Ted said, I wasn't asking anyone for their login and password.

I am realizing a bit of a dream here, and being on a shoestring budget at all times, I look for value and in turn value the (helpful) suggestions of those on the forum. Thanks again Daryl Richman for your detailed and spot-on suggestions.

For me to be able to be "on the road" for 6 days and spend time visiting my son, daughter-in-law and new grandson is a gift to me from my wife. I left her at home with our other grandson who is living with us for 3 months (our daughter is in the Air Force) and she was completely supportive.

We, like a whole lot of others, have been through a lot in the past 3 years and still having my motorcycle at all is a blessing. It is a wonderful "escape", even when commuting my 83 mile round trip to work each day.

Not being "able" to travel on the bike much, I have seen the Pashnit.com website and browsed it a few times. The ride reports would be valuable for excursions like this one but since I don't get to take trips very often, this was something I chose not to subscribe to.

Take care and enjoy your ride, wherever you go.