2020 Pashnit Touring

The 2020 Tour Season resumes! Headed out this weekend with another tour group. We have good timing as Mono County where we're headed is opening back up June 12th, day of the ride. Small group of nine. Riders coming in from SoCal, Bay Area, one from Colorado, and another riding to CA from Texas right now (then she'll turn right around and ride back to TX) & one from Nevada.

June has traditionally always been a Sierra Nevada Mountain ride as the passes all open up right about now and there's still lots of snow. Last year, I designed a brand new tour that runs up Mosquito Ridge, 600 curves in 36 miles, fun road.


So, we get to ride a fun region known as the Crystal Basin, Iowa Hill, Mosquito Ridge, Eleven Pines, Wentworth Springs, Silver Fork Rd, Mormon Emigrant Trail

and Ice House Rd

With all the spew on FB in the last week, decided to take a mental health break from the spew, be productive, and finished writing several new articles instead. Focused on Highway 4 Ebbetts Pass & Highway 108 Sonora Pass. As I sorted the photos for the new article, realized I had taken over 1000 photos just of Highway 108 Sonora Pass. That's a lot. But since we're going to ride those this weekend, opted to hold off on assembling the web page, go back to those two mountain roads, and re-shoot more pics now that I finished the text. So Sunday is planned as a picture taking day all day, fit as many roads into the day as I can.

Time to start riding again. Here are some sneak peak pics of the playground:

106_0608.jpg


IMG_8380.jpg


IMG_9545.jpg


DSC00292.jpg


DSC01138.jpg


DSC06808.jpg


GOPR0179.jpg


IMG_0268.jpg
 
That's a good amount of snow...must be a wild place in the middle of winter..

I imagine so but you can’t get up there as the passes are closed for months during winter. If I had food and firewood (and a cabin) I wouldn’t mind being snowbound up there sometime.
 
Well Kids, feels so good to be back on the bike. Afraid to touch anything, but other than that being back on the Hayabusa was truly awesome. Love this bike.

Perfect weather has Pashnit Tours headed to the mountains and riding the mountain passes.

Here's our tour:

Skip the post and go direct to the Video!

 
Love Mosquito Ridge - fun road!

DSC00090.jpg


DSC00100.jpg


Eleven Pines Rd through the 2014 King Fire burned area.

king-fire.jpg

This red region was extensively burned by the King Fire in 2014. In two weeks, the fire razed nearly 100,000 acres of forest originating from the edge of Pollock Pines. Prevailing winds blew it away from the town, saving the town of Pollock Pines. The King Fire burned mostly national forest land and winds pushed the flames across the Rubicon Canyon all the way to Hell Hole Reservoir with Eleven Pines Rd being in the center of the burned area. Vast tracts of forest on both sides of Wentworth Springs Rd were burned east of Stumpy Meadows Reservoir.

In the aftermath of the 2014 King Fire was determined to be caused by arson: the suspect caught, convicted and sentenced to 20 years in jail and ordered to pay $60,000,000 in restitution.


DSC00104.jpg
 
I think almost every bike on the ride had Clearwater Lights. You can see all of them in the video above.

DSC00117.jpg


DSC00118.jpg


Tom who's from Texas didn't like the $6/gallon gas. We're in a really remote region.

DSC00120-2.jpg
 
Sierra Logging Museum in Arnold

DSC00287.jpg


Shay Locomotive

DSC00290.jpg


The gearing is especially interesting as this locomotive has vertical pistons in the middle of the train, which power long driveshafts extending forward and to the rear of the train turning bevel gears that line the side of the train. These trains were known as geared steam locomotives and built throughout the 1880s. Steam pistons are mounted vertically on the right side of the train, and the boiler was offset left to counterbalance the weight of the pistons. Nearly 3000 of these types of locomotives were built until 1945.

DSC00292.jpg


DSC00291.jpg


Can't have a logging museum with out a chainsaw display

DSC00296.jpg
 
Back
Top