Mattole Road Vid

Recorded 16 Jul 2020

Man, lots more dirt than I recall, but it has been a few years. As I remember, the road turned into dirt after turning towards Shelter Cove, not if I rode towards Honeydew and Weott. Which section is on the vid? Did you catch it west out of Ferndale? See the black sand beach? Ride it all the way to the Avenue?
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As the season wears to an end I notice I'm getting accustomed to feeling the back and even the front skip out just a bit when I run over a stone at a good lean. I guess it's good that the season is wearing to an end because that seems maybe just a little too confident on my part. Take it safe HayaWakened.
 
@pashnit
I've been meaning to tell you I spent hours on your site researching this trip. I can't imagine going anywhere N of Santa Barbara on 2 wheels without checking that amazing dataset first. A belated thanks.

Still haven't fixed that gravel at 2:25? Lots of gravel sections? Fun video!
Considering the length (and remoteness) of road, no, not that many, just that I didn't expect them. I can say with assurance that Mattole is completely Busa-capable.

Is there a non-org edit that you have uploaded to YT?
Not yet. Editing isn't as much fun as I imagined. In fact, it feels a lot like work. Also did Hwy 36 to Alderpoint Rd and took that all the way back into Garberville - again meeting up with some unexpected road conditions. And Hwy 1 out of Leggett into Ft Bragg, which genuinely ranks as the perfect Hayabusa Highway IMO. But the point is I came home with 5+ hrs of raw video. I keep putting it off, hoping it'll edit itself.
 
As the season wears to an end I notice I'm getting accustomed to feeling the back and even the front skip out just a bit when I run over a stone at a good lean. I guess it's good that the season is wearing to an end because that seems maybe just a little too confident on my part. Take it safe HayaWakened.
I made a note about this, wasn't gonna share it, but since you (sort of) brought it up...
The problem for me on these more remote (and therefore more desirous) roads was choosing an ideal line thru a section, then having to abort that line cuz of ... something in the road - dirt; gravel; pothole; these 4-inch root ridges that hurt and surprised more than the holes did cuz they're the same color as the road; massive 3-foot sections of torn-off tree bark in the middle of the road - and always at the last second, always after I had committed to that line and, more often than not, a logging truck coming the other way just when I need to go a little wide. Amazingly, I adjusted to this, albeit not as quickly as I'd preferred, but believe I'm a better rider for this challenge.
 
Man, lots more dirt than I recall, but it has been a few years. As I remember, the road turned into dirt after turning towards Shelter Cove, not if I rode towards Honeydew and Weott. Which section is on the vid? Did you catch it west out of Ferndale? See the black sand beach? Ride it all the way to the Avenue?View attachment 1624231

Bounced off the 101N to the Avenue somewhere around Weott until it intersects Mattole. Overnighted at Albee Creek (at the Redwoods park), then continued on Mattole from there to Ferndale, thru Petrolia.
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So yes, all of it, I'm happy to report, including Honeydew. Saw plenty of beach with black sand but, no, not the actual Black Sand Beach.

The section in the video is around Cape Mendocino. This vid starts at a place called Devils Gate - not an actual place except on the topo - which is the road's closest point to ocean, (about 2 mi S of the cape) then travels NNE thru Capetown. Although the raw beauty of the area was well worth the trip, it was frustrating on a Hayabusa, but only because Mattole is paved with some near-perfect runs (road conditions) that quickly (and often) give in to the dirt/gravel seen in the vid. At first, dodging the wheel-ending potholes was fun, but after a while I began to feel for the bike (worrying about the ride home). Turns out the Busa didn't seem to care one bit. What an amazing, multi-platform bike.

My only complaint is the roughly 1,000 mi I had to ride to get up there & back (from SoCal). Otherwise I was ready to head back about an hour after arriving home from the trip. Started checking the listings up there the next day.

What are the winters like?
 
Bounced off the 101N to the Avenue somewhere around Weott until it intersects Mattole. Overnighted at Albee Creek (at the Redwoods park), then continued on Mattole from there to Ferndale, thru Petrolia.
View attachment 1624234

So yes, all of it, I'm happy to report, including Honeydew. Saw plenty of beach with black sand but, no, not the actual Black Sand Beach.

The section in the video is around Cape Mendocino. This vid starts at a place called Devils Gate - not an actual place except on the topo - which is the road's closest point to ocean, (about 2 mi S of the cape) then travels NNE thru Capetown. Although the raw beauty of the area was well worth the trip, it was frustrating on a Hayabusa, but only because Mattole is paved with some near-perfect runs (road conditions) that quickly (and often) give in to the dirt/gravel seen in the vid. At first, dodging the wheel-ending potholes was fun, but after a while I began to feel for the bike (worrying about the ride home). Turns out the Busa didn't seem to care one bit. What an amazing, multi-platform bike.

My only complaint is the roughly 1,000 mi I had to ride to get up there & back (from SoCal). Otherwise I was ready to head back about an hour after arriving home from the trip. Started checking the listings up there the next day.

What are the winters like?

Wet! :laugh: Your vid starts from Devils Gate towards Ferndale? That road was never a good road but it’s real bad now I see. And you did run along the Black Sand Beach. About the only real section of the ‘Lost Coast Road’, about ten miles long. I’ve always ridden from Ferndale. I gotta get up there but other than the first few miles of redwoods from Weott west, I doubt I’ll ride the whole way. Did you ride the entire Avenue? Hiway 20 between Mendocino and Willits? How about 1 from Leggett to the coast?
 
I went to my PC stored pics and found some when I had my 82 CBX. The Bell trees are on a side street in Ferndale. Really gorgeous area.
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After the tsunami hit Crescent City many miles north years ago they put up signs all along the CA and OR coast hiway. That lil farm house will be lost if one hits again. But, what a place to live!
 
Did you ride the entire Avenue?
No, but wish I had.
Hiway 20 between Mendocino and Willits? How about 1 from Leggett to the coast?
Rode Hwy 1 from Leggett into Ft Bragg - talk about beat up: Hwy 1 from Rockport to Ft Bragg is frequently torn up/single lane/dirt n gravel. Skipped Hwy 20; stayed on Hwy 1 to Hwy 128. This was a mistake cuz it was a weekend and Hwy 1 and Hwy 128 were both packed but 128 headed more southward before connecting with 101.

I got vid of the Hwy 1 run. I'll get it up eventually.
 
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