The Grand Tour: Inside the Mind of Pashnit California.

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So it begins... 4 days of riding the best of California's roads with a newly designed tour, a hand-picked route. All new. All Pashnit.

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Far and wide came the riders, here's Bob, who's ridden with us several times. :thumbsup: He always calls me on Monday, days, hours before the ride- and says in a heavy exasperated voice... "Tim, I really need to get away & just ride."

Got just thing Bob. Meet me on Friday morning.
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Oh, and did you notice that little silver number?

Stealth look is out. Stubby is in. :D The all new Honda CBR1000.

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Well then, just follow that Busa! :D

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Haroldo says welcome to Yosemite National Park.

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Billie, our season pass holder. :p

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And Bob. Cool pic. :beerchug:

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Now if you are sitting there looking at these pics, and you are no where near California...

...This is why Yosemite NP is such a household name. :bowdown:
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Kind of boggles the mind. Just a majestic place.

Do this, look at the pic.

Then look at the car for scale, and re-look at the pic. Cool, huh.
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Pic of a pic. Hard to date this one, can't quite make out the auto at right. Suffice to say, it was quite a view back in the day.

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View hasn't changed a bit.

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This is up at the top of that rock in the previous post.

Now we are 4000 feet above the valley floor looking straight down.

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At the Sierra Sky Ranch in Oakhurst, dip in the pool, some eats, little relaxation, good conversation. Caps a day of motorcycle riding well. :thumbsup:
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This was a 7000 acre ranch at one time. A TB hospital in the 1920's, and a place for WWII troops too. Lot of history.

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I had the steak in case you're wondering. :laugh:

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Yamaha Seca & Suzuki Hayabusa. Pashnit is all bikes. Gotta love that. :thumbsup:
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See those rolling hills? Now picture roads that curve and undulate around and over.

Never straight, and you can always see the next curve. Sounds dreamy, doesn't it?
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Michelle and a set of long legs. :p
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Ready to ride. Maxon Rd to Trimmer Springs Rd to Elwood Rd. Get all that. No?

No problem, follow me. :laugh:
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And into Sequoia National Park. But here's the problem with this photo. Scale. Or lack thereof.
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Better. This is inside the tree.
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Little better. Haroldo, Steve, Bille, & Bob.
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Now how's this. Get a sense of scale? See the person?

Big.

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Another one for scale. Just massive.
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Your assignment for today...

To capture the very essence of riding. :cheerleader:

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Same shot with Haroldo this time on his new Concours 14.

Little different feel this time. Funny how the camera can do that.

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So you want to take a photo like this?
Okay, I will share with you all my secrets. Or accumulated wisdom. Something like that. :p

Here's the trick. First off, you don't need to be going excessively fast. You can create speed. I gave Bob some instructions like this. Ride up, turn around and we'll wait to make we've got a clear road with no cars. This is in the bottom of Kings Canyon NP and a great photo spot with the shape of that curve.

2ndly, we lucked out with the clouds. Notice, there's no shadow? That was luck. Moments later sun came out.

3rdly, I instructed Bob to come at me, but aim for the yellow line right in front of me. Practically want him to touch it with his front tire. Note how I'm looking right down the lane with the lens. As soon as he does that, I want him to wrench the bars (literally!), and cut the corner. What that does is creates the lean. While Bob is carrying a smooth speed, I'll pre-focus the camera (holding the button halfway down), and track him right to left. At just the right instant, I jerk the camera left (literally jerk it) to the left panning on him, staying on him with the lens (that's the key to get the crispy feel!). That creates the blur- or rather sense of speed in the photo.

Bob on the other hand is crisp in the photo as the shutter snaps as he zips by. I think BMW HQ will be calling any moment to put this one up wall-size in the lobby of BMW Headquarters. (And no, I don't have a fancy camera, a 4-yr old Canon Pro1 SLR shooting on auto.)

Takes a bit of practice, but just great bit of luck and good timing.

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The Pashnit Busa & Bob's RT :beerchug:
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Enough already. Put the damn camera away and let's ride. :lol: Anybody into rocks?
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Quick stop at Boyden Cave. Anybody got $6500? :whistle:
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Great pics as usual Tim thanks, those giant sequoia redwoods are truly a site to see, a group of us rode to Calaveras Big Trees State Park last year, this photo shows the scale of the tree pretty well.

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The view of Kings Canyon National Park. See the road? Fun! :thumbsup:

Got my knee down & worked my way toward the next set of pucks. :whistle:

Bit of factoid trivia is Kings Canyon is the deepest canyon in North America. (and you thought it was the Grand Cayon), measured from the surrounding mountain tops, it's said to be 8200 feet deep carved out by glaciers in the last ice age. Nearby surrounding peaks are over 14,000 feet.

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this photo shows the scale of the tree pretty well.

:bowdown: Cool pic! Calaveras Big Trees State Park is a neat place. One of the trees there they used as a dance floor after they cut it down (with long augers!).

Scale... :cookoo: Boggles the mind, doesn't it.
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One more from a previous ride in Sequoia National Park...

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Riding on into Sequoia National Park to Morro Rock.

Picture it this way, standing at 6500 feet and being able to look straight down in almost a 360 degree circle?

Sound intriquing? It was for our Pashnites, especially the Canadians. :)
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Michelle
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Almost there. Huffing and puffing at 6500 ft. :laugh:

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Sean & Kim starin' down the Sierra Nevada Mountains. What an incredible sense of space.

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After a day of riding, sun is beginning to set over the Sierra Nevada
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On Top of the World.

If you think about this photo, look how level we are with the surrounding mountain tops.

Now imagine being able to look straight down- note how narrow the bars are. ???

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Haroldo. I really like this photo.

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Check out Paul. Got that on camera. Seems he's a little afraid of heights. :laugh:

"The psuedo-guard rail rock only comes up to my knee" he said. :please:
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Comon Paul, it's only like straight down. :laugh:

And with that, we were off to the hotel and some cold ones! :beerchug::beerchug:

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Next day I took the group out on Yokohl Valley Rd - a ranch road into Springville. Awesome! Goaty but good!

Sean and Kim couldn't stop smiling. Perma-Grin. We give those out at the start of each tour. :laugh:
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Kind of look like twins, don't they!
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Paul and Michelle

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