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Explore the
High Sierra Nevada above 5000 ft.
Head for the mountains on this 3-Day Ride of the Sierra Nevada Mountains! This guided tour highlights Yosemite National Park, (aka the Uncomparable Valley) two mountain passes to elevations of 9624 feet, a historic ghost town, and finishes up riding the Sierra Nevada foothills.
We'll meet in Manteca, CA on the very edge of the Sierra Nevada Foothills. Riders will arrive as at 8:00 AM, safety brief will take by 8:30. We like to get an early start, and spend the majority of our time riding! Your tour departs at 9 am sharp.
Make sure your bike has a full tank of gas when you arrive at the coffee house.
The foothills await, and the group will quickly makes its way out of the Central Valley flowing into the foothills on Highway 120. A better part of the day will be riding through the heart of the Gold Rush of 1850's.
Highway 49 is the main artery that breathes life to the foothills, with a stretch of road the locals call The Little Dragon being the highlight of the morning. Towns haven't changed much since back when and strive to maintain their Gold Rush Heritage.
But the goal of our day is even more impressive. Yosemite National Park is a sight to behold and one of the most impressive parks in the United States. Massive granite monoliths fill the view- impressive, massive and awe-inspiring. |
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After lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel, time to enjoy Tioga Pass over to Olmstead Point, Ellerly Lake, Tuolumne Meadows and life at nearly 10,000 feet. Mono Lake overshadows our evening with a picturesque sunrise the next morning!
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10,000 ft. Mountains and more...
Imagine the perfect day. That pretty much sums up our ride today as we leave Mono Lake and first take a short detour over to the ghost town of Bodie. Once a rambling boisterous town of the Gold Rush, it's deserted now, but great fun to explore.
Then making our way west over Sonora Pass, one of the Sierra's highest mountain passes at nearly 10,000 ft, there's much to see, and a thrilling vista is at every turn. There will be plenty of time to take in the sights, shoot some pics, and enjoy the ride.
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One our favorite roads tucked away is Middle Camp Rd to Big Hill Rd, a ride that offers up a taste of the Sierra Nevada Foothills. This is backroad riding at its best, twisty, rather deserted and of course no ride through the foothils would be complete wiithout popping over the top and seeing that view that always has me singing Handels Messiah in my helmet.
After a lunch in the historic gold rush town of Columbia, we'll be ready to ride and another mountain pass awaits!
A few miles north and then we'll make for Ebbetts Pass which has some stunning scenery and will climb to nearly 8730 feet nearly two miles above our ride across the Central Valley the day before! |
Ebbetts Pass actually has two summits with a saddle like depression in the middle. This is the Sierra Nevada at its best, and a great way to escape the summer temperatures! Highway 4 even has a section of road at the crest with no center line, narrow, twisty and incredible vistas!
As we descend towards the eastern side of the Sierra up and over Monitor Pass, it's time to park the bikes and bask in that sensation of glee that only motorcycle riding can produce! |
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Riding the Mountain Ridges
Sunday is a fun day of frolicking too! After a hearty breakfast, we'll rev up the motorcycles and head north through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Ranging in elevations up to 8300 feet , these twisty roads are remnants of the Gold Rush of the 1850's.
The order of the day is to ride northward towards Placerville. You can spend days exploring this region of California adjacent to Highway 49, so named for the 49'ers who came seeking dreams of riches in the rich placers of the surrounding rivers and streams.
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Doesn't matter which route we take, each road is one joyous blissful set of twisties one after the other. (Hence the photo of Steve's boot) It's a land where no matter where you are, you can always see the next curve.
We've spent the entire tour over 5000 feet and today is much of the same as we make our way over Monitor Pass, through Markleville, and over Carson Pass. |
Mormon Emigrant Trail & Silver Fork Rd offer up a northerly trek through the SIerra Nevada in the shadow of Lake Tahoe, we'll ride Ice House Rd on up to the Big Hill Fire Lookout at 6500 feet. The view is a 360 degree panorama of the Crystal Range that borders the western side of the Lake Tahoe Basin. To the west on the clearest of days, we can see clear across the entire state to the San Francisco Bay Area.
On previous tours, we've toured the fire lookout, gotten personal tours of the fire fighting helicopter (the pilot rides and is a Pashnit member!) and flat out marvelled at the view. No description can begin to capture the sensation of a place like that. You just need to be there.
Ice House Rd leads us to another local favorite Wentworth Springs Rd which only a few years ago was a gravel mountain road. Now paved and smooth as glass on over to Stumpy Meadows Reservoir. Dreamy! This ride finishes up in the Placerville region midday after lunch.
It's been another weekend of great riding and this may be some riders 2nd or 3rd tour with us! We'll be looking forward to riding with you again! This tour finishes up in Placerville, CA mid-afternoon on Sunday.
| This tour covers: |
See pics from the previous ride... |
 Mono Lake
Yosemite National Park
Bodie Historic Ghost Town
Big Hill Fire Lookout |
Ebbetts Pass & Pacific Grade Summit
9624 ft. Sonora Pass
Tioga, Monitor & Carson Pass
Ahwahnee Historic Lodge |
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Single Rider |
$425 |
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Passenger |
$109 |
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WATCH VIDEO OF THE
SIERRA NEVADA MOTORCYCLE TOUR
CLICK HERE
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Back to Top
Meeting Place:
Starbucks Coffee House
Lincoln Shopping Center
1451 Hulsey Way
Manteca, CA
925-371-0539
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Next
Tour: June 7th, 2013 !!
Arrive
8:00 AM, Safety brief at 8:30AM,
Depart Manteca at 9:00 AM
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Contact Info:
Tim Mayhew - Cell 530-391-1356
Tim Regehr - Cell: 209-609-3216
Contact via Email |
Arriving early? If you are arriving early, Tour Particpants often stay at the nearby Best Western Exexcutive Inn at 1415 East Yosemite Avenue
Manteca, CA 95336 (209) 825-1415
(or Google Manteca Lodging') |
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PASHNIT TOURS Ride Video - 12:00, 40M
This extended 12 minute ride video was all filmed on the Sierra Nevada and Central California Pashnit Tours.
Thanks to Short Films by Seppes.com
This video was shot by Rags from aboard his Triumph Speed Triple riding over Sonora Pass westbound starting from the Marine Corps Training grounds.
Highway 108 - Sonora Pass - 37M 10:28 |
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A personal note from your Tour Guide:
The more we do the Pashnit Sierra Nevada Tour, the more I realize this is only a taste of what the Sierra range is really about. This tour is simply meant to introduce you to this much coveted region of California. Within this range are many, many thrilling vistas, countless motorcycle roads, and numerous historic sites and parks. I'm always surprised to learn of a rider who's lived locally, but never been to Yosemite. Or walked casually through a 100 year old living history museum of a Ghost Town. And then there are the mountain passes. Nothing quite like standing at nearly 10,000 feet and descending down a 26% grade. And then an endless list of Sierra Nevada Foothill roads to choose from. My hope is always to be able to create a sense of intense curiousity for riders as they realize just how local this motorcycle wonderland really is. The tour I've designed intentionally gives you a little taste of each one of these. Always changing, never the same. That's Pashnit!! -Tim
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