Yosemite Ride - Ducati.ms

**scott** · Sep 4th, 2008, 12:31 pm

Jessica and I decided we should take a road trip on the bikes for Labor Day Weekend. After securing reservations somehow at Yosemite for Saturday and Sunday night we put together our route, prepared our bikes and made final plans. She has never had her bike farther then Lake Tahoe so we made sure it was well prepared. I installed a Starcom1 Advance so we could communicate and she would have tunes, she got the BMW panniers and a MotoFizz bag for extra gear. I spent a few evenings installing the Starcom so it would have a nice custom fit, tested the panniers to make sure everything was secure and added a tank bag.
The route was out Hwy 16 then Hwy 88 to Hwy 89 over Monitor Pass and down to Hwy 395 with an overnight stay at the Ruby Inn in Bridgeport. We would continue on Saturday to Hwy 120 over Tioga Pass along the Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite. We would return home via Hwy 49 on Monday.

We left Sacramento on Friday afternoon in 108 degree heat which climbed to 112 by the time we got to Jackson, yuk! It was only 20 miles after turning on Hwy 88 that the temps dropped into the 80's and by the time we were at Kirkwood it was 76 degrees. Coming into Hope Valley we were pulled over by the CHP due to a slight oversight of the speed limit. Luckily he decided all of our paperwork was in order and let us go with a stern (and I do mean stern) warning. Continuing on to Monitor Pass the weather was just perfect and with no traffic we kept a relaxed pace. The hotel in Bridgeport was clean and I would recommend it.
Saturday morning was very leisure with a departure about 11:00am south on 395. We stopped for photos at Mono Lake then made our turn up 120 to head over Tioga pass. The temps cooled to 63 degrees at the top of the pass but quickly warmed back to the 70's as we rolled through Tuolumne. Lot's of hikers and tons of bikes out touring but traffic was very light. As we headed into Yosemite Valley it climbed into the high 80's. The clear day made for some great views as we got close to our destination. We settled in at the Ahwahnee, in a nice quiet cabin room, then took a walk to the meadow for some sunset photos of Half Dome. Dinner in the Ahwahnee dining room was fantastic and with a few glasses of wine it didn't take long to want to return to our accommodations.
Sunday was a half day of horseback riding and a short hike. Monday we hiked to Mirror Lake but with no water left it should be called Mirror Meadow.
We departed from the valley at 4:00pm and headed back to 120 then north on Hwy 49 home.

All the photos located here: http://www.sealec.com/faulk/yosemite_road_trip

A few photos to wet the appetite...

jbcaddy · Sep 4th, 2008, 9:43 pm

good report and great trip. I love riding the sierra passes. on my last ride over monitor pass, I stopped for a photo opp near the same place you did. there were flowers in blossom a month ago. Jan

Bill_Anderson · Sep 5th, 2008, 10:32 am

What's with the photos of the Mono County jail? You said you got off with a warning.

**scott** · Sep 5th, 2008, 11:25 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill_Anderson

What's with the photos of the Mono County jail? You said you got off with a warning.

That was earlier Bill, it was trying to haul off with the safe from the bank in Bridgeport and then the big shoot out in Bodie...

Largerthan9 · Sep 5th, 2008, 12:07 pm

My girl and I had a nice stay in Yosemite during our western Sierra trip to Moto GP. every year I take the time to ride most of the mountain passes south of the 80. this year she wanted to ride along instead of driving up to meet us in carmel. needless to say we had an amazing adventure.
here are some pics of our trip too.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tha1lik...606334141114//
I loved leaving Yosemite on the 120 then turn south on the 49. Old priest grade and the baby dragon!

**scott** · Sep 5th, 2008, 1:28 pm

Great photos, can't beat that area. I did notice that just like me, your girlfrend makes you look good LMAO

.

Largerthan9 · Sep 5th, 2008, 6:58 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott

Great photos, can't beat that area. I did notice that just like me, your girlfrend makes you look good LMAO

.

Yes she does

We are very lucky men.

ridinfool · Sep 6th, 2008, 7:29 pm

Hey Scott, nice ride report. I also fall into the category of my wife making me look good(at least she is trying to). My wife loves her F800st. Is your wife having a love affair with her bike too?

B

markg · Sep 6th, 2008, 10:22 pm

Looks like a great trip Scott. Which reminds me I have two weeks of vacation coming up.....

**scott** · Sep 7th, 2008, 3:02 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ridinfool

Hey Scott, nice ride report. I also fall into the category of my wife making me look good(at least she is trying to). My wife loves her F800st. Is your wife having a love affair with her bike too?

B

She really likes her F800, she is more comfortable with it every mile she travels. A couple more track days and I will be really watching my back

. She wanted an R6 but I bet she wouldn't have enjoyed it half as much once she rode it over 100 miles. The F bike is a really nice balance between comfort and sportiness.