Last Weekend I...

[Ben70_imp]

... headed over to Trinidad for a couple of days fishing. Everything I need for fishing is over there, so all I had to do was pack up and ride!

Ready to go.
After a stretch of slow truck traffic hauling debris from the Camp fire (what an unfortunate name) I was onto the slab, I-5, for 30 minutes between Red Bluff and Redding.
Headed west on 299 and ran into 2 delays. At Whiskeytown there was a long wait in both directions. Every cloud, etc. ... I snuck up the shoulder to the front of the line and when we started off again I had the whole road to myself all the way to Weaverville, a great stretch of mountain highway.
Second stop was same scenario, this time a rockslide. Watched a rock the size of a large watermelon dislodged from above bounce on the right shoulder and jump the road into the river.
Once again snuck to the head of the line and was chatting with the flag man, where I was soon joined by a rider on a Wing, towing a trailer. Turns out I went to high school with his sister!
Again, when traffic started we set off and had nobody in our direction for miles.
Finally made it to 101 at Arcata and north another 15 miles or so to Trinidad.

Mouth of the Mad river in the near background. Trinidad head in the distance. Will continue with a couple more pics soon, duty calls.

Ben

[pdedse]

... headed over to Trinidad for a couple of days fishing. Everything I need for fishing is over there, so all I had to do was pack up and ride!

Ready to go.
After a stretch of slow truck traffic hauling debris from the Camp fire (what an unfortunate name) I was onto the slab, I-5, for 30 minutes between Red Bluff and Redding.
Headed west on 299 and ran into 2 delays. At Whiskeytown there was a long wait in both directions. Every cloud, etc. ... I snuck up the shoulder to the front of the line and when we started off again I had the whole road to myself all the way to Weaverville, a great stretch of mountain highway.
Second stop was same scenario, this time a rockslide. Watched a rock the size of a large watermelon dislodged from above bounce on the right shoulder and jump the road into the river.
Once again snuck to the head of the line and was chatting with the flag man, where I was soon joined by a rider on a Wing, towing a trailer. Turns out I went to high school with his sister!
Again, when traffic started we set off and had nobody in our direction for miles.
Finally made it to 101 at Arcata and north another 15 miles or so to Trinidad.

Mouth of the Mad river in the near background. Trinidad head in the distance. Will continue with a couple more pics soon, duty calls.

Ben

That's crazy! Good that said watermelon-rock did not find you!! On a trip in Guatemala a local motorcycle guy passed me and my friend as we had stopped for a photo. Couldn't have been 3 curves down road where we caught up with him as he was laid out on the side of the road--an avalanche of rocks and mud took him out and ruined his side case, emptying it of a good deal of oil. He was physically ok, but dazed and confused. Within minutes others stopped and between several of us, we got his mc on the back of a pickup whose owner offered to take rider and bike to the next town. What luck! Glad yours was better.

Looking forward to more photos...

[the Ferret]

I'm not into fishing, but can appreciate the qualities in it that attract some people. Sounds like a fun trip.

[Nortoon_imp]

I'm not into fishing, but can appreciate the qualities in it that attract some people. Sounds like a fun trip.

Fishing has some of the same pleasantries as motorcycling:
fresh air and sunshine
beautiful scenery
relaxation and stress relieve
some excitement

On the plus side:
boating is a safer
you do not have to were a sweaty helmet and other gear
you get a better tan
the cooler with food and beverages is within reach
you might catch something for dinner

[the Ferret]

LOl yea I was into hunting pretty big time with traditional and primitive bowhunting gear

same thing

Hunting has some of the same pleasantries as motorcycling:
fresh air and sunshine
beautiful scenery
relaxation and stress relieve
some excitement

I guess the biggest difference for me was I don't like touching fish (or bait), don't like smelling fish, don't like eating fish ...but love a good deer, elk, caribou, bear steak ha ha

[SportsterDoc]

I can ride or hike to a stream, relax, smell fresh air, enjoy the shade of a tree, watch wildlife, maybe even take a nap...but not haul any fishing or hunting gear!

I like to eat fish and elk is good...in a stew, but field dressing is a LOT of work!

[the Ferret]

I can ride or hike to a stream, relax, smell fresh air, enjoy the shade of a tree, watch wildlife, maybe even take a nap...but not haul any fishing or hunting gear!

I like to eat fish and elk is good...in a stew, but field dressing is a LOT of work!

and dragging/packing lol. That's why I don't shoot much anymore.

It took me 17 hours to pack my last elk out of the woods in Montana. Was 4 miles in when I shot it. One trip out with back straps and my bow, one trip out with 1 rear ham, 1 trip out with the other rear ham, 1 trip out with 2 front shoulders, 1 trip out with hide and horns. Dang that was a lot of work. Shot it at 7:30 in the a.m., got the last load out a little after midnight. I was a lot younger then (by almost 30 years lol)

[GoldOxide_imp]

I can ride or hike to a stream, relax, smell fresh air, enjoy the shade of a tree, watch wildlife, maybe even take a nap...but not haul any fishing or hunting gear!

I like to eat fish and elk is good...in a stew, but field dressing is a LOT of work!

and dragging/packing lol. That's why I don't shoot much anymore.

It took me 17 hours to pack my last elk out of the woods in Montana. Was 4 miles in when I shot it. One trip out with back straps and my bow, one trip out with 1 rear ham, 1 trip out with the other rear ham, 1 trip out with 2 front shoulders, 1 trip out with hide and horns. Dang that was a lot of work. Shot it at 7:30 in the a.m., got the last load out a little after midnight. I was a lot younger then (by almost 30 years lol)

and dragging/packing lol. That's why I don't shoot much anymore.

It took me 17 hours to pack my last elk out of the woods in Montana. Was 4 miles in when I shot it. One trip out with back straps and my bow, one trip out with 1 rear ham, 1 trip out with the other rear ham, 1 trip out with 2 front shoulders, 1 trip out with hide and horns. Dang that was a lot of work. Shot it at 7:30 in the a.m., got the last load out a little after midnight. I was a lot younger then (by almost 30 years lol)
Handy skills to have when the Hounds of He** start howling, assuming the game is still edible.

[Ben70_imp]

So, to continue, I made it to Trinidad and after stopping at the digs, an RV park in the redwoods, I headed for the shore to check out the ocean conditions.

The water looked fine and forecast good so I headed back to camp, but first a gratuitous photo of the machine from a good angle...

Then tucking the CB into the covered parking spot. Try that with an Africa Twin!

My brother-in-law lives nearby and likes fishing, so we met at the dock at seven AM and came back with limits of black rockfish a few hours later. I didn't get photos of the blacks, but they ranged from 16 to 18 inches. This, however, is a nice 15 lb. ling cod I got the next day.

The distended belly is typical of these eating machines. In this case it turned out to be four four inch long segments of octopus tentacle. The largest was the size of my wrist, with suckers as big as a nickel!
Sunday afternoon we took in a Humboldt Crabs minor league baseball gameto round out the weekend.
Monday morning I hopped on the bike for a beautiful ride home the long way, down 101 through redwood country. The forest gave way to oak woodland and the temps rose, and by the time I got to Ukiah to head east on 20 it was mid 90's. Really not uncomfortable at highway speeds, but riding along the north shore of Clearlake through the small scenic towns was downright hot. All day long I drank a bunch of water at gas and rest stops, I was not damp with sweat but it was evaporating through my mesh jacket to keep me cool.
Leaving Clearlake I had a great ride winding through the foothills, breaking out abruptly into the flat, fertile farmland of the north valley with about another hour and change of hot, flat sprint home.
Arrived home with 645 miles on the trip meter, some of which was noodling around exploring the coast.
I continue to find it notable that these ride reports are mostly devoid of problems related to the machine. Lest I forget, the bike ran great the whole trip, and the hills and twisties were just plain fun!
So much for the fishing channel, now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Ben

[the Ferret]

Congrats. Thats a serious fish. About the only fish that big around here are carp and catfish.

The 3/4 front shot of the bike looks fantastic