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Entire National Park to myself and very close encounter with a deer...pics ahead

eyesurgeon

By eyesurgeon
in Ride Tales

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eyesurgeon

eyesurgeon

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I wanted to give my new cold weather riding gear (Firstgear TPG) a test drive so I chose some high Sierra riding for this mornings trip. This is a route I've done several times but never in November where the temps today touched 40 degrees. Something I normally would avoid given my thin California blood.

 

This is Sequoia National Park. One of the great motorcycle rides in the state in my opinion. Even in the summer it's not that busy, but today I felt like Charton Heston in planet of the apes when he discovers he's the only human on the planet. I could have taken a nap on the double yellow. Being kind of a lone wolf rider (my wife's words), this is Nirvana to me. And I took some pictures to share with you guys.

 

There was patchy fogg in the valley, which made for some picturesque vistas up high.

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Despite the relative chill, the roads were dry, with no snow, and I was completely comfortable in my gear. No need for electrics today.

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This whole park has gorgeous roads. Makes you want to ride, doesn't it?

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I've got a thing for bridges. This stone specimen is worth a photo.

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This shot is kind of little dragon-esque, don't you think?

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Don't hate me for living near here...

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OK, now the deer. Probably not what you were expecting since I had just stepped off my bike to take in the view and this big guy was staring me in the eye. I wasn't sure if he wanted a snack or wanted to gore me. Still, I'd rather see him on foot than at 80 MPH.

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And a vanity shot of my faithful GT...

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Total ride today was about 200 miles and I got home around 11:30 AM. Winter riding is great when you have the right gear. Oh, and you live in California smile.gif.

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Bruce H

Bruce H

Posted
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Nice! you are killing me, it's raining here however mid 50's, forcast is for wind gusts to 65mph. I thought about a ride but decided to work instead. I have some new under armour cold gear I want to try out.

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eyesurgeon

eyesurgeon

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Which of the TPG jackets do you have? Does it seem like a cold weather only jacket, or more of a 4 season jacket?

 

I have the TPG base layer (basically underwear), the Rainier coat, and the escape pants. The coat and pants have removable liners and vents. They are higher quality than any Firstgear stuff I have seen and I am very impressed. I have never considered Firstgear worth owning before seeing this stuff. The material is soft and not stiff like most of their stuff, and the design and attention to detail is excellent. This from a guy that buys mostly BMW gear. I came very close to buying the BMW streetguard2 gear but it was so expensive and in my opinion not as well suited for my needs as the TPG gear. I believe a 3/4 length jacket is more suited to cold weather than the streetguard2's half length jacket.

 

I would call it a 3 season suit here in California. I would expect this to be my gear from as cold as it gets here to about 80 degrees. The rest of the time I will wear my BMW airflow3 suit. It could be a 4 season suit in climates where it gets cold to not much hotter than 80. Beyond that you will want mesh IMO. Oh, the elusive 4 season suit...

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dhanson

dhanson

Posted
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I don't hate you for living that close to those areas, NOT!

 

Really pretty!

 

I just got in from a short ride in the flat lands of Louisiana, temps 68, ha.

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ESokoloff

ESokoloff

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It's a fairly tight narrow & twisty asphalt road that has well groomed gravel sections near the end.

It's said that you should allow 1.5 hrs to travel it but my buddy & I are (still) here to prove it can be traversed much faster than that.

 

It's been several years since I've been on it & I was an inactive rider at the time so I did not view it from a riders stand point.

Not sure how it would be on a bike hence my inquiring.

 

If you do travel it, watch for opposing traffic.

If you take it at night at least you can see approaching headlights.

 

My buddy & I have gone in many times at night to head out the next (or in some cases the same) day for a backpacking trip.

 

This area certainly is a treasure thumbsup.gif

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