RawHyde Explores
(July Ride)
COYOTE FLATS & METHUSELAH GROVE:
Explore the two highest areas in California. This is hands down the toughest ride we are offering this year. But if you are up for a challenge this is one of the most rewarding rides in California. You will have the chance over a two day period to ride the two highest trails in California, both over 12,500 feet.
Day 1 – Thursday:
We will meet in Bishop, CA. at the Best Western motel. We'll have a riders meeting to discuss our plan for the next two days, and then we'll go out on the town for dinner. Discussions tonight will surely center on the fact that tomorrows ride will take riders to the highest possible place that a motorcycle can be ridden in California.Day 2 – Friday:
We will have breakfast, and pack our bikes for the ride. Since the support truck will be at the hotel, we will put all your camping gear in the truck so you can ride as "lightly" as possible. You will keep your saddlebags on your bike, but all extra gear goes in the truck. The road to Coyote Flats begins right in Bishop, and heads south west out of town. We begin climbing very steep rocky trails almost immediately. It's a tough road, but the views become spectacular almost immediately. It should only take a couple of hours to get to Coyote flats, so we'll set up camp early and explore the area. There are several crystal clear alpine lakes nearby, and miles and miles of barely used trails in the area… take some time to appreciate the unusually beautiful environment and the fact that few people venture here. There are few signs of humanity in this remote mountain area. That's a rare thing these days. Enjoy the solitude.Day 3 – Saturday:
Today we will cross the valley to the other side of Bishop and climb into the White Mountains. We will ride up Silver Canyon, which is really a lot of fun, its not as tough as yesterdays climb, in fact it's easy by comparison, but it's really challenging in its own way. Most of the climbing turns are definitely "off camber" sloping away from safety. If you give the bike too much gas the rear wheel is going to slip toward the cliff… please ride with caution. We will plateau from our ride around the 11,000 foot mark, and be awed by the fact that to the west we can see Mount Whitney, the highest place in the continental U.S. and to the east is death Valley and Badwater which is the lowest place in the western hemisphere. Between the two is nearly a 15000 foot elevation change all within a hundred miles. Our destination today is the Bristle cone Pine forest. This is one of the most remarkable places in the world as Bristlecones only exist in 2 places California and Russia. The White Mountains where our Bristlecones live has one of the harshest environments in the world. It freezes in the White Mountains 10 months of the year. It seems strange to think that possible in California, and it's doubly odd when you consider that both the hottest and coldest places in the west ern hemisphere are only a hundred miles from one another; Death Valley and the White Mountains.The other remarkable thing about the Bristlecone forest is the fact that the trees that grow there are the oldest living things in the western hemisphere. Some of the trees are in the 5000 year old category. We will spend the night among the Bristle cones and perhaps ponder the fact that many of these trees were "mature" as the great pyramids of Egypt were being built. If you really think about our lifespan is a just a blink of an eye to a Bristlecone pine.
Day 4 – Sunday:
After some good hot coffee and a hearty break fast we depart for home. Bishop is about half way between L.A. and the Bay area… so in 5 hours or so we can all be home. And the scenery is great regardless of the direction we take.Price: $595
Category 4 & 5 difficulty level ride.
