Back in the Saddle: Going to California: 2011

[Kingfish]

Formerly: On the Road | Going to California 2011

Ref: On the Road | Going to California (2010)
Ref: Pusher-Trailer: A Bicycle-Frame Solution
Ref: Phoenix Rising: P1 - Build thread of the bike that made the journey.

SUMMARY ADDENDUM:
The actual trip begins on Page 12
Maps of Each Day | Trivia & Stats | Debrief on what worked &...

It's official. Today I ordered up the last batch of batteries — the last major capital expense (after machining) left on my list of todo's. So let's get this thread started; pull up a chair, grab a beer, and listen to my yarn


EDIT V2: I found a little-known backwater band that could help us set the theme

This is a lifelong dream, well — one of many. The first road trip I took was back in 1977; short story is I helped my brother fix his Honda 175 Twin. Later he bequeathed it to me for my birthday; it was completely unexpected. After my school commitments were over and my summer job prospects with the US Forest Service played out, I managed to save up some goodly money — and with a few weeks left before going active duty I took a road trip that was about 1300 miles long — that is… before the piston blew just shy of Death Valley Junction… but that's another story. I've been fixated with road trips ever since.

Goals
I've tried twice to make a go of this; let's hope the 3rd time is the charm! The goal is to ride my ebike from Redmond, Washington to visit family in northern California, and ultimately to the spring that sprung me in Fresno. We all come from someplace; Fresno ain't so bad if you like rainless summers exceeding 110°F in the shade, that and endlessly gray and damp foggy ones in the winter. Actually it was rather convenient if you were in the Boy Scouts cos there's lots to do and it made for a great launching point being centrally located in the state. But that's another story.

• The trip down will follow the backbone of the Cascades in much the same way as I did last year (2010) with a bit of a twist on some slight changes in path. From Redmond, it's southbound switching east of Mt. Rainier over Cayuse Pass, left of Mt. St. Helens and right of Mt. Adams, crossing the Columbia at Hood River into Oregon, staying left of Mt Hood, Three Sisters, and Crater Lake before reaching Klamath Falls.
• Last year I took the east route around Medicine Lake on Hwys 39/139, though this year I will try to thread the needle between Mt. Shasta and Medicine Lake and pick up Hwy 89 north of Burney. Medicine Lake is the largest shield volcano in the lower-48; it's larger than Shasta by volume… and I've never been there!
• After picking up Hwy 89, instead of bypassing east of Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park — I will go through the park, maybe even take a couple of hours off and climb that old mountain like I have so many times in my tiny youth. Then it's onward to Greenville, Quincy, and Plumas-Eureka State Park.
• Instead of heading to Sacramento via Hwy 49, I'll stay on Hwy 89 all the way through Lake Tahoe, then cut over the High Sierras on Hwy 88 and pick up my old friend Hwy 49 in Jackson. I've taken this route many times in the past; it's spectacular on a motorcycle!
• From Jackson, it's south on the 49'er Trail down the foothills all the way to the terminus at Oakhurst; gateway to Yosemite. From there it's south on Hwy 41 to Fresno. I'll plunk around my old haunts and scare up my pals for some good old fashioned beer drinking, BBQ, and cannon-balls into swimming pools.

• From there the Plan is to head west over the Coast Range to Hollister/Watsonville and pick up Hwy 1 through Santa Cruz to San Francisco. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get to meet up with some ES-kindred folks.
• It's pretty much Hwy 1 or 101 all the way north after that through the Redwoods, past Coos Bay, up to Lincoln City, then cut over to Portland, and then follow loosely follow I-5 north, slipping past Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier and back into Redmond.

Alternatives abound though this is the basic plan. It's 2000 miles. Southbound is loaded with high mountain passes. Northbound could be foggy and damp; they get their best weather in the fall. Really though — it's the Redwoods and rainforest I wish to see. The two most difficult days will be the first and the last; both are over 220 miles with hill climbs > 8000 feet. Last year I went 173 miles on 15S12P; this year we're doubling the batteries — and instead of a hardtail with front shocks, I'll have full-suspension DH frame with a custom trailer-bike-pusher carrying most of the battery load and my camping gear.

The only think I want on my back is a camelback, maybe.


P0: The ebike that made the shorter trip last year.


P1: Winter version of the ebike going this year. In process of being modified to pull a trailer.

OK, so that's the prelude. I'm letting the other threads manage the storytelling of their respective bits. This thread shall be more tied to the journey with pictures. The target departure date is the last week of June with the goal of being in Westwood California on July 3rd; my cousin is racing his hotrod snowmobile on the grass. I asked him "won't that damage the skis?" and he said "hell, they'll never touch the ground!" This I gotta see!

Sponsorship
I'm going to toss this out for a sniff. I ran across a pal who says I should go for sponsorship when I do these things, you know — pick a charity, raise awareness, that sort of thing. I'm just a little curious what sort of charity would be EV-centric. Maybe that would make for a good poll. OK, here's the poll: Charity Events & Sponsorship. Give us your opinion.

Making plans, KF
Title EDIT #2: Ack! Mischievous gremlins are afoot!
EDIT #3: Added summary addendum.
EDIT #4: Bike build thread added & corrected flaws introduced from botched db transfers.

[Green Machine]

Kingfish,

Sounds great..let me know when you will be in SF and lets meet up for a ride...

E

[Rassy]

KF, put Port Orford on your list on the return trip. I'm good for anything from a lunch and short ride along to an overnight stay with shower, laundry, etc. Just send a PM when you're getting close.

[dogman dan]

I'm so jealous. I want to do the same thing in NM and CO. But the job is hard to get away from in summer.

[Kingfish]

GM/Eric: Awesome; Will do!
Rassy: Duly noted; a perfect spot to stop! Thanks my friend.
Dogman: I couldn’t do it without being self-employed. You have me daydreaming again of other road trips. I suppose there’s always next year…

Thanks again! KF

[Farfle]

KF, put Port Orford on your list on the return trip. I'm good for anything from a lunch and short ride along to an overnight stay with shower, laundry, etc. Just send a PM when you're getting close.

Same deal here, Message me when you get close to Bend. Plus, if you need a shop for repairs and such I can help you out .

[Kingfish]

Farfle: I love Bend! Great skiing, great brewery, beautiful town: Will do!

Thank you, KF

[Green Machine]

I love that version of "going to california'...nice find...keep coming back to this thread just for the video.

Hey KF, count me in for a 100 mile leg to Eureka...how many miles is that leg anyway?

Looking forward to doing the beer tour with you as well...what do you say we hit every brewery on the way from here to Eureka? We slam one beer in each spot...and them ramble on.

I am pumped...i got like 100ah of battery here...in fact i may have you out batteried

And what is approximate date you will be here?

[Kingfish]

Drinking:
<Best Cheech n’ Chong Big-Bambo Album interpretation>

• Oh no, not me man! You can get brain damage from beer & bikes!

</not CnC>

Seriously, I don’t drink and drive; bad juju wicked evil knarly wreck-city. I have done myself out thrice too many times with painful suffering, broken ribs, ripped flesh… no. Me and beer and bikes don’t mix anymore. However – that doesn’t stop me from walking to a pub, have a couple, and walking home.

Breweries on the Path:
Between SF and Eureka there are a few breweries on Hwy 1 and 101. If I drink, it will be at the end of the day when we’re done riding. Here’s the list of potential candidates in no particular order:

• Fort Bragg – North Coast Brewery; they make fantastic beer! And – it’s one of my planned overnight stays.
• Eureka - Lost Coast Brewery & Pub: Equally spectacular gold-medal winning brewery. I plan on spending the night here too.

Nearby Breweries (too far off the beaten path, but we still drool about them):

• Boonville - Anderson Valley Brewing
  Healdsburg - Bear Republic Brewing
  Hopland - Mendocino Brewing Company
  Larkspur - Marin Brewing Company
  Novato - Moylan's Brewery & Restaurant
  Novato - Pacific Hop Exchange
  Petaluma - Lagunitas Brewing
  Saint Helena - Silverado Brewing
  San Francisco - too many to list!
  Santa Rosa – Russian River Brewing
  Sausalito - Sausalito Brewing
  Ukiah - Ukiah Brewing

Dates:

• Targets are 4th of July in Westwood, CA for the snowmobile races.
• Probably Fresno around mid-month.
• SF near the tail end of July, and we take it day-by-day after that. I’m on holiday so there’s no hard set date to be back per se.

Pack Ah:
My Battery Pack (providing I do not receive duds from HK) will be 15S24P @ 5Ah each, so that’s:

• 72 / 3 = 24; 24 * 5 Ah = 120 Ah @ 63V, or 7560 Wh. I suspect it will only take 8 hours to charge with my new Meanwell assembly.

Distances:

• From SF to Fort Bragg via Hwy 1 is 142 miles with an elevation climb of 7764 feet.
• From Fort Bragg to Eureka via Hwy 1/101 and the “Avenue of the Giants” is 194 miles with an elevation climb of 8814 feet. My pack should make these legs well enough if we ride judiciously without significant headwind.

Bases covered, KF

[Green Machine]

Right on man...your really doing something here...

Something really epic...

More rides like this one should be planned and documented here just as your doing....ride threads should be as big as build threads.

I cant wait...i will bring my own beer damn it and ride with a cup holder....fort brag and eureka sound great...i am in!

[Lyen]

Green Machine and Kingfish,

I think it would be a good idea to setup another San Francisco ebikers meet up event at the time Kingfish arrived to the city. What do you guys think?

[Green Machine]

Hell yeah...we should do that meet up...and you guys should truck right down with us to eureka.....no broken bones this ride...promise.

Lets say when KF knows when he will be in SF we will do an announcement and get some riders we will do a King Fish Barbecue! In fact thats exactly what we should call it...

[liveforphysics]

You've got a friendly place to stay in Santa Cruz my friend. And access to my shop, which can do 10kw charging, and repair most any mechanical or electrical problems.

I wish I could ride it with you. It sounds like a blast.

[dogman dan]

Clearly the overnight stops must be near the brewpubs. Of course, one beer with a meal at lunch is not riding drunk.

Recently I drove 300 miles round trip to ride a section of road through a bird sanctuary. Just by chance, lunchtime found us at a nice brewpub, with wood fired pizza. Not exactly eco, but worth it.

[Kingfish]

Oh man, you guys are awesome! Thanks Eric, Edward, & Luke; I humbly bow in your general direction. You’re too kind!

I am looking at the calendar now. After the 4th I’ll spend a week with my folks up north, followed by a week with my folks down south. This leaves either the weekends of the 23rd or the 30th open – presuming that most people would prefer a Saturday for a BBQ. Given the choice I would probably lean towards the 30th.

Hey, how is the route from Santa Cruz to SF via Hwy-9/35-Skyline for fast bikes? Or would I be better off just sticking to Hwy 1?

Dogman: If I were on a horse, a couple of beers wouldn’t matter; If I were in my truck, meh. But because I’m on my bike that requires ultimate balance - and adding to that people struggle to see me on public highways, it’s to my advantage to abstain. You can't beat a good EV high

Most humbly honored, KF

[Green Machine]

Highway 9 - 35 is ideal for a fast ebike...and a beautiful ride. I use to race my motorycle up and down that route...what a thrill ride it was. In fact your worst threat will be being rear ended by a rice rocket going 70mph around a blind corner But especially on the weekdays you should be ok.....watch your backside early sunday morning when you hear a low grumbling roar of the gassers.

[MikeFairbanks]

I tried to get Ed Begley to sponsor me, and was surprised when he actually emailed me. We had a few discussions, but when I asked for sponsorship he wasn't too hip. Luckily the local utility company stepped in.

Try them. They love electricity if it's beating natural gas or gasoline.

They'll be very interested. I don't know if they'll fork over the dough, but it's worth a try.


Question: How long will this trip take? You probably mentioned it, but I didn't catch it.

[Kingfish]

Brief Status:

• Mods to the Trailer project are continuing.
• Worked up a basic schedule. The trip will take about 5 weeks. Essentially –
  • Depart near the 28th of June. This would put me at Bend Oregon about June 29th or 30th.
  • Pre-set Goal: 4th of July in Westwood, CA. I would like to arrive a day or two early.
  • 18th or 19th in Fresno
  • 30th in SF (tentative)
  • 5th or 6th back in Redmond, WA
  I’ll have more precise dates as the issues resolve.
• Cell Phone: I haven’t owned a cell phone since 1999. Been looking at Verizon and AT&T; the contracts are almost identical. The Windows 7 phone appeals to me because I will be able to write applications for it. I also need to spec out a notebook for basic journaling and photo-editing. A friend warned me off the Atom processor as being too slow.

That’s the short story. Less than 4 weeks to go.

Are we there yet? KF

[liveforphysics]

Brief Status:

• Mods to the Trailer project are continuing.
• Worked up a basic schedule. The trip will take about 5 weeks. Essentially –
  • Depart near the 28th of June. This would put me at Bend Oregon about June 29th or 30th.
  • Pre-set Goal: 4th of July in Westwood, CA. I would like to arrive a day or two early.
  • 18th or 19th in Fresno
  • 30th in SF (tentative)
  • 5th or 6th back in Redmond, WA
  I’ll have more precise dates as the issues resolve.
• Cell Phone: I haven’t owned a cell phone since 1999. Been looking at Verizon and AT&T; the contracts are almost identical. The Windows 7 phone appeals to me because I will be able to write applications for it. I also need to spec out a notebook for basic journaling and photo-editing. A friend warned me off the Atom processor as being too slow.

That’s the short story. Less than 4 weeks to go.

Are we there yet? KF

If you don't get an android device, you will forever hate yourself.

I phrased that like a joke, but you really will. Wind-blows is dead. Windblows 7 phone was dead before it was born.

The future is open my friend.

[neptronix]

+1 For android. Even one of Apple's phones would be better than Windows 7 phone.. and this is coming from a guy who hates apple with all his guts.

[liveforphysics]

+1 For android. Even one of Apple's phones would be better than Windows 7 phone.. and this is coming from a guy who hates apple with all his guts.

Yeah, I have to agree, and I the only thing I would use the iPhone for is toilet paper. The windows phone I wouldn't even use for toilet paper, because it would have to contact my ass for that...

[liveforphysics]

Also, for you kingfish, you've got great windblows based programming skills, but it's like speaking a dead/dying language. If you spent 1 day fiddling with android programming, you would be able to do higher level stuff than a year of working with windblows coding.

It's not intimidating to start over from scratch learning android. It's so logical, once you start playing a bit, you don't even need instruction anymore, it self-teaches just from being so intuitive and well designed.

[Kingfish]

Actually, I came off a project for HTC just a couple of months ago and have the Android SDK and JDK loaded in case they wanted to put me to task. So – you ain’t gonna hurt my feelings none friend

OK – so it looks like there are a lot of Android devices. May I presume we are discussing cell phones and not tablets? (I’ll still need photo editing and I already own Photoshop, hence some type of laptop/notebook.)

Which Android device do you prefer?

Thanks, KF

[Green Machine]

Hey Kingfish,

If you go android you can buy this $100 device instead of cycle analyst:

http://www.speedict.com/

If you think you might buy this speedict device in the future you should buy an bluetooth enabled phone now....the speedict connects wirelessly to your android phone.

Also if you have cell phone coverage the speedict will actually map your routes for you with gps so you can post your routes here....also record battery usage data in cool graphs.

Really nifty device....i got one and can vouch for it. Way cool. Worth buying an android just for it (does not work with iphone or windows 7)

[Kingfish]

Hey Kingfish,

If you go android you can buy this $100 device instead of cycle analyst:

http://www.speedict.com/

If you think you might buy this speedict device in the future you should buy an bluetooth enabled phone now....the speedict connects wirelessly to your android phone.

Also if you have cell phone coverage the speedict will actually map your routes for you with gps so you can post your routes here....also record battery usage data in cool graphs.

Really nifty device....i got one and can vouch for it. Way cool. Worth buying an android just for it (does not work with iphone or windows 7)

Oh man! I want!
Gosh, it's got it all and more! Who's using one? Does it come with temp sensors?? Most exciting toy I've seen since ... well since!
Best, KF