First pic of the bike with the new carbon pipes. It's visually more STealthy now but audibly, well that's a different story... Photo on Cr-46 (Cascade Lakes Hwy) SW out of Bend, OR to Crescent Cutoff.

One of Mt. Shasta's many moods.

It didn't really sink in that I had arrived in California until I spotted this car. Then I knew.

Portola-McLears Rd. between Hwy's 70 and 89 in N. CA.

Lake Tahoe from the East Shore.

Hwy 207 (Kingsbury Grade) from Lake Tahoe to the Carson Valley.

Wally's Hot Springs Resort. A good place to relax sore muscles.
Click here to visit Wally's. Check out the webcam to see a live picture of the pools.

This historic pool is being refurbished so visitors will be able to soak in the same pool used by early settlers.

I slept in this historic building at Wally's.

Greg Pichon generously acted as a tour guide on his local roads. This is Ebbet's Pass, very narrow and plenty of elevation changes and tight twisties.

This is Hwy 49 near it's Southern terminus between Mariposa and Dogtown.

A view of Old Priest Grade . This road is steeper than it looks. I rode it going down for a wild ride.

This is Hwy 120 which is adjacent to Old Priest Grade. It's not nearly as steep and thus is longer and has wonderful turns. I rode it up with Greg P. and had a great ride. A couple of days later I rode it down. There was a non-stop parade coming up so I was taking it easy. I noted that my helmet was going to come close to hitting one of the cement trucks as I leaned into a left hand hairpin but I saw I had a couple of feet to spare. No sooner than I realized I had enough clearance a guy on a cruiser, feet way forward, appeared, hugging the side of the second cement truck. I couldn't see him until he was right in my face because he was obscured by the truck and the tightness of the curve. He was passing on a hairpin and must have thought there was no oncoming traffic. I'm still not sure how he squeaked between us as space was already at a premium. Had I not been straightening up to finish the turn we would have collided because there was not enough time to take evasive action with his extremely sudden appearance. I saw my life flash before my eyes.

This is Sonora Pass which I was deeply impressed with, both for it's interesting tarmac and also it's incredible scenery. Traffic was very light as well. Simply wonderful!

Sonora Pass. Same spot looking the opposite direction.

This is a small part of the Malakoff Mine pit near North Bloomfield. In 1852, hydraulic mining was invented. The technique utilized cannon like nozzles, called monitors, to wash away the gold-bearing hills with high-pressure blasts of water. Elaborate systems of reservoirs, ditches and sluices were created to bring water to the site. Mud washed from the hillsides was channeled through sluice boxes that caught the particles of gold. The "canyon" is 7,000 feet long, as much as 3,000 feet wide, and nearly 600 feet deep in places. Eventually, the tailings piled high enough to cause the devastation of nearby towns due to flooding and the practice was eventually outlawed in 1884. It's amazing how little the land has recovered considering the site has not been active for over 120 years. Today more gold remains than was extracted during the 32 years of active mining.

See the Madd ones up close!
A Tour through Yosemite 2005
2005 Madness Trip Photos - page 1
2005 Madness Trip Photos - page 2