Summer's Back

I can't complain about the mild summer we've had (if I am not mistaken, there were relatively few days with triple-digit temperatures). With less than two weeks of summer left, it looks as though it's going out with a bang. Temperatures rising. And why I decided to ride up the hill and spend most of the day in the Tahoe forest. Grabbed lunch at South Lake Tahoe and it was only 75F degrees. The highest daytime temp I encountered in the mountains was 88F, while the lowest was 72F. Riding back down in elevation (it was a 375 mile day!) I saw 95F degrees in the Sierra foothills as late as 6:30pm.

It is just past 9:00pm and we've barely dipped below 90F outside. Yup. It feels like summer's hanging on a bit longer still.

Easter Weekend Ride

It was Good Friday yesterday. And like the ones from years past (oh, around 5 years or more?), I showed up at Cricket & Company restaurant on Auburn Boulevard to join other motorcyclists to embark on a day's ride into the foothills. However, this one was met with inclement weather.

When I rode out of my driveway around 7:30am, it was barely a drizzle under cloudy skies. Six miles later it was raining cats and dogs. The previous night's weather forecast predicted this, which was to eventually give way to clearer skies as the day progressed. This it did, but was not enough to keep the group from already ditching the ride before the day even began. There may have been 15 of us who showed up for breakfast with half a dozen of us showing up by motorcycle.

It's just as well; no telling what to expect with the weather up the hill. Twisty canyon roads are less fun when they're rain (and oil) slicked. Or littered with icy patches if cold enough in the shadows.

Today I wanted to make up for miles not covered on Good Friday. I stayed close to home the previous two weekends since coming out of my cast, just in case I had to give my hand a rest. This was going to be my first out-of-town ride in quite some time. Well, I chose a familiar route through Jackson in the Mother Lode; here I lifted my face shield and enjoyed the cool wind against my face, and the smell of... fog. I looked to my left and saw the fog burning off the mountains in the distance (it was just past 10:30am).

I continued along Hwy49 to Angels Camp where I turned off toward Murphys, circling around along Murphys Grade Road back to Angels Camp where I took my lunch break. Afterwards, I doubled back through Jackson (but took some alternate detours) and made another detour through Latrobe and El Dorado Hills. All in all it was a 5-hour outing.

The hand did fine with a bit of discomfort. I'm chalking it up as all a part of the therapy on the road to full recovery (with my ortho doctor's blessing, and a thumbs up from one of the volleyball players who happens to be a hand therapist). I think I may be ready for motorcycle commuting by Monday!

Water U Waiting 4?

For SoCal, they're waiting for more water. In another anticipated drought year, there'll be a water grab yet again, water which is diverted from the mighty Sacramento River... the water from the snowmelt in our (yes, I said our) Sierra mountains that fills the river flowing out to the Delta.

Yup, it takes plenty of water to fill those swimming pools, wash those fancy wheels and keep the fairways green. And yup, I'm somewhat jealous about keeping our water in our region instead of having it abused in an overpopulated desert.

Snow

And here we have... snow! It has fallen, is falling, and reached lower elevation levels (but I haven't seen it here in the valley near sea level). This morning I still chose to motorcycle in to work, the area having experienced overnight lows in the upper-20s to low-30s.

Not sure how much will fall in the upper Sierra with this storm system, but any is a blessing.

No Snow

It's just over a week away before Winter officially begins and we're still lacking snow in the hills!

Living here in Northern California is (usually) a skier's paradise, where numerous resorts are within easy reach for a day's, or weekend's, worth of bombing down the mountainside. Squaw Valley, Alpine, Heavenly, Northstar, Sugar Bowl, Donner, Boreal, Sierra, Kirkwood... to name a few. There are also enough terrain besides these resorts that cater to the nordic types who'd rather schuss along on skinny x-country skis.

But maybe not this season. It's really that bad, and unless a lot of snow is coming around the corner, we are also looking at a severe drought year; we depend on the water content in the mountain snow packs.

Holy Smokes!

I was riding west along Hwy120 toward Mono Lake in California's Eastern Sierra on Tuesday afternoon. The sky was noticeably hazy and no doubt was due to smoke from forest fires... but where, I wondered, was it burning?

I reached Hwy395 and headed up the road to the eastern entrance to the Yosemite valley, pulled into the Tioga Gas Mart (and Whoa Nellie Deli) to gas up and ask a few questions. Spoke to a guy who was riding a sportbike adorned with luggage similarly to my setup. He had been touring as far as the coast and informed me that there were big fires near Monterey. I later learned that there were 800 fires burning, many of them ignited by lightning strikes (there's a lotta dry tinder out there!).

I still haven't found news details on what's going on with all the smoke in the air (and hence, where it was burning), but the particulates certainly can't be good for anyone's health. A bit of advice for those travelling the Eastern range: be prepared to spend dearly for your fuel. It'll cost you over 5 bucks a gallon for the cheap 87 octane stuff (as it also did back in Tonopah, NV)!

Holy smokes!

Another Drought Year

Just what we need... another drought year. Things looked promising earlier in the year with all the snow in the mountains (and the water content in that snow). Hmm, part of my chores today included watering the lawn, of which I still have plenty. Crabgrass mostly. Got a large load of laundry done too.

Our neighborhood is not on water meters, yet. That may be an inevitability however, so I'll need to start figuring out what I can do with my landscape.

Today's Ride 4/12/2008...

...in case anyone was interested (click here for map).

With gold fever in full tilt (currently around $1000 per ounce), what better place to ride than up to the foothills -- the gold country where it all began. Part of my ride was along Hwy49, which roughly follows the route of the gold seekers back in 1849. I bought a gold pan kit years ago, but did not bring it along. Yup. Darlin' Clementine's miner was a 49'er.

Wither the Rain?

It's April Fool's Day, but I did not bother celebrating this year. Rather pointless seeing that just about every other day is such a day, or am I just kidding? I dunno.

Last month was one of our driest on record, having gotten a few drops from a passing "storm" last Friday on my way home from work. I don't know how much was recorded if not negligible; clouds remained throughout most of Saturday, which began clearing by late afternoon. The forecast for tomorrow, Wednesday, was another chance for some showers but looks to pass us by according to the weather station I'm watching right now. It's our local weather channel, because there isn't anything else on the boob tube that I care to watch.

Instead, the precipitation will probably end up in the mountains to the east, even better if it's in the form of snow. Used to be I'd clamor for the rain so we wouldn't end up with a drought stricken summer, but now I'm wondering if I should have been so concerned. Our water supply in the valley comes from the amount of water in our snowpack in the Sierras. If managed properly we should be okay.

Hoping that that's not a big if.

Nature

While riding in the Sierra foothills today, I witnessed what appeared to be a small coyote running across the road before me and up the steep hill embankment to my right. Many miles later I came upon a couple of wild turkeys strutting along without a care... had to slow down for these turkeys. With temps hovering around the upper 60s, flora have begun to bloom in yellows, pinks, purples and orange. We have cherry blossoms, daffodils, lupines and poppies. Hawks overhead were floating effortlessly from the thermals generated by the warming earth. A road I haven't taken since over half a lifetime ago presented a landscape dotted with grazing cattle and sheep. And oaks. Throw in a few horses too. Raising the visor of my helmet exposed my face to the brisk, cool mountain air which I found quite stimulating. All the while Bob Dylan tunes were dancing in my head, which was probably due to having listened to some of his songs at work yesterday. Today, even some man-made elements -- metal roofing in pastel greens and deep blues, a half dozen or more Mini Coopers on a club outing, a small aircraft (perhaps a glider?) -- seemed to complement rather than clash with the scenario.

Soak up and enjoy nature while you can, before they bulldoze, concrete and pave over everything. This is paradise.

I Ride

Finally, a weekend where the temps were nice, the sun is out and the skies are blue! It's been over a couple of weeks since I last rode, and although the weather was nice this past week, I was busy at work. No playing hooky.

I headed out to the Sierra foothills: Jackson, San Andreas, Angels Camp, Sonora, Jamestown, Mokelumne Hill, Valley Springs, Ione and home.

Such a therapeutic ride... just what the doctor (would have) ordered!