{"id":22964,"date":"2022-05-15T15:22:46","date_gmt":"2022-05-15T20:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/?p=22964"},"modified":"2022-05-15T15:25:10","modified_gmt":"2022-05-15T20:25:10","slug":"adventure-daddy-big-red-wood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/2022\/05\/adventure-daddy-big-red-wood\/","title":{"rendered":"Adventure Daddy – Big Red Wood"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This trip came about after trying to escape the winter and stumbling on Riders Share. When I found out I could rent a 2011 BMW GSA1200 for about $100.00 a day the die was cast.\u00a0 I was going somewhere, I was gonna see something, and Kira was coming with me.\u00a0 I put on my best charm face and pitched the idea to Kira with surprisingly little resistance from her end.\u00a0 I told her I would take care of everything and it wouldn\u2019t be that bad.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if that trick will ever work again\u2026 but hey.\u00a0 After a bumpy plane ride and an even bumpier Lyft ride, we picked up the bike.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sonoma county<\/p>\n

Trip -Neither of us drank wine but we did go to Lagunitas!\u00a0 The original plan was to only spend one day here to carry us over from the plane to the northern ride but with rain in the forecast we decided to spend an extra day.\u00a0 The riding here was great.\u00a0 rolling mountains with little tree cover, nice flowing roads with perfect asphalt, a great road that turned to dirt on our way to a hike.\u00a0 Only downside was about 25mph winds that were blowing us all over the road.\u00a0 So we ate, did a hike, drank, and generally took it easy.<\/p>\n

Bike \u2013 First thing is first, a fully loaded GS is HEAVY.\u00a0 After a base weight of 590lbs, the hard bags, crash protection, 9 gallon fuel tank, soft bags, all of our gear, and Kira.\u00a0 I was estimating about 850lbs of bike riding down the road.\u00a0 Now I\u2019m not lying when I say this, over 5mph the GS rides itself.\u00a0 It just wants to stay upright.\u00a0 With the hard cases and soft top bag the GS took my full 55l seal line bag, a full backpack, a small backpack, a full gym bag with shoes, groceries, drinks, snacks, and anything else we could think to throw at it.\u00a0 It all fit.\u00a0 Now that the bike was all loaded up we jumped on the highway and immediately did 90mph and didn\u2019t realize it.\u00a0 That\u2019s how smooth a GS is.<\/p>\n

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Rt.1<\/p>\n

Trip \u2013 I was not ready for this, easily one of the best days of my life.\u00a0 After we left Sonoma we cut through some mountains and popped out onto Rt.1 as soon as it turns adjacent with the ocean.\u00a0 You crest a few hills then BAM, sheer cliffs with ocean everywhere.\u00a0 It just never stops.\u00a0 For the next two hours we just sucked it all in.\u00a0 Every time you think it will stop you crest a hill and it just smacks you in the face again.\u00a0 Just about every turn on Rt.1 is a 20 mph suggested turn that is banked in your favor with no imperfections in the road.\u00a0 Some are suggested 10mph with the same attributes.\u00a0 It was like a two hour long race track. Then when it finally does end you turn into perfect roads with redwoods blocking out the sun everywhere and the racetrack starts again.\u00a0 \u00a0It was just breathtaking.\u00a0 I will do this again.<\/p>\n

Bike \u2013 Now this was why it was one of the best days of my life.\u00a0 A fully loaded GS with 70\/30 sheinko tires (the rear was just about done too) and a passenger has no problem scraping footpegs at every turn.\u00a0 It felt like my R1, just telling me you can get more, go faster, lean further, etc.\u00a0 It was one of the most confidence inspiring bikes I\u2019ve ever ridden.\u00a0 The weight just disappeared once you put the bike on its side and if you did get close, the bike softly reminded you to dial it back a little.\u00a0 Power was always there and you could lug up hills in 4th gear at 2k rpm if you felt the need.\u00a0 So when I wanted to push it and get some excitement in, gotcha. When I wanted to ride 20mph below the speed limit and just soak everything in, Gotcha.\u00a0 you feel no wind behind all those fairings and the GS is just the companion that gives whatever you ask of it.<\/p>\n

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Redwoods<\/p>\n

Trip \u2013 So we rode to basically the start of the Avenue of the Giants which is a side route that cuts through Humbolt state park.\u00a0 This was just unbelievable.\u00a0 It was basically riding through Jurassic Park.\u00a0 Nothing is small, the redwoods block out the sun and there are the biggest ferns that you\u2019ll ever see in the undergrowth.\u00a0 It just goes on for miles and miles.\u00a0 Then you pop out at 1 stoplight towns that have a few things then right back in.\u00a0 When you\u2019ve had enough of that you can go hang out by the rivers and streams that run through with immaculate water.\u00a0 We went on the big tree hike and it just drove home again how small we were.\u00a0 Nothing will beat that for sure.<\/p>\n

Bike \u2013 I was really starting to appreciate this bike.\u00a0 After unloading I was going to take the hard cases off but then thought what\u2019s the point.\u00a0 If the bike can turn as hard with the bags, and I never noticed the weight why would I take them off?\u00a0 It can do everything fully loaded so why not just have the space to grab stuff along the way.\u00a0 I really think that says a lot about the bike, when you don\u2019t want to take the luggage off.\u00a0 After riding about and doing some hikes I noticed a Tacoma parked on a beach and I went \u201cyup\u201d inside my helmet.\u00a0 We went looking for the route and found it.\u00a0 The entrance was an axel deep puddle about 20\u2032 long and the gs didn\u2019t skip a beat.\u00a0 We went right through it, turned on the dirt road, turned on the beach and the bike ate it all up.\u00a0 I will say the front end has a very \u201cdisconnected\u201d feel so you have to ride the back of the bike.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t take this thing through reading woods,\u00a0 but anything less than that\u2026 yup.\u00a0 On the way out I made sure to blast through the same puddle to make sure I got Kira a little wet\u2026.. it worked.<\/p>\n

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Northern Redwoods<\/p>\n

Trip \u2013 We then rode 2.5 Hrs further north to check out a hike from Cooney (he actually told me to go to the redwoods in the first place).\u00a0 After opening the gate we did the Tall tree\u2019s grove hike which has one of the tallest trees in the world.\u00a0 It was the tallest but got a haircut by a windstorm a few years ago.\u00a0 Again, just wild.\u00a0 You feel like you\u2019re in honey I shrunk the kids.\u00a0 Everything just takes your breath away.<\/p>\n

Bike \u2013 So it was 45-50 degrees and chilly.\u00a0 With all of the fairings the bike kept us out of the wind and mostly not freezing.\u00a0 We were both cold but nothing we couldn\u2019t handle.\u00a0 We did about 80 the entire way up, then turned onto a super bumpy logging paved road to get to the gate.\u00a0 The gate then led down a 7.6 mile dirt road down the side of the mountain.\u00a0 Bike again never skipped a beat.\u00a0 after all of that we both arrived at the bottom without being beat up by the ride.\u00a0 Again, bike did everything we asked and nothing we didn\u2019t.\u00a0 fantastic.<\/p>\n

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\nVideo opening gate IMG_1354<\/a><\/p>\n

So it was now all over.\u00a0 We jumped back on the bike and rode 5 hrs back to our hotel to go home the next day.\u00a0 We decided to go back down rt.1 and it added about an hour to our ride\u2026 well worth it.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/p>\n

Trip \u2013 Unbelievably worth it,\u00a0 I wish we had more time to just go exploring but because of the rain we only had a few days and wanted to check out what I had marked down.\u00a0 I want to go back and just spend a week sleeping under those trees and finding every little nook to hide in.\u00a0 I think to really get to know and appreciate a place you just have to sit there for a time and be quiet and just exist in that space.\u00a0 sometimes it takes a few days, sometimes weeks.\u00a0 I want to go back and just sit for a while.<\/p>\n

Bike \u2013 now I am a person that likes the act of getting to a place more than the place usually so take that in mind.\u00a0 The GS just blew me away.\u00a0 After two turns the bike became your best friend that just wanted to see you have a good time.\u00a0 It wanted to take you to the place, have you experience the place no matter where the place is, then take you back home.\u00a0 It is not a dirt bike.\u00a0 It can do dirt bike things, like ride on dirt, but it is not a dirt bike.\u00a0 I think that is where the genius of the GS lies.\u00a0 The goal of this bike isn\u2019t to be the fastest, or the gnarliest, or anything really.\u00a0 the goal of the GS is for it to be you.\u00a0 It wants you to do what you want on it.\u00a0 If you want to see where that dirt road goes\u2026 go.\u00a0 If you want to make sure you and your partner can go on a trip and take everything you need with no compromises, it can.\u00a0 If you wan to turn on the heated grips and just relax and take in the scenery, gotcha.\u00a0 wanna see if you can keep up with your sportbike friends, bring it.\u00a0 In being the master of none it lets you do all.\u00a0 \u00a0The only thing it doesn\u2019t want you to do is pick it up\u2026 because I dropped it once in a parking lot. ow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All in all we did about 900 miles in 4 days.\u00a0 Not a ton, but not bad for that not being our Goal.\u00a0 I think it says something that neither of us were over the bike by the end.<\/p>\n

If you need me I will be eating my words about dadbod adventure bikes over at facebook marketplace\u2026.<\/p>\n

Trip links
\nRoute:\u00a0https:\/\/goo.gl\/maps\/Rikkua6y1Hf6SDF6A<\/a><\/p>\n

trip schedule :\u00a0https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/122YYOrQc8jn7WxaNk1yaCUBdEwk5iuS-lfB4cpSI4SI\/edit?usp=sharing<\/a><\/p>\n

Trip idea dump:\u00a0https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1RyTgWdXL_T48S4ggzwGX-y00hPFrqO0CykPVI6rVRtI\/edit?usp=sharing<\/a><\/p>\n

Photodump-
\n\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  This trip came about after trying to escape the winter and stumbling on Riders Share. When I found out I could rent a 2011 BMW GSA1200 for about $100.00 a day the die was cast.\u00a0 I was going somewhere, I was gonna see something, and Kira was coming with me.\u00a0 I put on my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22964"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22964"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23011,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22964\/revisions\/23011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinonthetank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}