#1
|
|||
|
|||
New Idria
Some new pix in this one,
------------------------------------------------------------------- New Idria 2008 ================================================== ==================== Marc, my nephew and I drove to Paicines (elev 200ft) on HWY25 (Airline Highway) just south of Hollister on Sunday morning 04 May 08 and started riding at 8:20 heading south. As we rode on this "airline straight" road, we saw the old road winding along contour lines to various ranches. An amazing number of well kept vineyards lined the road. The new alignment ended after about seven miles where the road crosses the San Benito River, the river we would see again later, and began climbing about 300ft to Bear Valley in the San Andreas Rift Zone. Bear Valley continues west to the Pinnacles State Park on HWY146 leaving us to make another small climb to Rabbit Valley. Both of these valleys are broad and flat with occasional shallow dry lakes. In the middle of Rabbit Valley I noticed stretch marks in the smooth new asphalt road, something I recalled from my first ride to New Idria years ago. These are series of parallel cracks crossing at about 15° to the road centerline, with visible shearing between cracks. Sunday was a classic motorcycle day with some highway racers going way above the speed limit, 55mph on two lane roads in California. After the fast guys about 100 Harley riders came by in an endless stream some of whom I think we saw going the other way on our return to Paicines. Although we intended to turn onto Old Hernandez Road after the Pinnacles Park junction, we stayed on HWY25 partly because the road sign was missing and partly because I was interested in HWY25 that I recall riding many years ago. We continued to the JCT with HWY109, Coalinga road, and climbed to cross Buck Ridge at (2116ft), descending to the San Benito River in the Lorenzo Vasquez Canyon (1767ft) from which Coalinga Rd. climbs gradually at first and then makes several hairpin turns climbing steeply to a summit at 2907ft. before descending to Hernandez Reservoir, on the San Benito River. From here it's a flat one mile run to a concrete paved ford to the entrance of rocky Clear Creek Road. http://terraserver-usa.com/image.asp...867&Y=5032&W=3 Here we discovered why we hadn't seen any of the usual pickup trucks loaded with dirt motos. It seems the Clear Creek Facility was permanently closed to all on 01 May 08 because after about thirty years of use it was designated as dangerously contaminated with asbestos. We were turned back by a BLM agent and San Benito County Sheriff at the concrete ford. We had no alternative but to head back, so we took Old Hernandez Rd. and found the return route to be two miles longer than the way we came... but with far less climbing. We can always say we planned it that way so we could see both routes. Just the same, I got a few good photos of snakes, flowers, and an earthquake fissure on HWY25 and some birds. Among birds we saw bullocks orioles, black headed grosbeaks, meadowlarks and many western kingbirds. I'm glad that I have Bill Bushnell's pictures and ride report to fill in the Clear Creek and New Idria part that we didn't see this time. On the return, after Old Hernandez Road we were back on HWY25 and on a short hill right after the junction traffic was blocked by all sorts of emergency vehicles, flagmen and a helicopter waiting to take two injured motorcyclists, whose bike lay near the road, to a clinic. After waiting a bit we backtracked a short distance where we could climb a gate into an adjoining pasture and hike over the hill past the blockage. After that we had an empty road for a few miles. The whole ride was 96 miles and 7100ft climbing. http://terraserver-usa.com/image.asp...X=53&Y=315&W=3 http://terraserver-usa.com/image.asp...873&Y=5032&W=3 http://terraserver-usa.com/image.asp...882&Y=5035&W=3 Bushnell ride report pictures: http://tinyurl.com/4umos4 http://tinyurl.com/3hwv94 http://tinyurl.com/5kdsnf -- new The news: http://tinyurl.com/578u8m http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=14777479 -- Jobst Brandt |
Ads |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
New Idria 2008 | [email protected] | Rides | 0 | May 10th 08 02:15 AM |
New Idria 2007 | [email protected] | Rides | 0 | April 5th 07 12:34 AM |
Ride Report and Photos: San Benito, Clear Creek, and Idria, May 2006 | Bill Bushnell | Rides | 0 | June 8th 06 04:48 PM |
New Idria | [email protected] | Rides | 0 | May 2nd 06 07:47 PM |
Panoche and Idria, December 2004 | Bill Bushnell | Rides | 5 | December 20th 04 10:19 PM |