In the second half of April, I traveled to Northern California to attend Chaun and Billy’s wedding and to go dirt bike riding with Greg, whom I met on a previous trip.
The trip commenced by flying from Zurich to Reno, NV with layovers in Philadelphia and Phoenix. I reached my friends Jan and Tom’s home in Reno around 23:00 and I was ready for some rest after a long day of traveling.
The next day, Greg and his wife Shari picked me up at Jan and Tom’s and we drove to their home in Camino, CA, which is about a two-hour drive from Reno. It is a pretty drive (as long as you don’t run into bad weather) along Highway 50 and a couple of spots along the way offer a nice view of Lake Tahoe. Having worked the night shift the last few days before flying to America, my inner clock is not too far off from California’s Pacific time zone and I was eager to head out on the 3-day bike trip Greg had planned.
So the next morning Greg and I packed our stuff and got the bikes ready. Greg rode his brand-new Aprilia Tuareg 660 while I was fortunately able to borrow his KTM 990 Adventure, a trusty do-it-all adventure bike that I would learn to like over the next few days. With the ambitious plan to reach Fortuna (close to the coast way up North in California), we left Greg and Shari’s house. Greg’s friend Jeff joined us on his KTM 790 Adventure in Auburn. The three of us kept heading northwest, we stopped for lunch in Chico. After crossing Interstate 5 in Red Bluff, we continued on Highway 36 towards the coast. A very windy road crossing through the Trinity National Forest, we stopped a few times to take in the view of the hills and mountains, many of them still snow-capped. We got to Fortuna not long before darkness, where we were greeted with chilly and foggy weather. After having Pizza for dinner we moved into our room at the Comfort Inn, where we would spend the two nights before heading back south.
The next day, to our luck the fog had vanished and the sun was out. A perfect day for riding along the coast, we ride through Ferndale and then reach the coast on a small back road. Shortly after this, we ride some dirt roads. Greg let me ride his Aprilia and I was impressed by how it handles off-road. After having lunch in Shelter Cove, we found out that Usal road (a dirt road Greg and Jeff have ridden on previous trips) is closed due to muddy conditions. Despite that, we rode on another short dirt road to a nice spot on the beach where a herd of Elk was not impressed with our appearance. To our surprise, they didn’t mind us being there and did not run away. We returned back to Fortuna and started planning the route back home for the next day.
On the third and final day of the trip, the long way back to Camino awaited us. Instead of taking the fastest (but dull) route back, we chose to ride a more scenic way. Riding through the Avenue of the Giants, with lots of impressive Redwood trees, and then along Clearlake, we made our way to Williams. Since we got lost trying to find a shortcut on back roads out of Willits before getting to Clearlake, it was already quite late when we got to Williams. We decided to eat some dinner and then take the fastest possible way back home on I-5.
Following the three-day trip on the adventure bikes, Greg took me trail riding in his local area. We went for a day ride in an OHV area near Georgetown, an old mining town founded during the gold rush in the mid-nineteenth century. We rode Greg’s two trail bikes, a Honda XR 400 and a Honda CRF 450 RL. Both great bikes, the older air-cooled XR feels very maneuverable in the tight terrain. The newer CRF on the other hand, has more power, and better suspension than the older bike but it also feels bigger and heavier. In any case, we both had a lot of fun and I was impressed with the extensive trail network available. Most trails in Georgetown are not too difficult to ride, the challenge lies in riding them at a quick pace. However, some trails also contain some steep and rocky terrain.
After riding together with Greg for four days in a row, it was time to leave their home in Camino and head over to Lincoln, where Chaun and Billy’s wedding took place. Jan had organized an Airbnb in town for friends and family to stay at the weekend of the wedding. With only one day left before the ceremony took place, Jan, Tom and I (alongside the many other friends and family members of Chaun and Billy) joined our efforts to prepare the venue Chaun and Billy chose. They selected a nice clubhouse-style place (I don’t know if that’s the right term…) with a large yard outside for the wedding. For decoration purposes, Billy brought his 1952 Chevrolet pick-up truck that his great-grandfather had originally bought.
All the prep work paid off on Saturday afternoon when the ceremony took place and we spent some quality time celebrating after. Funnily enough, I was not the only guest who had traveled overseas to attend the wedding, Jan’s good friend June had made the trip all the way from New Zealand.
Jan, Tom and I spent Sunday morning helping Chaun and Billy put things away and tidying up the place along with some friends of theirs. Then we drove back to Jan and Tom’s place in Reno. We spent the next few days staying at home, taking care of some yard work.
On Tuesday morning, it was time for me to drive back over to Greg’s in Camino. Luckily enough, I was able to borrow Jan’s car for that purpose. Greg and I spent another day riding in Georgetown. Having a few days of rest, this time we went on more trails than the week before and attempted to ride some more technical terrain which was a lot of fun. One trail, however, that was labeled “extremely difficult” we skipped after looking at the first 10 meters of it. Steep rock faces and big roots we deemed too much of a challenge for the day.
The next day, we drove out to another riding area that Greg kept telling me about, it is called Burlington OHV and it is located on Highway 20 between Nevada City and Truckee. With about a 90-minute drive to get there from Greg’s house, we did not ride the bikes there but opted to haul them there in Greg’s Dodge truck and box trailer. We met up with Greg’s friend Bill at a gas station on the way there, he brought his KTM 500. The three of us spent the day riding trails that were quite different from the ones in Georgetown. The trails follow Highway 20 and are relatively level, but contain some very narrow and twisty sections. After a good day of riding, we trailered our bikes back down from the mountains to Auburn, stopping for a beer at the Knee Deep brewery.
After saying goodbye to Greg and Shari the next morning, I drove to Colfax to hang out with Chaun and Billy once more after their wedding. In the evening of the same day, I made my way back to Reno to spend the remaining couple of days of the trip with Jan and Tom. Among other things, Tom and I went to Virginia City to look at the Virginia City Grand Prix, a dirt bike race with over 1000 participants total over the two days the event takes place. The track is a loop about 20 miles long.
The following Monday it was time for me to say goodbye again, flying out of Reno, via Dallas and Philadelphia back to Zurich. Once again, I really enjoyed traveling to the US and I can’t wait to be back!
