Sequoia N.P. Weekend

[Ron Zablocki]

Hello Everyone!
Hotel accommodations have been arranged for this weekend ride at the “Super 8 by Wyndham Lindsey Olive Tree” hotel. The address is:
390 North Highway 65
Lindsay, CA 93247
559-239-4018

Please call them to reserve your room, and mention you’re with the

South Coast BMW Riders

group for the discount, and mention if you’d like a single bed or double bed room. There are currently 9 rooms reserved, but I was told more can be added if needed. Double bed rooms are $135/night and the single bed rooms are a few dollars cheaper.

We will be meeting at Panera Bread at 8AM with a departure time of 8:30AM sharp to avoid the heat. Maybe get there a little earlier if you want breakfast at Panera before the ride up to the hotel.
Panera Bread is located at:
990 Town Center
La Canada, CA 91011

I’ll post the GPX navigation files and PDF files later here in this thread. Also, please sign up on the Ride List if you’re going!

Also Dave Eastly and Steve Leo are supposed to be arranging camping for those wishing to do so. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Topic

[Steve Leo]

We have made camping reservations at the Lemon Cove Village RV Park Campground for Friday and Saturday nights.
We currently have 2 campsites but can reserve more depending on how many campers we have.

Currently camping:
David Eastly
Henry Solari
Harry Hoffman
Michelle Hoffman
Steve Leo

We stayed here last year. They have a swimming pool right by our campsites which they keep nice and cool. They also have a convenience store and showers nearby.

Please let me know if you want to camp by calling or texting 562-547-9092.

Attachments:

1. 

   Pool.jpg
   

[Ron Zablocki]

Thanks Steve – I’ll include the Lemon Cove RV Park in the route files.

[Erasmo Brenes]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for reserving the camping spots. Diane and I would like to join the camping group.

Looking forward to the Sequoia ride.

[Willis Ho]

Please include Howard Bland and Willis Ho on the camper list!

Thanks, Willis

[Ron Zablocki]

The Sequoia ride is coming up soon next month, and I thought I’d lay out the initial plans (subject to change) for the weekend. Hotelers – don’t forget to reserve your room under the group reservation!
 
So Friday – arrive gassed up at 8am (sooner if you want breakfast at Panera), I’ll hold a ride meeting and we’ll leave promptly at 8:30am. Lunch is planned in Lake Isabella, and we should arrive there around 11:30am. We’ll head up into the cooler mountains before we arrive at our destinations. Dinner for Friday evening is still open, so we can decide as a group or folks can do their own thing if they want.
 
For Saturday, breakfast is at the option of the rider. The hotelers will leave promptly at 8:30am already gassed up. Then we’ll pick up the campers and start on the Sequoia loop ride. When when enter Kings Canyon National Park, there are a few people with park passes that can bring in guests – so if you don’t have a park pass, hopefully one of those with one can bring you in with them. We can (optionally) then head up to General Grant Tree for a break/photo op, and then have lunch at the Grant Grove restaurant, but another option is to have lunch at the River View Restaurant after we leave the park and return back – it all depends on how hungry folks are. Dinner for Saturday evening is still open as well, we can decide that later.
 
I’ve attached preliminary GPX and PDF route files if anyone wants to see the routes. Let me know if you have questions on anything – this should be a great weekend!

Attachments:

1. Day-1-Route-Info.pdf
2. Day-1-Ride-to-Hotel-Campground-inRoute.gpx
3. Day-2-Route-Info.pdf
4. Day-2-Sequoia-Loop.gpx

[Steve Leo]

We have a great turnout for camping so far. 7 bikes and 9 people
Steve Leo
Harry Hoffman
Michelle Hoffman
Dave Eastly
Erasmo Brenes
Diane Brenes
Henry Solari
Willis Ho
Howard Bland

I have reserved 3 campsites at Lemon Cove RV and Campground. With the current count of people the cost per person for the two night stay is $37.00. If we get more campers the price will come down as we can fit a couple more tents on the sites. These are the closest sites to the pool and bathrooms/showers. There is electricity and running water at each site so you will be able to charge your cellphones and Senas. I will bring a short extension cord with numerous outlets so we can charge a bunch at the same time.The store at the campground does not sell beer/alcohol so you might want to stop at the store in Lemon Cove and do a little shopping when you get there.

[Harry Hoffman]

Thanks Steve for all of the plans and reservations at the Lemon Cove CG. Michelle and I are excited and look forward to a great weekend with friends!

[David Eastly]

Thanks Steve!!

[Pete Rissman]

Question about the Saturday Sequoia Loop ride:

The Kings Canyon Scenic Byway is widely considered to be one of the best scenic drives in California, and I’m curious why we’re leaving the majority of it out of the Saturday ride? Including all of it to the east end of CA-180 would only increase the ride length (from the motel and back) from 135 to 203 miles. Yeah, we’d go out and back on the same road, but it’s a different ride when you’re going the opposite direction.

[Ron Zablocki]

Hi Pete – I considered going on the 180 and taking it east all the way to Road’s End, but I didn’t because it’s going to be VERY HOT! I don’t want to lead a route that may have a negative impact on the riders.  

Of course, anyone’s open to going where ever they’d like. And I can check the temperature conditions once we arrive there, and possibly make a route correction to include it.

[Bill Reitz]

Good choice Ron. Be flexible. Safety first, last, & always !! Damn, once a supervisor always a super…. you get the idea.

[Nicholas Okoneski]

Sounds like a fun weekend. Put me down for camping (solo). Thanks

[Sergio Collazo]

I will be joining this trip and will be taking the hotel option. I look forward to riding with everyone.

Who else is taking the hotel option?

[Ron Zablocki]

Hi Sergio, glad you’ll be joining us. Everyone who’s not on the camping list are hoteling. I suspect not all have signed up on the ride list yet. Have you made your hotel option under the club name yet?

[Sergio Collazo]

Hi Ron, I made reservation already under the club name. BTW, the gal at the front desk told me its been around 104-106 degrees during the daytime.

[Ron Zablocki]

Yeah, it’s going to be warm but will cool off some when we get into the higher elevations on the ride. I’ve attached a pic of what we can expect temps to be like along the route.

Attachments:

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   809A684C-746C-40DA-8E19-D92D10E68C5C.jpeg
   

[Pete Rissman]

I’m doing the hotel thing this trip, but I plan to spend some time at the camping venue after the Saturday ride learning what I can about what kind of moto-camping equipment you folks use. I used to have backpacking and car camping gear, but most of that was stolen when a storage unit was broken into, so I basically have to start over and I’d like to start with the right stuff.

[Steve Leo]

It is going to be a hot ride up and back. Amazon Prime has some pretty good cooling vests for around $29.00 free one day shipping. Jan and I have had these for quite a few years and they work really well. Put it in a water proof bag with cold water and ice in your top box. When it gets hot just wring it out a little and put it on. Suggest you wear a 100% polyester tee shirt under it. If you stop and take the vest off this type of tee will dry almost immediately. It also breathes better than a cotton tee. I used it last year on this ride in 110 degrees in Mojave and it really saved me.

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[Ron Zablocki]

I’ve attached another pic of what we can expect the temps to be on the route up to Sequoia.

Attachments:

1. 

   Day-1-temps.png
   

[Steve Leo]

The following is a list of those signed up for camping.
Steve Leo
Harry Hoffman
Michelle Hoffman
David Eastly
Erasmo Brenes
Diane Brenes
Henry Solari
Willis Ho
Howard Bland
Ray Santos
Nicholas Okoneski

We have 3 campsites and currently have 9 tents signed up. If anyone else wants to camp we need to know right away as we would have to reserve an additional campsite.

Based on the numbers above the current cost for camping is $35.00 per person for the weekend (2 nights). The sites have been prepaid.

[Henry Salari]

Please take Henry SALARI off the campers list. Not riding in triple digits.

You weren't born to pay bills and die

Goat Moto Tours - Henry Salari

[Ron Zablocki]

Hey Henry – I don’t blame you, but triple digit temps are not expected for the routes I planned.

[Ron Zablocki]

I’ll be posting updated ride temperatures for the Fri and Sat routes next week. This will give us a better idea of what we can expect for the weekend.   The route files I posted earlier in this thread are still the routes we’ll be taking for Fri and Sat!

[Bill Allen]

I don’t know why there is so much handwringing about the weather. Yes, the ride up will be hot. Yes, it will be hot in Lindsay. No, it will not be hot in the mountains. Today, it was 95 in Lindsay. It was 79 in Grant Grove Village. A lot of the road in the mountains is over 8,000 feet.

[Pete Rissman]

I’m a lot more concerned with smoke and fire, but so far the Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks have managed to dodge those problems so far.

Pete (who’s “line in the sand” is 110°)

[Ron Zablocki]

Yeah, I’ve been checking and we’re good so far.

[Ron Zablocki]

Yeah, I’ve been checking and we’re good so far.

[Pete Rissman]

Someone at the general meeting asked me for my smoke/air quality source (sorry, but I haven’t been a club member long enough to know everyone’s names yet). Anyway, it’s:

fire.airnow.gov

FWIW, the air quality has deteriorated significantly up where we are going, but there’s a wind shift forecast that could clear things up. I’ve attached a snapshot of the air quality history at Lemon Cove as of this morning to show how quickly things can change. Even the professionals will tell you that it’s a fool’s game to try to forecast meteorological events more than 2-3 days ahead.

Attachments:

1. 

   BF394F0F-66AC-4ADB-AFB0-AF2C94E8B5AA.png
   

[Pete Rissman]

Here’s a little update for those of you who care: The smoke and air quality in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks has improved significantly since yesterday morning. Air quality now ranges from good to moderate throughout the area versus moderate to unhealthy for sensitive groups. A lot can happen between now and Sunday, but the current trend is moving in a favorable direction.

Below are the smoke and air quality maps from this morning and this evening for comparison. Green spots are good and yellow is moderate. Bear in mind that moderate readings are fairly common in the Los Angeles Basin. BTW, the blue dot in the center of the PM map is Grant Grove Village which is about as far north as our planned route will take us on Saturday.

Attachments:

1. 

   Tues-AM-smoke-map.jpg
   

2. 

   Tues-PM-smoke-map.jpg
   

[Ron Zablocki]

Okay everyone, the weekend is almost upon us! I’ve attached updated temperature and elevation charts for our Friday and Saturday routes. The routes haven’t changed, and the route files are posted above. Friday will be the hottest day as we decrease elevation and make our way into Lindsay. With this in mind we’ll be taking breaks as needed, as it gets warmer. I’d like to remind everyone to bring cool vests or cooling towels that they can wrap around their necks and such.

Everyone please be at Panera Bread by 8am gassed up and ready for the rider sign-in and meeting. We’ll be leaving promptly at 8:30am.

Saturday’s route will be cooler along the route, and cooler in general. We can decide what dinner plans we want to do as a group, or folks can do what they feel like doing for dinner on Fri and Sat nights, or a combination there of.

I want this to be a fun and safe weekend for everyone, so if anyone has any questions or concerns please contact me.
Thanks!
Ron
949-232-6991

Attachments:

1. Day-1-Temps-Elevation.pdf
2. Day-2-Temps-Elevation.pdf

[Karl Wagner]

Have fun everyone whos going on this trip, looks like a good group!

[Henry Salari]

I’ll hop on right here (that’s what she said). I’ll see y’all at this spot tomorrow

Attachments:

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   2021-08-13-00_01_07-Garmin-BaseCamp-1.jpg
   

You weren't born to pay bills and die

Goat Moto Tours - Henry Salari

[Ron Zablocki]

I’d like to thank everyone who attended this weekend’s ride – it was a fun weekend with great roads and awesome company! The weather was a bit warm in places, but manageable. A couple prospective riders attended who I think will soon become members!

Anyone who took pictures over the weekend, could you forward them to me for putting together a write-up for the newsletter?

Thanks all!

[Nicholas Okoneski]

I had a great time this weekend. Thanks for all the fun and friendship. It’s good to be back!

[Erasmo Brenes]

Thanks Ron for putting the ride together. Diane and I had a great time.
It had a great turn-out. We met new members, like Niko 🙂

[Steve Leo]

Great ride Ron!! Nice to see some new members joining all the fun!

[Henry Salari]

For those who heard about all the fun, here’s concrete evidence

South Coasters Sequoia N.P. Weekend Getaway

You weren't born to pay bills and die

Goat Moto Tours - Henry Salari

[Erasmo Brenes]

Henry, as always, nice video!

[Author]

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