Ride Report: Riding through paradise

By Helli Kornton

Northern California is a Disneyland of riding on and off road, with vistas so grand they can take your attention off the path ahead if you'll let your mind wander. Seasoned riders keep their focus and are rewarded with countless forest service roads and single-track trails that invigorate and excite riders from start to finish.

One of the best ways to see those trails and backroads is on an AMA BMW National Adventure Riding Series event.

The Mt. Shasta area is the location of one of the best events on the schedule, which went down on Aug. 8-9. The McCloud Dual Sport Association’s Mike Lingsch organized this ride, and it turned out to be an absolute blast.

Mike took over this ride just a couple weeks prior to the event, and he did a great job of pulling it all together. Part of Mike’s inspiration came from the fact he rides a BMW R1200 Adventure, but he’s also an adventure fanatic who loves the outdoors and wants to share the beauty of the area he calls home. Of course, the event being on the AMA BMW National Adventure Riding Series schedule didn’t hurt.

I was more than happy to help Mike out, and we spent many hours on the phone and e-mailing back and forth in an effort to make it a successful and well-organized event. Everyone, including BMW North America and its dealer network, did a great job putting the word out -- even with the short time frame and the challenges it creates for working into the packed schedules we’re all working with these days.

However, crucial this first time around was structuring the event accordingly and making it as good as possible. We knew that with more AMA BMW National Adventure Riding Series events following this first one, there would be lots more time to spread the word.

But while this is a BMW event with plenty of real BMW adventure riders, it also is an event for everyone, no matter what brand of bike they ride, as long as the machine is street legal and prepped for both off-road terrain and paved sections. It's obvious by now that BMW is a serious player even out in the woods, with bikes that are capable of riding on almost impossible terrain. It's up to other brand owners to see how BMW quality sets things apart and how cool and even affordable it actually is to take things to a more pleasant, more comfortable level. It also helps that this all happens among the most gorgeous countryside around Mt. Shasta, historic places of interest, hearty meals daily, a nice social get-together and a ride that is designed for all skill levels. Almost like a rally weekend, but with a real dual-sport twist. It’s mega fun!

Now that the word is out and things are in place with a website, McCloud DSA decided to add a second ride later this year. It will be held on Oct. 24-25 and Mike is working to also get it on the AMA BMW National Adventure Riding Series schedule.

The bikes we had on the August ride were a mix of BMWs and one KTM. We had one F800GS, a 650GS, an X-Challenge, several R1200GSA's, and one KTM 990 Adventure.

The ride

McCloud is a historic little town situated in the lush green forest of the beautiful Mt. Shasta area, not to far from the massive, ancient volcanic mountain itself. No matter where one goes, the view of the 14,000-foot giant is always there or just around the corner.

The ride began at the historic golf course created by the Hurst family in 1923. The cafe right at the entrance to the facility provided a nice setting and, as promised, a catered Mexican dinner was the kick-off on Friday evening. Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m., a buffet with nice cold cuts, a variety of breads and lots of fruit, snacks and an ample variety of liquid refreshments were ready for riders to create and pack their lunches, taken along by support truck. All riders were well prepared and properly dressed for adventure. A few snap shots were taken in the parking lot and off we went.

Riding through town was followed by a few miles on pavement to the first stretch of gravel road. We stopped and adjusted air pressure for dirt conditions. It was a beautiful and sunny day, not too dusty at all for the time of year. Riders were of various skill levels, from neophyte to experienced off-road adventurers. Dirt roads led through noticeably healthy deep green forest areas with nice views of Mt. Shasta along the way. Many lakes are found at various elevations, some small, some larger with nice stretches of third and fourth gear gravel roads in between. This alone made for a pleasant adventure-riding weekend. One of these lakes provided a nice lunch stop on day one.

After lunch, we enjoyed a short stroll through the national park and lake shore recreational area. Then on to a more rugged dirt road, leading through mixed forest then climbing rapidly up and around the side of a mountain to a lookout. A short walk brought us to a forest service watchtower with mile-wide vistas in all directions.

Back at the base of the mountain, we took a new road at the base. This next stretch gave a real sense of thousands of years of volcanic activity. One would want to stop and explore the variety of colored lava-formed obsidian volcanic glass shining as bright as pure gold in the sunlight all over the place, almost blinding at times. This was very different all off a sudden, yet in another sense just as spectacular as the beautiful views just minutes ago, or the deep green colored forest earlier in the day. When the dirt ended, we aired the tires back up and went on to enjoy a visit to Shasta's lower, middle and upper falls via asphalt. Just a short walking tour to each was another delight and great way to end day one.

Once back in town, there was an hour for each rider to get cleaned up and ready for a great dinner back at the golf club cafe. An excellent prime rib, Cajun chicken or fish dinner was set for the hungry riders. The BMW photographer whom we saw on several occasions along the day's route had already managed to set up a slide show for everyone to enjoy during dinner. Over all, it was a very memorable day of riding with stunning scenery, as the pictures over dinner reminded us.

Afterward, we gathered outside on the patio to spend more time talking about the day's ride and share stories, and also to pick the routes for day two, taking into account each riders' need for travel back home later in the afternoon. As this was a first time event, we wanted to get everyones' comments to improve things for next time.

Day two was even more scenic than day one. Looking at the pictures after the fact shows just how many great new places we saw in just two days. It started on pavement again heading west out of town, then south next to I-5 on many narrow back roads through all the small villages, some of the most fantastic riding in Northern California. Coming through the first time, you would never remember how to recreate this route, so thanks to Sig, who led us through that part.

After about 25 miles, we entered a state park, still on pavement, and it started to look like backcountry. First, we rode through a canyon along a river, then climbed rapidly via many switchbacks. This narrow road offered about the best fun you could have on pavement -- almost enough to make an off-roader forget about dirt. The views along the way were stunning. After a while, we reached the top, and down the backside it turned to dirt after a few miles. There we split the riders into two groups: one group opted to take a rocky hillclimb to high country wilderness, while the other navigated around via a more leisurely option.

I went with the hillclimb group and was rewarded with the most scenic areas of the weekend. It was seemingly untouched wilderness terrain with just spectacular riding and scenery.

The groups joined again and the ride remained scenic along many miles of good surfaced dirt roads. Riders could not help but stop and pull out their cameras to capture the post card views all around.

We stopped for lunch at the edge of a creek, and then we split again as some riders had to get back home. The rest went farther south on another exciting and narrow paved road, and eventually we split up again. Sig headed for Redding with a small group, and the rest headed back north, climbing elevation again on the dirt. It took a couple of hours from there to get back to McCloud. It closed out another great day of adventuring through what turned out to be the most beautiful country imaginable.

Helli Kornton