Prepping for the adventure.

In preparation for this trip, I needed to make sure all my gear would fit on the bike and not affect the handling too much. This is the longest I've done on a motorcycle, and I was bringing more stuff than I would for shorter trips. We are also planning to camp at several places along the way, so a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad etc were all needed.

All the gear fit well on the bike. The yellow waterproof bag was also the perfect backrest.

Two weeks out, I dropped my bike at the shipping company to be trucked out to CA.

Day 2: Heading east, and dealing with a setback.

Day 2 - Saturday, July 4th. Piedmont, CA to Mammoth Lakes, CA via Yosemite. 297mi.

We awoke early and set about packing our bikes for the journey ahead. I gathered my gear that was shipped out earlier and started loading up my saddlebags and dry bag. We were taking a route that Don had traveled before, so maps and the GPS were not really needed until the next day. The plan was to ride through Yosemite National Park and then down to Mammoth Lakes.
Everything seemed in order, so we locked up the house and hit the road.

Don straps his backpack to the R1200

The weather was cool and overcast, but comfortable. It was Saturday, so not too much traffic on the freeway leaving town. Good thing too.
Not 40 minutes into the ride, a car pulls next to me and the occupants start yelling and gesturing wildly while pointing to my bike and back down the highway. Uh oh.
I race up to Don and motion to pull over. We stop and I look around the bike only to find my right saddlebag gone. Yes, the whole thing! My best guess is that the bracket may have been damaged while the bike was being shipped to CA. I didn't notice a problem when I packed it, but I didn't have a lot of time once I got to CA before we hit the road. Lesson learned, ALWAYS pre-flight everything on the bike!
We doubled back a couple of exits and started scanning the freeway for the bag or its contents. Needless to say I was furious, and now we were losing time too. I rode slowly for a couple of miles until I saw something in the middle of the road... My camera! We pulled over and I watched as car after truck whizzed by. I expected it to be obliterated any second, but it was between lanes and everyone was missing it. I waited for a gap in the traffic and ran out to retrieve what I thought would be a paperweight. Miraculously, there was only a ding on the outside of the lens and the camera still worked!
Other contents of the saddlebag were my rainsuit and flip flops. I found one flip flop and my rain pants not too far away. We moved down the road and found some remnants for the bag. That was all. No sign of my jacket or second flip flop. At that point an FHP motocycle trooper pulled up and kindly reprimanded me for running around on the highway and explained the "Nothing in that bag was worth getting run over for". Apparently he hasn't priced digital cameras lately!
We continued down the highway as I fumed inside my helmet. How could this happen? As I was berating myself, I saw a yellow object on the shoulder. It was my rain jacket! It had been dragged almost two miles from where the bag fell off. We stopped and I picked it up. It looked like it had been dragged by a truck the whole two miles, it was pretty mangled. Oh well. Back on the road.

Parked on the shoulder, wondering how this happened.

I dash across the freeway to look for my stuff.

I spent a little time being angry, and then told myself "If that is the worst thing that happens during this trip, we'll be in good shape". Maybe we just got all the bad stuff out of the way early.
I was instantly reminded of a quote I read in a book by my favorite drummer and travel writer Neil Peart "Adventures suck when you're having them". So true in this case.
We rode out of the valley and began to climb up to Yosemite. The park was crowded due to the holiday weekend, but once we got through the gate, it was a nice ride.

Self portrait as we climb.

Taking a break in Yosemite.

It's hard to concentrate on the roads with this scenery!

Tioga Pass

Perfect spot for a picnic

Snow in July!

Gotta watch out for those!

Don admires the view.

OK, I'm smiling again.

On the other side of the mountain, headed toward Mammoth.

A quick stop at Mono Lake

Beautiful sky.

A view from above.

Another lake view.

After seeing some of the prettier sights, Don led me to an interesting area where CO2 mysteriously began drifting up from the soil in the early 1990's. It killed all the vegetation in the area very quickly. It looked as though a forest fire had ravaged the trees, but they simply suffocated and died where they stood.

The dead trees stand in stark contrast to the deep green forest behind them.

After some sightseeing, we rode into town and checked into the Motel 6. Don produced a bottle of Bushmills Irish whiskey and we toasted the beginning of our trip. Although the day started a little rough for me, I was enjoying myself and really looking forward to all the things we would see and experience over the next two weeks.
We walked down the street for some dinner and then back to the room. I was tired and definitely a little jet-lagged. I fell asleep quickly and soundly. Tomorrow it's into the desert and then Vegas.