Touring Joshua Tree Stops?

Hi Chris. (Have I been?) in short: No. But have toured twice on my Thrux R. How many miles are you covering? What luggage facility do you have? Are there any twisty bits? I hope so coz it would be a shame to tour with this pocket rocket using straight lines.

 

First gear for pulling away mate...then work your way up the box until you get scared

 

Shame about the straights but hey ho. Luggage wise I have the Triumph waxed panniers (with waterproof covers, because the leather is not waterproof) & an Oxford magnetic tank bag. Sat nav mount left hand side, engineered standard ball fitting to fit between Bar mount & clutch cable mount. I have heated grips also which is nice. Fitted cramp busters for long distance cruising comfort, they really work. I also carry a spare 2 litre container of fuel.

 

I learnt it all from you

 

Hi Chris, some fantastic roads you have near you i went to Joshua tree a few years back as part of a road trip and thought it was great. will you be going down the PCH road? if you are, i would take the road to Alices restaurant great place and not far from San Francisco then take the 84 to join the PCH or alternatively from Alices Restaurant you can take the to 35 down to Santa Cruz then take the PCH all the way down to LA. I loved that road.i would also check out "The Rock Store" on Mullholland highway (Santa Monica Mountains) brilliant roads all around that area..it will be interesting to hear the route you take there and back. I'm sure you will love it

 

i've done it twice once heading north and the other heading south both times we stopped off about half way as we wern't in a rush.you could do it in one day although it will be a long one as i think it's over 500 miles and it won't give you much time to stop off for photos,breaks etc and i'd definitely recommend going to the rock store (it's not that far from LA) although maybe not at the weekend as it apparently gets really busy then..although you might see some famous folk it was a favourite road of jay Leno,Arnold Schwarzenegger etc and Steve Mcqueen used to love taking his bikes on Mullholland Hwy. if i were you i'd take 2 days to get there.Are you planning on staying in LA? we drove through Joshua tree and i'm sure it didn't take long we also stopped a few times for photos

 

You didn't say if you will be hoteling all the way or camping. If the latter, Joshua Tree has no water within the park. I've been there many times and have a campsite reserved over Christmas.

I've also ridden down the coast between Seattle and Phoenix many times via Highway 1/101. If I were you I'd avoid LA like the plague and from Santa Barbara take 126 east to Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Victorville, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree. A more interesting alternative is east just north of Santa Maria towards Bakersfield, Mojave, Barstow, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree. Better twisties on some parts of the latter but also a few speed traps.

All in all it should be a great trip and a great time to do it.

 

One more note - if you go through Mojave be sure and stop by "A Wing and a Prayer." In the middle of nowhere but an old hangout for Edward's test pilots and many have autographed the bar. Good food too.

 

How're you going to carry a tent? Do you have a pillion type seat?

 

Only two of the eight campgrounds take reservations in advance. The rest are essentially first come - first serve. I'd try for one of those first. Another reason to break the trip down into two days so you can get there early in the day.

Also, when camping I just use a big duffle on the back for my camping gear. Easier to strap onto the back. Right now I just a MoskoMoto 60l duffle but just about any will work. With a cheaper one, If there's a chance of rain just line it with a big trash bag. Ultralight camping gear is fantastic for motorcycle camping. I have a tent (Six Moons) that compacts down to about the size of a large softball.

Oh, and if you'll never been around them don't be overly alarmed about scorpions or rattlesnakes. They're there but you probably won't encounter any. Just shake your boots out in the morning, though, (scorpions.) There's a canyon outside Tucson were I hike several times a week. I've hiked there as least 75-100 times over the last six months and have yet to see either, though there are lots of warnings. Just don't try and play or tease with one if you do encounter one.

 

I would split the trip into two days otherwise too many miles in one hit, you want to enjoy the trip! I've done far too many trips covering vast mileages daily, no fun