Redwoods Road Trip Day 5. Awesome Motorcycle Roads

An awesome road for motorcycles, California 36. We rode from the western end to the intersection of 3 northbound.

We packed up and were on our way out of Eureka by just past 8 am. As with all three days in Eureka, we rode out in low hanging fog and mist so thick it required many swipes of my face shield. I could have used tiny windshield wipers. Not far south the fog began to clear.

Our route. 36 east to 3 north. Then Gazelle Callahan Rd to Weed.

If you google “best motorcycle roads”, you will surely find California 36. We headed south from Eureka and turned eastbound onto 36 at Alton. The western most part of 36 is just as pretty and has more twists than The Avenue of the Giants. It was really a nice ride as we gained altitude and the fog started to drop away. We passed the Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park and climbed up the Chalk Mtn range. We saw several deer along the side of the road.

Looking back down into the foggy valley from near the top of the Chalk Mountains along CA 36

At the top we looked back to see the fog down below and the sun coming out. We stopped to make the usual garment adjustments. I had used my heated grips earlier, and we were now starting to shed layers.

Shedding layers after climbing out of the foggy redwoods on CA 36

My K75 looking east along CA 36

We followed 36 east, passing Dinsmore, Mad River, Forest Glen and finally turning off 36 at 3. My favorite part of this section of 36 was just west of Dinsmore. As usual, the best motorcycle roads, the ones that are the most fun, are narrow and twisting, and impossible to stop for still photos. A GoPro camera mounted on the bike would have been perfect.

Stopped at the intersection of 36 and 3. We headed north, and I removed my jacket liner.

We stopped again at the intersection of 3 to remove more layers. We had left the redwoods behind and were into pine trees and farm land.

We stayed on CA 3 for quite a while, stopping in Weaverville for fuel. Hwy 3 passes along the west side of Trinity Lake and runs through the Trinity Alps Wilderness. There were more great sections of road for bikes, climbing and winding through pines headed to the summit. The section of 3 just south of the Scott Mountain summit was wonderful. We made another stop descending down the other side, with a pullout wide enough for photos.

The pullout along Hwy 3

At the bottom, before reaching Callahan, we turned northeast off 3 and onto Gazelle Callahan Road, headed towards Gazelle. The terrain had flattened out, with farms on both sides. The roads were straighter as well.

Our destination was Weed, CA, and the home of friends of Joe and Katy. Russell and Kathe graciously extended a welcome to our group of road weary travelers with 5 bikes. At least we don’t have the loud pipes or late nights of a wild bunch, and truly live up to the Mild Bunch legend. (I can’t take credit for that term, but like it enough to pass it along).

Jerome waits for me to photograph Mt. Shasta

One quick stop along the road for a picture of Jerome with Mt. Shasta in the distance.

Looking east along Gazelle Callahan Road

We pulled into Russell and Kathe’s place at around 3 pm and made ourselves at home. We covered about 230 miles, and were on the road for 7 hours, with short stops only for fuel and garment adjustments. We had to skip lunch, not finding any suitable options. Today I learned what a tar snake is, and that it is very important to avoid them.

Russell is also a BMW guy and has a gorgeous bike that put ours to shame. They also have a nice view of Mt. Shasta from their deck.