Carson City Ride

CE – THIS IS A CLOSED RIDE TO THE PUBLIC. MEMBERS MAY BRING ONE GUEST WITH THEM.

PLEASE ARRIVE 20 – 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE PRE-RIDE BRIEFING! (This will allow you time to visit other riders, use the restroom, fuel up, get a cup of coffee, etc.)

PLEASE BRING YOUR SM HOG MEMBERSHIP CARD FOR CURRENT STATUS!

Ride Rating: Complex

Tentative Plan for now and I will provide a handout each day of the ride with details and route information for that particular day as I have in the past on my overnight rides.

Day 1 (Wednesday, Sept 29): Santa Maria to Jackson

Depart Santa Maria from the Chevron at Pappy’s Restaurant on E. Betteravia and travel Highway 101 north to Highway 46 west and the McChevron station (McDonald’s / Chevron) (61.6 miles). Pick up north county riders, conduct pre-ride briefing for the riders from this stop. After we take on fuel and take a break, we will head north on Highway 101 to Highway 46 east. We will travel east on Highway 46 to the Highway 41 split, to Highway 33 and to Avenal where we will head east on Highway 269 to Highway 5 where we will head north to the Highway 198 exit, turn right, and stop at the Shell station for fuel and a break (78.6 miles). We will continue north on Highway 5 to Exit 391 / Highway 165 and head north. We will pass through Los Banos, Stevinson, Irwin, and Hilmar on our way towards Turlock and we will then head north on Highway 99 to Exit 218 located on the northside of Turlock. We will turn right and then right again and make a fuel stop, break, and have lunch at Burger King located at the Chevron station (103 miles). From here we will head east on E. Keyes Road for a short distance (18.4 miles) and make a left onto Geer Road / J14 to Albers Road to E F Street to S. Yosemite Avenue into Oakdale and we will turn right onto Highway 108 / 120 and head east (24.5 miles). We will travel approximately 24.5 miles and make a left onto Obyrnes Ferry Road and head north towards Copperopolois (13 miles) and then make a right onto Highway 4 east. This will take us to Angels Camp (24.4 miles) where we will turn left onto Highway 49 north. We will travel 10.4 miles and just after passing through San Andreas we will make a fuel stop / break at the Chevron station on the right. This will provide us enough fuel to get into Jackson and onto Carson City the next day. From here it is 14.9 miles to our destination in Jackson and the Best Western Amador Inn.  Total mileage: 335 miles

There is a Denny’s adjacent to the hotel or we can ride down the street to Mel’s Diner.

Destination / Termination point for Day 1 will be the Best Western Amador Inn

Best Western Amador Inn
200 S State Highway 49
Jackson, CA
(209) 223-0211

1 Queen for AAA / AARP: $98.99 + taxes; 2 Queen for AAA / AARP: $103.49 + taxes, and 1 King for AAA / AARP: $107.99 + taxes

https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotels-in-jackson/best-western-amador-inn/propertyCode.05399.html

Day 2 (Thursday, Sept 30): Jackson to Carson City to Minden

After breakfast and our pre-ride briefing, we will depart Jackson and head north a short distance on Highway 49 and we will turn right onto Highway 88 and head east.  This will be a short ride for the day as we head to our destination of Carson City on Day 2.  We will encounter a lot of twisties, elevation changes and some awesome scenery along the Carson Pass Highway.  We will travel 89.9 miles to the Highway 395 intersection, and we will use the left two lanes and make a left turn at this intersection.  We will stop at the hotel and see if we can drop off our gear, so we are not hauling it into Carson City and this way we are not leaving it unattended while we are in the Museums.  I will update this information after I talk with the hotel.  We will continue north on Highway 395 into Carson City.  Due to the short distance on Day 2, we will take in some of the local history and travel (13.1 miles) to the Nevada State Railroad Museum (on the left) and time permitting we will travel a little further north (1.4 miles) on S Carson Street / Bus 395 to the Nevada State Museum (on the left).  After leaving the Nevada Railroad Museum we will take the roundabout and keep left and stay on S Carson Street north.  Just after the roundabout we will make an immediate right into the parking lot and have lunch at Chipotle Mexican Grill.  We will see how we are doing on time after lunch and either continue to the Nevada State Museum or head south to the hotel but will make a stop at the Chevron station on the right at the corner of Highway 395 and Mica Drive to fuel up.  If we decide to go on to the Nevada State Museum, we will leave the parking lot and turn right onto S Carson Street and head north.  We will turn left onto E Robinson Street just before the museum and find parking in the parking lot on the left and if none is available, we will try to find parking directly across the street from the Museum.  If we cannot work this stop into the schedule, we will try on Day 3 with time permitting.  If we make the stop and after spending time at the Nevada State Museum, we will travel south on Highway 395 to Minden and to our destination for the day, Quality Inn & Suites Minden (14.2 miles).  Due to the high hotel rates in Carson City, we will be staying south of Carson City for two nights for this ride.  The prices just did not work out for this ride, and I think they are trying to recoup from COVID-19 and little to no international travel going on right now which is just my opinion.  Total mileage:  118 miles

Restaurants nearby include Louie’s Mandarin, El Agaveño, and Pizza Factory next to or within a block or two of the hotel to consider for dinner.

Destination / Termination point for Day 2 will be the Quality Inn & Suites Minden

Quality Inn & Suites
1795 Ironwood Drive
Minden, NV
775-782-7766
https://www.choicehotels.com/nevada/minden/quality-inn-hotels/nv101

Pay Now and Save (Nonrefundable): 1 Queen Bed – $122 +tax per night; 2 Queen Beds – $131 +tax per night; 1 King Bed – $139 per night

(Nonrefundable): AAA / Senior / AARP: 1 Queen Bed – $135 +tax per night; 2 Queen Beds – $144 +tax per night; 1 King Bed – $153 per night

Pay at Check-in (Free Cancellation): AAA / Senior / AARP: 1 Queen Bed – $144 +tax per night; 2 Queen Beds – $154 +tax per night; 1 King Bed – $163 per night

Nevada State Railroad Museum
2180 S Carson Street
Carson City, NV
$8 entry fee
https://carsonrailroadmuseum.org/

Nevada State Museum
600 N Carson Street
Carson City, NV
$8 entry fee
https://www.carsonnvmuseum.org/

Day 3 (Friday, Oct 1): Minden to Virginia City

After breakfast and our pre-ride briefing, we will depart the hotel and head north on Highway 395 and make a right onto Highway 580 (21.7 miles).  We will continue north to Exit 5 and Highway 50 / Lincoln Highway where we will make a right turn.  We will continue east on Highway 50 to Highway 341 / 342 and head north to Virginia City passing through Silver City, Devils Gate, Gold Hill, and on into Virginia City.  We will park in the paid parking lot next to Bucket of Blood Saloon which will be our first stop of the day.  You are free here to roam around town and grab a bite to eat for lunch.  We will coordinate a return time to the parking lot upon arrival.  After lunch we will head back south on Highway 341 / 342 to Highway 50 and turn right and head west towards Carson City.  We will turn right on E College Parkway and just as we pass the Sonic Drive-in on the right, we will turn left on Goni Road and then make a left on Research Way to Battle Born Harley-Davidson and we will spend about 30-minutes or so here.  From here we will determine if we have time to go to the Nevada State Museum if we did not make it on Day 2 or forego it and head back to the hotel and we will fuel up at the Chevron station on the way.

Harley to the Museum:  From the Harley dealership we will travel on Research Way to the light and turn left and travel under the overpass and get on Highway 395 / 580 and travel south to Exit 5 / E. Williams Street where we will make a right turn.  We will travel to N. Carson Street and make a left turn and travel 3 blocks and once again as explained on Day 2 we will look for parking across from the Museum or on the south side of the Museum.

Harley to the Hotel:  From the Harley dealership we will travel on Research Way to the light and turn left and travel under the overpass and get on Highway 395 / 580 and travel south to Exit 3 / Fairview Drive and turn right and travel to S Carson Street staying in the left 2 lanes.  We will turn left and travel back to the hotel that will be on our right.

Total mileage: Approximately 61.4 miles for the day

Dinner will be open for discussion.

Destination / Termination point for Day 3 will be the return trip to the hotel

Day 4 (Saturday, Oct 2): Minden to Angels Camp

After breakfast and our pre-ride briefing, we will depart the hotel and head south out of town on Highway 395.  We should be good on fuel since we fueled up on Day 3.  Once again this is a relatively short day, but we will get a workout on a couple of passes.  At the Highway 88 / 395 split we will continue south on Highway 395 towards Topaz Lake, and we will turn right onto Highway 89 (27.3 miles) and travel west across Monitor Pass.  With any luck we may see the Aspens starting to change to their fall colors.  This is one of my favorite passes to travel on albeit somewhat short.  We will travel 17.6 miles to the Highway 89 / 4 junction.  One option is to turn right on Highway 89 and travel a short 4.8 miles to Markleeville for a short stop or to make a left onto Highway 4 and continue to Angels Camp.  To be discussed.  If we do not go to Markleeville then we will make a left onto Highway 4 and travel Ebbett Pass where we will encounter a ‘lot of twisties’ and in some cases a narrow road with lots of great scenery along the way.  We may make a short stop at Lake Alpine which is a beautiful little spot for photos before we take a break in Bear Valley for liquids and snacks.  After our break we will continue west on Highway 4 passing through Cottage Springs, Camp Connell, Dorrington, Arnold, Avery, Red Apple, Forest Meadows, Murphy’s, Douglas Flat, and Vallecito before we come into Angels Camp.  At the Highway 4 / Vallecito Road split we will stay right and travel to Highway 49 where we will turn left and travel a short distance to our destination on the right and the Best Western Cedar Inn and Suites.  However, we will continue down the street to the Chevron station to fuel up, so we are ready to rock and roll out of town on Day 5, so we do not have to fuel up in the morning.  We may also stop at the Angels Camp City Museum if we arrive early which is just across the street from the Chevron station and check things out.  I have previously had this on my Angels Camp ride plan but we have never been able to make the stop so this might be a good opportunity.  From here we will travel back to the hotel for the evening.  We will discuss dinner after we relax for a while.  Total mileage: 122 miles and 132 miles if we add in Markleeville stop

Dinner will be open for discussion.  Options are Mike’s Pizza, Shiro Ninja Boba Poke / Ramen Bar, and Rodz Grille.  Other restaurants are located down in town, and we would have to ride albeit a short distance.

Destination / Termination point for Day 4 will be the Best Western Cedar Inn & Suites
 
Best Western Cedar Inn & Suites
444 S Main Street
Angels Camp, CA
(209) 736-4000
https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotel-rooms.05599.html?iata=00171880&ssob=BLBWI0004G&cid=BLBWI0004G:google:gmb:05599

2 Queen for AAA / Sr. $206.10 + taxes; 1 King for AAA / Sr. $215.10

Day 5 (Sunday, Oct 3): Angels Camp to Home

After breakfast and our pre-ride briefing, we will depart the hotel and head south out of town on Highway 49.  After 10.7 miles we will turn right onto Rawhide Road which will take us to Highway 108 where we will turn right and head out of Jamestown to Oakdale (35 miles) where we will turn left onto S Yosemite Avenue, and we will follow Albers Road, Geer Road and E Keyes Road to the Chevron station we stopped at on Day 1 (64.1 miles from the hotel).  We will take a break, lose some liquids from breakfast, and top off tanks here.  From here we will get on Highway 99 and head south towards Turlock and we will take Exit 211 / Highway 165 and make a right turn.  We will continue south on Highway 165 through Hilmar, Stevinson, and Los Banos to Highway 5 where we will head south.  We will take Exit 334 and turn left and stop at the Shell station at Harris Ranch and we will fuel up and have a bite to eat at Harris Ranch Express BBQ (103 miles from last fuel stop).  After lunch we will continue south on Highway 5 to Exit 319 / Highway 269 and travel through Avenal to Highway 33 where we will turn left onto Highway 33 and travel to Highway 41, Highway 46 into Paso Robles, and Highway 101 south back to the Santa Maria area (133 miles from Harris Ranch). Total mileage: 300 miles

Destination / Termination point for Day 5 will be the Santa Maria area

You are more than welcome to use other hotel reservation systems such as Expedia, Priceline, or Hotels.com if you can get a better rate.  I believe all of the hotels might be trying to recoup what they loss during COVID-19 and there is more domestic travel now due to International travel restrictions.

If you have any questions please contact me at PhilipRietz@comcast.net or call me at 805-757-9202

Phil