This wonderful shot taken by my friend Tyler Risk, owner operator of NorthStar Moto Tours epitomizes the fun and camaraderie we had on this two-day ride that I organized, taking us over some of California’s most wonderful Sierra Nevada roads.
The ride was planned for a two day tour, beginning in Sacramento, CA and ending in Walker, CA, where we stayed at the West Walker Motel, an exceptional motel on Hwy 395! We ended the ride in Walker so we could each head whatever direction we desired to our respective homes. Some of the riders had traveled over 600 miles for the event, the first Pashnit Girly Ride.
The ride became a reality on pashnit.com, a lively CA motorcycle road forum. Many of the participants had been chatting online for over a year when I decided that it would be fun to all meet. And what better way to do it than with an organized over-night ride? Thus the birth of the 1st Pashnit Girly Ride.
I combed over maps and then rode a “pre-ride” and finalized the exact route… or so I thought. We ended up changing the route to account for a major wildfire around Yosemite, erasing the long standing plans to take the tour through Yosemite, but that is entirely another story!
Not being much of a group rider, I sought seasoned ride leaders and sweeps (those trailing the ride) that had group riding experience. We then divided the group in two, having one “brisker” group and one for the riders desiring more of a sightseeing pace. Our final “sweep” was a non-rider who joined us driving her PT Cruiser. Aside from our women members, we also had two Canine compadres: Diesel, who rode in the tank bag of a BMW, and Sassy, who rode in the Cruiser. We were quite the group!
Fun was had by all, but sadly we were not without incident. We did have one crash, but the rider was fully geared and escaped with a bruising and a sore ego. Her bike did not fare so well, however, and after a tow was called, her ride came to an end. She made it home safely and we rode on, each of us taking the experience as a cautionary reminder.
Nevertheless, we all enjoyed the weather, company, roads, views and food. It was definitely a GREAT time.
Here are some highlights in the order they happened… picture credits to all of us that rode on the 1st Pashnit Girly Ride!! My thanks to everyone for making this a fun and successful ride!
Checking the map
Our first stop in Stumpy Meadows
Diesel makes friends with Sarah
2 responses to “August – 1st Pashnit Girly Ride”
Thanks for putting this up, Donna. I have only gone back and re-read the getting ready and riding posts a dozen times or so. How cool.
[…] year our scheduled route, the details of which can be found here, was altered due to fires in the Yosemite, NP. So the 17 of us on a variety of machine brands, met […]