Resources and Reflections

So, Thursday the 8th of October I dragged out an old tire to replace the second one I’d ridden through on the rear wheel, I patched the tube for the fourth time, packed a full overnight load into my Arkel panniers (the BEST panniers ever) and took a long 48 mile ride through the slightly chilly breezes and blustery sunshine on one of the last dry days of fall. First a few errands 10 miles south in Ukiah, to recover my  Camelback from where I’d left it on my last trip there, picked up a new tube and a patch kit, since the goathead thorns had taken a toll on my glue supply in the last couple weeks, and then put my teeth into the wind and rode west up the long low climb of Masonite Road.

This is a private road owned by the Mendocino Redwood Logging Company but its easily accessible by bicycle via one of the three open gates in the cyclone fence along the south side of Orr Springs Road just west of Hwy. 101. Masonite Road originates at the old Masonite mill site, the development of which is the focus of much current sturm und drang currently roiling local politics and the upcoming ballot measure “A”, meant to circumvent local planning authority and create a zoning change there, written by the developer, is being hotly debated in bars, on the air and on street corners all around Mendocino County. The road itself however, is wide, mostly smooth asphalt, and virtually un-trafficked. It climbs, much less steeply than but basically parallel to the first sharp ascent of Orr Springs Road, winding for six or seven miles at the base of the Mann Ranch property just to the north of the road, 1800 steeply rolling oak forested acres that is more fully described in the post linked to here. More »

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The route shown below was built in Google Earth for navigation purposes and is the first of two possible routes from the high point on Reeves Canyon Road at the Upper Ranch through the back country and in through the back side of Montgomery Woods State Park to Orr Springs Road about five miles downhill from Orr Hot Springs. Most of the route can be traced visually from the satellite photos, with the exception of the section designated by the group of map pins. At that location, the visible traces of the road are completely obscured by vegetation, and that’s where things can get dicey.
I’m posting this well in advance of riding it and will be posting notice on the Yahoo Mendo Community BB group to solicit any advice or warnings and hopefully avoid disturbing any activity out there. My purpose is solely to pass through, and absolutely NOT to find anything that others don’t want found. I’ll be carrying a penny-whistle and using it frequently to notify any folks who might be out there gardening that I’m coming through. In addition, just like hiking in Alaska, I’ll be giving frequent shout-outs to the forest so as not to surprise any aggressive wildlife. More »

Popularity: 28% [?]

This was my first attempt to create a KML path in Google Earth, use TCXConverter to transform the KML to GPX, upload the GPX to the GPS and ride the route. Oy! with the acronyms.
The USGS topo calls this Main Ranch Road, paralleling Eldridge Creek to the back side of Greenfield Ranch and thence to Orr Springs Road, right up at the top by Mann Ranch. With the permission of someone along the course of the road, I hope to ride all the way through from Redwood Valley and make a really nice 30 mile loop down Orr Springs, down to North State Street and back through Calpella to Redwood Valley. Not to mention this being the most direct route to the hot springs, less than 15 miles and very little traffic, saweeeeet! The road surface looks very dusty from the satellite photos, but fairly well traveled, with perhaps a dozen or so homesteads along the way by the looks of it.
On further research, I’m told by the Mendocino County Surveyor’s office that Main Ranch Road is a privately owned road with multiple owners.

Main Ranch Road
Hoping to ride this today, more news tomorrow.

Les indigienes

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An old farm at the crossroads

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