NorCal (Bay Area) DRIVE Chat Thread

[Pwolf]

Originally Posted by PMok

One of these days I will get up there to Lake Berryessa. I remember smooth, beautiful roads along the lake like something out of a car commercial when I drove there years ago.

I drove up there along highway 128 and back during the Fall. Didn't end up driving along the lake unfortunately but is was still a nice drive despite getting stuck behind a few dump trucks. Been thinking about going back and driving by the lake for some good photo ops. Future Spring drive perhaps?

[PMok]

Originally Posted by BPM

I use to run Berryessa all the time on the motorcycle and car. Definately a fantastic drive and worth the extra hour north east. Gets squiggly during the weekends. Definately a weekday road to hit!

Originally Posted by Pwolf

I drove up there along highway 128 and back during the Fall. Didn't end up driving along the lake unfortunately but is was still a nice drive despite getting stuck behind a few dump trucks. Been thinking about going back and driving by the lake for some good photo ops. Future Spring drive perhaps?

Yeah, years ago I went with a caravan of MR2s and we went up past Napa as far north as Lower Lake (near Clearlake) before taking Morgan Valley Rd down to Lake Berryessa. It was a phenomenal drive but parts of that road are rough and may even involve stream crossings at certain times of the year. It was so rough I broke loose some part of my struts there. I remember thinking man my MR2 is not cut out for this road, I should come back in a Subaru rally car. Well now I have a Subaru but it's not really the right kind either haha.

But the roads around Lake Berryessa, once you get there are pretty nice and as you say, great photo ops I think. That was indeed the plan, I wanted to scout the place out a little and see if we might want to do a drive/bbq out that way sometime. There are not a lot of amenities in the Berryessa area so we'd have to bring our own supplies, or pack a picnic lunch kind of thing. We'll see, I want to check the place out before we lead a larger group out there. And yeah I think going on a weekday will be better traffic-wise than a weekend.

[BigFatFlip]

Went for a drive with the Mrs today. Originally planned on going up Mt. Ham and check out the Lick observatory but the road was closed due to a grass fire. Ended up going on skyline and going on a hike at Castle rock, stopping for a late lunch at Alice's. Overall, great day to end the year. Happy New year everyone and here's to more drives in 2014!

[muffdvr]

Originally Posted by BigFatFlip

Went for a drive with the Mrs today. Originally planned on going up Mt. Ham and check out the Lick observatory but the road was closed due to a grass fire. Ended up going on skyline and going on a hike at Castle rock, stopping for a late lunch at Alice's. Overall, great day to end the year. Happy New year everyone and here's to more drives in 2014!

I saw you parked by alices today haha. Guess now that I know you are a member I'll come blow up your spot next time.

[BigFatFlip]

Originally Posted by muffdvr

I saw you parked by alices today haha. Guess now that I know you are a member I'll come blow up your spot next time.

Lots of cool cars and bikes out for a drive/ride at Alice's today, ranging from a old 911, original viper and even a reproduction GT40!

[muffdvr]

Originally Posted by BigFatFlip

Lots of cool cars and bikes out for a drive/ride at Alice's today, ranging from a old 911, original viper and even a reproduction GT40!

Yeah saw some cool stuff and one not so cool. Literally right after I passed you, I came around a bend and a guy on a bmw bike with big touring packs was in the turnout and tried to take off with his kickstand still down and as soon as he tried to turn his bike fell right on top of him. I had to help him pick it up and dust off his ego haha poor guy was shaken up.

[BigFatFlip]

Originally Posted by muffdvr

Yeah saw some cool stuff and one not so cool. Literally right after I passed you, I came around a bend and a guy on a bmw bike with big touring packs was in the turnout and tried to take off with his kickstand still down and as soon as he tried to turn his bike fell right on top of him. I had to help him pick it up and dust off his ego haha poor guy was shaken up.

Yikes! Yeah, good on ya for helping him out. Fortunately only had close calls but no spills back when I was on 2 wheels, main reason I stay on 4 wheels nowadays.

[Pwolf]

This is all @PMok 's fault...

Decided to take a drive up to Lake Berryessa today

Started in Winters and drove up 128 to Knoxville Rd and up along the lake. Unfortunately, it's pretty drab out there this time of year D: The lake is a bit low as well. But, I did scout out some meetup locations. The best one is probably going to be the Oak Shores rec area... there's a bunch of picnic tables and some grills, as well as a rest room. It's nice and open but parking is spread out a bit. There's a fair amount of speed bumps that aren't very friendly for anyone who's lowered their car. I haven't touched my suspension and I was a bit afraid I might scrape.

Up north a few miles there's a big open parking area at a crossroads. I didn't see any picnic places there though. Further up a bit more there's a decent sized gravel turn out where I stopped to take pictures.

[Auzburner]

Hi all, I'll be moving to Fremont at the end of January to work for Tesla Motors. It looks like the ft86 meet-ups are much more frequent and adventurous than what I've found in snowy central New York. I hope to check out the bay area landscape and take advantage of the weather. I'll keep checking this thread for possible drives when the time gets closer, and if there are any other relevant threads to follow for the bay area, let me know! thanks


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[RC51ed]

Originally Posted by Auzburner

Hi all, I'll be moving to Fremont at the end of January to work for Tesla Motors. It looks like the ft86 meet-ups are much more frequent and adventurous than what I've found in snowy central New York. I hope to check out the bay area landscape and take advantage of the weather. I'll keep checking this thread for possible drives when the time gets closer, and if there are any other relevant threads to follow for the bay area, let me know! thanks


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Congrats on the job. We look forward to driving with you soon.

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by Auzburner

Hi all, I'll be moving to Fremont at the end of January to work for Tesla Motors. It looks like the ft86 meet-ups are much more frequent and adventurous than what I've found in snowy central New York. I hope to check out the bay area landscape and take advantage of the weather. I'll keep checking this thread for possible drives when the time gets closer, and if there are any other relevant threads to follow for the bay area, let me know! thanks


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Check out 86drive.com for our constantly updated events calendar for all the local meets. Also be sure to follow us on instagram and like us on facebook.

[PMok]

Originally Posted by Pwolf

This is all @PMok 's fault...

Decided to take a drive up to Lake Berryessa today

Started in Winters and drove up 128 to Knoxville Rd and up along the lake. Unfortunately, it's pretty drab out there this time of year D: The lake is a bit low as well. But, I did scout out some meetup locations. The best one is probably going to be the Oak Shores rec area... there's a bunch of picnic tables and some grills, as well as a rest room. It's nice and open but parking is spread out a bit. There's a fair amount of speed bumps that aren't very friendly for anyone who's lowered their car. I haven't touched my suspension and I was a bit afraid I might scrape.

Up north a few miles there's a big open parking area at a crossroads. I didn't see any picnic places there though. Further up a bit more there's a decent sized gravel turn out where I stopped to take pictures.

Nice, you stole my drive! LOL guess I don't have to drive there to scout anymore jk.
But the real question is, how are the roads/drive?


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[Pwolf]

Originally Posted by PMok

Nice, you stole my drive! LOL guess I don't have to drive there to scout anymore jk.
But the real question is, how are the roads/drive?

It was too tempting not to go.

128 is nice. Relatively smooth roads, some rocks here and there though. There's a small resort, just before the dam, you have to worry about since there's a lot of cars parked on the small shoulder and foot traffic. Once you get passed the resort, the only thing you really need to worry about are bicyclists and blind corners. There weren't a whole lot of cars on the road and most of them pulled off to the side to let me pass.

Knoxville road isn't as smooth. There's a fair amount of rough patches and it seemed to get worse the further north you drive. You also need to watch for bicyclists and, since there's no shoulder, you need a bit of patience to wait for oncoming traffic before you can pass em.

Both roads have plenty of twists and turns that make em quite enjoyable though, not to mention the scenery. I like some speed but I also like to take in the environment as well so I'm content with taking my time when stuck behind some other cars.

PS: let me know when you want to scout it out for your self, I'll meet you there :P

[RC51ed]

I also went for a drive up north. Here are a couple pictures of the roads I drove.