Friday Ridge Loop 5/23

[melville]

Yeah, got out and about again.  Here's where I went:



Again chasing geocaches:


http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_de ... wp=GC41YWW

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_de ... wp=GC41YWN

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_de ... wp=GC41YW9

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_de ... wp=GC41YVZ

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_de ... wp=GC41YVK

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_de ... wp=GC41YVE

For those of you that can't see these, they are part of a series of 35 placed all along Friday Ridge road last fall, a couple weeks after I'd put the bike away for the winter.  The hider is also a rider--I've seen him on a Japanese cruiser.

Hwy 299 had a couple areas of construction with flaggers, one of which will soon be with a stoplight instead of a flagger.  Titlow Hill road to FH1 was nice and clear, with a FS employee removing the last of the fallen stuff as I zipped by.  I am only speaking of the northernmost 10 miles or so, though.  Got to the top of the hill and saw this:



The trees had picked up some snow earlier in the week.  Curiously, there was nearly none on the ground.

Found the first geocache near the junction of FH1 and Friday Ridge, then it was down Friday Ridge road.  For the top 2/3s of the road, there was lots of wood, rock and gravel debris in the road, but the FS worker did appear to be starting work to clear it.  A typical scene or two:





A little reminder, soon after I got to the better maintained part of the road:



And then onward to Willow Creek and lunch!







I'd like to recommend them, but I can't at this point.  One would be better served to roll to Arcata and go to La Barca or HeyJuan, or if going East to go to Los Gordos in Redding.  It's unfortunate, because I can't tell Muriel in good conscience that I MUST get lunch in Willow Creek.

But I will have to give them at least one more shot........

[Chuey]

To my way of thinking, a Mexican restaurant is best judged by the Chile Rellenos. Big doughy mess around the chile, bad news. Eggs, mui bueno!

Opinionated? Me?

Chuey

[dwerbil]

Nice pics, Mel. Looks like a fun ride.

I agree Chuey with the Chili Relleno 'test'. Another test I"ll put the Mexican restaurant to is how good their jalapeno nachos are. I look for served piping hot, big plate of big chips, melted cheese, refried beans, maybe onions, and a goodly amount of hot jalapenos slices. Mmm-m-m boy.

[melville]

I agree with the chile relleno test if I'm sitting for dinner, and if tequila is also on the table. It is a risky one, though, with great room for disappointment. For lunch, I'm on a quest for the best Mission (SF) style burrito. Hwy 299 appears to be on the northern fringes of the area where a proper Mission burrito is available.

From my April trip to SF, Taqueria La Cumbre in the Mission district, the restaurant where the Mission style burrito was born:







That was a Super with pollo asado, and it was exquisite.

[melville]

Unhappy with how the last trip to Friday Ridge ended, I did another run at it, a slightly altered route:



The bit on Seely-MacIntosh and Campbell Ridge was a great addition. Paved all the way, single lane for quite a bit, and the signing was a bit haphazard. Coming up to more than one of the blind turns as I climbed Campbell Ridge, I found out at the very last second that the yellow arrow turn signs were actually intended for the downhill road users. Modest pucker factor ensued!

Getting back to 299 right at the Salyer PO I then worked my way back to Friday Ridge road, more fun uphill than down, and a bit less debris-filled. To FH1 and Titlow Hill at the top, and a pleasant descent back to 299. Not nearly as cold this time, either.

Rolled back to the coast and had to make a stop to pay a bill for one of the rentals. Right across the street was a place where I was able to rectify my only disappointment with the previous ride. Got me one of these:





That's an Express Burrito from Speedy Taco, these guys:



Pollo, and a fantastic salsa verde within. Recommended.

When I rolled up to Speedy Taco, a nice old guy was just leaving. After hearing "Nice bike" and exchanging the related pleasantries he went on to say, "You know, a friend of mine has one of those in his barn, a little busted up......" It took all I had to resist getting his friend's number. Had it been closer to winter, well,
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I'd probably be starting a new "little busted up" bike build thread already.

[DucatiPete]

Nice one, Mel.

Looked like a nice day out.

BTW: those tacos look a lot like what we get as (ethnic Greek) yiros or suvalakis. You have to ask for chillie sauce on your suvalaki as it generally only comes with 'garlic sauce' (which is a yogurt & garlicy thing). i'd like to sample one of those tacos...

... bike's lookin good.

Enjoy your summer. Winter's just getting down to it here... time to knock off a few of those "must get around to..." jobs.

pete

[Deleted User 287]

Burritos, Pete, burritos.

Tacos:



Burrito:



Tacos generally are made with a corn tortilla and is only folded, while a burrito is typically made with a flour tortilla and is wrapped.

[ME 109]

Oooh Rob! Someone shoulda put that in the fridge and kept the flies off it. bzzzz.

[melville]

Another trip up the hill last Friday to Friday Ridge, and another half dozen geocaches found. Just 20 to go in that Black Friday series. Photobucket was giving me trouble uploading vid, so I thought I'd try YouTube. Please do tell if it's successful. Here's the first five miles of Titlow Hill Road, in two sections:

http://youtu.be/RMjlCy_UKrE

http://youtu.be/E9_6KnlM9zQ

Another five miles or so gets one to this junction:



And then down the hill, getting #s 26 to 21 in the Black Friday series. I took it really easy going down the hill, as the road had a bit more debris and duff on it this time, and I've had a recent unfortunate incident on duff. Back home on 299, where I must say I'm leading a charmed life these days as regards getting stuck behind large, slow vehicles. They've been pulling over promptly, or waving me to the front of the line for the construction zone. Life is good. Of course, having said all that guarantees me a long line of Winnebagos with Florida plates next trip.

Having had disappointing results getting lunch on 299 I rolled back to town for lunch. Taqueria La Barca, serviceable and good, although their taco truck seems a bit better than their restaurant:





I may do this trip again this Friday to get another 10 caches.

[Deleted User 287]

The first video works fine! I assume the 2nd does too.