Likes: 
Thanks: 
Breckinridge Rd - Kern County,CA
I was looking for a way to spend a few days on the eastern side of Calif and decided on Walker Pass -Hwy 178 over the mountains. Instead of taking the direct route east out of Bakersfield, I remembered that Breckinridge Rd would take me in the back way to Lake Isabella. I used to ride dirt bikes there in the 60's and hadn't been back since.
It rained on Monday so I thought that Wed. would be about perfect. I left Fresno and drove down the freeway for about 100 miles before turning east. Once I hit Breckenridge Rd it appeared that they received a fair amount of rain because there was still-wet dirt washed across the road in some places. No problem, I'm on a trike and in no particular hurry.
The road narrows to barely a lane and a half and starts to climb into the mountains. Pavement is typical California which means it's unmaintained and falling apart like the rest of the state. I knew Lake Isabella was only at 2700 ft and was surprised when I hit snow and saw I was already at 4800 ft and still climbing. I stopped for a picture and continued on my way. Patches of snow on the hills turned to patches of snow on the road (no problem, right?) which finally turned to 4" of snow on the road. The road was clear where car tires had moved it away but when you're on a trike that's not much help. I decided to keep my front tire on the pavement and have the rear wheels go through the snow and climbed another 1600 ft when I came to a full stop.
Eventually the rear wheels couldn't find any traction and even the cleared lines left by car tracks had iced over. Looking back over my shoulders I saw a place where I might be able to turn around about 50 yds back down. I put the tranny in neutral and hit the reverse button. After a few attempts at short distances (I didn't want to overheat the back-up motor) I had only gone about 25ft. Suddenly the battery light came on and I looked at the volt meter to see that I had less than 12 volts in the battery. I remember thinking that I better not stop or stall the engine or I'll never get it going again and they'll find my frozen carcass next April.
The only thing left to do was to put it in first, take a running start at the slippery patch and hope for the best. I was sliding all over the road, using the best of my ATV skills, and went about 1/8 mile where I found a spot wide enough to turn around that had also been in the sun all day and had the road exposed. I made it back to dry ground and decided to just go back home and not tempt fate any further. When I got home I looked at google earth and found that I had stalled out at around 6400 ft and if I had continued on, I would have climbed another 200ft and gone several more miles before the road started to descend into Lake Isabella. I wouldn't have made it for sure.
So anyway, since I live in an area with a mild winter, are there any tips or techniques for riding in the snow? If there was room under the fenders, I'd start carrying snow chains/cables. Now that would have been fun.
