Motorcycle-Intelligence.com

I observed plenty of cattle on the shoulders of Rt. 155, including a few that were completely blocking the pavement. However, coming around one blind turn I encountered parts of a herd on both sides of the asphalt with one fine bovine dead center in my lane. Had I been riding a little more aggressively we would have had a much more intimate meeting.

And when I opted for a little off-pavement riding, I was stopped several times by these creatures setting up roadblocks and checking me out as some kind of space alien on wheels. Fortunately, with a blast of my alien space horn, these earthly creatures were inspired to trot away: Which is ideal when they trot off the road. However, when they decide to trot away and stay on the road, you can pop your cattle-chasing cowboy hat over your helmet and give out a loud “Yippee,” while motoring along right behind a few thousand pounds of clopping bovine.

It’s even more interesting when you are amongst a herd of these creatures and they start stampeding immediately in front while kicking up a dust storm. I’m glad my alien motorcycle engine was also inspiration to keep them moving away, and am specifically glad they didn’t get so spooked that they stampeded over me.

Anyway, all kidding aside, this part of the forest does require a higher degree of road-riding alertness. Unlike in Yellowstone National Park or Theodore Roosevelt National Park where it is very common to see Buffalo and other animals on the pavement, and visitors expect to see them there, I, for one, was not anticipating to see any cattle on Rt. 155 (although there is a sign noting the open range).

I spent the night at Cedar Creek Campground, at 4800 feet elevation, and the cattle were near enough where I could hear them in the evening and early morning, and I could see a few nearby (another group on the road), although none wandered into camp.

Route 155 continues to noodle west through the mountains and is a great source of amusement with endless twists and turns. A point of caution is that there are very few road signs indicating the corner radius. Whether you are approaching a mellow sweeper or a hidden, super-tight hairpin, you certainly won’t know what’s around the corner until you get there. Some of these sections can be attention-intensive unless you are really motoring along quite casually.

The endless turns open up while coming down the western edge of the mountains. By the time you get to the little hamlet of Woody, the road is an uncomplicated flow of easy turns and it’s here where you’ll pick up the rural road (also called Woody) marked for travel back to Bakersfield. Woody Road starts out as a narrow ribbon of old pavement, which widens when it becomes South Granite Road where you can wind out the MPH’s in between the rolling golden-brown hills and oil country. The cows are corralled through much of the ride out of the mountains and back into the San Joaquin Valley – which is where I prefer to see them.

Be sure to wear your space alien gear to help keep the critters at bay!