The Tioga Pass To Yosemite.

This is a video of us crossing the Sierra Nevada on the Tioga Pass. It was a bitterly cold ride of 160 miles – 30 miles of those just to the entrance to Yosemite National Park. We made a start as soon as the sun appeared on the horizon – packing the tent away as quickly as we could, a hot drink in the gas station and a Snickers, our on-the-road-quicky staple. We were on the pass by about 0630.

Tioga Pass with an elevation of 9,943 ft. / 3,031 m is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. State Route 120 runs through it, and serves as the eastern entry point for Yosemite National Park. It is the highest highway pass in California and in the Sierra Nevada.

This pass, like many other passes in the Sierra Nevada, has a gradual approach from the west and drops off to the east dramatically, losing more than 3,000 ft (914 m) by the time the road reaches U.S. Route 395. We were approaching from the east, so it was a 3,000´climb.

Tioga Pass is named after Tioga Mine, whose name originated in New York: “Tioga” is named for an Iroquois and Mohawk term meaning “where it forks”.

The second part of the video is of our ride down to the Pacific Coast Highway in California. Highway 49 is a very steep and curvy road – great to ride but hard on the rider´s wrists, so we made quite a few stops so Mgm could get his circulation going again. Whilst stopping at one overlook, Mgm was attacked by a bee. A splattered bee on his visor probably gave off pheromones which attract other bees and cause them to attack (so I´ve read). The bee got in the back of his helmet and stung him on the neck.