Six Days on the Road....

[Schtum]

....and I gotta see my baby tonight.

This isn't a tale yet but it might be in a few weeks time. It might be commonplace for some of you guys to ride in the Calfornia sunshine but I only get to do it very occasionally. Suffice to say that here in Scotland, in what should be mid-summer, it's been c. 52 deg F here for most of the day and pouring with rain. So when my son popped up on Windows Messenger on Monday and said that he has to go back to Boston again, on business, in the middle of next month and he was then thinking about a week's vacation in California on a rented motorcycle and would I like to join him, I immediately said..........no, it's not in my budget at the moment. Then when I told my wife she said "I think you should go", went off and booted up her PC and bought me a plane ticket.

Over the years my wife and I have travelled much of the Western USA from the Canadian border in Montana down to the Mexican border at Tijuana and as far East as Gunnison in Colorado. If you've got a Facebook account and I've set up the permissions correctly you can see what I mean here - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...app_2219089314
I've ridden motorcycles in California and Oregon on a couple of occasions; the first time in '99 when my wife and I borrowed a Cagiva Alazzurra and shared the the piloting of it around the Bay Area and down to the Central Coast. Then, in 2008 I rented a GS from Dubbelju for a couple of days and did some riding in the Bay Area and Marin County with some guys who I've got to know on forums and via an old UK mailing list called Ixion, before heading up to Eugene Oregon in the rented SUV and doing a wee bit of riding on a borrowed GS.

My son, although a pretty seasoned traveller for his 28 years including having spent a fair bit of time on the East Coast and in Canada as well as Australia, Hong Kong and much of Europe, has never been to the West coast. He's also never ridden a motorcycle other than in the UK, although he has driven pretty extensively on the East Coast. We're staying with one of my good buddies from my 2008 ride who now lives in San Jose and we're currently working on renting a couple of GSes for 6 days at the end of August / beginning of September. The tentative plan is a wee three day trip over Saturday, Sunday and Monday with my buddy and then three days for my son and I to explore on our own. We're both experienced and competent riders with a penchant for goat tracks. Tunitas Creek, Stage Road, China Grade, for those who know the Bay Area, are my idea of heaven.

So, to get to the point......given what I've said, would those of you who have a greater working knowledge of NorCal than me care to offer some suggestions about routes, roads and places to see. Yes, I'm sure we will stop on Stage Road for the obligatory pic beside the skeleton with the machine gun. It's probably folly to cram too much in and I'm sure my son will have time to come back again and explore some more but what would be a good introduction. Marc......?

[marc]

Huh... someone call my name?

A bunch of us old retired farts take mid-week rides, usually in the fall, winter, and spring when everyone isn't busy with vacations, rallys, whatever. You can see our web page here: http://mwr.snafu.org/

Some of the ride reports going back to mid-2008 contain a google map with the track log. Combine that with the pictures and you'll get a good idea of some of the places within 200 miles or so of SF.

Examples:

Mt Diablo and Morgan Territory http://mwr.snafu.org/2010/0107/
San Juan Grade to Fremont state park http://mwr.snafu.org/2010/0128/
King Ridge, Lake Sonoma http://mwr.snafu.org/2009/0305/
Various north bay roads: http://mwr.snafu.org/2009/0107/

Getting away from SF there's alway Highway 1. The section from Hurst Castle in San Simean through Big Sur to Carmel is great... but maybe not in the summer with long lines of tourists. The sections north of SF might be better. But remember, summer means a foggy coast.

Here's a route (and some video) a different group took north last August: http://www.snafu.org/smbc/trips/2009/hidden-springs/

And the year before that we went up above Eureka: http://www.snafu.org/smbc/trips/2008/patricks-point/

Dress appropriately. If you go from coast to inland you'll se 30-40˚ F degree swings, sometimes in a period of less than an hour!

Questions? Details?

[Schtum]

Thank you for that, Marc. I'll check out the links.

Are you by any chance planning on doing this - http://www.bmwnorcal.org/rol/ ? The friend we're staying with is doing it but I don't think I can stretch my rental or stay in the US to do it justice.

The things I have on my rough agenda at the moment are - breakfast/lunch at Alice's on Skyline Blvd, followed by the aforementioned goat tracks + a trip into Marin, possibly to ride up Mt Tamalpais, Fairfax - Bolinas road which I remember as being a hoot, spend some "time in Bolinas is so very small, the clock on the courthouse ain't workin' at all and the Mayor of Bolinas is digging for clams but the folks in Bolinas, they don't give a damn" Then possibly up Hwy 1, to Gualala and that would allow us to cut over to Annapolis or come back down to Stewart's Point and Head over to Skaggs Spings on that terrific road. It'd be nice to take in the lighthouse at Point Arena as well. We could also somehow fit in the Point Reyes Lighthouse along the way.....in The Fog.

Going South, it would be good to visit Monterey and park up on Cannery Row for lunch. I've been to the Aquarium a good few times but my son might like it. I take it that motorcycles are still prohibited on Seventeen Mile Drive so we won't be going to Pebble Beach but a bimble through Carmel might be good. Does the gas station there still have those vintage gas pumps and a pump jockey? I was thinking we might go down 1 and then cut inland on Nacimiento-Fegusson Road. If it's the road I think it is, I drove it in an SUV a few years ago and thought, at the time, that it would be a great road to ride. I know that takes us into the Central Valley but where to go from there...?

The only place I definitely want to avoid is Santa Cruz. I've ended up looping around the crazy one-way system there on a couple of occasions.

[marc]

Originally Posted by Schtum

Are you by any chance planning on doing this - http://www.bmwnorcal.org/rol/ ? The friend we're staying with is doing it but I don't think I can stretch my rental or stay in the US to do it justice.

I've never done the range of light, but some friends have over the years. They've all reported a good time... even when they got lost.

As for your things to do:

Alices: OK, if only to say you've eaten there. Although, I haven't had a meal there in a long while... perhaps the quality has improved.

Fairfax - Bolinas road: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJVtk-YDJCg about 2:50 in.

Monterey: The Aquarium is always fun. Motorcycles are still prohibited on the Seventeen Mile drive. I think I know the gas station you are talking about in Carmel. The pumps were there last time I rode by, but I don't know if they are still working.

If starting/ending in Monterey a nice loop is to go south on one, east on Nacimiento Fergusson (stop at the mission on the fort), take Jolon Rd to 101 at King City, go north on 101 to Greenfield then west on Arroyo Seco to G16 (Carmel Valley Road) and back to Monterey.

Another way back is to take Bitterwater out of King City to Ca 25 then head north to Hollister. Once you get to Hollister, thought, it's pretty much all freeway to the bay area.

As for looping on one-way streets in Santa Cruz: got GPS?

[Schtum]

Originally Posted by marc

As for looping on one-way streets in Santa Cruz: got GPS?

Yes, although, if I remember correctly, the last time I was lost in Santa Cruz (nothing to do with vampires...) I was using my old Streetpilot III with City Select which didn't autoroute. It should be a bit better with my new Nav IV and City Navigator.

Having said that, I'm still not a Santa Cruz fan. The last time we tried to find accommodation there late one evening, I was so put off by dirty, over-priced motel rooms that I drove to San Jose.

I've just got the rental quotes in from Dubbelju for two GSes for six days - ouch! Of course we were getting $2.00 to the Pound the last time I rented from them.

[marc]

Aug 27 I'm heading east toward Nevada with one night camping and one night in Gardnerville (near Carson City) for an annual dinner. If you've got time before that we can meet at someplace like Alice's and then I can lead you on some of the back roads between skyline and the coast, San Mateo and Santa Cruz.

[Schtum]

Originally Posted by marc

Aug 27 I'm heading east toward Nevada with one night camping and one night in Gardnerville (near Carson City) for an annual dinner. If you've got time before that we can meet at someplace like Alice's and then I can lead you on some of the back roads between skyline and the coast, San Mateo and Santa Cruz.

Thanks Marc, that's very kind of you. I did some of those roads, including Tunitas Creek, Stage Road and China Grade, a couple of years ago with my buddy Jack.

I'll have just got in the previous day and I won't have a rental bike until Saturday 28th. So it looks like I'll miss out on your kind offer. I'm sure my buddy would loan me his bike but as a big guy he doesn't have the necessary low seat fitted and I suspect his Ohlins shocks would push the seat height up just too far for me.

So, unfortunately, it looks like I'll have to pass on your offer. However, if you ever want to expore Scottish goat tracks, I'd be more than happy to extend a similar welcome to you.