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Sat
May 23/04
Mike
Travel Day. Another long
journey from Vancouver to Turlock. And
who knew that the Pleasanton Train no longer ran from San Francisco
Airport? Apparently Brian
found this out a few days earlier but neglected to tell me.
So I hung out on the platform waiting for a train that was never
going to come.
Sun May 24/04
Mike
I ventured from Turlock on this quiet Sunday morning and roared down Hwy
99 to Hwy 180 east of Fresno. My
aim was to check out two roads that angle up from Hwy 180 to Piedra, the
starting point for DH Piedra - Kirsch Flat.
Piedra Rd was uneventful, being a well-paved and engineered but
not-particularly-twisty ride through a farming valley.
TE Elwood Rd was much more interesting, climbing up,
dropping into a canyon and twisting tightly along a thickly forested ridge
before emptying into the Wonder Valley.
While I didn’t appreciate the blue, ‘71 Mustang screaming
around a blind corner and straddling the center line, I did find the
non-life-threatening parts of this road most enjoyable.
 I
then nipped back along Hwy 180 and turned north on Academy Rd heading to
its junction with Hwy 168. This
is the jump-off point for DH Fresno – Shaver Lake (Hwy 168), yet
another Destination Highway that climbs high up into the Sierra Nevada.
The
interesting thing about this DH is that it has three different phases.
The winding but farmy Morgan Canyon section evolves into a sweeping
four-lane highway in the middle of nowhere.
This uberroad climbs
steeply up Big Sandy Bluff before narrowing through the woods past Pine
Ridge and heading toward the town of Shaver Lake.
Beyond Shaver Lake, the great pavement continues, albeit as two
well-engineered lanes up to the small waterside settlement of Lakeshore.
Being early in the year, there was absolutely no traffic on this
segment of the road (although Brian warned me that the whole route is a
favorite CHiP training run for putative Ponch and Jons out of Fresno).
Arriving
at Lakeshore, I sat by the water in the day use area, looked over at
Kaiser Ridge and munched on the sandwich I purchased earlier at Von’s in
Fresno. If only I had ordered my sandwich on a kaiser roll, it would
have been a moment of complete synchronicity.
But
it was a great release being up there by the lake, having only a day
before been entrenched in the stresses and endless to-do lists of real
life back home in Vancouver. (I
much prefer the to-do lists we have on the road).
I hung out by the lake just taking it all in for some time until
the call of the road started shouting.
The
balance of the day’s plan called for me to get back to Fresno, head up
99, cross on 152, head north on I-5 and over on I-580 to Livermore to
check out DH Livermore – Patterson (Mines Rd - Del Puerto
Canyon Rd). I was then to
go south on I-5 and west on Hwy 152 with a view to meeting Brian in a town
called Mountainview near San Jose. As
it was 4:00 p.m. by the time I left Lakeshore, all of this seemed rather
unlikely. As it was, I got
back to Fresno, gassed up and took a little nap in Madera just north.
By the time I hit the junction of Hwy 152 and I-5, I thought there
was no way I’d make the rendezvous.
Indeed, when I finally pulled into Mountainview at 8:30 pm, I had
logged 450 miles. A fair bit, considering that I hadn’t been on a bike in two
months.
Mon May 24/04
Mike
Despite the long day the day before, I woke up early, grabbed the
continental breakfast at the motel and wormed my way through the San Jose
rush hour up to explore DH Livermore – Patterson (Mines Rd -
Del Puerto Canyon Rd). It
was dry and warm after climbing out of the farmland up into the Diablo
Range. But there was still a
little water in the creek that tracked the road through the mountains.
The northern segment of this DH has good pavement, okay engineering
and fabulous views as you climb along Crane Ridge.
But then it narrows into a one-lane affair for several miles. Even when the two lanes resume, the pavement leaves much to
be desired. Indeed, by the
time I took a break at the Frank Raines Regional Park, I was seriously
wondering whether this road was going to make it as a Destination
Highway, despite its handy proximity to the Bay Area.
And then I rode the final
22 miles. The eastern section
of this road is fabulous. All
the TIRES elements come together so perfectly that the fact that I was
riding downhill made little difference to the quality of the ride.
That there was barely another soul on it (apart from the two
Beemers on their way to a rally in Reno) helped as well.
Arriving
in Patterson, Brian had left word that he thought I should check out DH
Empire Grade Rd out of Santa Cruz.
Given I was going south anyway, I saw little reason to beat myself
up on TE Hwy 130/San Antonio Valley Rd, the quite rough connector that
runs between the Del Puerto Canyon Rd and San Jose. Rather, I blasted back down the I-5 and back onto my old
non-favorite, Hwy 152 towards Santa Cruz.
En route, I got to ride Hwy 129 between Hwy 101 and Watsonville,
another one of the roads that if wasn’t filled with semis and other
pylons, wouldn’t be half bad. I
finally got to Santa Cruz, grabbed a cafe lunch, found the road I was
looking for and headed north.
DH
Empire Grade Rd is a
respectable secondary road that runs north from Santa Cruz before coming
back in to connect with Hwy 9. It
spends almost all of its time deep in the trees and in its tighter curvy
sections, it’s probably impossible to get by traffic.
I was fortunate enough however to have a pylon-free run and found
it to be a pretty dope road, unlike other good, good, still-good, then bad
roads in Northern California. The
steep, poorly-paved-and-engineered bump and grind down to Hwy 9 at the end
is short enough not to detract much from the overall experience of the
road. And it keeps the
traffic down.
Once I reached Hwy 9, I
went back south to Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond and Felton to get a sense of
where any Destination Highways related to Hwy 9 or 236 would start and
end. Unfortunately, Hwy 9
between Santa Cruz and Boulder Creek is pretty thick with pylons most of
the time. Even though the
section between Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek is pretty twisty, the times
that you would actually get to enjoy it are few.
Fortunately, by the time you get north of Boulder Creek, most of
the traffic has been soaked up by the tree-hidden suburbs.
Straddling my bike in
Boulder Creek, I decided first to check out TE Highway 236.
This starts off developed but decent, then gets less developed and
more decent as you head up toward Big Basin Redwood State Park.
By the time you get to the park, it’s an exceedingly remote piece
of road with great pavement and twisties.
At the state park headquarters, however -
uh, oh. The road changes to
one lane. But wait.
The great pavement was continuing and so I continued too.
The road even widened to the point where there was some paint down
the middle, though it had to be the narrowest two-lane road in the world.
This continued for a couple of miles and was actually terrific.
Narrow, well-paved roads,
which aren’t too steep and have reasonable sightlines can actually be a
fair bit of fun. It stopped
being so much fun when after two miles or so the pavement began to
deteriorate. By the time I
was struggling on the steep drop to Hwy 9, it wasn’t fun at all.
I arrived at the junction of Hwy 236 and Hwy 9 with a sore wrist
and confirmed conviction that we had to make perfectly clear to our
readers what to expect on this section of road.
It’s too bad. This
could have been a great DH. But
that’s true of so many roads. Coulda.
Woulda. And (you listening CalTrans?), shoulda.
It was getting late so I
headed south on Hwy 9 to Boulder Creek where I was to call Brian.
In a fortunate coincidence, he had just secured a motel room in Ben
Lomond, a mere three miles away. Considering
that, most of the time when we’re done for the day we often end up 100
miles away from each other, this was a bonus.
Tue May 26/04
Mike
This looked to be a great day of motorcycling.
We woke up to fair weather, grabbed a bite at Spanky’s Cafe (with
its Little Rascals motif) and ventured north on DH Boulder Creek –
Saratoga (Hwy 9). Wow,
what a great road; beautifully paved with well-banked twisties through a
thick forest. This road could get a fair bit of traffic but when we rode
it, the pylons were not an issue. In
fact, I was having such a good time that I half blew the stop sign at
the junction with DH Hwy 35/9 Jct – Hwy 35/92 Jct. Past this junction, Hwy 9 descends steeply to Saratoga.
We decided we had best tape it in both directions in case this
might have an effect on the rating.
I
had to interrupt the ride in the middle in order to check out TE
Skyline Blvd - Black Rd. Skyline
Rd is a well-engineered, breezy, lightly sweeping affair that hits a wide
junction part way through. Here
your choices are a one-lane narrow winding road or a two-lane narrow
winding road. Black Rd is the latter and I inched down the slope to the
junction of Hwy 17. Once
there, I turned around and rode it back the other way.
It’s common in California to find myself on a road, as I was
here, wondering “is this is something that other motorcyclists would
really enjoy or is it simply too tight and bumpy?” when a sport bike
screams past me going in the other direction.
Happens all the time.
I will say that one
advantage to riding this road from south to north, apart from the fact you
get to climb up the steep, rough section instead of down it, is that you
appreciate the smooth sweepiness of Skyline Blvd when you reach it, far
more than if you get on Skyline off the twistier Hwy 9.
At the junction of Hwy 9 and Skyline Blvd, I checked out the stop
sign I had not seen earlier. It
was obvious why I missed it, seeing how it was obscured by a tree.
I rated Hwy 9 back to
Boulder Creek where I met Brian. While he checked the destination highways
email, I had a bowl of chili and a raspberry smoothie (hey, you gotta go
with what the menu offers). Then we zipped back north to the junction of
Hwy 35 and Hwy 9 with a view to heading north on Hwy 35.
The section of DH Hwy
35/9 Jct – Hwy 35/92 Jct from Hwy 9 to the Sky Londa Jct was
actually a bit of disappointment after the tight twisties of Hwy 9. It’s okay, and has great pavement at the south as well as
some views off both sides of the Santa Cruz Mtns in its mid section.
But I was in the mood for tight twisties and this road was mostly
sweepy. North of Sky Londa
was a different story as the road climbed up and over a pass and down to
its meeting with Hwy 92, curving all the way. And the northernmost section is kind of interesting as you
get into the windswept coastal vegetation of the area called The
Peninsula.
We backtracked down Hwy
35 to Sky Londa and stopped in at Alice’s Restaurant, a mandatory
stopping-off place for any two-wheeler who happens to be traveling through
the area. Apparently on any
given Sunday, they get 800 customers, 400 of whom are on bikes.
Our kind of place. We
organized leaving a copy of both Destination Highways BC and Destination
Highways Washington for passing riders to browse through, along with
leaflets they could take away. After
shooting the breeze with Andy and Janice we dropped east down Hwy 84 to
Woodside, the start of DH Woodside - San Gregorio (Hwy 84) back up
to Sky Londa and then down to
the coast.
The great pavement
on Hwy 84 coming out of Woodside makes for a steep, but excellent tight
and twisty climb. Passing
Alice’s Restaurant, Hwy 84 is called La Honda Rd, perfect for those of
us on Honda VFRs. It’s a still-well-paved but sweepier rendition that
descends out of the mountains and through the forest before flattening out
for a blast to the coast.
Reaching San
Gregorio, it was time to check out Hwy 1 south at least as far as
Davenport to see whether or not this would be a coastline DH.
Although the numbers haven’t come in, it seems as though this
road will simply not make it because its got like, three curves.
Apart from an okay section between San Gregorio and Pescadero State
Beach, the road is generally low coastline (in stark contrast to the drama
of Hwy 1 just north of San Francisco [DH Tamalpais Valley (Sausalito)
– Tomales] and the section further north, beyond Jenner [DH
Jenner - Hwy 1/128 Jct
(Mendocino)]). Scenic,
well-paved and engineered, it is nothing more than a pleasant drive.
Let’s see. Destination
Highways Northern California – A Motorcycle Enthusiasts Guide to the 200
Most Pleasant Rides in Northern California.
Don’t think so.
We grabbed a beer in
Davenport and then blasted back north on Hwy 1 with a view to checking out
TE Montara – Pacifica (Hwy 1).
Even with dusk settling, the short piece of Hwy 1, just south of
greater San Francisco is worth doing.
Defying nature, this road finds a way through the soaring
butte-shaped cliffs that rise above the crashing surf.
It’s obvious that a lot of blasting went into creating this
pathway. It’s the kind of
road, as Brian remarked, that would probably not be built today.
Pacifica, despite
its fresh and trendy sounding name was pretty disappointing from a food
and accommodation point of view. The
recently renovated but still spartan hotel room had an in-room jacuzzi so
close to the front door you tripped over it as you walked in.
An Italian meal prepared by a Thai chef was the other hallmark of
the Pacifica Inn. To add to
our dining pleasure, we were treated to some live music for a party
celebrating someone’s 90th birthday.
Needless to say they weren’t singing Born to be Wild.
Wed May26/04
Mike
I like to break up the day by getting up and on the road for an hour or so
before stopping for breakfast. I
find this generally makes me more productive and makes me feel like I am
getting a jump on things. Brian,
(who generally goes to sleep in real life back home at about 2:00 or 3:00
am) is not similarly inclined. Thus,
I left him to enjoy his Italian -Thai breakfast and ventured north through
San Francisco toward to the Tamalpais Valley.
I actually had to check out TE Muir Woods Rd
which I’d missed when I rode TE Panoramic Hwy.
I then was to come back to the town of Tamalpais Valley in order to
grab a bite to eat, meet Brian and then head north on Hwy 1.
Quiet roads can be hard
to find in this area and Muir Woods Rd was pleasant enough as it wound
through – what else? – Muir Woods before ascending sharply just past
the Visitors Center up to the junction with TE Panoramic Hwy. Then it was back to Tamalpais Valley where, filling up for
gas, I met a local who insisted on introducing me to the new owner of
Quality Motorcycles, apparently the only non-dealer in Marin County who
services Japanese motorcycles. The
local also showed me his 1974 Laverda which was being stored at Quality. I took Billy Dietrich’s business card as well as a
recommendation for a good breakfast place.
The day was made a little
more eventful when I went to park my bike by the roadside to ensure Brian
could see it. Nudging it
forward, I suddenly felt something pushing the bike over.
I had no idea what it was and had no idea if I was damaging the
bike in some way but had no choice but to try to hold it upright and give
a little bit gas to get by whatever it was that was making this happen. It turns out I had not considered my hard luggage when I was
parking beside a telephone pole. Readers
of this diary will understand that, because of some earlier issues with my
soft luggage, I had decided to give hard luggage another try, this despite
the fact that I hold it at least partially responsible for a $2,000 crash
I suffered in New Zealand.
In NZ, I was coming in a
little too hot approaching a one-lane bridge.
I was unable to brake without locking ‘er up on the greasy
surface, so I waited as long as I could for the oncoming car to clear the
bridge and then tried to squeeze through the small gap between the bridge
side and the car. My hard
luggage was the sole reason I caught the side of the bridge and went
skittering across the deck. Here
in CA, however, my bike stayed aloft and I parked it where Brian would
find it.
Following breakfast we
ventured north on DH Tamalpais Valley (Sausalito) – Tomales (Hwy
1). Ah, to have this road all
to yourself. Climbing out of
Tamalpais Valley, your chances of being stuck behind a pylon on this
smoothly paved but extremely tight section of road are pretty high. And inversely proportional to your chances of getting by it.
Some traffic veered off onto TE Panoramic Hwy leaving us a
fairly clear shot at Hwy 1 as it plunged down toward the coast.
The dramatic vista gave a sense of instant remoteness.
The pylons were more cooperative here, pulling over into the
regularly spaced turnouts. I
think people hate the VFR’s bright low-beams in their rearview mirrors.
Whatever works.
The only problem on this
scenic stretch was that the pavement deteriorates into something better
suited to goats than to a major highway.
The intensity of the tight, death-defying curves eased once we
reached Stinson Beach. The
inland ride north of there through the trees and fields, while much better
paved and engineered, still made you yearn for those fantastic coastal
views. We got some of them once Hwy 1 returned to Tomales Bay where
there are some nice waterside sections.
But nothing beats the bit where Hwy 1 turns up Keys Creek and heads
toward Tomales. Perfect
pavement. Great sightlines. Winding along the water.
My favorite piece of the whole road.
The DH ends in Tomales
where you can head west, then north on TE Dillon Beach Rd – Valley
Ford-Franklin School Rd back to Hwy 1 at townlet Valley Ford. The TE is a much better choice than Hwy 1 north of Tomales,
which gets pretty ordinary pretty quickly, straight through some farmland
before junctioning with the Petaluma – Valley Ford Rd
and heading out to the coast.
The section just north of Bodega Bay is scenic, to be sure, with
lots of beaches. Decidedly
un-remote, however.
I’d been looking
forward to a sunny day on the coast and taking Hwy 1 all the way up to the
top but the weather had different ideas.
Serious fog was settling in on the coast and it seemed as though
any decent video of this highway was going to have to wait for another
day. We took the opportunity
to scramble back on the old standby, TE Hwy 116/1 Jct
- Monte Rio (Hwy 116) to Guerneville, then zipping north on TE
Westside Rd to Healdsburg on Hwy 101.
From there we explored a
very promising TE Geysers Rd, just off of Hwy 128.
For the first 12.1 mi (19.5 km), I thought we had made a real find -
a DH for sure. This
completely empty road was not maintained particularly well but great
pavement and engineering were still to be had.
Along with stellar views over the vineyards of the Alexander
Valley.
Somebody, evidently
deterred by the high real estate prices in the Alexander Valley, planted a
vineyard high up on the ridge. I
assume this is the plonk that sells
for $8.95 a gallon at Safeway.
The DH dreams of Geysers
Rd were dashed into TE status when, once we reached the gate of the
world’s largest hydrothermal plant, the second half of this road
skittered down the mountain to Cloverdale as a one-lane bump and grind.
Actually, it wasn’t
quite as terrible as it sounds. The
grade was not too steep and the scenery was fantastic, especially toward
the bottom when the road moves into the Big Sulpher Creek canyon. The thing was, it kept teasing you with these wide, recently
paved sections before reverting back to one-lane goat path.
The worst thing was the gravel -
invisible with the late-day sun beaming straight in my eyes -
strewn across the road just as I was coming out of one of those nice
aforementioned curves on the nice aforementioned pavement.
Bad memories of the
gravel run out from the end of DHWA30 Silver Creek Rd (when my
speed on the paved segments did not translate well onto the gravel
segments). After checking out
River Rd down to a washed out bridge (which doesn’t look like its going
to be replaced any time soon), I joined Brian for a respectable Chef’s
Salad and garlic fries at the local brew pub.
Where, of course, one has to try all the beers (in small taster
glasses, of course). Research, you know.
Thu May 27/04
Mike
Well, 2 ½ days left on the road and rain in the forecast for today.
My assignment? To head
out to Nevada City, get some tape on DH Nevada City – Sattley (Hwy 49),
then rate DH Chico - Hwy 36/32 Jct from the north end.
I was then supposed to meet Brian somewhere out on the coast.
Dream on.
When will I ever learn? Take
your estimate as to how long it is going to take you to get somewhere and
double it. To get to Nevada City, I headed north from Cloverdale on Hwy
101 to Hopland (one of the nicer sections of the 101) and then turned east
on DH Old Hopland – Lakeport (Hwy 175).
This was the second time I had ridden this marvelous road over the
Mayacmas Mountains with its great pavement, twisties and views on the east
side. And it was just as good
this time.
Nor did DH Hwy 20/53
Jct (Clear Lake) – Hwy 20/16 Jct (Hwy 20) disappoint. Consistently sweepy, scenic and surprisingly remote for a
major highway, though you could see how you could get into a bit of
traffic volume trouble. But
the numerous passing lanes, especially the twisty one along Long Valley
Creek, should help. Unfortunately
the piece of Hwy 20 that is east of Hwy 16 is pretty dull and straight as
it leads towards Williams and another crossing of the San Joaquin Valley.
I had intended to break
up the morning by breakfasting in Nevada City.
But by the time I got Marysville, I needed a break.
Three hours on the road and I still wasn’t to my start-tape spot.
This was going to be a long, if not impossible day.
After my combination breakfast /lunch (waffle and omelet) at the
Waffle House, I continued east on Hwy 20 and finally arrived at Nevada
City. Not wasting any time, I
filled up and (finally) got my rubber on one of Northern California’s
best.
DH Nevada City –
Sattley (Hwy 49) only gets better
the further you ride it. Though
you get a nice little blast of twistiness coming through the South Yuba
River Canyon, the great stuff doesn’t come until you are deep into the
forest and curling down over the middle fork of the Yuba River.
From here on, it’s mostly great pavement, superior engineering
and high remoteness. The
scenery is excellent, too, especially when the north fork of the Yuba
River roils below you to the right. This
is one long DH to boot, which seems even longer when you have ridden four
hours to get to it. I
couldn’t resist a stop and nap in Downieville.
I woke when the whipped-up wind blew my glove off my eyes.
The rain was on its way.
I got through the balance
of this wonderful ride without having to contend with any moisture.
This was a bonus, particularly since the last 15 miles of this road
are preceded by a sign warning motorcyclists that the twisties to come are
“dead man’s curves”. Some
of the DH’s best pavement slithers down the slope into the warm Sierra
Valley. Pulling up at the
little store that justifies Sattley’s dot on the map, I noticed the same
dog was sleeping on the porch in the same spot he was last time I was
there. Things don’t change
any too quickly around Sattley.
Never one to dawdle when
our public is pressing us for an early publication date, I nipped north on
TE Sattley – Clio (Hwy 89), a surprisingly scenic, remote,
traffic- free adventure whose great pavement winds gently to just south of
the junction of TE Gold Lake Rd, my principal reason for venturing
this far afield. It seemed we
neglected to check out this TE the last time we were in the area as
mandated by the aerial survey.
Good thing I came back.
It’s hard to believe this well-engineered route that winds high
up into the snowy pass between Mount Elwell and Mills Peak and offers
terrific in-your-face views of the Sierra Buttes would be here.
With nothing but a couple of campgrounds and a lonely lodge, you
gotta wonder what gives. That
said, these great roads of mystery in the middle of nowhere are part of
the fun of motorcycling. Not
to mention the reason people buy our books.
It was spitting, and
threatening to do a lot more than that as I rode Hwy 70/89 into Quincy.
The prospect of actually being able to get up to Lassen National
Park and ride DH Hwy 32/36 Jct – Chico (Hwy 32) and then ride
from there to meet Brian wherever the hell he might be was, at this point,
laughable. I had been riding
about ten hours and was dog-tired. Also,
with Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final on the tube, I felt the strong
Canadian urge to snuggle up with the nearest TV set.
I checked into the
Goldpanner Motel in Quincy (not recommended) and watched the game
until it turned into a Tampa Bay blowout.
I then went out for a fine meal at a restaurant called Sweet
Lorraine, one the girl in the gas station had recommended.
I then checked in with Brian to let him know that I was still
alive.
Fri May 28/04
Mike
I awoke the next day to wet pavement but at least there were some blue
patches in the sky. I found a
good breakfast in Quincy just around the corner from my motel, caught up
on some paperwork (it’s not all biking, you know) and hit the road at
about 11:00 a.m. It is a nice
ride up from Quincy to Greenville, thus doing the eastern arm and the
eastern ALT arm (the Hwy 70 one to Quincy and the Hwy 89 one to
Greenville) of DH Oroville – Quincy.
What traffic there was, was kind enough to pull over on the
twisty descent through the Feather River Canyon.
After a bit of straight north of Greenville, Hwy 89 is actually not
too bad up to the town of Canyondam.
Pretty straight and dull beyond that, though, and I was ready for
some curves by the time I got to the junction of Hwy 32 to commence DH
Hwy 32/36 Jct - Chico.
This
is a fine DH but it’s probably one that is best done in the other
direction. I say this because
all the best stuff is at the top and the straight and boring stuff is at
the bottom. If you started in
Chico you would have the feeling that the road was getting progressively
better. By starting it at the
top, the road gets progressively less interesting.
It starts off from the north as a shoulderless ride through remote
forests. It is twisty, to be
sure, but the engineering is not so great at first.
It does improve as you ride down toward the midpoint TE Humboldt
Rd.
After
checking out the TE (and the Bambi Inn with the sign saying it was
“biker friendly”), I continued on Hwy 32 expecting a continuation of
the same road. Not so.
From this point, my impression was that this nice twisty DH through
the forest is transformed into a wide, sometimes-sweepy but often-straight
road all the way down Doe Mill Ridge to Chico.
By the time I got into town, I was almost totally bored.
I
was back in mileage mode now. After
gassing up, I continued on Hwy 32 as it headed west to Orland then south
on the I-5 to the town of Williams. I
grabbed a sandwich at their landmark deli, Granzella’s.
As this was the Friday of the holiday weekend, Grazealla’s was
busy, as was Hwy 20 as it headed to Clear Lake.
The
ride around the north shore of Clear Lake was, however, a surprise
highlight. While busy and
rather developed, the ride right along the lake is beautiful, especially
on a day like this when the wind was chopping up some whitecaps and the
afternoon sun was glittering off the waves.
It was nice all the way to the town of Nice when Hwy 20 leaves the
lake and heads north. It gets
scenic again when you cross into Mendocino County and ride along Cold
Creek and Lake Mendocino.
I
got to Ukiah in time to check into my motel and do a quick luggage-free
return trip on DH Ukiah – Booneville (Hwy 253).
This 17.1 mi (27.5 km) of great pavement curling up and over Pine
Ridge is a terrific find. With
great views over Feliz Creek, Grizzly Peak, Sanel Mtn and Snow Mtn, I was
only too happy to do it twice as I headed back to Ukiah.
I
got back to town in time to catch Troy at the theater next door to
my motel. This was followed
by dinner courtesy of the 24-hour Safeway across the street and microwave
oven in my motel room. In
all, not a bad last night on the road.
Sat
May 29/04
Mike
No messing around this morning. I
had to ride the Orr Springs Rd out to the coast and then I planned to ride
Hwy 1 all the way down to San Francisco.
I had to be in Hayward by 3:30 so my friend, Joel Ritch, could help
me store my bike in his warehouse, drive me to the airport and be back in
his Marin County home to prepare for a dinner engagement.
I
would have moved much faster had TE Orr Springs Rd not deteriorated
into a one-lane track when the TE ends at the hot springs in Montgomery
Woods. The poor engineering continues all the way to the town of
Comptche, where it improves for the commencement of TE Comptche –
Mendocino. The pavement
picks up in the middle of the latter TE (at the junction of the Little
Airport Rd), albeit after most of the twisties are over.
My point? The ends are
fine. The mid-section, however, is not something I would choose to
do all that often.
Having
arrived in Mendocino, I went south and started DH Hwy 1/128 Jct
(Mendocino) – Jenner (Hwy 1) with a view to stopping in the little
cliffside town of Elk to grab a late breakfast at a cafe where we had
eaten the last time we were through.
And whose name I can never remember.
Sated
with my veggie and smoked salmon omelet, I continued down Hwy 1. The coast road was a little disappointing this day, in part
because of the holiday traffic and in part because of the fact it is
actually pretty darn straight until you get south of Gualala. Most of the curves on this road north of G-town seem to be
where the road passes through little towns with restrictive speed zones.
Once you enter the Salt Point State Park south of Sea Ranch
however, this road totally takes off. The curves through the park, on and off the water are simply
joyful. Perfectly paved
tightness. South of Fort Ross
and especially south of TE Myers Grade Rd. the DH overlooks some of
the finest scenery you can see in Northern California.
I
pulled into Jenner on a high, put away my equipment, checked the time
(1:30 p.m.) and prepared for the blitz to Hayward.
The route I opted for appeared to be a good choice as I headed east
on TE Hwy 116/1 Jct -
Monte Rio (Hwy 116) south on TE Bohemian Hwy, east on the
Bodega Hwy and Hwy 12 to Hwy 101. As
it turned out, this was by far the fastest route that I could have taken
from this area of the coast and I would have made it to Hayward in time
had I not had to find lube for my parched chain.
This required a detour down to Tamalpais Valley and chin wag with
B.T. Bullet, whose book I had to buy and of course have autographed.
The
90 mph (145 kmh) traffic flow down helped make up some lost time and,
after a cell phone call on a meridian in the middle of 8 lanes of traffic,
I finally located Joel’s warehouse only about 45 minutes late.
I tucked the bike away -
unwashed, unfortunately -
changed, gathered up my stuff and eased back into the soft leather seats
of Joel’s minivan for the ride to SFO.
And home.
Go on to Jun04
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