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Published: April 14th 2008
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Start of the Run
Just out of San Simeon, the Santa Lucia Mountains angle down to the shore. (Pashnit.com photo) Having spent a delightful time on California's Central Coast, it was now time to ride the epic Pacific Coast Highway northward.
Considered by many to be the finest drive drive in America, we experienced a portion of the PCH last summer on the family vacation road trip (that blog can be found at: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Arnim-Hucks-Roadshow/). Much of the time while piloting Lurch, our Aerostar van up the PCH I had to tell myself to not imagine riding that marvelous road on my bike. This was my chance to finally ride it.
The first half of this two day jaunt held the prize of picking up my replacement brake lever in Corte Madera, just north of San Francisco. On a whim I called a childhood friend who I knew lived somewhere in that area, and was surprised and delighted to accept the last minute invitation from Joanne and her husband Ed to dinner and a bed at their home. As it turned out, they live just a couple of miles from the motorcycle shop that held my brake lever.
Leaving San Simeon State Park at a leisurely hour, the ride north commenced under cloudy skies and gusty winds. The first
Big Sur Coastline
(Pashnit.com photo) 30 miles were covered the previous day southbound, and riding them in reverse allowed different views and new corner lines. Beyond that section, it was all new terrain.
A gusty side wind takes a lot of the pleasure of riding away, as you work to keep the bike on line. The weather, never quite picture worthy, kept me riding past numerous photogenic vistas. Many of these photos are not mine. Suffice it to say the days run up the coast was less than I hoped for, but left me glad to have experienced it nonetheless.
Passing through Big Sur, then skipping Monterey and into Santa Cruz, for a stretch the PCH takes to the city streets of Santa Cruz. A humble taqueria produced a mind-bending burrito, and then it was back on the road toward San Francisco. After morphing through a series of road types, including full-out freeway, the route again takes to the streets of San Francisco as it makes its way toward the Golden Gate Bridge. Crossing at 3:15 pm, traffic flowed smooth and fast and soon it was time for the obligatory vista point photo-op. I swapped picture duties with a French couple, and I'm
Point Sur
Kelp beds and sunshine (Pashnit.com photo.) certain I did not position the bridge tower sprouting from either of their heads.
The brake lever awaiting me at the moto shop was in fact the correct one (always a chance...) and it was great to have it in hand. I found a chain bookstore with pay-for-use wi-fi and settled in to do some blogging.
Interesting, unlike at home where free wi-fi is ubiquitous, most businesses in California such as Starbucks provide it for a fee. When the coffee jerk in Mendicino called it a "Courtesy Fee" I laughed aloud. She didn't seem to share my sense of humor.
After some blogging, and just as I hit the "Publish" button, the AT&T screen came up to offer another two-hour block. Time's up, no warning. Thanks, boys. Fortunately my work was saved and I was able to post the entry the next day.
As timing would have it, just as I was saddling up to head to Joanne and Ed's, up drives Joanne on her way home from the city. Thank goodness she provided piloting up the hill to her home, as even the detail of my GPS would not have likely kept me on track.
Plenty of These
Oh yea! (Pashnit.com photo) It was a pleasure to meet Ed and enjoy their beautiful home. Situated near the top of a forested hillside overlooking Corte Madera, Larkspur and Greenbrae, their slopeside polehouse faced north among tall redwoods that swayed in the breeze. Their collection of Asian art, primarily acquired on their many travels was beautiful in their home. In many ways the house appeared to have been designed around the artwork, a testament to both their taste and Joanne's skill in her work as an interior designer. In contrast to the mess of Hearst Castle, their collection was tasteful, beautifully displayed and possessed a harmony concordant with the style.
We enjoyed a very pleasant dinner and conversation and it was an early evening for all.
The next morning, Wednesday the 9th, Ed's socket set was employed to replace the front brake lever. There was now a full sized, if oddly positioned brake lever in service.
Having discovered last summer how slow parts of the PCH can be, I chose to bypass a southern section of the highway and instead ride north on Hwy 101 and cross over to the coast on one of the Pashnit.com recommended routes.
Highway
Big Sur Vista
Sun broke out! 101 north flowed smooth again past Petaluma and Santa Rosa. My route left the freeway in Healdsburg, and headed northwest on Dry Creek Road past numerous vineyards and wineries. Soon it was westbound on Stewarts Point Skaggs Springs Road. This was a remarkable road in it's beautiful engineering, pavement quality and twisties. And it came with a speed limit that was criminally slow in sections. Apparently a rash of sport-bike crashes through this popular route has brought both heavy police enforcement and lower limits. While no police were seen on this section, my newly revised front brake lever did not return full braking function to my riding, so a relaxed pace on this road was quite appropriate.
The installation of the new front brake lever that morning did not bring all I had hoped, due to the handlebar bend produced by the ST1300s face-dive on Jalama Road. Instead of the the usual relationship of brake lever and hand grip residing on the same plane, now the grip is well below and forward of its normal position. My standard practice is to use the index and middle fingers to brake while the ring and little finger remain on the throttle
Santa Cruz Surf Shop
They surf down here. No time to check out Mavericks. grip. With the revised handlebar bend, this caused the lever to squeeze down and crush the ring and little fingers. It also prevented the brake lever from actuating adequately. In order to squeeze the brake lever for a hard stop, all four fingers now need to be used on the lever. Normally this is not a challenge, but with the lever so much higher relative to the grip, this requires a long interval to reach up and over the lever. So a heavy reliance on the rear brake continued, and full front braking was still somewhat compromised.
Stewarts Point Skaggs Springs Road finally twisted it's way down to the coast and the PCH run continued north. Less wind and traffic than the previous day, and more sunshine made this section very relaxed and enjoyable. Recollections from last summer provided a sense of dejavu as some sections were ridden.
Passing the Sea Ranch, a tasteful and lengthy development of summer homes established on the eve of the Shoreline Management Act, I spied the unusually shaped chapel along the road. Reminiscent of a crashing wave, this little sanctuary possessed beautiful hand-carved benches and the stained glass cast a beautiful light
Golden Gate
French photographer, merci. within. Very hippie.
When the road leaves the coast and heads up over the mountains to Leggett, the fun begins. An endless series of second-gear twisties climbs up and over an 1,800' pass through redwood forest. This 20 mile section was the best part of the PCH, and this day it was largely empty of traffic. Once Leggett is reached the route follows Hwy 101, and a marvelous hour of highway speed sweepers continues almost all the way to Fortuna.
I rolled into the Riverwalk RV Park in Fortuna around 5pm, and rented a camper cabin. With a mattress on the bunk, electricity and a heater, the 20 yard walk to the restroom made these digs quite luxurious. And with wi-fi, I was glad to roll out my bag here instead of the tent for a night. The best part was the Eel River Brewery just a block away. Micro-brewery dinner, an excellent steak and IPA. After dinner I perused the web for routing intelligence and programmed the GPS for tomorrow's California traverse.
Two days up the coast totaled about 600 miles.
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Chuck Swesey
non-member comment
Wonderful...
Bill, I am enjoying your tales greatly.. Please stay ON the rubber and have a wonderful trip. I eagerly look forward to the next entry.