Shelter Cove - Labor Day Weekend Getaway!!

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It all started with a three day weekend, and the ambition to get out of town for some much deserved rest and recuperation. We woke up early Saturday morning and hit the road by 6:00, bikes loaded for the long-haul to the “lost coast”.



The planned route would take us through Berryessa and Calistoga, and on to Skaggs and the coast, where we’d travel 100 miles through the great redwoods to Shelter Cove for the holiday weekend. We’d spend two nights in an oceanfront motel before heading back home.



We made it to Winters by 7:00, just in time to see some hot air balloons taking off for a morning ….sail (is that what you call it?), balloon, whatever…





You’re probably asking about that nifty luggage rack on my bike…. www.ricerocketracks.com It actually works pretty damn good and attaches to the existing seat mount without any additional hardware.

We stopped at the Chevron station in Winters for a fill up of coffee and gas and watched the last balloon get airborne.



It was off to Skaggs to scope it out before the guys from our motorcycle group got there, but not before we stopped for a quick sausage and eggs breakfast in Calistoga.

We arrived at Skaggs just in time to follow a CHP cruiser at 30 mph the entire way to the bridge. Obviously I was upset at the time, but there would be plenty more twisties where we were headed. We stopped just after the bridge to relay the bad news to Hecktic and the guys via text message.

Most people stop here, but we were headed for the lost coast. The second half of Skaggs is the best part, in my opinion. Goat trails, fern-laden two lane curves and mid-corner risers put this stretch on tarmac in a category of its own. We were eventually spit out on Hwy 1 at Stewart’s Point.





We headed North for a quick stop in Anchor Bay, where my family has been camping and diving for almost 30 years. It’s been a few years since I’ve been, so I wanted to stop by for nostalgia.



It was pretty cool to show Jaymie where I grew up on the coast and get a picture sitting on the very stump that I used to sit on as a kid, waiting for my dad to return from abalone diving.







We made that visit snappy and headed North up the coast, where we stopped for the obligatory ocean/bike photo ops. We ventured out to the Point Arena Lighthouse, but it was closed for maintenance, and frankly, there wasn’t much to see.




Northbound once again, we stopped in Mendocino for a quick bite to….. EGADS!! Holy gas prices Batman!!



In fear of the gixxer running dry, I bit my tongue and filled ‘er up (only to find out that Fort Bragg, only like six miles up the road had like 47 gas stations and all were just over $4 a gallon).



More obligatory photo ops.




Dudes….. Hwy 1 from Cleone to Leggett…. Holy shnykies that iis the most perfect piece of tarmac that I have ever laid my rubber on. Perfect curving roadway through the redwoods, with not another car in sight. …pure bliss. (we were having so much fun that we forgot to take pics…oops!)

We stopped in Leggett at the infamous Chandelier Tree, which was a must see.




From Leggett we hopped on 101 for a short trip to Redway, where we would fill up one last time before descending the hill that is known as Shelter Cove Rd. That is a rough mother, but snaked through some pretty awesome redwood tree groves on the way down to sea level.







We arrived to check into our motel right at 6:00 pm, just at 11 hours on the road. We were rewarded with a fresh Snapper dinner with white wine, and this beautiful room on the water…



The view from our balcony:



We spent ALL DAY Sunday doing absolutely nothing but sleeping in, walking the beach, tidepooling and reading our favorite books on the balcony. We did a little bit of area exploration aboard the 250 tomfoolery too. We’ll save you all of the naughty details, but here are a few pics:












For those that don’t know. The Cape Mendocino lighthouse was moved to Shelter Cove several years ago, and they shrank it!



….back to the road trip. We got to spend the entire day relaxing, but you get to jump straight forward to Monday’s ride home with no rest! Bwahahaha!

The trip home would take us on Mattole Road up through Cape Mendocino and into Ferndale, where we would grab some lunch before hoping on Hwy 36 to experience “the ultimate ride”.



We woke up early and hit the road by 8:00.




We headed back up Shelter Cove Rd., which was much easier going uphill I might add. We hopped on 101 for a short stint before exiting at the Avenue of the Giants. HUGE F-ing trees!







The “avenue” led us straight through Humbolt Redwoods State Park to Mattole Rd….. Goddamn, that’s a rough mother! It was over 100 miles to Ferndale, but felt like 300. …not a good way to start a 400 mile trip home. …The views were outrageous though and made the trip worth the ass pain.




Once we came out of the park, we began to descend back down the hill to sea level and the coast.





After a short coastal ride, we were heading up “the wall”, over a mile of rough pavement at an 18% grade. At the top, we were awarded with this view…



We stopped for lunch in the town of Ferndale. There wasn’t much open because of the holiday, but we found Curly’s Bar and Grille, and that was pretty good.



On to Hwy 36!

This road is truly epic, and you all need to try it…. That is all that can really be said. And this…




Since nothing can really compare to 36, I’ll just end the story here. Besides, we just slabbed it down Hwy 5 back home, which was actually pretty relaxing after such a long trip.

Two shots on Baseline Rd. really quick:



C’iao!

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