Day 14 – The Last Leg – Pismo Beach to Los Angeles 225 Miles

Woke and breakfasted for this our last leg of the tour. Cloudy and cold start due to those cold offshore California currents.

Headed inland and the sun broke though as we rode some lovely roads in the Inez Valley and stopped for a coffee at a town called Solvang – apparently a Danish settlement originally.  It was a bit freaky I have to say – a bit like ‘Brothers Grimm meets Stepford Wives’ however the coffee and Danish pastries were fine.

We descended to the coast and rode along Santa Barbara pier thrilling and startling the population present.  

Lovely shots of the California coast with the offshore mist/cloud battling with the warm onshore air.

We rode on closer to LA but veered off to the west to visit Neptune’s Net for lunch – a famous biker joint on the coast. 

Stopping for a photo at the sign at Malibu was the last break before braving the LA freeway traffic – which was pretty challenging.  

Before we knew it we were back at the Eaglerider base, saying farewell to our bikes and transferring to the hotel to get ready for our farewell meal.

The venue was a custom motorbike workshop by day and restaurant by night.  We had a great time.

And so dear reader we come to the end of the trail.  I hope you have enjoyed the last 2,600 miles.  Watch out for further installments when BigH rides again !

Music Links:

J J Cale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TpovLsTbc4

 Radiohead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP006CpKUPE

Led Zepp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIUSDuPoscA

BEP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtczBseiAac&feature=kp

Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en-liwDGzaw

Stones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GBb4AIdnz0

TYA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW5M5xljdCI&feature=kp

Moonflower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vsOf6rmFR4

Supertramp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir7-R8WdtcM

Day 13 Monterey to Pismo Beach (Far Away in Time) – 152 miles

 Had a pleasant meal (last night) - (9 of us) at the end of the pier in Monterey.  

View on the way to Dinner

In the morning we headed south on Highway 1 – bypassing Carmel.  As the coastal hills loomed our road hugged the cliffs and for most of the day we were not just dealing with horizontal wiggles and waggles but falling and rising within a band of about 100 ft to 1000 ft above sea level.  In the bright but ‘bracing’ air, the scenery was spectacular.  We stopped near the viaduct which I am sure was in the film ‘Play Misty for Me’ (Airborne shots of Clint Eastwood driving his sports car over it – he gets everywhere – including mayor of Carmel for a time).

Coffee Stop

Redwoods

Continued on and stopped for Lunch near Lucia.  Ordered a tuna sandwich and (seemingly) had to wait while they went to sea to catch it !

The coastal hills are composed of fairly weak shale with an occasional band of shiny green serpentine.  If I remember correctly (I was a bit of a girly swot in physical geography) these hills were formed by ocean sediments being scraped from the Pacific tectonic plate as it was forced (or subducted if you want 10 extra marks) below the North American tectonic plate.  So the coastal hills are basically ‘fish poo’ compressed and heated – (10 marks deducted for lack of academic rigour).

Anyway – as well as the sweet smell of the pinewoods, the fragrant smell of wild herbs in the sun and the smell of the ocean and kelp beds we were soon to experience the rubbery fishy smell of a colony of elephant seals.  Despite their unwelcoming aroma (see ‘Happy Feet’) they were fun to watch and a major conservation triumph after becoming nearly extinct some while back.

During the day we saw many birds of prey – probably black hawks and a couple of golden eagles possibly – however much as I enjoy ornithology or bird-watching, it’s not really compatible with keeping a 1.6 litre motorbike in tight formation at 65 mph – so I just enjoyed the fleeting glimpses and focused on the road.

Just as we reached Pismo Beach (Far Away in Time) the sea cloud rolled in.  Accommodation splendid and looking forward to culinary expedition later.

Music Links:

Jimi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EhyGI_ZKe8

Mountain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqWqCuHR0Og

Fatboy Slim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMZ1SDewLO0

Crowded House

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv1KIbORQGI

Day 12 – San Francisco – Monterey 118 Miles

Dear Diary, what a day it’s been ! Leaving our hotel we headed up a very steep hill and descended a very wiggly steep hill (Lombard Street).  

We then headed north over the Golden Gate Bridge for some great vistas of SF.  

Re-crossing the bridge we rode down the Pacific Beachfront of the city – not quite as enticing and developed as you might think due to the low sea water temperatures.  A coffee break at a ‘Caboose’ was welcome.  

At Pacifica we headed inland and started along the switchback of the Pacific Crest road.  The blue sky, tall conifers and redwood trees made for superb riding.  We arrived at Alice’s Restaurant – made famous in the 1960’s in a film and a song by Arlo Guthrie.  (I checked it out dear reader, but at 18 minutes decided that this was a case of hippy ennui beyond the pale – bummer !).

Anke 'arrested' by friendly local law enforcement officer.

After more curved roads we re-joined the coast road and passed some spectacular beaches (with chilly water – wet-suited surfers the only people braving the waters).

Around Santa Cruz our cavalcade was disrupted by an RV which hit the central barrier and did a couple of airborne rolls.  By some miracle and skilled riding no-one in our party was involved in the collision.  Our support driver and the last two riders stopped to give first aid until the ambulance arrived.  The driver was injured but able to walk.

Shaken and somewhat stirred we arrived at Monterey and our spirits were revived by a medicinal beer or two.  Have arranged to eat out later.

Music Links:

Echo Beach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEQkIEkxm7k

Blue Blue Ocean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiYh0NI-aJw

JJ Cale Drifters wife

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFMIviT3gEo

Sheryl Crow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyihQtBes1I