the rain in california stays mainly in the north...

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On the last exciting episode of the indulgent adventures I was still OCD about the weather. I still am but more on that later.

The short version:
3 days of great riding along the California coast. The hospitality of friends as well as total strangers is mind boggling. Giant winter storm (the biggest since 1995) is expected to pound southern california for the next week.

The long version (I'm doing this more as a journal for myself, but if you want to, read on):
We woke up in Garberville after a long night of rain and more rain. Our bikes were tucked safely under the awning of the motel, all locked up and covered but despite this relative security we kept waking up all night and peeking out the window to make sure they were safe. I know, I know, compared to Mexico the stonerville of Garberville is a very benign place, but none-the-less we were concerned for the safety of our ladies.
We hit the road and within minute were wheeling through driving rain on the 101. It actually wasn't that bad because we were tucked beneath our GORE-TEX® outerwear (I have to write it that way since i now work with W.L. GORE) which really does work surprisingly well. However, when it really starts to pick up I become concerned about other drivers on the road loosing control and hitting us. We made it to the junction of the 1 and the 101. Fate was in our hands. Turn left and drive the freeway to San Francisco in less than three hours. Turn right and go over a windy pass towards the coast and Mendocino California where we might encounter high winds, heavy rain, and whole lot more adventure. We hemmed and hawed for a while but then realized that are in this trip for the adventure and adventure rarely comes when one chooses the expected way.
We chose wisely. The road over the pass had exactly 2 cars on it as it wound through the redwoods towards the coast for 25 miles and then dropped south along empty miles of fantastic coastline on a perfect road. Eventually we ended up in Mendocino. A sort of Aspen meets artist town with great coffee and pizza. We really wanted to go satisfy my inner hippies and watch waves smashing the coast so we found a route out of Mendocino to a bluff with massive breakers. They were big and loud and cool.

Then it was back towards San Francisco. Once we regained the 101, it was an hour of freeway driving in pouring rain. I spend a lot of my life looking for moments of focus. Those moments where one can only pay attention the task right in front oneself and the rest of world disappears. Riding on a california freeway in the rain puts one into that state of mind. I would have liked to seen a movie of myself with eyes wide open cruising down the left lane (because the left lane is the safest) paying full attention to everything that is going on around me in all directions. This is exhausting but cool. We finally hit the Golden Gate bridge with big smiles and no toll (motorcycles are free). Yippee California.
Megan's friend Jess has a most amazing flat on top of the highest hill in San Francisco. Jess graciously let us stay in her place for a night. Her kindness was most appreciated and it was great to have a something besides a motel room for an occasion. The view really is something to remember. We also were able to spend a little time with Megan's relatives Alexandra, Kurt and their three great boys (and soon to be daughter). All great people.

Jan 13


The Big Sur Coast. We headed out of town to a finally glorious day of sunshine. We road south to Castroville, artichoke capital of the world where we indulged in a half pound of deep fried artichoke hearts. I remember going to this place as a kid and it is good to know that it is still there. and yummy.
the afternoon took us down the 1 on the Big Sur Coast. Fantastic curvies amongst sea cliffs and remote rocky beaches. We found a campsite to settle down for the evening. We set up our new tent from Hilleberg, one of the world's best tentmakers. This thing really is quite an engineering feat. If you are a gearhead, do yourself a favor and check one of these things out.
As we were setting up our tent a guy camping next to us, Chuck, came over and struck up a conversation. I won't go into too much detail but we ended up drinking some Makers Mark with him later in the night and having one hell of a great conversation. In fact, we made friends with all the people surrounding us at the campground. One thing about motorcycle touring, it is so damn easy to talk to people. People are usually quite curious about what we are up to and generally friendly beyond belief.




















Jan 14



Another glorious day of weather. More curvies on the road to start the day. By mid-morning we saw an upcoming rest area with 50 cars parked in it. What the _____? Since we are are pack animals at heart, we too stopped at the rest area. As it luck would have it, this is a viewing area for Elephant Seals. And boy howdy were we lucky. It is the one week of the year when momma elephant seals swim up to the beach to give birth to their young. I missed it, but Megan saw a little critter pop right out of the back of one of the mommas. The sounds that 200 hundred elephant seals can make is... well... quite tribal. A mixture of a bronx cheer, a whooping wine, and guttural yelp that goes on and on. This video only slightly does it justice.

More miles on the road and we ended up in lovely Ventura to the graciousness of our friend Jenny. We have been sending motorcycle gear to her for the past few weeks and our plan is to spend a few days in Ventura tuning up the bikes and getting them ready for the next leg of the trip.

To end this endless post on a weather note, take a look at the screen shot from the weather service. This is our next week.
Crazy!