Jonesin for a Ride!

Archive for the ‘2013-07-31 WTF Tour’ Category

It appears my map add-in isn’t working right, but you can follow at SPOT website.

A little video from Shai

Still don’t know which way we are going to head. Shai the teenager likes to sleep in, lol. Anyway, while he was getting ready I ran to the auto parts store to fix my pump for my shocks and to get some double sided tape for a metal plate that came loose on my saddle bag. Fixed both items and now we are getting ready to leave….

It appears my map add-in isn’t working right, but you can follow at SPOT website. Also, if you click on an image, you can see a bigger picture.

After our tremendous breakfast that they served up at the Elk Inn, we finally loaded up the bike and got started at 11:00 a.m., lol we keep getting later and later, but this is niiiice! It was also socked in with fog and Patty at the inn said it should burn off about 1:00 p.m.

So we put all our gear on and headed north towards Fort Bragg. After talking with Patty, her suggestion was to take CA 20 just south of Fort Bragg and cut over to Highway 101 that way, as oppose to riding all the way up route 1 to Rockport and then winding up to Legget and Highway 101. She also mention not to stop along the stretch heading to Legget from 1. This is the second person to mention this. Sign of the new economy here in Mendocino County.

We arrive at junction 20 at noon, and to me, it sure didnt look like it was going to burn off in an hour as heavy fog didn’t even look like it was lifting. So I opted for route 20 and told Shai maybe we will hit the other section on the way back, and then maybe take highway 128 from 1 to 101.

Highway 20 was another fine road, lots of twists, climbs, descents, and warmer weather as the sun came out quickly as we headed inland.

We hit Willits CA around 1:30, gassed up, and headed north on 101, also known as the Redwood Highway. This stretch of the 101 goes from a 2 lane highway to 4 land highway to 2 land highway and then 4 lane divided highway, then back again to 2 lane highway , and the cycle continues till we past Legget, where it stays a 4 lane freeway through some great country. It is also at this time we branch off and catch the Avenue of the Giants road that parallels 101. This is where the big boys are. We take our time meandering along this road, taking in lots of stops and relaxing.

By 6:30 we reach Eureka,CA and it feels like winter as we are back along the coast and much further north. It is a heavy marine layer that is engulfing the area, but we have checked into our Comfort Inn to warm up and relax. Enjoy the pics of the day. Tomorrow? Who knows….

It appears my map add-in isn’t working right, but you can follow at SPOT website. Also, if you click on an image, you can see a bigger picture.

Had a great breakfast meal from Julia to send us off with eggs, waffles, rosemary bread and juice along with a bottomless cup of coffee. Great hosts and I threaten to stay with that hospitality.
Prior to leaving and since it was Friday I wanted to book a room somewhere along the route as I know it can be challenging. Julia suggested Airbnb.com as her daughters have used it. Elk Cove Inn and Spa looked nice so I send an email to find out availability. Minutes later a reply with the offer of 25% discount to motorcyclists. I called and talked with Patty and received more info on route/places I would need to commit to move further north, etc before I made the decision.

It was clear when we left but when we crested the hill the marine layer was there along with the constant headwind of about 10 mph. This part of SF seems to always be cold, even in August. We skirted most of the city and caught route 1 again just before the bridge to cross the bay.

Since it was still foggy by the bays edge, I opted to skip the first part of the coast route right after the bridge. I know that it is real slow going and twisty, and we would have plenty of coast to see ahead, and headed towards Bodega Bay to continue along route 1. Once we got to the coast it was cool, but sunny and clear!

This part of the coast is gorgeous with lots of twists, overlooks, climbs and descents and very little traffic. Did not take any pics along the route, but we eventually made it to Elk and our destination by 4:30.

This was my first time staying at an Bed and Breakfast place and what a treat. The place was awesome! (Click on image below to see it as a slide show and larger image)

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing, checking out the beach and small town. We walked to dinner around 7:30 to a small pub in town to have a great home style cooked meal.

Foggy this morning, after breakfast at the inn, we may alter our route.

Some parting pics:

So, it appears my map add-in isn’t working right, but you can follow at SPOT website

Shai and I left Paso Robles at 9:45 after we had breakfast at the inn. It was a clear crisp day as we left and headed west on CA-46 towards the coast. I think this is my new favorite route rather than the usual way I’ve done in the past, that is heading towards Morro Bay. This route was less traveled and had a view of the ocean as we descended towards Cambria.

We headed north on route 1 and with blue sky’s, headed up the coast to Big Sur. this is a great road, but only if you take the time to enjoy it, with plenty of stops. There are plenty of overlooks and views to enjoy. We had plenty of time as our goal was to just make it to Larry’s house, which was only about 250 miles or so-perfect!

Once past Big Sur, we were in Carmel and had to deal with the wind which is always coming off the ocean cold and hard. The wind did subside somewhat, but still had to deal with a cold wind once we pasted Santa Cruz all the way to Half Moon Bay. But make no mistake, it was a great putt as I was in no hurry.
Hard to imagine John, we did that ride in January, you on your shovel head, me on my softail, both of us with no windshields and you with that crazy suicide clutch and a bike we had to push start… And trow Puff Daddy in the mix! Lol, that was when we were younger…

Once we were in Half Moon Bay, we gave Larry a call and we were invited for dinner with ribs, potatoes, salad, lemon tart and pistachio ice cream and a place to crash. Oh, beer too.

BTW, click on of the images for a larger view.