July 2003 - California Ride

Left Phoenix on Sunday July 6th @4:30am - Headed out I-10 towards L.A. - Pretty uneventfull trip all the way through to Oxnard. Spent the night with my son Chris and his Navy buddies. Went out for some good authentic Mexican food with Chris and his new fiance Leticia. Stayed up late watching Jay and Silent Bob - cracks me up everytime I see it.

Chris's House in Oxnard California	Garage full of toys
The "RING"	Zeus and Angie

Got up the next morning fairly early, went out for breakfast with Chris and hit the road @8:30am. Headed up I-101 until it split into I-1 (The Pacific Coast Highway) Went through Mailbu and several other beach cities, stopping for a few pictures when I could. Went through Lompoc, and near San Luis Obispo ran into some heavy highway construction in a mountain pass which delayed traffic for hours. I thought I was screwed, bike was getting hot, I was still in leather from the earlier ride up the coast in the slight fog. Couple of guys on baggers riding two up with their wives(?) came by up the middle between lanes and told me "Come on buddy let's go"......learned all about lane splitting for the next 10-15 miles up and over the hill. It was tight, but we all made it through without scraping anything.

Stopped at a rest area in a canyon and met a guy in his late 70's from Missouri who was riding a Gold Wing.....he had wanted a bike all his life but his wife wouldn't allow it, too dangerous. She passed last year, he bought the bike, hit the road, and was about 5900 miles into a road trip. He was headed north and told me he had to ride across the Golden Gate Bridge.

I was running behind the clock, had to make Sacramento by dinner, so cut inland back to I-101. Ran through the farm country, lot's of little towns and things to see. Blew up the coast past Laguna Seca to Salinas and cut over to Hollister. I was getting into town a day after the big rally, but there were still plenty of bike folks in town and things to see. Mainly I'd planned at stopping at Hollister Harley Davidson to buy a frikkin T-Shirt, but turns out they are closed on Monday and Tuesday..missed them by that much chief.

The road from Hollister to I-5 was great, uphill and ran alongside a huge reservoir. I ran through Stockton, and was hitting the fringes of Sacramento just as rush hour was winding down. I was tired, sore, and almost out of gas. I pulled off at Elk Grove and started hunting for a gas station......had to go miles off the freeway to find one.

Finished gassing up, put on my helmet, gloves, and sun glasses. swung my leg over the bike and sat her upright. At that point I saw that I'd forgotten to put the gas cap back on and had gas running out of the tank onto the hot engine and exaust pipes. I leaned the bike back over to set her back on the sidestand. By the time I remembered I'd already swept the kickstand up into place the bike was over center and I couldn't hold it up....it went all the way over to the ground. I had to pull my leg free and gas was still pouring out all over me. Two young guys ran over and pulled the bike upright and asked "Are you OK mister??"......I was OK, but felt like a dumbass. The bike was OK too, new windshield had a minor scrape on the edge, footpeg was scraped, clutch lever was scraped, mirror needed adjusting, and the clutch inspection cover on the primary case was slightly scratched.

Saddled back up after taking about 20 minutes to hose the gas off the bike and drink a bottle of water. Rode the last 20 miles into Sacramento, found the folks place, unloaded the bike, grabbed a bite to eat and a shower and hit the sack.

Stayed Tuesday and Wednesday at Mom and Dad's place, wednesday we went out to a new Indian Casino for lunch. They had the biggest buffet I'd ever seen.....we hit the slots, I lost the $4 I had, Dad hit a $67 jackpot that payed for our lunch. It was a lot of fun.

Thursday morning I slept in a bit, had some breakfast, did some laundry, loaded the bike up and headed out about 3:30 for Jackson California. It was close, so was pulling in by 4:30 or so. Didn't have any trouble finding John (Redbeard Emeritus) and Connie's place, had a couple locally brewed beers (which reminded me of how much of a lightweight I am), and met their neighbor Dennis (more Netscum). Connie sat us down for a wonderful dinner, main course was salmon. We listened to some Dixieland, and then put on a CD of Igor...playing a song about Motorcycles. I used to go listen to Igor play at Crazy Ed's here at home in Phoenix about 30 years ago......we retired to the patio, sat out in the cool of the evening swapping stories and enjoying the breeze and the company. Thier dog Whiskey loves to play and just insisted on getting plenty of attention, when I went to bed that night he was already hiding under the bed. Stayed up way too late...but it was worth every minute of it.

Next morning I was up early, Connie sat us down with a light breakfast for the road and a bit more conversation. John rode with me up highway 88 to Markleeville and Monitor pass, stopped and had a cold drink at the Cutthroat Bar, although John tells me it's been turned from a great biker bar to a frilly froo froo place. Went up the hill a bit farther, John turned off on highway 4 for the loop back home, I kept going up and over to highway 395.

Markleeville - near Monitor Pass

The newly sissified Cutthroat Bar

More Markleeville - Dennis's Bike

Crossed over the Sierra-Nevada's to the east side, I was at nearly 9000 feet, it was cool and beautiful up there. Followed the mountain range all the way south past Mount Whitney and into the Mohave Desert. It was starting to get hot then. Made it into Barstow for the night, grabbed a cold shower in place of dinner and slept like a baby all night long.

Saturday morning I was up and out for a bite to eat and was back on the road heading for Needles California. Crossed back into Arizona on my way to Kingman, slid down to Wickenburg, and was home by @2:30 on July 12th.....can't believe how hot it was the last couple hours of the ride.

Near Needles California - Headed towards Las Vegas - Followed me through the desert

This was "The Ride" I've been waiting for, tried it back in about 1974. Rode from San Diego up to Bakersfield on my little Honda before I turned back. This time I made the whole circuit, Phoenix to L.A. to Sacramento, and back to Phoenix. I rode somewhere between 1600 and 1800 miles in four days of riding. I was on the road alone, out in the middle of nowhere most of the time, and sometimes in pretty desolate areas. Had a lot of time to myself for reflection, but met up with old friends and made some new ones. Saw things I'll never forget, and pushed myself sometimes to limits I didn't think I could make......now I've got to start planning the next one.....

Thanks especially to John and Connie for making the last leg of my trip extra special, our doors will always be open for you guys if yer in the neighborhood.