Your dad only turns 80 once...

[Capn Ron]

Seventh Leg Day 2: Carson City, NV to Santa Rosa, CA (250 miles)

So, I woke up this morning knowing I only had a wisp of brake pad left on the front end and I was heading up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains!  I started the day by making a bunch of phone calls to motorcycle shops and Yamaha dealers.  No luck at all.  Certainly nothing in stock for the ol' girl and ordering something would take a couple of days.  Well, it looks like my ride will include a LOT of aggressive downshifting and looking FAR ahead!  With that in mind and a little brake pad left on the rear end, I set off.  This was my ride for the day:



Climbing up the east side of the Sierra Nevadas was nice.  I was making gains in altitude and very welcome drops in temperature!  Once you get about fifteen miles up highway 50, you are rewarded with spectacular views of Lake Tahoe.  Seriously...I used to ski Tahoe years ago and forgot how beautiful it is up there!



As I worked my way down the west side of the mountains and into Sacramento, the heat picked up again...nearly 100 and I again was missing the cool air and rain in Canada!  As soon as I could, I got off interstate 80 and rode north of Napa along route 128.  It was quite pleasant...with very few cars and some nice views.  I pulled off in the shade of some California Oak trees to check the navigation app and figure out where I'd end up for the night:



Hey...those are some fine looking grape vines!!!  I made the mental note to plan a trip back to this area to taste what Napa and Sonoma have to offer!  In the meantime, I headed further west to Santa Rosa.  I knew there was a Yamaha dealer in town, so I went by there to see if they had any brake pads.  They had ONE set.  Basically, the two pads to do just ONE caliper in the front and they could order the other side.  I guess I'll just have to keep planning well ahead and downshifting a lot over the next few days.  I got a hotel in Santa Rosa for the night and cranked up the air conditioning!

The last two days have been a lot of dull riding in some pretty hot conditions...I'm planning on heading straight for the coast in the morning...that will make for some cool temperatures, fun roads and some great views!

Cap'n Ron. . .

[fintip]

I feel pretty certain that some website that sells brake pads (sixity, perhaps?) would have fed-ex as an option, if not just some ebay seller.

Looks beautiful indeed!

[Capn Ron]

Seventh Leg Day 3: Santa Rosa, CA to Watsonville, CA (250 miles)

With just a few more days left on this adventure, I wanted to take in as much as I could today.  I checked my nav app to see if there were any wineries between the 101 and the ocean.  I made a rough plan for the day and set out.  My journey today looked like this:



I was thrilled to be heading west to the Pacific Coast Highway.  I have ridden every mile of it south of San Francisco, many times...but this section would all be new to me.  First order of business though was a stop at Martinelli Winery just north of Santa Rosa on River Road: 



I'm a big fan of zinfandel wines and Martinelli is well known for these.  I had a great tasting experience there and picked up an unfiltered chardonnay and a "Jackass Vinyard" zinfandel.  Those grapes were from truly "Old Vines" having been planted in the late 1800's...Very nice! 

I took River Road through the Russian River Valley all the way to the coast and was rewarded with great motorcycle roads and nice cool temperatures...about 40 degrees cooler than my ride yesterday!  The views of the ocean were nice even with a bit of fog:



The next attraction I put into the nav app was the Point Reyes Lighthouse, so off I went.  On the way, I stopped off in a tiny town for some lunch.  I met a couple of other motorcycle riders there on 1960's BSAs...very cool!  I also met a couple that pulled up in a 1967 Datsun Roadster...I have a '67 1/2 Roadster, so I started up a chat about their car.  While he went into the store, I was talking with his wife.  She asked about my trip and I told her I had just crossed the U.S. and came back across the entire width of Canada.  She said, "WOW!!!  Have you ever thought about any international motorcycling?"  I paused for a second..."Um...Canada IS another country."   

I rode all the way out to the Point Reyes Lighthouse only to find it was closed on Wednesdays.  The ride was nice and the hike out to the point was pretty cool.  I just loved these trees!



I'll definitely go back if I'm in the area!

I then rode to the Golden Gate Bridge...I parked the bike at the visitor's center and walked across the bridge.  This is from mid-way looking north towards Sausalito:



I watched the sailboats for a while and the fog rolled in:



I spent a little time just soaking it in and snapping a few pictures:



That was very enjoyable and highly recommended!

I got back on the bike and headed south hugging the coast as much as possible.  As I was nearing Half Moon Bay, it was getting late, so I started calling hotels to check on rates.  "Oh, yes, we have two rooms left and they are $258 for tonight."  Whoa!  Next place was the same...and the next...and the next.  The least expensive I found was $150/night and it was booked solid.  WOW...I forgot that I'm in the San Francisco area...in the summer season.  I decided to just keep riding south to get farther away from the city...maybe that would help.  As far down as Santa Cruz and it wasn't much better.  I rode further to Watsonville and spotted a hotel with a lot of work trucks in the parking lot.  They usually get a hotel with a good rate if they're working in the area.  The girl at reception told me the rooms were $138/night and I felt defeated.  I think she picked up on this...she smiled and said, "You're in the military aren't you?"  It took me a second and I said, "As far as you know..."  She gave me a $105 rate and I thanked her as all the hotels were really adding up! 

I rode over to a place to pick up some Chinese food to have back at the hotel room with the chardonnay I picked up this morning.  A perfect end to a near perfect day!

Cap'n Ron. . .

[movenon]

Awesome adventure Ron  . Truly one of the motorcycle trips of a lifetime. I would like to ask what your camera did you use? As I am up for a new one before the next riding season.
George

[Capn Ron]

Awesome adventure Ron  . Truly one of the motorcycle trips of a lifetime. I would like to ask what your camera did you use? As I am up for a new one before the next riding season.
George

Hey George!

About half of the pictures I've posed here, I took using my iPhone 4S...mostly because it was always at hand and takes surprisingly decent shots!  The real shortcoming of the iPhone as a camera is in the fixed optics.  If I needed a wide shot (the Spruce Goose in McMinnville, OR), a close-up shot (Black bear in the Canadian Rockies)...or if I had a difficult light situation (sunset shots on Prince Edward Island), I broke out the "big" camera.

I call it the "big" camera, just because it's bigger than the iPhone...  In the past, I've carried both film and digital Canon SLR cameras and a slew of lenses and flash units (WAY overkill and prohibitively cumbersome).  I've also carried pocket sized point and shoot digital cameras (disappointed with the features/performance and resulting shots).  The camera I now carry is considered a "bridge" camera...somewhere between a point and shoot and a full SLR.  It's a Canon SX40 HS



You can can just shoot it full auto or control every aspect of your shots like an SLR, but has a single lens that will zoom from 24mm wide angle to 840mm telephoto (film equivalent).  It's light, doesn't require constant lens changes and feels good in the hand.  Well worth the cost (around $400) and it makes the decision to throw it in your tank bag easy.  

The SX50 HS is out now and it has slightly better specs...(higher ISO and goes to 1200mm telephoto) and hovers around that $400 price point.



Amazing little cameras!!!

Cap'n Ron. . .

[movenon]

Thanks Ron. I have a Pentax Digital SLR but it is bulkier than I like just to pack around. Nothing perfect . Not to impressed with any of the point and shoot cameras that I have had. They pack well but that's about it.
I am going to hate to see your trip report end, maybe you can do it clockwise now and see it from a different angle  ..
George

[Capn Ron]

Thanks Ron. I have a Pentax Digital SLR but it is bulkier than I like just to pack around. Nothing perfect . Not to impressed with any of the point and shoot cameras that I have had. They pack well but that's about it.
I am going to hate to see your trip report end, maybe you can do it clockwise now and see it from a different angle  ..
George

Yeah, I'm going to be sad to end the "couch touring" I've been doing during this ride report!  I've still got a few more entries to go with a few of my favorite pictures of the trip!

I just looked over some of the SX40 vs. SX50 specs and the SX40 has a faster lens (better light gathering), so I'm in no rush to upgrade to the SX50.  In fact, the SX40 HS is a real bargain now...New from B&H, no taxes, shipped for $314!!!  

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=822123&is=REG&A=details&Q=

Cap'n Ron. . .

[movenon]

That is a good price on the SX 40. That's about where I fit in. I generally find myself buying CPU's and the like at the financial "sweet spot". I like the spec's.
Over the years I have bought from B&H before always good prices and service.
Thanks for letting us digitally ride along with you. Its going to be a long winter..... Keep posting.. 
George

[CanDman]

Hey Ron...I didn't realize how beautiful SoCal was......sad to see this trip winding down.....when I head down there for my stop over in April....10 days won't days won't even scratch the surface..... ....that water in Lake Tahoe is incredible !!!!
Kev

[Capn Ron]

Seventh Leg Day 4: Watsonville, CA to San Simeon, CA (125 miles)

Today was a short riding day for a couple of reasons...The roads and the views on Pacific Coast Highway in the Big Sur area are simply amazing!  No need to rush through here and today was all about taking it all in.  You are first greeted with this most welcome sign: 



I wanted to camp in San Simeon just 125 miles south for a couple of nights so off I went on a nice liesurly ride!  This was my route for today:



For anyone who has ridden the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton, I highly encourage you to give PCH a try.  For nearly seventy miles, you're committed to the coastal route and are frequently rewarded with views like this:



I rode about another twenty miles and pulled over to get some shots of the amazing coastline:



I was gazing out over the ocean watching the birds circle and snapping a few pictures:



I suppose I was there around fifteen minutes or so and turned around to get on the bike when I saw this on the cliff right above me!



For the very observant, that's a California Condor!!!  They are the largest of any North American bird and can have a wingspan of nearly TEN FEET!  This is one of only 237 known living in the wild.  It was a very rare sighting...I took as many pictures as I could:



In the above picture, you can see the radio tag on its left wing.  It was happy to pose for some close-ups...



I rode further south and pulled over to check out the sea lions.  There's one cove where the beach has hundreds of them!



A mom and her pup taking an afternoon nap:



And this Jabba-the-hut lookin' creature!!



I was only a few miles from the campground at San Simeon State Park and I had no problem getting a tent site on a Thursday night.  I set up my Redverz tent under the shade of a pine tree for the last time on this trip:



I'm planning on doing some riding around in the hills in the area tomorrow and doing some wine tasting in Paso Robles (about 30 miles east).  I'm only 200 miles from home now and I don't want this trip to end...I figure a day of wine tasting will be a great way to wrap this all up.

Cap'n Ron. . .

[Capn Ron]

Thanks for letting us digitally ride along with you. Its going to be a long winter..... Keep posting.. 
George

Thanks for coming along for the "digital ride"...I sort of forget that most of the country puts their bikes up for the winter!  If'n yer after another good yarn, I've been thinking about posting the full rebuild saga...Call it the prequel to this trip.  It took me about three years on the calendar, but I imagine I could sum it up in about a month.   

Cap'n Ron. . .

[Bminder]

Ron, I look at the times you post your stuff, and I have to ask, when do you sleep??

[1tinindian]

Please do the rebuild story. It will be great reading the way you present the story!
1st rate, mate!

Leon

[movenon]

Please do the rebuild story. It will be great reading the way you present the story!
1st rate, mate!

Leon

+1       
George

[The General]

Please do the rebuild story. It will be great reading the way you present the story!
1st rate, mate!

Leon

+1       
George

+1