Going to Santa Barbara CA and I want to ride. Need Suggestions, Recommendations

[waricle]

Very impressive.
They look like a flying refrigerator on wheels.
Cold beer mmmmm...

[FJ12]

Yes that video is pretty good, but crap it sounded like there was a lot of scraping going on and it would be nice to see an FJ with them to see what sort of pace they were doing and if they could keep up. Most of them are like you are riding behind a couch going up the road - they look so wide, no offense intended to any Goldwing riders out there.

Colin

[the fan]

I have ridden with the guy shooting the video and most of the east coast rally attendees would have a hard time keeping up. There were a few places where he pulled on me, which is fairly rare on public roads.

"yellow Wolf's" wing has a ton of work done to the suspension but is otherwise stock. He ran a business for a while filming other riders, and the look in his eye showing a demo video with a sport rider losing ground with his knee on the ground was priceless.

check this out...

http://killboy.blogspot.com/2006/10/titanium-butt.html

[Harvy]

Bill, just watched that video.........couple of comments.
YW obviously knows that road like the back of his hand.......very smooth and hardly ever over the double lines.
The Duke rider seemed to be very stuttery in his riding style.......especially in the early part of the run......over the double lines quite often.....maybe not as familiar with the road?

Harvy

[the fan]

Definitely. Rick (YW) knows that road like the back of his hand, but it does go to show what a well ridden and set up bike can do... even a behemoth like the wing.

[axiom-r]

Hi all-  I am brand new here to the forum but I live in San Luis Obispo so thought I would chime in about ride suggestions.  Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo is a 1.5 hour ride on Hwy 101. You can take Hwy 154 through Cachuma Lake Pass as a nice connector route and save about 15 minutes while enjoying a better road. Hwy 1 and Hwy 101 are the same road for much of the trip north from SB towards SLO. You don't really want to be on "the 1" between Las Cruces and Arroyo Grande i would suggest using 101.  Hwy 1 becomes enjoyable north San Luis Obipso as you head to Cambria.  If you are going that way it will be 2.5 hours up the Big Sur coast to Carmel where you could cut over to Laguna Seca on Carmel Valley Rd. connecting to Laurels Grade- all superb roads.  That is the ride I take for the USGP.

If you are not ready to spend the night in Monterey I would look closer to Santa Barbara as there are great roads there too.  Someone suggested Hwy 150 into Ojai- from there fine Hwy 33 and you are in paradise.  33 climbs through some incredible alpine passes of the Los Padres National Forrest....  it is my new favorite day trip.

tim

Welcome, I don't really post that much, more of a lurker. But I don't usually miss an east coast rally since I bought my FJ three years ago. If you haven't been to a rally, definitely do so. I can't speak of the west coast rally goers but you'll never meet a more fun, obnoxious, depressed, happy go lucky, pain in the ass, talk to little, talk to much, crazy, conservative, fast, slow, intermediate (insert PC term "diverse") riders as you do at an east coast rally. Thanks for the route input. We're actually going to be leaving out of Santa Anna in the morning, shooting for 7a.m. departure. My initial idea was to take 101 into Morro Bay and find a spot for lunch (if you have a recommendation lets hear it) then one up to Big Sur. Then something farther inland for the return back to Santa Anna. Its the return thats up in the air at this time. Or would you think a better idea would be to take an inland route up and return via one and 101. Oh and if your up for a ride or part of it feel free to join us. Looking at riding on a weekday to avoid as much traffic and the law as possible. 

Santa Ana to Morro Bay will be about 3.5 hours and I would suggest that you negotiate LA based on AM traffic, get onto the 101 north to Santa Barbara and then you have a choice: long straights on 101 right along the coast or save 15 minutes and go over Cachuma Lake Pass on Hwy 154.  You will see on any map that 154 cuts off a portion of the trip for you.  Both have good scenery- you may want the 101 route if it is not foggy and you want to ride right along the coast for a bit. If it is foggy then cutting over the grade will put you "in the fog" and then above it.  Coastal weather does not reach the east side of Cachuma pass.

Definitely take 101 and not 1 up to Morro Bay once you are north of SB.  You will get back onto the 1 in San Luis Obispo. For lunch I highly recommend Taco Temple for fresh fish and "California Fresh" Mexican food.  2nd choice would be Bay Side Cafe which is well.... down by the bay side! They have a typical menu and its a cool spot. Taco Temple is the better food though- we love the place.  Taco Temple is also right on your route. There are a couple of lights on the highway in Morro Bay- turn right at the first one "San Jacinto" and double back south on the frontage road half a mile.  The restaurant is in the parking lot of Spencers Grocery.

It will be a little more than 2+ hours between Morro Bay and Carmel. This is THE section of Hwy 1 that makes riders drool.  There is no advisable road to head inland until you reach Carmel. Big Sur is closer to Carmel but about half way between there and MB.  Be sure to buy fuel in Morro Bay and top off!  You will pay close to $4 a gallon on Hwy 1 north of Cambria and the stations are few. See how you are/feel when you hit Carmel. If you both still have the legs for it you could come back down the 1 and reverse your trip. If it is late and you want to make better time, cut east back to the 101 for the trip south.  You could do this on Carmel Valley Rd. (first light in Carmel on Hwy 1- there is also a Chevron Station there) connecting to Laurels Grade (a left turn).  Laurels grade connects you to Hwy 68 East that runs right into 101.  If you turn left onto 68 (west) you are about a mile from the entrance to Laguna Seca.

I am in the middle of rebuilding my front end and waiting on some caliper seals. If my bike is together I am up for some miles for sure! My buddy has a Futura and we have been talking about a ride for awhile so maybe the timing will work out!  I will look back at your posts for the dates..


tim

[zero26tb4u]

I am in the middle of rebuilding my front end and waiting on some caliper seals. If my bike is together I am up for some miles for sure! My buddy has a Futura and we have been talking about a ride for awhile so maybe the timing will work out!  I will look back at your posts for the dates..


tim
[/quote]

Thanks, the route is getting clearer and now I have a local recommendation for eats. Looks like the ride is going to be set up for Thursday the 11th. Get the stops on the FJ done and hopefully we'll see you out there.

[zero26tb4u]

Back home now, the ride was excellent. Ended up with about 800 miles an the Concourse in about 16 hours time. MD now knows the true meaning of monkey butt. I'll try to post more detailed ride report with pics later this week. Roads very similar to Boone and Tellico with a little more wide open areas along the coast but the scenery is exceptional and the pics unfortunately do not do it justice.