My Valentine's on two wheels.

What's a single guy to do? Well, let me rephrase that question. What's a single guy, whose bike is broken, to do? That's correct, fix his bike! Women will leave you, yes, even the good ones, but a man's motorcycle is forever (or can be repaired, improved or replaced, hopefully with something better - somewhat easily!). ;-)

So, what's a single guy to do, but to relearn, reacquaint and rekindle the romance and the passion which rises, when astride 1298 cc's of raw, sonorous power for hundreds upon hundreds of gorgeous miles!

This year, Valentine's day was to be for me a celebration of some of my loves. Motorcycling, photography and photography while motorcycling, among a few other things. It was only mid February, in the dead of Winter, but the weather gods had changed their mind and decided to let Spring in, if only for a few days. No better day and no better weather to be on (you guessed it) the California coast at Big Sur.

What do Sunsets mean to you?

It was labor day weekend and I had an extra day off secured after the long weekend. The question that my unquenchable wanderlust asks me is always the same...

"Wanna get away?"

Why, yes of course I do! How long does it take to pack my bags for a fun 4 day get away (2 day riding, and 2 day lounging at the beach)? No time at all when I am motivated. Never mind that I worked really late last night, or that the oft repeated question in my psyche wasn't posed till I woke up at 7:30am in the morning. I was heading out the door by 9:00am. 

The route, the exits, the gas stops, the food stops and the fun roads you can make great time on - I am beginning to have them memorized. Just point the mighty FJR in the right direction and shoot away through the central coast of California. The route being I5 to Hwy 156 to Hollister for late breakfast, Hwy 25 to Hwy 198 to Hwy 101 to Hwy 41 to Hwy 229 to Creston for a late lunch, to Hwy 58 back to I5 to I405 and then back again to I5 to have friends and dinner waiting for you. 

Which brings me back to - "Wanna get away?" Thanks Southwest, but I already got it covered, and I will pass on that groping hand up my legs till it "meets resistance". 

It's good to see the ocean.

The Redwoods along the Northern Calif. coast  had been calling me over for a visit all year, and every time I had been putting off their invitation. I am glad they didn't give up, because in August I finally had the opportunity to go see them again and reconnect after a couple year absence. 

I had a very late start on the first day, so it was mostly just a commute day. I did ride up the coast, but being a weekend day, there was traffic the mighty FJR had to muscle around, so I didn't make any stops for pictures. There would be plenty of stops for pictures the next couple of days. :)

I was staying in Fort Bragg at the Weller House Inn. This place is on the National Registry of Historical Places. The oldest existing house in the city of Fort Bragg and it has been fully restored as a B&B. It is a pretty place and the Innkeeper and staff (mostly foreign students from Europe and Australia) try really hard to provide you the best service that they can, but it seems this B7B is barely making it and it has started to show in it's upkeep. It is really expensive to maintain a really old house and the cutting of corners has started to show. In my opinion despite the great service, there are much better option in Mendocino about 10 miles south of Fort Bragg, for around the same price. 

If you are interested in knowing more. Here is a link to the B&B:

Link to Weller House Inn B&B.

The next morning, I took some pictures of the place before breakfast. The grounds are all organic and photogenic. :)

California Coast: An artist's dream come true..

April was bringing another opportunity to explore the California coast, and the chance to explore some new friendships and rejuvenate the ties to old friends, lest they fray given the rigors of lapsed time whilst tending to the many distractions of a busy life.

The opportunity was a RTE (Ride To Eat) in gorgeously scenic Big Sur, a gathering of FJR (and other) riders from Northern California and Southern California, to socialize and revel in the joys of a shared hobby and their love for what's arguably the best super sport touring machine known to man. The FJR. ;)

It was dark clouds and a steady drizzle when we first pulled up and it continued while we were there, so the camera stayed under wraps.
It did clear up a smidge when we were gearing up to ride out, I am generally not good at taking pictures of people, so I don't, but I did take a picture of my photography heroine - shown here atop her Can-Am Spyder she has affectionately named Clifford ( as in the big red dog)!

(Mostly) End of Days in Southern California.

A few words and a few more pictures from my stay in Southern California, the end week of 2011. Not a whole lot of riding involved, just to and from the beaches. I would sleep in late, go out to lunch at some restaurants by the beach and then just be a beach bum for the rest of the afternoon, run on the beach and check out and flirt with the "ahem" scenery - the kind which would talk to me anyway.. ;)

Cardiff-by-the-Sea State Beach was my more often than not hang out spot. Great restaurants right across from the beach, not crowded and it is a pretty flat beach to run on and one could run for miles on the beach with the cliffs of Solano Beach on your left and the Pacific Ocean on your right at low tide. Just don't take a nap along the cliffs before high tide, or it might become a permanent nap.. :)

These "birds" I didn't need permission to take pictures of..

Because I can: A ride down the California coast...to eat!

It was 4:30AM, as I opened the garage door, to be greeted by a dark and cold winter morning. It was the morning of the annual Ride to Eat (RTE) organized by a venerable Dutchman called Ninjaboy. I was going to ride some 390 odd miles (with detours) to Guadalupe, CA for their famous Rib-eye steaks today and socialize with fellow riders and then ride a little beyond into Santa Barbara.


Sunrise wasn't until 7:23AM. I was wearing a couple layers, with my winter windscreen on the FJR, but after riding an hour and half in the cold darkness at 77 mph and above, I was chilled right down to my bones. It was time to whip out the electrics for the first time since I have owned an FJR.
Temperatures were in the low 30s, I had ridden in the low 30s several times before without the need for electrics, I think no warmth from the sunlight and the new Firstgear Rainier jacket had something to do with this.

Looking to the east on Hwy 152, the sun was painting the sky amber, portending it's arrival over the horizon. There was no stopping to watch the sunrise, I wasn't stopping because I was heading west straight for the ocean. Couldn't see the fireball rising behind me from the east, but I could still see it's handiwork in the early morning light sky canvas.

A Slice of San Francisco and Vicinity

Part 1: Off to join the traveling circus

My friend Mark (nicknamed Wheatie, as he is from Wheaton, IL), was finally riding his motorcycle to California. His first ever visit to California on a motorcycle. After spending some time in South and Central California, Wheatie's motorcade had rolled into San Jose on Friday May 20th, a few of my Sacramento riding brethren had taken the day off to join the traveling circus which was meandering it's way to San Jose for Friday night. Despite the obvious temptation to run away and join the traveling circus myself, I remained bound to work on Friday instead. From what I am hearing I missed some good times and opportunities for embarrassing photo ops to be used as blackmail fodder on the forum for years to come. On the flip side I might have been spared some blackmail myself, at least I haven't received any anonymous notes in the mail yet.


My adventure began on Saturday morning May 21st at dawn, I was riding out to meet the traveling circus for Breakfast at the famed Alice's Restaurant. As I was leaving Sacramento on I-80, I could already tell it was going to be a very beautiful day. The sky with it's scattering of clouds diffusing the morning sunlight was giving me quite the show. It also made me think of the "Rapture", which was supposedly going to happen this beautiful day, anyone who was home cowering in fear that the world was going to end, deserved to miss out on a beautiful day!

Occidental and Bodega Bay.

oc·ci·den·tal or Oc·ci·den·tal
 (ks-dntl)
adj.Of or relating to the countries of the Occident or their peoples or cultures; western.
n.A native or inhabitant of an Occidental country; a westerner.

I have always been amused whenever I heard the name of this California town. So when Mike suggested riding to Occidental for lunch - I jumped at the chance. We have also been fortunate enough to have a little break from the soggy weather in Northern California this week. The cherry on top was supposed to be Saturday (01/15) with sunny skies and temperatures in the 60's. With that in mind, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for a ride to the always breathtaking California coast line this Winter, with an Occidental lunch break.

I met with Mike in West Sacramento @ 9AM for a Clutches out at 9:25AM. The forecast for the Sacramento Valley was clear sunny skies with a high of 64.
Hmm, well, maybe not at 9:25AM. I was hoping this wasn't a harbinger for the rest of the ride this day. The fog was dense, but not as dense as the fog which kept building up inside my SHOEI Multitec helmet. My helmet was fogging up in this weather even with the vents open - cracking the shield open and wiping off the condensation periodically seemed to be the only recourse.

Wandering in Southern California, Utah and Colorado.

Chapter 1:

I had been planning this trip all year. Almost 3 weeks off in August to go play in the southwest U.S. and a perfect tool for the job - my FJR to tour on! 


The first leg of my journey was a solo trip to SoCal to see some of my friends. I wanted to make good time so I headed down Hwy 25 to Hwy 101. Hwy 25 is always a ton of fun, Hwy 101 not so much. I was tired of Hwy 101 soon and at Paso Robles, got off at Hwy 46 to head to Hwy 1 and the ocean. As it would turn out, albeit boring, it was smart to stay on Hwy 101, as the Pacific coast was fogged in pretty dense, and Hwy 1 packed with tourists in cages (cars)...

Eureka and the Redwoods.

It was time for the WFO (Western FJR Owners) meet, Version 9 in 2010. This was going to be my first FJR Owners meet since I bought my new to me FJR in December 2009. I had been looking forward to this event all year and we were going to party it up in Eureka from Thursday July 22nd to Saturday July 24th.

With the good times to be had in mind, I headed up to Eureka on Thursday morning. I decided to take the Coastal route to enjoy the cooler temperatures and nature's air conditioning, while it burned hot on the roads inland.

It was a foggy and cold ride up Hwy 1 to Eureka on Thursday!

California's Pacific Coast and San Diego.

It was finally time for the first long adventure ride on my new to me FJR. With that in mind I set off on Wednesday April 28th, right after the big storm which rolled through Nor Cal on Tuesday, there were still trailing weather systems from the storm moving through the area, but the idea was to leave "rain or shine" and try to make the best of the conditions and push through those weather systems to drier conditions on the Central and South Coast of California.


Day 1: 

Just as I was preparing to leave, the moment I pulled the FJR out on the driveway, it started to sprinkle…