Let there be .. A Ride Report.

Let there be .. a ride report! Yes, finally and long overdue! :) 

A few months ago I had predicted, if not promised that it would be 2015 before any motorcycle content may show up on this blog. At that time I was expecting that I may actually not have any time to ride till the new year rolls around. I was only partly correct, and the report which follows is of a ride in December of 2014. It's just that I have only now found the time to write about it. :)

It was not a foray into uncharted and unknown territories, I was re-discovering some familiar grounds, which I had not stomped on in quite a while, while hoping to rejuvenate some friendships along the way, which had also laid dormant for quite some time. It was to be an oft piloted route to San Diego, with some beloved stops along the way - including the Big Sur coastline. The weather gods, however, had a different plan. The California coast and the rest of the state, had just a day ago, been hit by what some were calling the "Storm of the Century", the Pacific Highway had predictably experienced landslides and was closed in several locations, it was going to be a pre-dominantly uneventful and very fast in-land route for me, until I could mosey over to the coast just past Paso Robles on Hwy 46 to meet the coastline just south of Cambria. 

It had been a while, since a ride of a longer duration, and I wasn't quite in the mood to stop to take pictures along the way. In fact, I didn't take any pictures along the ride on this day, till I reached my destination. I had a feeling this first day had actually set the trend for this trip. No pictures, till I was stopped for the day, so that's what this ride report will present, for the most part. 

My stop of the day was beloved Morro Bay. I was meeting my friends Tim and Mary for dinner here, before dinner, however, I was going to catch the show .. the light show. :)

Let there be .. Light! 

The show was only just beginning. Here is the first view, looking at the Morro Bay Docks as the sky was just beginning to turn.

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". 

(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..