elaw2309
16-08-2011, 02:17 AM
454647
The idea of riding my motorcycle down the US west coast and back was originally planted several years ago after reading magazine stories of avid riders traversing the country on their hogs. Friends have frequently shared their experiences of the beautiful winding road especially along the Oregon and California coastline. The motorcycle seemed the ideal mode of transport for me especially when I am easily bored in a car, and very susceptible to motion sickness.
The pressures at work were unpredictable making it difficult to decide when to take the trip, so we tentatively booked 3 weeks around the time friends were going to be in Napa with a car. Nothing is worse than trying to do the wine route on a motorcycle! Although the work schedule did not align perfectly with my dates, we decided to go anyway. The thought was that the longer we postponed it, the harder it would be to physically enjoy this endurance trip. Most riders would have been better prepared for such a journey, like owning a touring bike equipped with a fairing and windscreen to protect the rider from high winds, proper luggage bags that fit the bike so that the air flow would not be impeded and bum friendly seats.
We had none of that, but improvised with backpacks, padded pants and sheepskin for the seat. We laid on the tank to avoid being blown off or having the entire bike involuntarily relocated onto another lane while riding through wind farms. Since I had little luggage space, and already struggled with the weight of the bike, I opted to only take my winter and rain gear, and left my summer mesh jacket behind. This caused discomfort at times when the temperatures exceeded 35C. We deliberately avoided areas like Palm Springs and Bakersfield, California with temperatures up to 44c where I would have certainly died of heat exhaustion. Irrespective, I don’t believe Conan, my bike is even tuned to run under those obscene temperatures.
Our trip started in Vancouver, Canada on the morning of July 24 2011. We pretty much left around 9am every morning, averaged about 300-400 kms per day, stopped briefly for lunch and to fill up with gas and finished up around 4-5pm. We rode every day, except for 3 days of rest in Napa, California. We survived mostly on fast foods (hence the weight gain) and some fresh seafood along the coast and the buffet in Reno, Nevada! Garminista, the GPS was helpful when we needed to get in and out of town, and find lodging and food. At times, she sent us on a wild goose chase but we forgave her after realizing that recent construction had changed the landscape!
One of the most tantalising twisties was through the treed mountains around Cummings, California where Route 101 joined Route 1. This section of the road was quiet allowing us to take more risks as we negotiated the tight turns. However, we still had to be cautious of cyclists for whom I had great admiration. They managed to doggedly drag themselves up hills with bags tied to both front and back wheels and carrying a backpack! The most scenic section of the coastline proved to be around the Big Sur area, between Monterey and San Luis Obispo in California. The sheer cliff drops into the ocean was enough to make my heart stop from the beauty and fear of riding right off the edge. Oncoming cars and trucks in the blind corners forced me to ride a bit more conservatively.
The Napa Valley is a beautiful area if you appreciate wine and moderate summer temperatures. We joined our friends in Napa on a wine tasting trip to Beringer, Opus and Robert Mondavi wineries. Opus wines are exceptional at $30 for a taste and several hundred dollars for a bottle. It’s pretty hard to now downgrade to the Two Buck Chuck! We did not have the chance to explore Sonoma or the less famous Paso Robles valleys but skirted the areas as we continued south on our journey.
The coastline was in general fairly cold and foggy and it wasn’t until we reached Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara in California when we were finally able to take a comfortable stroll along the beach. We also participated in the Old Spanish Days week long fiesta in the Santa Barbara downtown area. This town exuded some great vibe with lots of young and athletic folk around!
It was time to turn our bikes around and start migrating north. We took Route 41 towards Fresno, California and for the first half of that trip, I almost believed I was going to run out of gas and be left in this deserted wasteland to suffer a torturous death. The heat emanating from the pavement must’ve been about 40c, and I even saw a mirage which seemed far from an illusion! There were no signs of vegetation, water or living creatures until we thankfully reached the I5 junction.
We continued north towards Yosemite National Park and spent some time navigating the wonderful treed twisties in the park. We had planned to ride through the entire park, but the weekend traffic at 30km/hr became too arduous so we continued north on Route 120, 49 and 50 via Lake Tahoe towards Reno, baby! Of course, a weekend in Reno is not without the crowds so be prepared for a one hour check-in because hotels are obviously cutting back on staff. They even charged a $5 fee because the hotel is attached to a casino!
The northward journey on the exceptionally paved and quiet Route 395 from Reno had the most amazing views, and quaint little towns like Likely, California (pop. 60). We experienced two other tiny towns with great personalities as we moved northwest on Route 31 via Silver Lake and north again on Route 97 via Grass Valley in Oregon. We rode through the Yakima and Wenatchee valley in Washington, the fruit capital of the world but were disappointed that the local fruit was more costly than at home. We continued west again on Route 20 across the Cascade mountains via Winthrop, Washington. Route 20 has delicious sweepers but the weather is generally cool because you reach 5500ft at the highest point.
I was determined to avoid the I5 so we proceeded on Route 9 and 539 across the Canadian/US border after filling up with our full quota of duty free wines and heading home on Highway 1. It was at this time that I truly appreciated the quality of roads in the United States. They have the most amazing road network, which are all beautifully paved, with clearly painted lines and informative signs - whether they run through densely populated areas, or are just two lanes in the remotest part of the country.
I had never taken a road trip longer than a weekend in a car let alone a 5800km trip on a motorcycle so this was quite an experience for me. It was only after I started on the journey when I realized just how exposed I was on a bike in foreign territory. As we got further away from home, I became a little more apprehensive knowing that if I caught a tummy bug, or incurred a minor injury or damage as a result of dropping my bike, it would cause more inconvenience than if I were driving a car. We were fortunate enough to not have any unforeseen incidences except for a wrong turn every now and then. Overall, it was an experience of a lifetime and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. With another item checked off my bucket list, I am ready for the next one!
The idea of riding my motorcycle down the US west coast and back was originally planted several years ago after reading magazine stories of avid riders traversing the country on their hogs. Friends have frequently shared their experiences of the beautiful winding road especially along the Oregon and California coastline. The motorcycle seemed the ideal mode of transport for me especially when I am easily bored in a car, and very susceptible to motion sickness.
The pressures at work were unpredictable making it difficult to decide when to take the trip, so we tentatively booked 3 weeks around the time friends were going to be in Napa with a car. Nothing is worse than trying to do the wine route on a motorcycle! Although the work schedule did not align perfectly with my dates, we decided to go anyway. The thought was that the longer we postponed it, the harder it would be to physically enjoy this endurance trip. Most riders would have been better prepared for such a journey, like owning a touring bike equipped with a fairing and windscreen to protect the rider from high winds, proper luggage bags that fit the bike so that the air flow would not be impeded and bum friendly seats.
We had none of that, but improvised with backpacks, padded pants and sheepskin for the seat. We laid on the tank to avoid being blown off or having the entire bike involuntarily relocated onto another lane while riding through wind farms. Since I had little luggage space, and already struggled with the weight of the bike, I opted to only take my winter and rain gear, and left my summer mesh jacket behind. This caused discomfort at times when the temperatures exceeded 35C. We deliberately avoided areas like Palm Springs and Bakersfield, California with temperatures up to 44c where I would have certainly died of heat exhaustion. Irrespective, I don’t believe Conan, my bike is even tuned to run under those obscene temperatures.
Our trip started in Vancouver, Canada on the morning of July 24 2011. We pretty much left around 9am every morning, averaged about 300-400 kms per day, stopped briefly for lunch and to fill up with gas and finished up around 4-5pm. We rode every day, except for 3 days of rest in Napa, California. We survived mostly on fast foods (hence the weight gain) and some fresh seafood along the coast and the buffet in Reno, Nevada! Garminista, the GPS was helpful when we needed to get in and out of town, and find lodging and food. At times, she sent us on a wild goose chase but we forgave her after realizing that recent construction had changed the landscape!
One of the most tantalising twisties was through the treed mountains around Cummings, California where Route 101 joined Route 1. This section of the road was quiet allowing us to take more risks as we negotiated the tight turns. However, we still had to be cautious of cyclists for whom I had great admiration. They managed to doggedly drag themselves up hills with bags tied to both front and back wheels and carrying a backpack! The most scenic section of the coastline proved to be around the Big Sur area, between Monterey and San Luis Obispo in California. The sheer cliff drops into the ocean was enough to make my heart stop from the beauty and fear of riding right off the edge. Oncoming cars and trucks in the blind corners forced me to ride a bit more conservatively.
The Napa Valley is a beautiful area if you appreciate wine and moderate summer temperatures. We joined our friends in Napa on a wine tasting trip to Beringer, Opus and Robert Mondavi wineries. Opus wines are exceptional at $30 for a taste and several hundred dollars for a bottle. It’s pretty hard to now downgrade to the Two Buck Chuck! We did not have the chance to explore Sonoma or the less famous Paso Robles valleys but skirted the areas as we continued south on our journey.
The coastline was in general fairly cold and foggy and it wasn’t until we reached Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara in California when we were finally able to take a comfortable stroll along the beach. We also participated in the Old Spanish Days week long fiesta in the Santa Barbara downtown area. This town exuded some great vibe with lots of young and athletic folk around!
It was time to turn our bikes around and start migrating north. We took Route 41 towards Fresno, California and for the first half of that trip, I almost believed I was going to run out of gas and be left in this deserted wasteland to suffer a torturous death. The heat emanating from the pavement must’ve been about 40c, and I even saw a mirage which seemed far from an illusion! There were no signs of vegetation, water or living creatures until we thankfully reached the I5 junction.
We continued north towards Yosemite National Park and spent some time navigating the wonderful treed twisties in the park. We had planned to ride through the entire park, but the weekend traffic at 30km/hr became too arduous so we continued north on Route 120, 49 and 50 via Lake Tahoe towards Reno, baby! Of course, a weekend in Reno is not without the crowds so be prepared for a one hour check-in because hotels are obviously cutting back on staff. They even charged a $5 fee because the hotel is attached to a casino!
The northward journey on the exceptionally paved and quiet Route 395 from Reno had the most amazing views, and quaint little towns like Likely, California (pop. 60). We experienced two other tiny towns with great personalities as we moved northwest on Route 31 via Silver Lake and north again on Route 97 via Grass Valley in Oregon. We rode through the Yakima and Wenatchee valley in Washington, the fruit capital of the world but were disappointed that the local fruit was more costly than at home. We continued west again on Route 20 across the Cascade mountains via Winthrop, Washington. Route 20 has delicious sweepers but the weather is generally cool because you reach 5500ft at the highest point.
I was determined to avoid the I5 so we proceeded on Route 9 and 539 across the Canadian/US border after filling up with our full quota of duty free wines and heading home on Highway 1. It was at this time that I truly appreciated the quality of roads in the United States. They have the most amazing road network, which are all beautifully paved, with clearly painted lines and informative signs - whether they run through densely populated areas, or are just two lanes in the remotest part of the country.
I had never taken a road trip longer than a weekend in a car let alone a 5800km trip on a motorcycle so this was quite an experience for me. It was only after I started on the journey when I realized just how exposed I was on a bike in foreign territory. As we got further away from home, I became a little more apprehensive knowing that if I caught a tummy bug, or incurred a minor injury or damage as a result of dropping my bike, it would cause more inconvenience than if I were driving a car. We were fortunate enough to not have any unforeseen incidences except for a wrong turn every now and then. Overall, it was an experience of a lifetime and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. With another item checked off my bucket list, I am ready for the next one!