14th September 2010



The Pacific


We got on the road at 10:06 but stopped to buy cigarettes for Bill at one of the garages near to Motel 6. By 10:20 we were motoring down the 198 towards San Lucas. The 198 took us up in to rolling golden hills that were mostly unblemished by rocks or foliage. The spurs in the hills were very rounded and not angular at all. The image reminded me of a big golden duvet. The turns going up the hill were quite tight. I was making good progress and almost ended up wearing a truck, the driver of which had decided that he could use my side of the road to maintain his speedy descent. We stopped briefly in a layby to take a photograph and a drink. We saw some sort of ground squirrel who studied us closely, while scratching an itch. He stayed still long enough for me to get my camera out but not long enough for me to take a photo. The spot we picked to stop appeared to be a popular fly tipping spot; between the rocks we climbed were the remnants of at least four TVs, a mattress and a child's car seat, among other things.

We reached San Lucas then blasted down the 101 to San Miguel and on to Paso Robles, where we stopped at Starbucks for coffee and to refuel. We went from here down the 46 towards Cambria. There were lots of vineyards along the 46 and the scenery changed from mostly golden, dry grass to lusher, greener flora. We turned off the 46 on to Santa Rosa Creek Road. The road was narrow, bumpy and twisty. The bikes would probably have been better fitted with motocross tyres. Still, it made a nice change from the pace of the highways. Before long we

 had our first glimpse of the Pacific as the road climbed. We stopped for a break along this road and to warm up in the sun. The temperature had dropped quite a bit nearer the ocean and was in the 60s. I took this opportunity to put my coat on.

We reached Cambria and turned immediately on to highway 1 North; the Pacific Coast Highway. It was cold but we decided to brave it. The PCH is a great road. The only downside is the traffic as it is very popular with holidaymakers. We enjoyed the spectacular sea views and sights of the road ahead, which followed the coastline. It is a proper sea road, not 300 yards of sea view followed by a quarter mile trip inland then out again repeatedly.

Spot The Hummingbird



Our next stop was at the Ragged Point Cafe, where we took pictures of the sea. I put my jumper on as it was very cold by the sea. The temperature was now in the 50s. Bill spotted a hummingbird flapping round a flower not 6 feet from us. I think I got a photo of it but will need a bigger screen to see if I captured the little blighter (edit: I did). We shared some fries and had a coffee each. Both were very nice. While there we met two English guys who had also rented Harleys, although their rental experience had not gone as smoothly as ours. Apparently, the night before they flew, the hire company emailed them to say that they did not have their bikes. Would you believe that one of them was from Christchurch and the other from Southampton? I live approximately 8 miles from Christchurch. We showed them a photo of Monument Valley, as they had not heard of it. Suitably astounded by the image, they asked for directions which I provided with our map to help. We said our goodbyes and took off. Our next destination was to be the Big Sur Bakery.

The satnav had different plans for us; although I had plumbed in Big Sur Bakery as the destination, the satnav thought the bakery was in a different location. We had actually passed it 2 miles back but I thought it was just a sign and trusted the satnav. It seems that I'll never learn. We carried on, rather than going back.

We stopped at a lay-by at around 17:40. I used the iPhone to book a room at Motel 6 in Marina. Ugh, more data charges. The motel was only 19 miles away so we continued our journey. We were very cold and by this time the temperature had dipped under the 50 degree mark.

We eventually got to the motel room and whacked the heater up to the maximum of 85 degrees as soon as we got through the door. It stayed that way as I had a shower and wrote the diary. As I write, it is 21:02 and we have yet to eat. We plan to ride up to San Francisco tomorrow and hopefully meet up with Phil and Kareen Hawkins, before returning the bikes on Thursday.

(Edit: we visited yet another Denny's for food this night. I had a breakfast type dish with bacon, sausages, pancakes and grits, which appears to be half cooked rice with a knob of butter. Erm yuck! Bill had cheese quesadilla, again!). The bike mileage read 48872 as we parked up, which means that we have travelled 253 miles this day.