Mulholland Drive then North.

As I set out today to follow the coast of California north, I couldn't resist that famous ridge road, Mulholland drive. I jumped on at it's beginning and rode those curves on the Mothership until I was above Encino. It was fun even with traffic. I followed a two axle straight truck with a forklift off the back that was making pretty good time on that winding road. But I was eager to cover some miles so I bailed of the ridge and went down into Encino got on Hwy 101.
      At lunchtime I was at the Marina in Downtown Santa Barbara having lunch with friends.
     The weather was pretty warm coming out of LA so I had a chance to test the vents on my leather jacket. It was comfortable all the way to San Luis Obispo.
           I loved the up and down of that rumpled real estate outside of Buellton, there was even a tunnel through one hill. There where periods beside the ocean with enough wind that there were pretty good waves today.  I started seeing other motorcycles out touring today and at one point a California Highway Patrol bike came up past me and we shared a wave. Another time a car coming up on my left, slowed and let me slid over to get around a semi, after I passed and moved back over the car came by and it was a State Patrol disguise car. I am finding these California Highway Patrol officers to be pretty friendly, maybe the mothership just makes them smile like it does for me.
     I had planned to try for San Simeon today and that was almost where I ended my ride, but my lunch mates suggested a funky little sea town called Cayucos and here I am.  Town is pretty quiet probably because it is Monday.There were lots of little 10 to 15 room motels, so I picked the Cypress Motel,  I suspect named for the tree in the picture. That grassy area has chairs to sit in and smell the ocean a couple of blocks away. I think there a nine rooms at this motel and each one has a theme painted on the door, my room is Hopeless Romantic. Probably true! The decor was "interesting".  But it is a quiet little seaside and I walked down to Martins Mexican food and had dinner and I am finishing up a great day, here in my small room, using the wi-fi to talk to all of you. Pretty nice.
     Tomorrow I expect to go up through Big Sur, Monterey Bay and Half Moon bay, then get up past San Francisco to the north. I don't think I will finish the coast of California till Wednesday, as I am enjoying these shorter rides. It is a lovely time to be here, with the hills green and yellow flowers that looked like sweet clover to me, but I didn't stop to see. But the hills were covered with them.
     A great day on the Mothership and I will take it as it comes, one day at a time.
Will by the River

Bougainvillea and Church

A Yard In Burbank California

I spent much of yesterday, Sunday the 3rd of April doing things with my daughter and her family and getting prepared to start up the coast today and so I am catching up on this blog this morning before I leave.

       The days here have been sunny and warm, today doesn't look to be any different between here and wherever I end up this evening. I am looking to cover maybe 300 miles today. 

      Yesterday my daughter was singing with the praise band at the Church they attend, and so my son-in-law, granddaughters and I walked down to the church for one of the services, which was very nice. Seemed like a great group of people. The church affiliation is called Four Square but is of the type with christian rock music and so a fairly young congregation. It was a nice service and my daughter looked great up on the stage area with the other musicians.

      One part of being in Southern California is how wonderful the flowers are almost year around. The roses are in fine form here right now, and as we walked the five blocks to the church my daughter's family attends, we saw many beds of wonderful smelling roses. But this yard in the picture, appeared to be working on native plants and removing the grass, possibly in response to the ongoing drought in California that has only gotten a little relief from this El Niño. I was captured by the bougainvillea and had to stop and take a picture. There were props that you can see in the picture holding it up and creating an area that you could go in under and then a big "stick" across the face of the porch. What you can't see in this photo is how much it wraps around the house, it was amazing! This is one of my wife Mary's favorite flowering plants, and so Mary I hope you enjoy this picture when you read this blog in Indonesia.

       There are plenty of people here, a known fact about Southern Cal, it is crowded but you end up having your small community within the larger community. Neighborhoods within the larger city. This area of Burbank where my daughter and her family live is fairly quiet mix of houses and low apartment buildings with shade trees and flowers. It has been wonderful to hang out here for a couple of days. But I will be happy to move on to less populated areas of California. I have spent most of my adult life in small communities and so I look forward to seeing fields of grass and the coast of the country today. A lovely sunny day on the Pacific Coast Highway. 

Will by the River.

The Fermin Tidal Pools

                                           Wandering the Fermin Tidal Pools.

It was a beautiful day in LA today. My daughter and her family took me down to San Pedro. We were at Cabrillo beach and out on the point by LA harbor to the Fermin Tidal Pools. We went at low tide and my granddaughters wanted to show me crabs and sea anemones.

The wind was up a bit today, and as it was Saturday a lot of people were at the park with wind surfers playing the winds off the beach and surfers trying the waves off the point where we were beach combing.
       The weather was in the high 70's and I even had to use some sun screen. Pretty nice! These two granddaughters were pretty fearless in looking under rocks and finding sea life. The most exciting was large sea slugs, really they are sea hares. here is a picture of one on my daughters arm.
     It was lovely to sit on a warm rock and watch Slyvie and Juna gambol about on the rocks and call for grandpa to come see.

     There was a lot of rocks on the shore with holes through them that looked as if someone had been after them with a drill and a masonry bit. I have never seen so many rocks with lots of small holes. Must be an explanation somewhere. So it turns out that a thing called a piddock makes the hole to live in, and if you look at enough rock you will find their residue from when they were in the rock.                                                                    

So a seashore day after the ride here was a real treat with the added treasure of watching my granddaughters commune excitedly with nature.   Tomorrow I can prep the "Mothership" to continue up the coast on Monday. We have family friends in Santa Barbara that I will stop and have lunch with, and then up highway one to San Simeon or thereabouts for the night.

         I look forward my wander up the Pacific Coast. Monday I may drive Mulholland Drive to Topanga Canyon down to the Pacific Coast Highway and then north. It is fun to be away from the river this time of year,
Will by the River.

A View from the Road

                                          The view in front of me the last three days

I have arrived in Beautiful Downtown Burbank! I am finally really warm. The drive into LA from Kingman was nice with temperatures in the 70's. Traffic didn't get fretful until I40 joined I15 in Barstow. From there on it was crowded with some stop and go at times.
      Yesterday and today as I drove along I40 and remembered when, as a child, my parents would drive to California on Route 66. There are sections that are marked you can get off on. They have really begun to memorialize the old Mother Road. But I would look over beside the interstate and see a section off to the side and remember driving there. We would have the windows down to try and cool the car. Some of the buildings and attractions can still be seen.  My parents didn't buy cars with radios and that was a little early for air-conditioning. So we read the burma shave signs and did our alphabet off license plates, competing to see who could get done first. And, of course, with music teacher parents we sang lots of rounds.
       The winds were gusty out across the desert as the day warmed and at a rest stop a man walking his dog asked if it was wearing on me. I said I was beginning to notice. But really it wasn't as bad as the wind around Antonito on my way to Santa Fe. The semi trucks would often shield you from the crosswind if you wanted to stay beside them.
     After I graduated from High School I rode with my friend Frank Miles on a couple of Yamaha 350cc two strokes from Boulder Colorado to Shelby Michigan and back. We were under equipped and under funded, but with the blind determination of youth off we went. Even at the time it was clear these were not road bikes! We did have some engine trouble, but we met some great people and had a good time. But the memory of that trip makes this trip so much better. To sit on this big BMW in the wind is to almost not notice it. There is no buzzing through the handgrips like those little Yamhas, but this bike even has cruise control so you don't have to grip it at all! Truly it is a pleasure to get older and experience this improving technology.
       Yesterday morning early before I left for Kingman, one of my sons called to see how it had been getting out of Salida. We talked a bit and then I mentioned that I felt out here and away and was going to spend the day getting to somewhere else I would be alone. Surrounded by people I didn't know in somewhat unfamiliar surroundings. Which was somewhat the point of the trip, to explore, and meet people. But as I rode to Kingman, if I was stopped, I would check my phone for messages and see responses about this blog. I realized that I was far from being alone. As I thought about those trips in the 50's to California and my trip today it is amazing the difference now. My wife is reading this blog in Jakarta Indonesia! And the gear today, my daughter called twice to check my process which I can answer just by saying "answer" in my helmet while I am driving and then talk to her. But by far the biggest feeling of being connected are the comments and likes from all of you that are reading here. Thank you, I feel very connected to my community, my tribe. It certainly is a different feeling than when Frank and I rode to Michigan.
     I am going two spend a few days with my daughter's family before I start up the coast. Stay tuned.
Will by the Ocean.

I found the Pantry!

                                              Main office for the El Rey in Santa Fe
It was 22 degrees this morning in Santa Fe, a good excuse not to rush out on the highway on a motorcycle. The El Rey gives a voucher for a discount breakfast and that is how I came to find the Pantry. It is a diner two doors down Cerrillos Rd from the motel. It harkens back to the 1950's, it is small, maybe 12 or 15 tables and a long counter with stools. There where people lined up for tables so I opted for a stool. The staff is a mix of hispanic and anglos with the patronage being 50/50 also. Sitting at the counter I got to watch the kitchen and waiters interact. The dishwasher came out with clean coffee cups with his fingers through the handles so it looked like a bouquet of pottery on each hand. All the staff was racing around trying to get ahead of the breakfast rush, with lots of kidding each other. It was way fun to sit there and take it all in. The guy on the next stool had oatmeal, it looked good but. you know, when in Rome, so I went for the Durango Omelet which came with a version of hash brown potatoes I hand't seen before. The sauce was a nice hot, just one of the best omelets I have had in a while. The patrons all seemed local with many greeting each other. It was a great find and when I was back at the motel checking out, if I mentioned I had breakfasted there, whomever was standing there would start raving about how great it was. So a great start to to my second day on the road.

      The run today was to get a big chunk of the distance to Los Angelos covered and it went well today, as I write this I am in a Route 66 themed Ramada Inn in kingman Az. The weather was mostly clear except around Flagstaff. At the Arizona Border there is a lovely rest stop that has a sandstone ridge to the north of it. Sitting at a picnic table ,with a Raven above me in the tree grumbling that I wasn't sharing my snack, it was a balmy 60 degrees. But when I started the climb back up to Flagstaff's 7000 ft elevation the temperature dropped down into the mid forties. The afternoon build ups had a line of clouds with virga but I avoided rain. But once past those mountains and the decent of the ridges the temperature got warmer again and by the time I got to Kingman it was in the mid sixties.
      So it looks as if I have the cold behind me for a few weeks as I make the final run into LA tomorrow to spend some time with my daughter and her family.
      In my original post about this trip I spoke of my optimism of the people I might meet on this trip. And today was a wonderful example of that coming true. From the crowd and staff at The Pantry to the people who greeted me and talked to me at the Rest stop, it was always friendly and positive. I danced with Semi trucks and other traffic all day and even out there on the interstate everyone always making room, I was not cut off once all day! That seemed amazing to me. The Mothership was a flawless partner in the dance.
    So as I said yesterday evening, I will continue tomorrow with optimism undiminished but this time much warmer. Pacific Ocean, here I come.
Will by the River

Damn that was Cold!

            The Mothership and I about to take on Independence Pass, June 2014

      So the Wander has begun.  As I said in the previous post, this is not at the most optimum time of the year to go motorcycle touring. I have been watching the weather and it has been volatile to say the least. The door over Monarch Pass and west to Grand Junction closed down yesterday for at least two or three days unless I thought it would be a good idea to drive a motorcycle on snow packed roads!. Vail Pass area was getting snow yesterday. Salida was supposed to get snow tomorrow (Thursday the 31st of March). So this afternoon I made the run over Poncha Pass to the south into the San Luis Valley and down into Santa Fe New Mexico. Right now I am holed up in a favorite Motel of Mary's and mine called the El Rey. A lovely adobe motor court  on Cerrillos Road.
     The weather this afternoon was cold, with strong cross winds from my right all the way to Santa Fe. I swear I was leaning right all the way down and probably never wore any of the center tire tread except when slowed down for a town. The temperatures ran about 37 degrees from the house all the way to Antonito. The temperature never got above 44 degrees until I was in Espanola just outside Santa Fe. There was cloud cover all the way, with huge developed cells about in the distance with virga all the way to the ground on some. It was just plain cold and even with the heated handgrips and heated seat, the cold was testing the layers of clothing I had on. As I write this I am thinking I should go check out the El Rey hot tub and sauna.
       But enough complaining, I was the one who made the choice to turn the throttle and venture forth today. It is exciting to begin, to begin anything, and I have been planning this trip for some time. I was eager to begin. The drive today was familiar, that is to say, I knew what was coming next. We have driven to Santa Fe or Albuquerque quite a bit over the last 20 years. But the billowing clouds and bitter winds gave it a hostile winter look and no-one seemed to be venturing forth from the houses I rode past. It was as if it was a deserted plain, waiting for summer and life to spring forth again.
      Santa Fe was busy when I arrived at five pm, probably rush hour. The wind was blowing the flags straight here also. But plenty of people out and about with the town wearing it's winter colors of brown still. The trees are getting ready but nothing bursting forth with spring like green that I have seen. Here in the motor court they have evergreens against the whitewashed adobe buildings and it feels warm and inviting.
       Tomorrow I shall venture forth again with undiminished optimism, hoping for temperatures that are more comfortable for riding and see if I can slide past Flagstaff's 7000 ft elevation and down to Kingman Az where I expect to start riding in 60 or 70 degree weather. I don't expect cloud cover tomorrow, which will help make the temperature feel warmer on my dark coat. But I will confess that it is tempting not to turn right at Albuquerque toward Kingman, but to continue south on I25 till I get to Las Cruces. I could follow I10 toward California, through Tuscon and probably actually be hot!
     Well, in the meantime, I will take it one day at a time.
Will by the River March 30th 2016

The Mothership

1999 BMW K1200LT

The Mothership! In the world of motorcycles this is a Large bike. Among a couple of my Motorcycle acquaintances we don't think the LT stands for luxury tour but instead means large truck. It is almost impossible for me to lift it off it's side if I loose concentration when sitting still and let the weight go too far to one side or the other. The joke is that if I let it fall over at a stop sign I would have to call a tow truck. When loaded and fueled and I am riding it, the weight is approaching one thousand pounds! But the upside to all that weight is the absolute stability moving down the road and a surprising amount of agility on the mountain passes around here.

       I came to be the caretaker of this BMW when my trombone guru moved on to a newer BMW R1200. I am so glad he needed a new bike because I really find this one a joy to go and carve roads on. Every time I head out on it I feel invited to just keep going.

       It has been a bucket list item for me to go on an extended solo motorcycle ride. Preferably up the Pacific "left coast" of the United States. So with an optimism that borders on foolish I plan on going on a three week wander out to LA and up the coast to Astoria Oregon and back here to Colorado. The foolishness is leaving by April Fools day and venturing forth in this unstable spring weather and hope to leave these mountains and return without driving in snowy conditions or days of continuous rain. The optimism is with this amount of time I can drive short days or stay somewhere a day to let weather pass and have to pleasure of exploring the beaches and hills of the Pacific Ocean coast.

      This preamble brings me to the point of this post. I have lately been trying to publish musing here, and I would like to try my hand at a daily post of my adventure. I would like these words that I post each day to be more than just a travelogue. More than a description of the geography I am passing through each day. I hope to pause in my daily travels early enough to have some writing time to describe the day and the joy of being out on the road on the Mothership. I expect to meet many wonderful people in this journey that belie what media seems to be professing we Americans are now. So this too is part of my optimism.  I shall go on record here, that I will endeavor to bring a positive image of this wonderful country I am about to travel through. 

       So stay tuned to this page, as later this week, I shall embark and share with you all my journeys away from this my home river.  I will see many other rivers as I transit the Great American West. 

I look forward to sharing.

Will by the River