Spring 2003 Death Valley Ride [Page 6]
I was up at 7:30. The sky was overcast and the bike cover was damp. I removed the cover and packed up the bike for a leisurely ride home. The first leg was going to be from Paso Robles to Cambria, but not via boring Ca 46. Instead I took Nacimiento lake Drive (the road in front of the Motel) to Adelaida Rd to Vinyard Dr and then hop on on 46 heading west for 5 or 6 miles until I picked up Santa Rosa Creek Rd. The overcast disappeared within 2 miles of leaving the motel.
Santa Rosa Creek Rd is a cross between Stage Road and Tunitas Creek. It is a wide one lane, rough in spots and absolutely beaugeous (That's beautiful and gorgeous, a word that was invented sometime Saturday evening). The hill were green and covered with blue and purple flowers. The pictures barely do the site justice. Santa Rosa Creek ends at the back of Cambria. I stopped for breakfast and a break, there.
After breakfast I removed a layer; it was getting warm. The leg was up Ca 1 from Cambria to Nepenthe, I make Nepenthe a stopping point as that's where the traffic going into Carmel and Monterey tends to start. Ca 1 was in OK shape. Very little traffic. Only 2 or 3 spots of road construction and I hit each one just right: no delays. I stopped at Nepenthe for a cup of espresso. Another layer of clothing came off, too. I also switched to lighter gloves.
I left Nepenthe and continued up the coast with a gas stop in Santa Cruz.
Once at Half Moon Bay I took 92 over the hill and was home around 2:30.
A great trip. I think I'll do the same thing next year. One of these
days I'll hit Ca 155 when it isn't snowing or foggy and get a chance to see
the scenery.
My GPS says that I went 1,239 miles with the bike moving for 20 hours, 13 minutes, and 14 seconds for a rough average of 61 miles per hour. That sounds right. The bike needs to be washed. I called CalBMW to schedule an 18,000 service, too. I went over 18,000 on the ride up the coast.
Fred sent me these pictures along with some from the Death Valley trip. The first is Carl at the all brit bike show with his newly restored Triumph. The second is Carl's new Norton. At least I think it is Carl's. As I understand the story Fred bought it at Carl's urging and now Carl is relieving Fred of the burden. Or something like that, anyway.
