My Motorcycle Adventures: ROUTE 66 (DAY 16)

As usual Daniel was up and gone before I even got out of bed. Because I was leaving this morning I wanted to say good bye and thank him for his hospitality. He said he'd be at Starbuck's so I packed up and drove into town. I ordered a coffee and bagel and we sat and talked until it was time to go. Our relationship is hard to describe but it has survived since 1969 when we met while attending Western Michigan University.
I rode west until I saw the ocean and Hwy. 1. It was a great day for riding, sunny but cool with a wind out of the south.

I hadn't gone very far up the road when I came upon what looked like a popular surf beach. this photo doesn't do a good job showing the large group already out in the surf. The fellow in the wet suit was just trying to make up his mind whether to go back out. He said the water temperature is about 55'F which he considered to be warm.

This section of the coastal highway is less mountainous but just as windy. I have to keep reminding myself to not stop every time there's a photo op otherwise I'd never get anywhere. It's all so beautiful.

I stopped for lunch and no sooner had I parked my bike than this couple pulled in. They were quite the pair. They were riding Russian built Urals which were copied from a German bike produced for the military during WWII. The woman had a dog that sat in her lap in a sort of sling. Check out the goggles on their dog. They said that they have to avoid highways because the top speed is only about 50 mph.

The weather was changing and more clouds were moving in. I spotted this little section of beach that looked kind of interesting so I stopped for some pictures. Look at the house up on the cliff edge.

Here are some gulls frolicking in the waves.

This earth wall was rapidly eroding but I thought the design was very unusual. If you want to blow up a photo just double click on it and you can see the photograph in a larger format.

After this section of the highway it turned eastward away from the coast and began it's climb to get up and over a very high ridge on it's way to Hwy. 101. I've driven the Tail of the Dragon in North Carolina which boasts 318 curves and is a favourite destination for bikers. This road that takes you through the mighty Redwood forest, in my opinion is even twistier than The Dragon. I thought it would never end. With a trailer this road is a major challenge. It must be a sport bike playground though.
No trip to Northern California would be complete without a run through the redwoods. They are so huge. Not only is the trunk enormous but they go well over 100 feet tall. Needless to say, they are also very old and many were seedlings over a 100 or more years ago.