Things started off well leaving San Jose mostly on time. I knew the rendezvous Starbucks was in Alameda just off of the Tube but I don't go to Alameda often (never, really) and I missed the exit (that isn't marked). So, the idea of leaving alameda at 8:30am was severely missed by the ride organizer himself. Ooops. But we hit the road by 9:30am and made good time to Lake Berryessa via twisty Hwy 121.
We all knew it would be a hot one but none of us were prepared for exactly how hot it would be later in the day. Linda has since called the ride "To Hell and Back" if that gives you any indication of how hot it really was. We took a brief break just before heading towards Lake Berryessa.
We stopped in Lower Lake to get some food and rehydrate. I packed some sandals and took the liberty of taking my boots off. Best idea of the day.
With Red Bluff as our next stop, we then took Hwy 20 out to Hwy 5 for our long trek north. Hwy 20 was fun -- but not fun enough to make Hwy 5 fun. There is nothing on earth that makes Hwy 5 fun. Nothing. So we screwed around and took pics.
We stopped along the way to take a break from the oppressive heat and get us all in a group together again. However, stopping didn't help. It was hot. Real hot. I think this picture was the moment we started pouring water down our pants which, in hindsight, was a pretty bad idea. Note to self - pouring water down your pants and sitting on your ass all day do not mix. Comments about sore asses began at this point and only got worse. This does not bode well for a cross country trip...
Once arriving in Red Bluff, we gassed up and rehydrated and made our way to one of my favoritest roads anywhere - Hwy 36. This picture tells you what's in store for us just a few miles away.
The landscape was varied - from charred grassland, to recovering forests, to cold lush redwoods -- we saw it all on Hwy 36. And the road wasn't bad either. It's a fast and fantastic road - well maintained, good sight lines, very few cars, and very, very twisty with elevation changes. Most of the cagers were polite and got out of the way as they saw us approaching which makes the road awesome. However, semis should NOT be allowed on roads that twisty. Yet there we were, face-to-face with a large semi in the middle of a turn. These things happen more often than they should but we all escaped unscathed. Here are a few happier, semi-free moments from the east side of Hwy 36.
Hwy 36 dumps us right into Hwy 1 just south of Fortuna and we just wanted to get our sore asses off the bikes. We make it to the hotel to shower and get ready for some food at the Eel River Brewery (the 1st Cerified Organic Brewery). Organic, shmorganic - they make some damn good beer. Especially the Hazelnut Porter. How I love it so...
I must warn you about the beer "sampler" -- it's chock full o' alcohol. A few locals warned me and I scoffed at their remarks. Little did I know they were right. Which brings me to locals: the beer boys and Dustin (the local pot grower and former bomb squad member). The beer boys gave us a free pitcher of beer. Score! It wasn't what I wanted but I'm not about to turn down free beer. At least until that pitcher of Hazelnut Porter makes it way to our table. We retired to the bar before calling it a night. Dustin told us stories of his hybrid pot plants and blowing stuff up. "If you see me running, try to keep up!"
The night before, we agreed to meet for breakfast downstairs at our hotel at 8am the next morning. This time, I didn't get lost and show up late. I wasn't sure how that gravy from the biscuits'n'gravy would treat me later in the day but I decided to risk it all and treat myself to the heavy cream sauce with meat in it...I mean gravy.
We headed down Hwy 1 with Fort Bragg and the North Coast Brewery our lunch destination. Dave and Correne had taken this route before so they lead us through Avenue of the Giants. I had never been before and neither had Brian or Linda. We all had the same comment after stopping before hitting 101S, "I almost crashed because I kept looking at the trees!" I just wondered how old and how tall they were. It was exactly like being on Endor (for you Star Wars fans).
The scenery and twisty bits on Hwy 1 are legendary. I'm now convinced that most of those yellow signs warning us of the appropriate speed for each turn are just guidelines. Just like those funny yellow lines on the road :-) We stopped briefly to rest our asses, watch Tim do the world’s most pathetic burn out, and snap a few pics.
We continue on Hwy 1 with beer and food on our minds until we got to North Coast Brewery. That's right, our second brewery of the trip! We take over a corner of the bar and order up our preferred beverage of choice (which is Old Rasputin Stout if you have any taste at all). We're all beer snobs (except Linda, pfft) and our waitress couldn't help but overhear us talking about a few of their other beers. So, she poured us all some samplers of the discussed brews. Free beer, yet again!
Now full of food and beer, we head down Hwy 1 to Hwy 128 where we know there's fun to be had. Unfortunately, some asshole in a silver Corolla had other plans and tailgated me almost the entire trip. I don't mind a car keeping pace but I do mind if you endanger our safety. I mind very much. So, I took it upon myself to make him keep his distance from the rest of the pack. It took some of the fun away but Hwy 128 is a fun way to pass the time...
Unfortunately, we hit heavy traffic in Santa Rosa and Sonoma as we head down 101 for some dinner. We arrive at Moylans Brewery in Novato and all we want is a beer and some waters since North Coast Brewery filled us up. For those of you counting, this is our third (and final) brewery of the trip. If only every trip could have this many breweries. Tim took off for home at this point which only meant more beer for me!
We take off from the brewery down a cold and overcast stretch of 580 home. A few waves from the friends as they peel off and it's just me and 880 the rest of the way home...
More pictures here (in no particular order): http://www.flickr.com/photos/uhmeebuh/
Total miles - ~600 (I really need to learn how to use that GPS thingy). We'll need some ass calluses if we're going to go the distance to NYC.
Gear - everything worked great except my iPod remote. Tims iPod outright died so I guess I can't complain. The seat was better than stock (which ain't saying much) and the AirHawk literally saved my ass. The tires are on the wear bars and I have a larger top case on its way to me as I type this. My bike rocks.
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