joseph jedidiah smith campground to Trinidad CA. I had a rad evening for st. patties. after setting up camp I paid a visit to my neighbors... actually the had taken the picnic table from my site and were ready to bring it back over for me... I posed the question to them "how about I just come over to your camp to use it?" after assuring them I was not some crazy hobo they warmed right up. say hello to (from left) Emily, Mack, and Andy. these guys all knew each other from working at the Oregon Shakespeare festival up in Ashland. funny story about that... a buddy and I had crashed our friends class trip there once. we weren't in the class that was supposed to go, but we tagged along anyway. good times :) I managed to kill a six pack in honor of mr. patty's day, shared some laughs with these new camp friends and slept a little on the chilly side, nestled among the redwoods and smith river. I woke at about 9am, surprisingly feeling refreshed (despite a bout at 3 am with a demon in the pit of my stomach which insisted on escaping through my mouth). I enjoyed the hottest coin operated shower I could stand, said goodbye to my friendly neighbors and hit the road, south on 101 through crescent city. seeing the pacific just south of town... I stopped here and had a brief call with my folks. the excitement in their voices was apparent and the happiness in mine came through as well. I continued south and took several jaunts through the redwoods. 101, 169, and the Newman b. Somethingorothers scenic parkway. from this road I took a right (damn I need to do a better job of marking these details down) into a 1 mile, supposedly dead end grove of redwoods... after the mile the road was blocked by some downed branches and whatnot... luckily it was easily passable and I kept going. another mile or two and I came to a locked gate. haha! I fucking love this pic... after the gate the road started seeming ancient. there were marked and bricked turnouts as though this was a forgotten stretch of 101. old cracked pavement buried in mulch and detritus from years of disuse. after a while the road turned I gravel and the bits of pavement gave way to dirt, rocks, and branches. who says you can't take a sport bike offroad?! the view from this "road"... incredible... if you look closely I wrote "Paul was here" in the gravel... lighting is bad so it's barely visible. but hopefully the next person to go around that gate sees it. I just couldn't resist leaving my (non permanent) mark. currently in Trinidad CA. enjoying a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich from the lighthouse grill. they make their own ice cream here and I keep hearing people behind me ravin about it... might need to give it a try.
Paul: I haven't been south of Crescent City, perhaps next year. Can't wait for some Giant Redwood photos, and also of the Lost Coast if you are taking the coast route bob
@bESS I didn't take a lot of pics of the trees, but here's one more from behind that locked gate I mentioned...
Paul: I can't believe that there was a great road behind that barricade I used to ride an SV650K3 but I traded it in for my Vstrom back in 2009. I really liked that bike bob
Trinidad ca to Legget ca (standish hickey campground) as I was leaving Trinidad ca I stepped out front of the lighthouse grill for a cigarette before mounting up. there was a big ford truck with the alarm going off incessantly. the woman inside of it looked annoyed. HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK........... another woman was loitering outside the cafe, feeding the that smooth tar soaked Virginia monkey. I gave her a look and we caught eyes. I offered a glib "that's not annoying or anything..." which was the right thing to say. her name is Sarah. she's there with her husband, Clint and their little toe-headed girl in pigtails. I had noticed the little one staring at me earlier, I think she liked my power ranger suit. we talked about the route and where I was hoping to reach by the end of the day. her husband looked at me over his beer in a Kerr jar and said that I should go check out hwy 1 and big sur. oh and to swing by the Trinidad lighthouse before I left town. I added Sarah to my Facebook (hello mrs. Vincent) she seemed interested in following my travels. I shook her hand, said "nice to meet you" and was one my way. I hit 101 south, hard. with 4g data I had spotify feeding me dubstep. I kept it fairly under control, only hitting 115 mph once or twice >:) this road is good, but cops... so many cops... argh... before I knew it I was in eureka... nice town from what I saw. only put my feet on the ground a a few stoplights though. just north of confusion hill I stopped for gas and to take a race-horse-esque piss... men's room was occupied, the ladies was unoccupied... I always giggle when I go in the door without my sign... but single occupancy!!! who cares?! on my way out I noticed a middle-age couple next to my bike, hugging, whispering secrets to each other and making out while leaned against a newer Lexus SUV. their 3rd wheel was a dude named Elmer. he had confederate flag tattoos and gripped at the air as he talked like he was on some powerful drug. I asked him if he had any recommendations for camp spots... he offered me his RV which he said he "stashed" just after confusion hill. it had Illinois plates, was in some parking lot "I couldn't miss it" and "no one would bother me there"... as nice as that was... there was no fucking way I was staying where this methed-out trio would know where I was. I thanked him for the offer, said "nice to meet you" and was off for my own camp spot in the woods. I reached the hwy 1 connection and started down it... this is where the "drive through" redwood tree is. I stopped for gas at the last service station for 28 miles... with my gas indicator flashing I figured it was prudent. my energy indicator was in the red as well so I thought it best to ask the guy there where a good camp spot would be. jim directed me back up the road to standish hickey. there was a little market where I could get a meal, and with the 1 pickup a few miles away I could start the twisties fresh in the morning. I shook Jim's hand, said "nice to meet you" and was on my way. standish hickey is nothing special... right on the highway, nothing very interesting around the campsites that are open (there's a lower campground that seems close to water, but it's not accessible). with rain forecasted ( and currently sprinkling) I had a go at making a proper waterproof shelter. the SV is wrapped up too. one nice little rainproof (and hopefully critter resistant) shelter. with my shelter put together I hoofed it across the street to the peg house market. picked up a bundle of firewood, and a fairly balanced meal of deviled eggs, an orange, a superfood smoothie, and 2 tallboys of bud light with lime. the shop keeper, Gary was on his smart phone when i walked in... leisurely reading and eating a brownie. theres no cell service here, so i asked if they had wifi. they did, he gave me the password so tomorrow i can come back and post this update before setting off. btw, it's "anexanex". i told him a bit about my trip. he wanted to know how I left work and if I got in a good last "fuck you" on my way out the door. I told him that I left without a word, except a long email my former (dyslexic) boss could enjoy reading. Gary laughed. I shook his hand, said "nice to meet you" and walked back across the 101 to camp. got the fire going properly and set to work rewarming the second half of that grilled cheese from earlier. delicious... simply delicious. it's been a quiet night. only one other camper here and as I cruised past he didn't look up... I take this to mean he's maybe a little anti social, so I didn't bother with the steps that lead to "nice to meet you".
legget ca, to guealala ca. today's riding was amazing. highway 1 is super beautiful, twisty, and fun. it's also been pretty cold and rainy all day. after camping the last two nights I caved and got a hotel. I'm staying at the sea crest inn, in guealala. it's right on a bluff overlooking the beach. ill get a pic or some video tomorrow before heading out. got some pulled pork from bones roadhouse BBQ restaurant which is just up the road from the hotel. great stuff, and a nice bartender. it's about 9pm but I'm looking at another couple hundred miles of cold, twisty, and wet riding tomorrow as I get into San Francisco. I plan to stay on hwy 1 right up until point Reyes and the golden gate, I can't wait! took some good video today, so ill start with the one I took this morning... what a weird way to start the day, lol. a guy blaring Irish music dropped by my camp this morning, here are my bleary-eyed thoughts on that and a tour of my camping setup. http://youtu.be/aB0kqWKdO4E here's a stop after about 35 miles of highway 1, after it finally spat me out on the coastline http://youtu.be/IEhdX6ityNI and a shot of an amazing hairpin once I was able to get into the cruising zone... http://youtu.be/N_pTbi27Q8A and lastly... remember that image of the balloons popping I made with my uncle in Vancouver? here's a little "behind the scenes" peek at how we made that happen... http://youtu.be/CpjGnn5wCQs btw... what's it mean when people are commenting here "in"... does that mean you're following the thread now? I'm likely to have some time to kill tomorrow in SF. any recommendations on things to see while I'm in the golden gate area? -Paul
what would you guys recommend for stashing my gear? I'm pretty paranoid with leaving my saddlebags and camp roll on my bike while being a tourist about town... my dad told me they have lockers at most bus stations and such... which might-well work.
I'm not sure if you're aware (though I think you might be), but you can embed your videos into your posts, rather than simply pasting the link. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aB0kqWKdO4E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IEhdX6ityNI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/N_pTbi27Q8A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CpjGnn5wCQs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
i'm in, as i'm following you too. i'm enjoying your report! as for securing your items while away from your bike...you could buy a bike cover and it would all be out of sight. or use your blue tarp to do the same thing but it would take more time and lots of shock cords. i have an old hobie 16 forestay--stanless steel cable with eyelets on each end--that i run through my jacket sleeves, pant legs, helmet and both wheels, and pad locked under the cover. this only keeps the honest people, honest. Lowes hardware stores sell a small squeeze bottle of chain lube...don't forget to lube at the end of the day :)
been a few days since my last update. I've got to update you guys on getting into SF. going backstage at a punk rock show. breaking down in downtown during rush hour. making new friends who were the most gracious people who helped me get up and running again. the itialian who canibalized his own SV to save mine. and the surfers who let me share their camp with them. right now I'm at a little cafe / art gallery in big sur. there's so much awesome to be found on the road guys... so much... I'm almost overwhelmed with the experiences. hoping to get to Anaheim today. but I'm not in the biggest rush. hopefully will stop somewhere with good wifi so I can sync pics, vids, and make a better update soon.
gualala ca, to San Francisco, to napa, to Anaheim! hey folks, sorry for the lapse in updates, but here's a biggun with photos, video, and a thrill a minute theme park recap. someone said I could embed YouTube vids in these posts, unfortunately the iPhone isn't making it easy to find embed codes for video. sorry, but yer gonna have to click over to YouTube THE MIST Gualala southward was miserable... this fog... well... impenetrable is a good word for it. fucking treacherous is what that day of riding was to get me to SF. the worst part was how it just stuck to my visor and wouldn't ever bead off. if that pic doesn't look rough enough for you, here's a vid. http://youtu.be/Q0GB3JveZ5k I must admit that I wussed out of the coastal drive after a half day... I cut east toward Petaluma. I headed inland to make some better time and settle my nerves. but no visibility with a misty visor and 15 mph hairpins is just not what I call fun. i really did need to make time though... I was heading to SF to see a friend and her band play at the great American music hall. one night only! GREAT AMERICAN my friend lilly plays drums in a band called "Grass Widow". her band mates were super rad and hanging out with them backstage made me feel like a little bit of a rock star by proxy. oh, and did I mention there was free beer in the green room?! nothing is better for a transient than free beer. once allowed back in I did my best to finish my 3rd or 4th (free!!!) beer while catching up with lilly a bit more before show time. that night was a fucking blast! met tons of cool people (shout outs to raven, ringo, melissa, chris, and the half dozen others who's names I can't remember at the moment). after the show wound down, Lilly's boyfriend, Cody schlepped us back to her place in Oakland. I posted up on the couch and we all said good night. it was so cool to see her again. we were buds in HS. knowing someone from your home town and visiting them when you're both away makes you feel a little like you're at home again. especially after not seeing each other for about 10 years. it was like picking back up where we left off... just... neat. waking up on Lilly's couch was weird. I had slept fitfully and did not feel rested. we had coffee and caught up in our pj's. I bid adieu to her as her band was off for Portland Oregon to play their next gig. alone in the house with her roommates at work i left a note of thanks for the hospitality. packed, showered, and got out of west Oakland happy and whole. before going to bed after the show I made contact with a new friend from napa and arranged a couch surf with him... little did I know what was in store that day... THE BREAKDOWN DOWNTOWN my plan was to head to napa to stay with Roberto and his sister, Enid... but I had to wait till the evening before heading over. roberto was expecting another traveling guest from Sydney australia that same day, and would be busy with picking him up and prepping the house. no big deal I thought. the sun was finally out! I could toodle around in SF and see some sights. the day started off well enough. had some good Mexican food and was enjoying the hills of the city. I was just meandering, trying to get to high points to see what I could see! i decided to stop by the dianese store on van ness and mission street, in the heart of the city. I realized my suit was 2 sizes too big... oh, anyone have $1,200 for a new proper fitting one? "I'm sexy and I know it" with my bike gear nerd satisfied it was time to head out of town to napa. it was rush hour so traffic was going to be a bitch. I swing my leg over in front of the store. my parking meter had a few minutes left on it. fuck it... time to go... time... to... go.......... fuck. the bike won't start... I've been having intermittent battery draining issues, but I thought they were sorted... apparently not. an embarrassed re-entrance into the store and the folks there had run an extension cord out the door so I could hook up my battery tender. I sat there for two hours before the battery had taken enough of a charge to start again. I checked with roberto... let him know I might end up stuck there an extra night... no problem, he said. I was off to napa, and I'd be damned if I let that bike die at any point along the way. the tolls were the worst. fumbling with cash while keeping a hand on the gas with it in neutral... fun, lol. but I got there. sure enough as soon as I shut off my bike in Roberto's driveway the fucker wouldn't start again. I clearly had an issue with the charging system, and that's about all my non-mechanical ass knew. THE AUSTRALITALIAN CONNECTION Roberto's other visitor was a guy named Ted. straight off the plane, and having only arrived a Half hour before me, he was tired. he helped me push the bike into Roberto's back yard. I hooked it up to the tender and we went inside to get to know each other. Ted was on something of a walkabout of his own. he had planned to stay with roberto, but spend 3 months in the states traveling around. roberto lead a quiet life as a college professor, but enjoyed hosting travelers. he and his sister lived together. his cat also snored... http://youtu.be/ZH1-dw9786s we traded stories of adventures, and compared the weirdnesses of the American legal system (australia has some things which seem to really exclude lawyers in petty disagreements which leads to individuals getting satisfaction). kinda cool. I also did my best to help ted acclimate to the similar, yet different cultural norms in the states. a day of googling around in napa lead me to call a motorcycle shop called "cross town cycles". there weren't a ton of options so I gave em a call. a fella named carlo owned the place. yes, he specialized in japanese bikes and he could take a look... the shop was small, just a single bay door with a sign above it. seemed like he rented the garage as part of a larger commercial complex. pretty unpolished, but inside was a capable and gracious mechanic. turned out carlo owned an SV one year newer than mine. he understood I was travelling and time was a factor. he promised me to diagnose the issue (a volt meter read 11.5 volts off the battery, even at revs). he figured it was either the alternator or rectifier. and if he could, he would cannibalize his own bike for parts if he could make it work to save time on ordering. turned out it was indeed the rectifier on mine that had gone bad. the alternator was putting out a healthy 60 volts, but the rectifier (which reduces and regulates voltage back into the battery) had gone bad, not letting any charge trickle back into the system while underway. he pulls the part off his own SV, has to do a bit of soldering to get it right, and sends me on my way for a very reasonable amount. oh, and a 2 day turnaround! sweeeeet, thanks carlo! of course I spent some time test riding before planning my departure the next day... listen to this carefully at about :22. ill explain what you're hearing... http://youtu.be/n222mtUSAIs after a couple wonderful days playing tourist (thanks roberto), eating home made breakfasts and cookies (thanks Enid) and making new international friends (g'day ted) it was time to leave the beautiful rolling hills of wine country. SEACLIFF AND THE FRIENDLY SURFERS it took me a long time to get out of San Francisco. I tend to take random roads that sound like they could be fun, and run in roughly the correct compass direction... "valley" and "canyon" roads in particular :) SF traffic was also a bear and I just stuck to 101, not really knowing the best routes to take otherwise. in Santa Cruz I started looking for camp sites. oh... apparently it's spring break... there are shit tons of people camping, everywhere! after a long day of going nowhere in particular, while stuck in traffic I just wanted to be done! the first few spots I checked were full, until I came to the seacliff campground. I did one loop of the place trying to pick my spot. on the second drive thru I got waved down by some fellow campers. mind you it was already dark out, I had prepared for camping to be a utilitarian experience that night. pitch tent, sleep. the person waving me down was a guy named AJ. he was there with his wife, randi, and would be sleeping in their van, so a tent was no big deal on their spot. I was grateful for the offer and the opportunity to socialize a bit. I parked behind their rig. randi offered me a beer and some snacks. and their dog, Bert seemed to like me just fine (he's a good judge of character). I had suddenly found myself at home with some totally rad and hospitable surfer kids. AJ and randi had some friends coming that night still too, I would soon meet Shawn and Kim... it was a great night. beer flowed. stories and pictures of huge waves they've ridden were shown, and I share some of my story so far as well. it was just good vibes man... good vibes. the neighboring camp asked if we had a hatchet, just so happened I did (thanks Chris). I loaned it to them and my new friends made some jokes about the transient with a hatchet... I said it might come in handy if I found myself camping under a bridge or something. chuckles all around. before leaving camp the next morning AJ (a user of adv rider as well) recommended I ride on foxen canyon road down by Santa Barbara. I would be doing big sur that day, hoping to make it to Anaheim... this road would save me a bit of time and be a fun ride. oh, and it was... I don't know about the time savings though... but before that bit, here's some pics of big sur... a good lunch at the coast gallery cafe on 1 in big sur. outside of Hearst castle. I buzzed the parking lot and stopped for this pic... FYI, I don't think you can see anything but the visitors center from The main lot. finally done with big sur, here's my getting lost moment for the day in foxen canyon. http://youtu.be/xm4YmH8LvAY with just 120 miles between me and LA, I got a hotel in buellton. took a hot hot shower, ordered a pizza, and hit the sack. HOLY SHIT, TRAFFIC I got a late start. the days inn mattress was comfy, and I only had 120 miles to do today... I just wanted to avoid rush hour getting into my cousins place in LA. no biggie. if I hit the road at 11 I should have plenty of time... should have plenty of time... then Lompoc happened... I was trying to stay on 1, and must've missed some turn off in town. I ended up on beach avenue and a hour long detour which lead me to a sandy dead-end, hemmed in by a military base and rail road tracks. ...sigh... if you've been paying close attention, you may notice a theme here with my sense of direction. it's fucking awesome...(!) Anyway, LA traffic was horrendous. I hit Malibu at about 3pm (27 miles of scenic beauty... no one can afford). and it all just went downhill from there. beautiful beaches... lots of nice cars... sexy people everywhere... and then it just doesn't stop... for like... 50 miles. oh... and you're going 5-10mph if you're not stopped. my forearms on fire, my knee beginning to tweak out a bit from two days of twisties, not being able to stretch while riding, and old hockey injuries flaring up... I arrived in Anaheim, with family for the first time since grants pass Oregon... a break down, and about a dozen new friends made along the way. not a bad way of doing it. kara had made ribs, and from scratch beans along with potatoes and garlic bread. I ate until i was about to burst... it's so good to be with family again. today I slept in again. then we went and spent the day at knotts berry farm riding roller coasters and such. it was a total blast, I felt like I was 12 again, all excited and giddy with the safe thrills (not needing to concern myself with any spills). and that brings me to now... 2 am... and just finally caught up with my log... ill try not to let it go for 5 days again... or maybe... fuck it ill upload photos and post this report tomorrow. I'm gonna dream of slingshot rides and high speed inversions :)
Anaheim to palm desert today I left my cousins and aunt in Anaheim. a quick jaunt down to palm desert to stay with my sisters boyfriends parents. mike brews his own beer, and likes cars. we hung out in his garage before going to dinner at the lamp post. a quiet evening with some tv, and chatting with urusla and then a really comfy bed and good nights sleep. I'm off to check out Joshua tree and salton sea as I make my way east toward Texas.