My original plan was to leave around 8:00am, but it always takes longer to actually hit the road. I finished packing, got everything on the bike, added air to both tires (42/42), and finally left the house at 9:52am.
With the V-1 on duty, I made the run up I-210 and I-5 to Frazier Park Rd. in good time — very good time. Once I passed the Lockwood Valley Rd. cutoff and made it past the Pine Mountain Club, I had a lot of fast fun on Mil Portrero and Cerro Noroeste. I normally do this road west to east, so it was like riding a new road.
I turned east/north when I hit the 33/166 junction for the long slog through the oil fields to SR-58. Looking back, this was the least fun part of the day's ride, and only the anticipation of SR-58 and good reception on the XM radio made it palatable.
SR-58 is really three roads in one. Going to east to west, you get fun, fast twisty section, followed by a big stretch of lonely straightaway with awesome whoopdee's, and finishing with more fast twisties. An excellent way to spend the morning. Without admitting anything, the max speed listed on my GPS showed 122mph after the middle section.
I guess my heavy throttle hand burned off too much gas, and I was deep into reserve way too early, so I had to take the La Panza Road cutoff into Paso Robles. I really, really like SR-229 south of Creston, but gas stations are few out here, and walking didn't seem like the best option. I filled up at the first station I found, with 49 miles on the reserve odometer.
After a quick lunch at the Mexican restaurant next to the Motel 6 in Paso Robles, I headed up county road G-14 past Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio to give the V-1 more exercise. In the fall, the central coast views are a great combination of dry grassland with lots of green oaks.
The highlight of the day's route was my first ever trip on Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd. — named in the November 2005 issue of Motorcyclist magazine as one of the ten best rides in the world.
I went west on Mission Road, did the quick check-in at the Fort Hunter Ligget guard gate, and puttered along at military-base-nominal speed, enjoying the views. Once you clear the base, the road becomes an awesome path through the central coast range, with a canopy of trees, tight blind curves, and the occasional gravel-strewn corner. The last few miles are steeply downhill, and once you break out of the woods and look down thousands of feet on the mist-shrouded ocean it's a challenge to focus on the road instead of the fantastic views. Luckily, cage traffic is sparse, but you do have to take appropriate care.
By the time I reached SR-1, the weather had changed dramatically. The inland heat had given way to thick fog, cool ocean breezes, and temperatures in the fifties. I felt comfortable enough to stick with my mesh riding jacket, although I considered stopping to put in the liner a few times the rest of the way.
There was suprisingly little traffic (always the biggest frustration on such a cool riding road), and the ones I did encounter were either easily passed or willingly pulled into the turn-outs. (Remember, I do not pass over a double-yellow, just on general principle.) I stopped in Carmel for coffee, but because of the late start it was past 6:00pm and all the shops were closed.
Before I left I'd arranged with Cary to pick up the ALMS race tickets at the will-call hotel, to save time on Saturday. The will-call was in the Embassy Suites hotel in Seaside, just up SR-1 from Carmel. I called Cary to see if he'd been able to get me authorized to pick up the tickets, but he hadn't gotten through, so we agreed it would be best for me to skip the trip to Seaside. Instead, I took SR-1 up to SR-68 for the ride to the motel in Salinas. On the way, it started drizzling, starting out light and getting heavier as I went along. After checking in, I walked across the street to the In-N-Out for dinner, and spent the evening reading my new book.
All-in-all, one of my best riding days in a long, long time.
