Salt Point State Park

It has been awhile since my last "real" ride, so I have been itching to get out on the open road.  As I was sitting in my room Thursday evening bored to my wits end, I jumped on the Internet and started looking for places to go.  I realized, I have yet to travel north along the California coast and decided Salt Point State Park would be the perfect destination.  I loaded my gear that night and awaited the morning for departure.

I laid in bed in anticipation, like a fat kid waiting for his cake.  I started my ride at about 10:00 and the first stop was at the Golden Gate Bridge.  Last time I was at the Golden Gate Bridge was when I was 12 years old.  Now that being said, I have been to San Francisco thousands of times but never had the opportunity to visit the Golden Bridge.  But this will definitely be a trip to take again when I have someone to enjoy it with.

 While at the Golden Gate Bridge I thought to myself "self this would be a great self pic opportunity".  So I pulled out the camera, set the timer and placed it on the curb.  I think the picture turned out good, other than the back of that black car protruding into it.  After leaving the Bridge, I headed to Hwy 1 and could immediately smell the sea air and couldn't wait until the California coastal cliffs were in view.  Hwy 1 north had an abundance of sharp turns that made the southern roads look like a straight track.  The windy roads made for a fun ride, as the pegs on my bike scraped the blacktop and the scents of nature changed from sea air to the raw green smell of wood and sap.

And before I knew it ... the cliffs of the California Coast.  The views from the coast of California are magnificent and can almost always take your breath away.  The experience of the coast can't be justified by a mere explanation, the sounds, scent, feel and sights all play a role in the experience.  As I made my way further north, the road made its way from the coastal waters then inland to the valley of trees winding back out to the coast.  During this section of the ride, I made several stops and played the typical stereotype role of an Asian with a camera.

The picture to the right would have to be one of my favorites (I have a couple favorites out of the bunch).  I think back now and wish that I would have waited there for the sunset.  I continued my ride north in hopes to finding a campground before it got dark.  I arrived at Gerstle Cove at Salt Point State Park about an hour later.


 

I setup camp as quickly as possible and attempted to catch the sunset, but I missed it by minutes.  But I sat there and took pictures anyway because the colors in the sky were still captivating.  It was now time to get back to camp and start my campfire and eat some dinner and have a beer.

For dinner I had a superb Italian dish from a Chef you may have heard of ... the infamous Chef Boyardee, and to compliment my infamous dish was a cold 24 oz of Coors light lol.  After having dinner and sitting around the campfire wishing I had someone to talk to, I decided to get some sleep.  After laying in my tent for about 30 minutes, I realized that it was probably not a smart idea leaving the empty spaghetti can out for the animals.  So I got out of my tent, grabbed the spaghetti and beer can and started my 50 yard hike to the dumpster.  Walking in complete darkness because the flashlight I had brought decided it didn't want to work, even with fresh batteries.  As I got near the dumpster, I heard a loud deep tone roar followed by what sounded like a scream.  Now I'm no sissy lala, but I'm going to be honest the sound alone stopped me dead in my track and I had to ensure I didn't wet myself.  As I stood there frozen in the "OH F*CK" factor, the only defense I had were the two aluminum cans in my hands and unless whatever made that sound was deathly allergic to aluminum, spaghetti or beer I was gonna be screwed, unless I walked back briskly to my campsite.  As I neared the campsite my steps got quicker and larger, I quickly jumped into my tent as if it were going to embrace me as a Roman Soldier would use his Shield.  The screaming went on for about 45 minutes and was followed by silence.  While still wide awake in my tent I could hear something moving around just outside my tent, then the cling clang of the cans hitting the ground, which by the way I placed ever so carefully on the picnic table before jumping into my tent.  

In the morning, I noticed that the little culprit sniffing around my campsite was a not so little Raccoon (look at the size of the paw prints) but the roaring and screaming, I was told by the Ranger it was possibly a Mountain Lion.  After talking to the Park Ranger for about an hour, I loaded up my gear and started hit the road.  But before I left Gerstle Cove, I rode down to the day use area and took pictures of the Tafoni Rocks.

The skeleton looking rocks were tailored naturally by the sea, some of the rocks had perfect circular holes going all the way through them.  After spending some time here, I got on the bike and headed north in search of Bowling Ball Beach.  After riding for about 2 hours north along Hwy 1, I came into the small town of Point Arena.  I stopped in at a little market and cafe where I enjoyed a small cup of hot cocoa.  The lady working behind the counter was very polite and took several attempts of telling me how to get to Bowling Ball Beach.  It wasn't that she was giving me bad directions, it was my poor attempt of locating the correct hiking path.                                                   

After locating the correct path and a short hike down some steep steps, I realized this was definitely worth the trip.  The slabs of rock on the ground looked like a bowling lane with an abundance of "bowling balls" at one end ready to be rolled down the lane. 

But watch your step as you walk on this beach, as you'll see a plethora of Hermit Crabs, Star Fish, Sea Amnenomes and other Marine creatures.  I wanted to go back to the cafe and thank the lady for helping me locate this beach and for being so polite, as I'm sure she had to get annoyed just a little with me returning several times with the same question.

I saw several cranes while at this beach, but I wasn't able to get close enough to take a clear picture.  I zoomed my camera in as far as it would and slowly walked towards this fearless crane.  After snapping a dozen pictures, each time getting closer.  This was the closest I could get before it decided I was too close and scurried away.

I ended my trip here.  For the ride home, I decided to ride towards Santa Rosa and head down 101 rather than taking the coast to save some time.  It started to rain a bit during the ride home soaking me from head to toe.  But in the end this trip was worth every penny and the heart pounding experiences lol.  

Ride along Hwy 1 (again)

Hwy 1 and I meet again, but this time I brought friends.  As much as I love riding the coast of California, I think I can use a break from there until next summer.  Just before going on this ride, I was able to attach a fairing to my bike, this was nice because I not only had music but a cigarette lighter (this played as a damper later during the ride)...So the ride started in Manteca, and by the time we got to Livermore on the 580 Interstate I was ready for a cigarette.  I was enjoying the Motley Crue on my new stereo and wanted to enjoy a cigarette as well, but when I pushed my cigarette lighter in, I guess it wasn't wired up correctly and it blew my fuse.

Yes, yes that is my bike sitting on the side of the 580 Interstate.  Luckily my friends were able to locate an auto parts store and nice enough to purchase a new fuse for me.

Once my bike was fixed and back on the road, it was a great day and the weather was perfect.  So from the 580 Interstate to the 680 Interstate and onto Hwy 17.  We got into a little traffic on Hwy 17 but luckily we were on the bikes and was able to split the lanes.  Now, as I have said in my prior rants, Hwy 17 is nice to ride, but there are not very many places to take pictures ... so I'll just jump right over to Hwy 1. 

Our first stop was of course at Carmel Beach, I don't remember how long we sat here, but the sand was warm and the cool breeze from the ocean felt awesome.  I really like this beach due to the fact that Dolphins are seen on a regular basis, although we didn't see any that day. 

This is a picture of my friend Mac and his girlfriend Patty enjoying the warmth of the Beach and the views, although Mac doesn't really look like he is enjoying himself.

We also witnessed a group of people gathering, either from a wedding or for a wedding while we were there.  

So back on the road, through Carmel and onto the coast of California.
Not too long after leaving Carmel Beach, we made a stop at the first turnout just as we get to ride along the ocean.  People stop here to take pictures of the houses that are built right along the coast.  As I have said before, one day my friends I will win the Lottery and be able to afford one of these houses for at least a day, heck I'd even be happy with renting a room as long as I get the view of the ocean. 

There were two houses at this location, as you can

see in the first picture you can't really see the house, but I can only imagine what the house would look like.  I would have to say though, that the second picture (right) is my favorite of the two. 

The house is not only right along the coast but its hidden behind trees and has a very large backyard with a barbecue facing the ocean view, which would be great for those summer get togethers.

The gradual turns, the flawless settings and the cool ocean breeze always make me feel free and alive.

The bonus on this ride was that, I had good friends to enjoy this experience.   

We didn't make to many stops, but we did take the ride slow and enjoyed everything nature had to offer.

Once we got into Big Sur, we stopped in at Big Sur River Inn for a bite to eat.  We soon realized that we did not plan this as well as we thought.  The food was very expensive so I ordered a beer and the Calamari appetizer.  The appetizer alone was about $12 and only a handful is served on the plate. 

The cool thing about visiting the River Inn at Big Sur, is that the Beach Boys sing about it in one of their songs.  If you didn't know, I am a fan of the Beach Boys.

To the right are my friends Mac and Patty, standing in front of the little shop next to the River Inn.

We also walked around to the back of the Inn where a small river slowly flows.  Nice place to kick off the boots and relax on one of the chairs placed in the water.

The sun started to set so we decided one more picture with each other, then start heading back home before it got too dark and cold.  We did leave an hour later than when we wanted at the beginning of the ride, but I think it worked out for the better because the sunset on the coast is gorgeous, just wish I had someone to enjoy it with.
The ride back was nice, the setting sun painted a beautiful picture across the sky.

I could do this ride over and over again, and each time the portrait nature displays of the coast takes my breath away.

  I just had to add this picture to the left, it has got to be my favorite picture.

When you set out on a journey, pray that the road is long, full of adventure and full of knowledge. 

Ice house, CA

I do not know the roads we took for this ride, therefore I will just add the slide show video that I made.  A rare event occurred during this ride, my buddy Shawn actually rode his motorcycle!!  Hope you enjoy the video...and I promise on all future rides that my friends plan, I will write down the routes so I can better explain our adventure.

Bridgeport, CA

It's been awhile since I have been on here and updated my rides.  I have gone on several in the time and figured I should update this before my ride to Texas.  The ride to Bridgeport was nice because I had friends to ride with along this trip.  Now riding alone is fun, but when you get a couple of your friends together its just that much more enjoyable.

 In this picture are my friends Brian and Erik, both guys I met through another friends of mine.  We took lots of short stops to take pictures along the way due to the nice scenery.  I'm not sure of the roads we took because I was invited on this ride and just kinda followed through the whole trip.  So I can't explain to much about that although apparently we did go through Ebbetts Pass.

 Okay I have decided since I am unable to describe where certain pictures were taken, I am going to cheat just a little and post a bunch of pictures ...