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 ...

Yosemite National Park

Wow it feels like forever since I have been to my blog page, almost forgot about it.  Since my last post, I did two good rides.  This post is about my experience at Yosemite National Park.  The ride started at 0800 hours from my house taking the 120 all the way there.  Hwy 120 starts to get real nice once you start the climb into the hills.  Of course I had to stop at Don Pedro for a smoke break and enjoy the view at the vista point.

There were lots of people enjoying the waters at Don Pedro but the ride on my motorcycle was much more appealing in my book.  If you have never been to Yosemite and decide one day you want to go and take Hwy 120, Don Pedro is definitely a nice place to stop and take a breather.  After finishing my cigarette, I continued on my trek for Yosemite National Park.  During the ride up the hill, I saw a minivan broke down so I stopped to see if they needed help, this took all of 10 minutes if that.  I figured that would be my good deed for the day.

So many cars were stopped here (picture to the right) it was actually impeding traffic.  Luckily I was on a bike, and could park just about anywhere I wanted and able to squeeze through the idiots parked on the road, causing cars to stop and wait for them to move.  But could you really blame the people for stopping, seriously the view was amazing. The view from here on was pretty much all amazing.  Once I made it to the entrance gate to the Park, I had to pay $10 a small price to pay to enjoy a day in Yosemite.  Just keep in mind its $10 if your on a bike and $20 if your in a car.  The ride just got better and better as I made it further into the Park.

 The roads are just windy enough to make the ride fun but not so much that you can't let go of your handlebars to take pictures.  I stopped at Bridalveil Falls and attempted to take pictures, but for some reason my camera decided it no longer like the memory card I had in it.  So my quick thinking ... after 20 minutes of trying to figure out what was wrong with my camera, I rode to Yosemite Village and purchased another memory card.  I was trying not to spend the extra cash, I wanted to make this a rather cheap trip just to be able to say I spent a whole day in Yosemite for less the $20, but that darn memory card cost me $40 so there goes that plan.

After fixing the whole camera problem, since I had my bike parked in a safe location, I decided to have lunch before taking the bus around Yosemite.  The bus takes you to all the sites you would be able to get to in your own vehicle so it was nice because I was actually able to enjoy the view without having to worry if I was going to run into someone's vehicle. One of the stops I made was at Lower Yosemite Fall, where as soon as I got off the bus I saw the Half Dome through a picturesque of tree branches.  It was perfect, like a painting with an all natural frame around it.

After a short hike on a trail through the trees, I could feel remnance of mist from the Yosemite National Fall.  It felt really good, during the hot day.  Especially because I wearing jeans and my leather vest.  There were so many people in their swim attire walking there way almost directly under the water fall, making me wish I also had my swim trunks.  I stood there enjoying the mist and being away from the heat for awhile, then realized I needed to hurry and see some other places before the sun starts to set.  I got back on the bus, next stop was at the chapel, this chapel was incorporated in 1877. I walked inside to see that it was a very modest little chapel with 8 rows of seats on either side.   I could only imagine what it would have been like to attend a service at this chapel and living in the valley..

Not only are the views from the Valley amazing but the waterfalls and the streams that race through there create a very peaceful aura.  With the hectic life in a city, its nice to come to a place such as this and enjoy the calm for at least a day, and take in everything nature has to offer.

After making my way to my bike, I sat on a log smoking a cigarette and this gigantic ant started crawling up my leg.  You can't tell from this picture but, he was probably a 1/4 inch in length.  I jumped up and started doing the patting dance ( patting yourself rediculously, while jumping up and down ) because I wasn't sure if he had friends with him.  After patting him off me and realizing not only how stupid I looked, but that there were no other ants on me, I decided to take a picture of this gigantic sneaky ant.

The ride down the hill back into reality was nice.  The sun was just starting to set, so the heat was dying down for when I got back into the Valley and the sky was lit reddish in color. When I got just below Jamestown about to make my left turn onto Hwy 120, I noticed yet another car that was broke down.  The car was sitting in front of the stop sign and people were just driving around, not even attempting to help.  So I jumped off my bike and went to the car to help, when the driver got out, I was like wow she is beautiful...guess I wasn't the only one that thought so because less than a second after she got out of the car there were four other guys there wanting to help.  It was classic like in the movies where the hot girl comes out and everyone is staring so hard that they crash their cars and people are falling off the roof tops.  While waiting for a ride so the girls could get to the Grey hound bus station, a guy stopped asking for directions to Copperopolis.   I gave him the directions, but he saw the car broke down and the girls sitting there waiting....so he seriously tells the girls "hey I got a place you guys can come stay the night if you'd like"  I was like is this guy for real.  Thinking to myself, self I hope the girls have heard of Charles Ingh and says no.  Well they were smart and told the guy no, so I told the guy I'm gonna make sure they get home tonight so not to worry and the dude was on his way.  Not only was this trip a good way to spend a day, I made a friend that day as well.

Trip to L.A.

On June 23 2010, I made a trip down to the Los Angeles area for just a one night stay.  This trip definitely was not as fun as when I went to Venice Beach along the coast.  But I figured I'd write about it anyway.

Now of course there is no comparison taking the Interstate to a Highway running along the coast but I wanted to capture the beauty of it all.  Soon after leaving my home, I made a quick stop at a Vista Point along Interstate 5.

Once I got to the top of the Vista Point, not only did I notice the calming views of the Interstate but the Hills in the distance were amazing.  I stood there as if I was looking at a painting of the Golden State, and trying to imagine what this would have looked like a hundred years ago.  All the years that I have drove along Interstate 5, and never took a chance to stop here and enjoy this view.   To my surprise, sitting on top of that hill watching traffic race by was very relaxing.

Once I got back on the Interstate, it was long and very boring.  I didn't realize they raised the speed limit.  I was doing 85mph trying to keep with the flow of traffic and people were still passing me at a high rate of speed.  I even passed several California Highway Patrol Officers and they didn't even bother looking at me.  I made a stop at a rest area along the way to give my butt a rest and have a smoke because the ride without music was making my eyes heavy.  While taking my break, I met a guy named Jason who was from Oregon.  We began talking, about motorcycles, work and travel ... we stood there talking for about 20 minutes before we both decided we should both get back on the road.

 So back on the road, once I hit the grapevine I started to get tired again...so as I was looking for a place to pull over and take a break...I got hit with a strong scent of fresh lemons.  I was thinking to myself "self you must be really tired now if your smelling things" but soon after I noticed a truck carrying a trailer full of lemons had tipped over on the northbound lane of Interstate 5.   There was stopped traffic for about 3 miles on the northbound lane, I figured I'd pull off at Pyramid lake.  Everyone is so busy and in such a hurry, barely anyone stops here just to enjoy the view.  I think this was the most scenic part of the trip.

 I kinda wish I could have gone down the the beach area and spend some time there, but I didn't feel like paying the entry fee and hanging out by myself lol.  After sitting here for about 30 minutes, I got back on the boring road and headed for El Segundo.

Once I got to El Segundo, I didn't do anything but get a room and rest.  Next morning after sleeping in till about 9am, I checked out and got on the bike for the trip home.  But for some strange reason, I got the urge to get some Hungarian food before heading home.

I found a Hungarian restaurant near Hollywood, so I decided to stop there and give it a try.  Csardas restaurant, was nestled at 5820 Melrose ave. in Los Angeles.  The service was good and the food tasted even better.  Authentic and a good variety of foods and wines.  I had what is called spatzle in Hungarian, its small dumplings and pork with a tasty Hungarian sauce, normally served with bread.  They also had a buffet with a small variety of food for about 8 bucks, which I thought was a very good deal.  After enjoying my food, since I was near Hollywood, I thought I'd take a stop and walk around for a bit.  On the way their, I noticed an area where you were able to view the airport.

I was literally watching the planes taking off and landing, and the whole time I was singing in my head "I'm leaving on a jet plane".  It was kinda cool to watch the planes, so I sat on the bench and watched them for about 20 minutes and after doing so... I forgot about Hollywood and just got back on the freeway to head home. I decided to take Hwy 99 back home, although there was literally nothing to special to see along the Highway, there was an abundance of rest areas and places to stop for fuel.  Since I had nothing to take pictures of...I took pictures of myself, and yes while I was riding ...

It was a very hot day and the wind felt good on my bare arms.  I didn't get sun burnt this time, because I was smart and used some sun block.  The ride home was long and boring and the whole time I thought to myself "self I need to get a stereo system for the bike".  Obviously traveling for 6 hours with no music and nobody to talk to can get pretty boring.  Although I always have fun hanging out with my bike, I was relieved to be home.