Returning north today

So first off today my buddy and riding partner turned 50 years old!  The day was all about Scott!

This is what he looked like before snoring most of the night away.  He was technically still on his 40s for this shot.  

We ate our breakfast at the hotel and loaded our gear for the trip north.  One nice thing was our bikes were parked right out side our room.  Easy loading.  

The ride started off slow on Rt. 80.  I was cruising about 55 mph waiting for Scott as the traffic was zipping by at 70 mph.  I'm not use to trucks, cars and motorcycles (especially HD) blowing by me but I thought I would stay patient and ride at Scott's speed.  In no time I could no longer see him in my rear view mirror.  Not to worry. We had agreed ahead of time the route we would stick to.  Rt. 80 to 505 to Rt. 5 to Seattle. 

It was kind of boring but I kept cruising.  Soon Scott came from no where and passed me going over 70 mph.  He motioned towards his head but booked on by and I got a smile on my face.  We cruised faster and faster.  

That is a row of pistachio trees.

There were signs all over about a drought and water being precious.  The farmers had some very cool dykes and water passages to their crops.  Agriculture is big all over California. 

Soon we stopped to fuel up the bikes and decided to find somewhere to eat in Maxwell, CA. A very small town off of the freeway.  We found the Maxwell Inn and had a nice lunch. Wow, what a cool place.  It is owned by a big rancher and it was loaded with all kinds of cool hunting trophys. 

We got back on the road and I saw this cool camper. 

The weather got hot, very hot.  

I think my temp gage said 104F in the below picture.  I was miserable. 

I pulled over to wait for Scott to catch up and this truck and machine parked next to me and Red Velvet.  Cool looking!

So we decided to stay at a KOA and Scott cashed in his KOA rewards and we rented this cool cabin for $14.10. Cheaper than tent camping!

I took a swim in the pool, the water felt great. 

Here is Scott after he took a leak next to his bike again. He could not wait to go in the cabin. Everything goes downhill when you turn 50!

Scott then took a nap before we went to dinner, again showing his age. 

Here is what the cabin looks like....pretty nice!

Here is my birthday gift to Scott, I put it in his tank bag after he fell asleep.  It is some 3 day old jerky I bought on the beach somewhere.  It's extra hot!

Scott wanted Mexican for dinner so we went to the best Mexican restaurant in Shasta, CA, called Casa Romos.  Scott is holding up the number of beers he had with dinner.  

Some pictures of Mt. Shasta and the town. 

Well that is it for today.  Tomorrow we ride on up to Crater Lake and further north!

Have a great day!

The road to San Francisco...

Today was epic....that is all I have to say about that. We woke up from a fine slumber from our Super 8 stay over, chowed at The Lumberjack and jumped on Rt. 20 to make our way over to CA Rt. 1, one of the most famous twisty turning roads in the US.  It was a bit chilly and the closer we got to the coast it got colder.  Rt. 20 is a spectacular road and it did a good job of warming us up for the real deal on Rt. 1.  Scott calmly preparing for the run of his life!

I blew around this camper and cars once traffic got past the construction. 

 That red truck had eyes for Red Velvet...but left them in the dust...

Here is Scott taking his normal mid morning wizz, I think on his HD today..

Nice little town in the middle of no where...

We saw a lot of these...and a lot of just the opposite.  We made every known turn known to mankind today...

Scott was like cool hand Luke today.   Nothing fazed him, I was proud to have him as my wing man all day. 

Here is Red Velvet taking a break. She ran flawless all day and saved my butt several times, with her ABS and ESA.  Today more than anyday yet, we were as one...it was truly Zen.  Until you ride a road like this, you cannot appreciate what it is like to have a machine as capable as Red Velvet. 

Today I rode my bike hard and fast which means I also pulled over to wait for Scott to catch up...not to worry it is best to ride at your own pace and Scott is an expert, safe rider and never tried to keep pace with my sometimes lunacey of racing like I am running at The Isle of Man race.  I would just pull over and wait for Scott, just like this picture shows.  

Well all of the morning hard riding meant it was time to stop for lunch and we stopped in Rollerville at this nice Cafe.  Rollerville got its name from at one time being the place wood/logs were loaded on ships.  They would roll them in the ships, thus the name Rollerville. Good food, good service and we were fueled up for more Rt. 1 twisty turns. 

Scott's bike holds just a little over 3 gallons of petrol while Red Velvet holds just under 10 gallons, so we pull over every hundred miles or so to fill up Scott's bike and to tighten down all of the loose parts on his HD Sportster.  Low and behold we stopped here in the middle of no where. 

I saw the word "Zen" and I looked closer....

Then even closer!  Wow, what are the odds of me finding this place while waiting for Scott to fill up his bike.  It was meant to be!  One of my favorite books is "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and inspired my ride to Alaska last year and down the West Coast this year.  As they say, stopping here today was meant to be.  Luckily Red Velvet nor Scott's black Sporty did not need any maintenance.  

More pictures on the coast...

Still trying to figure out this selfie stuff...

So we got done riding Rt. 1 and headed back over to the 101 to make our way into San Fran...

Of course we went by lots and lots of vineyards....California wine country, for miles and miles 

So in wine country the temp was about 90F but once we started to decend into San Fran, the temp started to drop again.  The traffic really picked up, luckily mostly north bound (we were headed south).  

Finally we got to the Goldem Gate Bridge and I took this picture from an observation deck. It was super windy and foggy.  

I took a few more pictures going over the bridge.  

Then we rode around San Fran which was interesting because of the sights and hilly streets.  We even rode down the famed curves of Lambardo St. twice. I videoed it and will post pictures later.  

Hilly streets...it's fun riding up and down the hills but not fun trying to clutch the bike on steep streets you have to stop at...whew...I could smell my clutch more than a few times. 

That is the famed Alcatraz...

So it was getting late and we decided to high tail it out of the city. This bridge was really long and wow it was windy.   

Well that's it for tonight....oh a few good pictures of Bo to share.  I did get to FaceTime with him earlier today.  All is well with me and I hope the same with you!