2019 Sept Mountain Man - Day 1

2019 Sept Mountain Man - Day 1

I think we have enough firewood for 3 nights.


The Mountain Man campout is run by my friend DaveB.  It's not one of the big rendezvous that you see on TV with guys wearing coon skin caps and shooting muskets.  It's just a bunch of guys that DaveB knows and invites for a few days in the mountains.

Mostly its about camping, cooking, riding ATVs, and sitting around a huge campfire at night.  It's just guys having fun in the woods.

And before you picture drunken peeing for distance contests, we're mostly all mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) so there is no alcohol, smoking, or other things that many men would do in the woods.  We sit around the fire allot, telling dad jokes and quoting old movies.

DaveB usually sends out his invites early in the year, with occasional reminders throughout the fall and early summer.  Then in  mid summer he will send an email with the planned days and destination.  It's always in late September so we can see the fall colors.

I agonized this year over whether to go or not because I was going on a 2 week motorcycle ride through California just prior to the campout.  I was worried about leaving my wife with all the grandparent duties for nearly 3 weeks.

It's tough being a grandparent, so many grandkids to spoil, and so little time.

It was my wife who told me I should go or I'd regret it and she was right.  I really enjoy the campouts, so I emailed DaveB that I would be going just before I left for California.

As I usually do, I way overpacked for the campout.  I had my big 8 man tent, oversize cot, big sleeping pad, Tent heater, camp table, 2 camp chairs (one for the tent, one for the fire), blackstone griddle, and a ton of electronic gizmos and gadgets.  I had allot more stuff, but you get the idea, I wasn't going to be roughing it by any stretch of the imagination.

I also decided to tow my little 4x6 utility trailer so I could have all of the Glamping stuff I'd bought for Yellowstone this summer.  If you don't know what glamping is, google it.  If you are reading this so far into the future that you don't know what Google is, ask your robot overlords to explain it to you.

On the night before departure, I did the final packing of the car and trailer.  As always, I kept spotting things and thinking "I could probably use that" and tossing it in.

I got out my nice zero gravity chair and found it was busted.  So I ran to Bass Pro Shop to buy a new one.  I found a Cabella's chair for sale and was puzzled by that.  I later learned that the two had merged.  That's how into camping and outdoors I usually am.   My new chair cost $137 with tax, A small cinder from the first night's campfire burned a small hole in the brand new chair, not 5 minutes after I got it out of the trailer.  But I'm not bitter.

I'm going to be cooking a breakfast and a dinner on this trip, so I bought 30 lbs of ice and loaded all the food and my snacks into 2 ice chests.  The 3rd bag of ice I put into another ice chest just so I could add ice to my hydration bag.

I have so much room between the trailer and the highlander that once I loaded everything, it was still half empty.  But this way I don't have to play tetris trying to get it all to fit, it's just toss and go.

I hitched the trailer and pulled it out onto the street.  I didn't need to gas up because my wonderful wife had already done that for me earlier in the day.  I was all ready, except for the 10 of 15 things I thought of as I got ready for bed and stuck in a pile in front of the bedroom door.

My alarm went off at 3:30am.  Yes, my children, there is another 3:30 in the day beside the one in the afternoon.

I didn't have to rush because I'd prepped everything already, but even then, it was 4:30 before I climbed behind the wheel and headed for DaveB's house.  He's about 15 minutes away but I always panic when I go there because I can never remember the way.  Was it 3 lefts and 4 rights?  or 10 lefts and a u-turn?

I managed to get there right on time, 4:45.  But there was no one else there.  Had I misread the time?  Had I confused the date?  But no, DaveB was in his truck in the driveway and only 1 other vehicle was showing up to drive with us, DaveW.  He showed up a few minutes later.  We had a prayer and headed down the road.

It was an uneventful drive out to Buena Vista.  We all got separated by stop lights and other traffic, but we arrived as planned at 7:00 am for breakfast at Jan's.  It's a nice little cafe that we've often had Mountain Man Breakfsts at.

We met up with DaveB's 3 brothers at breakfast.  Thad, Chris, and Jayson.  They all live in Utah and had driven over in Thad's monster truck.  I don't really know what it is, but it's huge.  He was towing his 4 seater UTB and Jayson's ATV.  I had met Thad before, but didn't know Chris or jayson.

For Breakfast, I got a Denver omelette and I was glad to see no one order a breakfast burrito because that's what I'd be cooking in a couple days.

After breakfast the real fun began.

Due west out of Buena Vista is Cottonwood Pass, one of the highest mountain passes in Colorado that you can drive over.  It has been paved between Buena Vista and the top of Cottonwood Pass for many years, but the far side from the pass, down into Taylor Reservoir has been dirt.  I have often ridden my motorcycle to the top of Cottonwood, but then had to turn around and ride back down because of the dirt on the far side.

For the last 2 years, CDOT has been paving the West side of Cottonwood Pass and I was excited to see how it would look.  I was mostly excited to know whether I could ride my Goldwing motorcycle over the pass.

That's really what this whole trip was about.  All the camping, drones, cameras, tent heater, offroading, everything was just so I could find out if Cottonwood pass was now bike worthy.

Not really, but I was excited about it.

And the Verdict?

Not only did they pave the West side, but they reworked the approaches on the East side and completely repaved the whole of the East side.  It is now one long beautiful road.  It can be used as an alternate route to Crested Butte, rather than going over Monarch Pass and all the way to Gunnison, you can now take Cottoonwood and cut off proably 50 miles, but that's just a guess.

All the  switchbacks are wide and well banked, it was just a wonderful drive and will be a wonderful motorcycle ride in the future.

We stopped at the top of the pass and I got the drone out to take pictures and video.  The top has also been repaved with more parking room but the same great view down to a small pond just below the pass.

I got some video but couldn't remember how to get the drone to take a spherical photo.  I'll figure it out later.

From the top down to Taylor Lake didn't seem nearly as long as it used to take on the dirt road.  Once we reached the highway, we turned right for just a couple miles, then turned right again toward Texas Creek.

This is where my angst kicked in.  The highlaner was great, but I was town the trailer equivalent of a toyota corolla.  It was not meant for offroading.  It had short stubby springs and a solid axle that didn't seem all that far off the ground.

We meandered our way down the dirt road with the rocks and ruts getting bigger and bigger.  After a while I figured we'd gone 10 miles and wondered how much farther.  I came to a steep drop off and before I headed down, I stopped and waited for DaveW to catch up, then asked him how far we'd come and how far we had to go.

"We've only come a mile and half" he said, about another 2 miles to go.  "It's not going to get any worse" he assured me.  So I climbed back in and headed down.

Writing this report on day 3, after the ride of day 2, that road was NOTHING and I was a wimp for even thinking it was rough.

Anyway, nothing bad happened and we arrived in camp just fine.

We are on a small rise, overlooking Texas Creek.  There is a big circular gravel area that is free of grass and trees with a few trees off to the West end.  We pitched our tents along the Trees on the west.

Once everyone's tent was up, we headed farther up the road to get some firewood.

Campfires at mountain man have goot a bit out of hand, thanks to DaveB.  Every year he wants to cut down one more whole tree that they did last year, or at least it feels that way.

We had 3 chainsaws going.  They would cut down a dead tree that was still standing, then cut it into 4 foot segments.  We burned stacks of those 4 foot segments in the campfire.

DaveB says we cut down 8 trees this time.  It took 2 trips with a full trailer to haul all the wood back to camp.  There has to be 2 chords of wood in that stack

I helped haul wood, but I also tried to get some video footage of the tree cutting and hauling.

At one point, DaveB cut a 12 foot tall tree, but it got hung up on the way down, then as he trid to free it, it started falling toward him.  He said his first thought was just deflect it with his hand, until his sence kicked in and he scramble backward out of the way, falling over his chainsaw case.  Unfortunatly I wasn't filming at the time or it would have made great footage.

I also caught Jayson cutting a treee down.  I was watching real close to see how it would fall and wanted to get it falling close to me.  I haven't reviewed the footage but the 3 guys who thought I'd been hit were proof that I picked my spot good.  That thought for sure I'd been hit.  But to me, I was 6 to 8 foot from where it fell.  I got pelted by the shattering limbs, but no where near being hurt.

Footage of the tree coming down

Once we got all the wood back to camp we setup the cooking area and prepped our other personal things.  I flew the drone a bit and started writing this blog.

Ben showed up after an hour in his Camper, pulling a trailer.  He had his 650 offroad bike in the trailer.

Then DaveB started calling out that it wass time for a ride.  Everyone geared up to go for a ride.

I rode with DaveW.  I've ridden with him on 2 other campounds in the past.  He has a 2 seater can am and feels pretty comfortable.  I wear one of my old motorcycle helmets and I'm forever whacking my head on the roll bar as I get in and out.  It's got grab handles for the passenger on the center console and across the front dashboard.  I've had to hang onto these many times as DaveW had driven up, over, across, and through some wild roads.  He likes to brag that his can am has never rolled over, no matter what stunts he's pulled, but he can't say that anymore.

Today we just continued up the Texas Creek trail.  The road got rougher the farther we went, and DaveW said that's why we camped where we did, because most trucks and trailers couldn't make it back to where he'd really like to camp.

As we got higher, we finally started seeing some yellow and orange aspen trees.  We hadn't seen much so far and were worried that we wouldn't get any color.  The trip is planned for the end of September specifically to see the fall colors on the ridess, but it's really hard to know in advance if you'll be too early or too late for the changing leaves.

We stopped for picturs a few times, then stopped at the very end of the trai for more photos.  Like a dummy, I hadn't brought the drone.  There were some nice views out there.

On our way back we stopped and walked out to cabin across the creek from us.  It's a private cabin even though it's in the middle of a national forrest.  The owners let people use it if they follow some rules.

There used to be a road to the cabin, but the road had logs laid across it ever 5 feet or so and signs declared the road closed.  So we walked over.  Most of us waded across the crek, but I didn't feel like it, so I waited with a few others on the near side.

After a few more photo stops, we got back to camp and I worked more on the blog while DaveW started cooking dinner.  He always makes fried chicken on the first night and it was as good as always.

By this time it was getting dark, so the fire starters made their way out to the stack and started prepping a fire.  It took an embarassingly long time to start until someone just grabbed a cup of gas from the UTVs and doused a few logs, then it roared to life, and kept growing and growing.

The wind was blowing from southwest to neartheast, right at my tent.  I watched with growing concern as the  fire lept 5 feet, then 8 feet, then 12 feet in the air while spewing cinders all over my tent.  I was sitting off to the side and decided I should see whether anything was reaching the tent.  There was ash on it, but nothing hot had reached it, yet.  But just as I got back to my chair, a gust blew a log to the side and it shot cinders all over my chair.  Before i could brush it all off, it had burned a hole in my brand stinking new chair.

Oh well, now I can stop worrying.

We sat around the campfire for a few hours as it got darker and colder.   DaveW brought out some brownies to pass around.

Again, mormons in Colorado.  These weren't special brownies, just plain ol' fattening, heart clogging brownies.

By 10 o'clock I was all done and ready for bed.  The temperature was in the 40s and showed signs of dipping way lower.

I started the tent heater while I undressed.  Then took a baby wipe bath and climbed into my sleeping bag.  I was asleep pretty fast because I don't remember anything after that.

Thad and Jayson at breakfast.


DaveW, Chris, and me (Clay) at breakfast.


Cottonwood Pass road, it's beautifully paved and ready for a motorcycle ride.


Looking West from the top of Cottonwood Pass



Clay, Thad, Chris, DaveB, Jayson, and DaveW.  Don't ask me what Thad was doing, I don't know.

The East side of Cottonwood Pass road is also great.



Turning off the road toward Texas Creek.


Camp is setup, getting ready to cut firewood.


Looking East toward camp on a low bluff overlooking Texas Creek


DaveB cutting up a tree that didn't fall all the way down


DaveW cutting up a tree.


DaveB just as his tree started to fall



Jason and Chris carrying logs to the trailer



Ben trimming a log so Thad can carry it to the trailer


Thad, Jayson, and Chris, all taking wood to the trailer.  Guess which one is the Doctor.


Ben cut the tree, Chris helped guide it as it fell, right toward me.


The tree as it hit about 6 foot from me.  I kept 2 other trees between it and me, but I got pelted with broken limbs.


DaveW's trailer, nearly loaded


Here is our stack of firewood for 3 nights.  We might need more.


Driving farther up Texas Creek in DaveW's UTV


Thad and Chris



Finally a bit of color


Stopped at the end of the road



The forest service REALLY didn't want us taking this road to see the cabin



Crossing the creek to the cabin.  I didn't go.


Relaxing by the fire while DaveB cooks dinner


Last glimmers of sunset over the campfire



My face lit by the campfire

2019 Pacific Coast Highway - Day 10, 11, 12 Headed home

2019 Pacific Coast Highway - Day 10, 11, 12 Headed home

I set my alarm for 3:30 am.  Both my alarm, and Ross's alarm went off at the same time.  Ross got up and headed into the bathroom.  I got up, dressed, grabbed my gear and headed out the door.

I met Larry by the bikes.  He was cleaning his windshield and loading stuff on the bike, but my bike was already prepped.   I put my stuff in the trunk, put on my gear, then said goodbye and headed out by 3:45.  It was about 58 degrees as I headed out.

I was a little nervous about large animals crossing the road as the sunrise neared, so I kept my speed down about 5 miles under the speed limit.  The highway was divided which let me keep my high beams on unless someone passed me.  I felt pretty good about the ride after a while so I sped up to the speed limit.

I reached Barstow just as the sun was starting to rise.  I grabbed a McMuffin for breakfast and filled my hydration pack with ice.  I gassed the bike as well, then was back on the road just as the sun peaked over the mountains.

By the time I got to Needles the temperature had risen to the high 90s.  I was feeling pretty hot so I got a strawberry fruit bar to snack on while I rested.

Just outside of Needles the temp dropped back into the 80s and continued dropping all the way into Kingman.

In Kingman I had to ride the 100 yards of gravel uphill to Kevin's house.  There was no problem riding up, the bike just went right up.

I parked the bike and went inside for some water and a rest.  My mother in law who we call Granny was packed and all ready to go, so I went back out to load the bike on the  trailer.

Once the bike was on the trailer we hopped into the car and headed for Blanding Utah for a visit.

While we drove I asked Granny if she'd ever been to Monument Valley.  She said she hadn't, so we decided to head North out of Kayenta.  It's a slower route, but allot prettier.  I stopped to get photos of Granny as the sun set.

I wanted to stop at the point where Forest Gump stopped running, but I couldn't, it was too full.  There must have been 80 people all over the road in that area.  They barely got out of our way as I slowly drove through.  There were several people dressed as Forest, and a few others dressed as the people around him.

The sun set so we finished the drive to Blanding in the dark.

On Saturday, we decided to stay for the day rather than heading right out for home.

I spent much of the day helping my Aunt Donna get her computer and phone fixed up.  Her computer was dead, so I helped her get a newish phone setup and running, then cleaned up her phone so she could use it on a cruise in a few months.

Once I had her computer installing windows 10, I asked Donna to drive us out to the cemetery to see my parent's and grand parent's graves.  I hadn't been back since my mother's funeral 2 years ago.

I spent a few emotional minutes thinking about parents and grand parents.  I also walked around to look at some other relatives including great and great great grandparents.

Next we drove around town to look at the old houses, then back to the Donna's for more computer fixing and blogging.

After lunch, Granny took a nap and I spent the afternoon asking Donna about how my grand parent met and the circumstances around my father's birth.  My dad was born 3 months early and only weighted 1 pound, 4 ounces.  I wrote a blog about the things she told me.

Later in the afternoon, my Aunt Betty and my cousin Sterling came over for a short visit.  It was great to see them and catch up on what they were up to.

Finally we went to the local restaurant so I could get my Navajo Taco fix.  I've had better tacos over the years, but you takes what you can gets.

On Sunday, we left by 6:00am and made it home by 3:30 with lots of stops.

Sunrise over an 18 wheeler

Kevin's house up on the hill in Kingman.  I had to ride up his dirt driveway.

Bike loaded on the trailer

Granny in Monument Valley

Another picture of Granny in Monument Valley

Donna with her Navajo Taco

Granny eating her Navajo Taco.  Her eyes bugged out when the taco arrived, she thought she would just get a small taco.

De Jones Birth

Grandpa Cardon Jones and Grandma Hatti Guymon met in Blanding Utah. They went to school together from the first grade on.  They probably knew each other even before that.  They were members of the same LDS ward because there was only one.

They were just friends all through grade school.  When Hatti was 12, Grandpa Willard Richard Guymon took the family to Salt Lake.  He was a janitor in an apartment building so they got the apartment for free.  When they enrolled Hatti in school, the administrators thought she wouldn't be able to keep up because she was from Blanding, so they moved her back a year.  They stayed in Salt Lake for only a year before returning to Blanding, but when they returned, Hatti was a year behind.

Hatti once told me about a school field trip to what is now the Natural Bridges National Monument.  They drove the school bus down into the canyons and stopped right by one of the bridges.  Then they took a big ladder that they'd strapped to the side of the bus, and setting the ladder on top of the bus, they leaned it on the natural bridge and all the kids climbed up onto the bus, then onto the bridge.  She said she was petrified to climb up there but she did so the other kids wouldn't tease her.

When all of Hatti's friends graduated from high school, she just stopped going to school.  Hatti didn't graduate high school until she was in her 60s when the local school started a seniors education program.

After high school Cardon and Hatti started dating.  Hatti lived in what we think of as Uncle Erve's house.  Cardon lived in a house South of the Parley Red store.

One night after a date, Cardon dropped Hatti  off at home and headed to his own home by cutting straight through the fields.  As he was walking through a grove of cedar trees in the rain, he had his hands in his pockets and his head down fighting through the wind and rain when he stumbled over some burros that were bedded down under the trees.  He stepped on one burro that instantly jumped up from under him and Cardon wound up laying across that burro as it took off.

He had his hands stuck in his pockets and couldn't get his hands out.  He rode that way until he eventually bounced off and rolled to a stop.  He continued dating Hatti anyway.

They were married in February of 1933.

In April Grandma headed for Midvale to help with Aunt Nelda's delivery.  On the journey there, the ride was so rough that Hatti arrived and was in labor, 3 months early.  They went to a doctor to try to stop the delivery but after a day of trying to stop it, they couldn't.  So Mildred Nelson was the doctor and she helped to deliver De.  He was 1 pound 4 ounces.  They named him De Nelson, after her.  She was the great aunt of Russel M Nelson who operated on Uncle Rusty, so it all tied together.

De was so tiny that they were sure he would die. They wrapped him in cotton and put him in Unle Joe's shoe box and set him on the oven door.  They fed him whey with brandy mixed in it.

Cardon had left to go sheering sheep at the end of February and wouldn't get home until the end of May.  He was paid 10 cents per sheep to sheer.

When De and Rusty were little, they moved to Pagosa Springs and worked for Uncle Melvin (Cardon's brother in law maried to Maime).  He was caring for sheep.  They lived there several years.  They lived down on the river.

After Pagosa, they moved back to Blanding by the time Aunt Betty was born and stayed until Donna was 1 year old.  Grandpa went into business with his dad Tom Jones to raise Hereford cattle.  They raised the cattle on a ranch they bought from Tom Kelly out behind Ache and Mac.  The railroad once had a station in Ache and the ranch was right beside the station.

They lived at the highline in New Liberty in the winter, and Ache in the summer until the 1950s.  New Liberty is West of Mac, up in the book cliffs.  It was a small valley full of farms and an elementary school.

At Ache, house, which they called the Brown House, the bucks (male sheep) had gotten into the house and been stuck in there for several days.  Nelson and Rusty had to shovel several inches of manuer out before they could move in.

It was in New Liberty that Nelson  enlisted in the Air Force.  He had gone to town for some groceries and decided to pick up the mail.  When the postmaster saw him, he told Nelson not to get the mail and that it would be delivered in a few days..  Then he told him to just stand there while he sorted some mail.

As Nelson watched, the post master laid down several letters and one of them was for him, it was a draft notice.  Nelson excused himself and went straight to the Air Force enlistment office and enlisted.

There is a picture of the whole family that I've always seen.  Donna told me it was the day that dad reported to the Air Force.  The whole family drove to Grand Junction to see him off, but before he left, they posed for the family photo.


The whole family on the day De Nelson reported to the Air Force

2019 Pacific Coast Highway - Day 9

2019 Pacific Coast Highway - Day 9 - Santa Cruz to Lancaster

So last night, Larry asked me to ride with him across the desert to Lancaster rather than taking the PCH and all the twisties.  After consideration, I said yes.

Yesterday's ride was super technical and exhausting, In order to ride yet more twisties, I had planned on skipping the blog, or just doing a minimal blog and going to sleep early. But now that I wasn't doing that I could go ahead and finish the blog, so I did.  Until 1:00am.

I can't tell you how good this mornings shower felt on my stuff shoulders and back after all that technical riding.

While I was packing,  Ross also said he was going to ride across the desert with us.  He was also ready to skip another day of twisties.

Then at breakfast, John talked about Big Sur. He said it was the best part of the PCH and really wasn't very technical.  There are motorhomes and busses on the road, so it can't be that bad.

After breakfast Ross changed his mind and said he was staying with the pack. That got Larry thinking as well.  He walked over and asked if I would mind if he didn't join me crossing the desert.  Sigh....

We all talked to Larry to be sure he wasn't just caving to peer pressure and that he really felt up to the ride.  He said yes, he felt up to the ride.

Suddenly it was 10 minutes to departure and I still had 30 minutes worth of prep.  I crammed stuff here and there and was ready on time, but I never washed my windshield.  I only had a small amount of ice in my hydration bag, and a few other annoyances. but we all rolled out at 7:30.

Yesterday, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, then taking Highway 1 out of the bay area traffic had seemed bad, but today was even worse.

We hit an 18 minute backup (according to Google) and had to almost walk the bikes for a couple miles to get through the traffic.  I decided to try lane sharing, but after passing just 4 cars, a car ahead deliberately pulled to the left to block me, so I settled back in line and moved as slow as everyone else.

When we finally made it through the traffic light that was causing all the backup, we found ourselves on a 2 lane road with no one else around us.  The traffic ALL turned off on that stoplight.

Pretty soon we were on the oceanfront, swerving back and forth as the road followed the coastline.  The cool ocean breeze, the trees, and the light filtering through the occasional trees made for another memorable session of riding, but it wasn't to last long.

Just a 20 miles in, we hit a construction zone.  It was the dates single lane type.  We could see the last group going in our direction climbing up a hill away from us and they were moving at a crawl. 

This was going to be a long wait.

We were on a downhill section of road, and the road was tilted pretty hard to the right, hard enough that I couldn't put the kickstand down.

So I turned hard left and pulled forward, then backed to the right.  I did this a couple of times until I had a good angle to put the kickstand down.  I was turned nearly perpendicular to traffic for the time the bike was stable.  I turned off the running switch and hopped off the bike.  Took off my helmet and put on a hat, then got a good long drink of water.

Several people started looking around to see if there was any sort of bathroom facilities nearby.  They didn't like the suggestions about hiding in the grass or hopping the barbed wire fence.  We stood around for 20 minutes before the traffic from the other direction started down the hill, so we all got on our gear, took last drinks and got on the bikes.

I got on but just sat on it waiting for all the traffic to end.  It eventually ended, but the sign guy just stood there.  He called on the radio a few times (he was about 100 yards ahead of us), but no movement.  Eventually we got back off the bikes and started joking again.

It was another 20 minutes before a truck finally came down the hill and turned around to lead us.  We got back on the bikes again and by the time I was ready, the bikes in front of me were starting to roll.  I hit the starter and got nothing.  Probably didn't have the key on, but yes it was.  Turned it off and back on, nothing.  Kickstand down?  Nope, put that down and back up, nothing.

By this time Scott behind me was just waiting for me, and so were hundreds of cars.  I waved Scott on, and the car behind me.  They went out and around so all the other cars started streaming past as well.  Remember, I was turned sideways to traffic.

I pulled the clutch, turned the wheel hard left and backed down the hill and back into line with traffic, now they didn't have to swerve way out.  Then I duck walked the bike forward and closer to the curb but it was hard while holding the clutch, so I put it in neutral and walk the bike forward a dozen yards to a flatter spot.  I hit the starter again, nothing.  About this time I realized what had happened.

I had killed the engine when we stopped, but left the key on.  With the key on, my big dual headlights were still on and it had run down my battery after 40 minutes of sitting.  OH CRAP!!  I'm hosed.

But wait!!  I'm a geek!!!

A year ago I bought a cool jump starting setup.  It's called a super capacitor.  You hook it to your battery and it takes the little bit of charge left in your battery, performs electronic wizardry to pump up the voltage and slowly charges the capacitor up to a point where it can actually start the bike or car.

So I get off the bike and start to open the side panel where the battery is, but as I tug, the bike started to roll forward off the kickstand and fall over, remember we're on a downhill.  From my knees I catch the bike before it falls far.  I struggled to keep the bike from rolling forward and falling on top of me, all while trying to stand up.  I couldn't reach either brake from the left side of the bike so I was just pulling back on the bike while lifting the handles.

Finally I stood up enough to grab the brake, then put it into 1st gear, put the kickstand down and get the bike stable.

I opened the side trunk, pull out my clothes bag and rummaged for the super capacitor.  I plug it all together then get it hooked to the battery and start it charging.  2.4 volts, 2.8 volts, 3.2 volts, 4.5 volts, etc etc.

In the mean time, cars are still zipping by, maybe I can get going and still catch this group of cars.  I certainly don't want another 40 minute wait, so I'll put stuff back away while it's charging.  I cram my clothes bag back into the side trunk and push hard to close it.  Remember than not only is the road down hill, but its heavily sloped to the right.  So I'm pushing on the side trunk and the bike starts to fall over to the right, and this time it goes, thump into the bushes along the road.   You have GOT to be kidding me.

After crying a little bit, I scramble around the bike through the bushes.  I turn my back to the bike and sit my butt on the seat.  I grab the handlebar in my left hand and the passenger grab bar in my right hand.  I squat way down, knees bent, back straight.  I push with my left while pulling up with my arms and stand the bike up.  Then carefully I make sure the kick stand is still down and sit the bike back on the kickstand.

I Scramble back around the bike and now the super capacitor has two big beautiful green lights saying it's ready.  I hop on, put it in neutral, check key, etc and hit the starter.  VROOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!  it starts right up.

I still can't leave it sitting here in neutral or it will roll forward off the kick stand and fall, so I hit the reverse button which locks the rear wheel.

Back off the bike, disconnect the supercharger, toss it in the trunk and slam it.  Tie the side panel onto my hydration bag.  Grab the helmet and just cram it on my head, hop on, turn off reverse, clutch, 1st gear, signal, don't even look and start riding forward and merge as I go.

Traffic has been passing me this whole time, probably 10 minutes as I fixed one fiasco after another.

The road sign guy is watching me as I approach and gives a little nod.  He shuts down the traffic about 5 cars after I go past.  What a saint.

The single lane was very long, several miles with lots of construction and bumps all over the road.  My helmet is on, but the buckles and straps are tucked up inside and jamming my ears.  I rode through the construction and about 2 more miles to find a decent spot to pull over, and turn off the bike . . . WHAT???  YOU IDIOT!!!!!

I pull the clutch and hit the starter and it starts right back up, thank heaven.  I put it in neutral, kick stand down, nice flat gravel, then get off the bike and just stand there for a few minutes.  Man am I stupid.

I put my panel back on, re-arrange the stuff I crammed in, put my highway peg back in place (it got pushed way up when the bike fell over).  Then I take a nice long drink of water.  It wasn't very cold but it helped allot.

Finally I felt human again and started down the road.  Just a few more miles and I happen to glance down off the road to see a bunch of screaming waving people under some trees.  I recognize those characters!  So I turned around and rode back to the park they were in.

I'm going to break here for the night so I can get some sleep.  I'm going to try to get up at 3:30 to cross the desert in the cool.  I'll finish the story, but really wanted to capture all those details while they were fresh.  Keep checking the blog and I'll  just update this page.  If you get emails, you won't get a new email, you'll have to read the only blog.

By the time I got to the park, everyone else was very ready to go.  They had been waiting for me for 15 or 20 minutes.  So I double checked everything, used the bathroom, and saddled up because we still had a long way to ride.

The roads were much less technical (twisty) than the north part of highway 1.  It was a much easier ride.  We also spent allot more time right by the war, so it also kept the temperatures down to reasonable levels.  Every time we went inland the temp would zoom up to 85 or 90, then back down to the 70s once the ocean breeze would reach us.

We had several more one lane construction zones, but none as bad as that first one, and any time we stopped, I remembered to turn off the key.

We passed over a big bridge and after a minute John pulled off to a scenic turnout.  He told us that the bridge was the icon for Big Sur, so we all got pictures.  I used my tripod to get a group photo with the bridge behind us, but the bridge was so far away that you can barely see it.

By this time it was just after noon and we were close to the bottom of Big Sur so we started thinking about lunch.  John turned us off of the PCH into a little town to get gas and food.  Even being near the beach wasn't helping as much anymore and the temps had risen to the high 80s.

Some of us went into a grill to eat, but they only accepted cash.  I have a habit of sticking an extra $20 here and there on the bike or in my wallet, so I had enough cash to loan out to the people that didn't have cash.  The food was good, but it was very warm.  A few couples walked across the street to get fresh deli sandwiches, I think they had the better deal.

By this point, I was just realizing that we were nearly done with the "Ride".  We only had a few miles of coast left before people started heading their own way.  I've learned to say my gootbyes early because often the break comes with no warning and suddenly there's a wave and SWOOSH, they are gone.

We got back on the road and soon found ourselves in Morro Bay, but John had one last surprise for us.  He warned everyone that we were taking a hard right off the PCH and he led us back into Morro Rock Beach.  We parked the bikes, then walked out to the beach for pictures.  We stood around for a while chatting and saying our goodbyes. Drew and Penny are headed to LA to spend time with their daughter, Brent, Barb, Scott, and D'nette are all riding past Lancaster and to get closer to Phoenix before stopping.

So this time when we got on the bikes, we knew it really was the end of 8 bikes and 14 riders.

Just a few miles down the road Drew waved goodbye and headed off, but the rest of us turned West.  Down to 7 bikes.

We wound up on highway 166 (I think).  It was a little 2 lane road out through the hills.  It wasn't bare dirt desert, but it was brown grass as far as you could see.  We rode for over 100 miles at 65+ mph without a sight of anything but grass (I might be exaggerating).

Eventually we stopped in the town of Maricopa for gas and a break because Ross was nearly out of gas.

Brent and Scott kept going because they have plenty of gas left and they were going to ride farther tonight than the rest of us.  They waved as they went past.

And then there were 5 bikes left.

We gassed up, then pulled into the shade of the building to take a break.  I bought a full liter of water to pour all over my mesh jacket.  It was hard to put the jacket on after it was wet, but man did it feel good.

We got back on the road.  The evaporation of all that water felt fantastic.  The wet jacket lasted about 45 minutes but wasn't doing much after 30.  I might have to figure out how to constantly spray myself while riding, or better yet, stop riding in such heat.

We rode through allot of orchards between Maricopa and Interstate 5.  The greenery around us lowered the temperature by 5 degrees which also helped.

Once we were on I-5, the miles started flying by.  We climbed a small pass which lowered the temps down to the low 80s and brought a smile to my face.  The one last stretch of 2 lane road brought us into Lancaster.

We checked into the hotel, then met in the lobby to find dinner.  We were near a mall so we thought there might be some food close by.  I looked up a restaurant on yelp and put it into my GPS just to be safe.  Sure enough, after wandering for a few minutes we came up with nothing that everyone could agree on.

I suggested my mexican restaurant, then led the way to it.

It wasn't too bad.  Good chips, salsa, and bean dip for appetizers, then chicken Fajitas for my dinner.

We sat around talking longer than we normally would, but it was the last meal together and we all knew it.

Back at the hotel, I grabbed a quick shower, changed into my last clean clothes, then packed almost everything up and took it down to pack the bike.  All I had left was my cpap, computer, and riding gear.

It's taken me 3 days to finish this report because I was travelling home and doing other things, but here it's finally complete.

Group photo with a cool bridge behind us


Approaching the traffic stop where my battery died.  The previous group is just disappearing at the top of the hill.


Here's where it all happened.  Oh the memories...


Big Sur Bridge


Typical Big Sur coastal highway


More highway


And more


On the beach in Morrow Bay


Ron on the Beach


Panorama of the Morrow Rock and Beach


Hot Dusty riding across the California Desert

2019 Pacific Coast Highway - Day 8

2019 Pacific Coast Highway - Day 8 - Fort Bragg to Santa Cruz

Today I wanted to get some sunrise pictures.  I woke up at 4:00, then made myself go back to sleep until 5:00.  I had set out all my clothes, camera, and everything so I could get out of the room without making too much noise and waking Russ.

Of course, I forgot allot of things and still had to use my phone light to get stuff.  I got dressed and out by 5:20, then started trying to figure out I was going to go.  I'd have done that last night, but I was busy writing the blog.

Eventually I found a little park about a mile and a half down the road.  I loaded stuff on the bike, then pulled out a cloth to wipe off all the dew.  The windshield was especially wet and as I'd finish one side, the other would start fogging up all over again.  I finally gave up and just looked around the side.

It was still pitch dark and pretty cold.  About 52 degrees.  I only had on my mesh jacket and gloves, but I turned on the heated grips and felt ok.  I meandered out to the park.  The parking lot was empty so I stopped in the best spot and sat on the bike looking around.

I could hear the clang clang of a bell out in the water somewhere, and a fog horn from the direction of town.  I could see the lights of a few fishing boats off in the distance, and the crash of waves from many directions up and down the shore.

After soaking it in for a bit I looked behind me for any sign of the dawn.  The sky was just getting a hint of light behind the town, so i decided to go walk some of the paths.

I got out onto one of the points and tried a few pictures, but it was so dark you couldn't see anything.  Then I remembered that I have a Night mode on my camera.  I switched it to night mode and could suddenly see things very clearly.  I took a few pictures and a warning came up that I needed to hold the camera very still.

If only I had a tripod.....  So i walked back to the bike and got my tripod.

Now the pictures were coming out really nice.  The water looked really blue and the waves took on interesting shapes.  I'm sure the camera was "stacking" multiple images to increase the  exposure.  Thats a technique of shooting multiple images, then combining the data from those images, but since the waves move small amounts between each image, you get a softening effect.  At least I hope it does.

I took some pictures of me in various locations, and some artsy fartsy shrubery pictures.

The sun still hadn't actually risen by the time I needed to head back to the hotel to pack, so I walked back to the bike.  I stopped at an Arco to gas up, but it's been years.  First they don't take credit cards, only debit, second they charge a fee for using a card.  I won't be doing Arco again.

I walked in the hotel room at 7:15, expecting Russ to be nearly packed, but he was still sound asleep.  I guess my bumbling earlier really hadn't disturbed him.  I woke him, told him the time, and he got up.

I walked around to the breakfast room, but as I got close, John and Angela said they were going to a cafe because the hotel breakfast was pathetic.  I got eggs, sausage, country potatoes, and toast.  It was so big I only ate about half of it.

I got back to the room, packed, and was ready by 8:30

We started South down the PCH in 65 degrees and clear skies.  It was spectacular.  Just a hint of mist still in the air, and that wonderful smell (somewhat rotten) smell of the ocean.

The road was mostly back in the trees, but often we'd come around a corner and BAM, there's the ocean.  Then more trees and BAM.  It was pretty sweet.

We hadn't gone very far when we turned off the road toward the Point Arena Lighthouse.  It was still closed but would open soon, so we stopped to take pictures.

We weren't there long when Larry spotted a whale spouting just a few hundred yards out.   It even breached a couple of times.  It was out there the entire time we were at the lighthouse, in roughly the same place.

Drew got his drone out and flew it around, first trying to see the whale, then over by the lighthouse.  I showed him how to take a dronie and a cork screw video.  Then he flew off to try to find the whale again.

Once the front gates opened, we drove in to the light house.  4 or 5 people opted to pay and hike to the top of the light house.  They said it was really cool to look out.

The rest of us sat in the shade and chatted about this and that.  It was a nice cool morning with a strong wind blowing.  If we looked, we could still see the whale feeding just off shore.  We could also see some massive rock just under the water to the North.  We couldn't really see the rock, just the huge waves that would suddenly rise up and crash, seemingly for no reason.

We were at the light house nearly an hour from start to finish.

Back on the PCH, we struggled to make more miles.  We hit construction after construction that really slowed us down.  There were allot of twisties and it started to take a toll on me.  At one point I was down shifting for a tight turn and suddenly found myself in neutral on a steep uphill.  The riders behind me zipped past as I got the bike back in gear and got going again.  I'm glad I had good riders behind me and/or not following me too close.

After an hour and a half of riding we stopped for gas and a bio break.  The bathrooms were porta potties out in the parking lot, in the sun, baking, or should I say stewing in the heat.  It was not pleasant, but when you gotta go, you put up with it.

Hand sanitizer was liberally passed out, and some people wanted full body sanitizer.

We took off again, rode more twisties, sat through more construction delays, and enjoyed the cool breezes off the ocean.

After a while I heard John say over the radio "Hey, it's our BMW buddies from yesterday!".  Which meant our speed dropped significantly.

If you didn't read yesterdays blog, we got behind these 2 riders.  The lead rider was pretty good, but the 2nd rider was very hesitant in turns and rode very slow.  I was sure the follower was a woman, but not everyone was sure.

We followed them for 10 miles or so before Brent's bike began to overheat due to the slow airspeed over his radiators.  He dropped out and waved us on.  But after 5 minutes, I found a great picture taking spot and radiod that I would stop and wait for Brent.  Then John found a spot and the whole group stopped.

This let the BMWs go on without us breathing down their neck, but all the cars behind them were probably still breathing so it wasn't better for them, just less frustrating for us.

I got my pictures then spotted Brent coming down the road.  We both rode on to John's spot and stopped for a bit more of a breather.

It was well after noon so we started to look for lunch.  We pulled into a big parking lot that must surely host a restaurant.  Lo and Behold, there were the BMW riders just getting off their bikes.  The 2nd rider took off HER helmet to reveal shockingly red hair, far redder even than Penny's.  Maybe it was too shockingly red?  Anyway, that settled the "aparent gender" of the 2nd rider.

We went inside but couldn't really find anything to eat.  The snack bar was closed, the restaurant wanted $20 for a burger, and the sushi was even more expensive.  So we decided to try somewhere else.

I guess a local gave Drew a suggestion so we drove another 1/4 mile down the road to "The Dog House" in Bodega Bay.  It was OK food, and cost me $20 for a burger, onion rings, and a strawberry shake.

We sat in the shade while our food was prepared.  I think they only have hotdog buns because my burger was rectangular shaped, what we used to call a hoagie, and the bacon was so bad that Kyle would love it (meaning it was limp bacon).  I don't know how I raised a son that likes limp bacon, but we love him despite that.

The onion rings were great and many people stopped by to sample one or two or more.  The burger was mediocre, especially with the bacon.  The strawberry shake was great.  Very thick with big pieces of strawberry.  I ate about half of everything but had no onion rings left.

Back on the road again, and more twisties, and more twisties, and more twisties.  This is an incredibly complex road to ride.  Just when you think you're getting to a straight section, it's just more twisties.

We also climbed and descended a dozen times or more to get from one inlet to the next, then 10 miles inland and back out.  But we kept going until we finally climbed up and over a big ridge and came out to a very busy are of a city.  We stopped at the first gas station we saw for another bio break.  This time with better facilities.

The roads all around the gas station were packed with cars so I wasn't sure how 8 motorcycles were going to get out and stay together.

Drew led the way, and Ross popped out and blocked traffic so most of us got out in one shot, but not all of us were fully ready yet, so Scott and I made it out pretty quick, but Brent got stuck when the light changed.  We had only gone a few hundred yards when Drew announced that we should have gone out the other side of the station because we'd missed our right turn, so everyone crowded over to the left turn lane and made a u-turn.

We met Brent on the way and with the other bikes to block traffic, he made a U-turn right there at the light.  Brent is a very good rider.  I often wind up tippy-toe'ing the last little bit of a U-turn as I near the curb.

Now we were all together and ready to take that turn that we'd missed, we even all made it through the light together with just a few cars mingled in with us.

We merged onto the highway that headed for the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was a 4 lane highway, but the GPS said we needed to be in the left 2 lanes, so I hopped over a lane, then slowed down, blocking traffic to let the other bikes merge over.  The car behind me was NOT happy about that, and Californians are not shy about using their horn and various body parts to express displeasure.

We got over to the correct lane and worked our way forward in the stop and go traffic.  The drivers were nuts.  I saw one guy zooming up the far right lane, dodging around everyone else that was trying to merge.  He went until the right wall physically forced him to slow down and merge, but instead of just merging, he turned left, perpendicular to all the traffic, nudged his way forward across all 4 lanes to the far left lane, then turned in line with the rest of traffic and drove on.  he literally drove across the road, almost hitting other cars and forcing them to stop to let him through.

I won't go into all the other stupid driver things I saw, but there were plenty.

We finally rode out onto the Golden Gate.  I thought I remembered from my last time crossing, that the bridge had metal road surface with open gaps that looked down through the bridge.  I remember being very uncomfortable because the road surface tended to grab my front wheel and make it wander left and right.  But this road surface was asphalt and felt just like riding over a normal piece of road.  It didn't feel at all wierd.

My video camera battery was dead so i got no video.  I probably turned it on and forgot to turn it off.  I also didn't feel like trying to take a still photo in all that traffic, so no crossing pictures from me.  Maybe one of the rest of the group will upload some photos I can use.

On the far side of the bridge we took the very first exit, then quickly turned into a parking area labelled "Overlook" to get some bridge pictures.  It wasn't a great view, just straight across the bridge rather than a side view giving some perspective.  But no one wanted to fight traffic to get farther into town, so we took what we could and got back on the road.

Here is where the CB radios really were handy.  As Drew led out, I could tell him when the rest of the group was on the road and how separated we were.  If we got too far apart, he would pull over and let the rest of us catch up so that no one got lost.

We must have gone through 20 stop signs as we maneuvered through town.  Especially when we hit a road closure and had to meander all over to get around the blockage.  But eventually we got back on highway 1 headed out of San Francisco.  It was very cool when we came around one corner and there was a massive beach leading South down the coast, and the PC running beside it.

What wasn't cool was the non stop traffic on the PCH.  It probably took us an hour to go about 20 miles before we hit open road.  Finally Drew announced that we were 55 miles from the hotel, and we all sped up to 65 mph.

But we ride for long because there was another light house just ahead of us.  We turned off to the Pigeon Point Lighthouse.  We had stopped here 11 years ago when John, Angela, Nan (my wife Nan, not Larry's wife Nan), Shauna, and some guy on a baby blue goldwing had ridden the PCH in 2008.  It was more colorful that time, but I guess it was still ok for lighthouse lovers like D'nette.  I was just glad for a break.

Come to think of it,  the line to the bathroom was pretty long, so maybe it wasn't so much about the lighthouse as nature.

We weren't at this lighthouse very long before we were leaving.  But the parking lot was loose gravel and Ross had parked facing down hill.  Then a car pulled in right in front of him, so he could get out.  It took Angela and me to push him backward enough to extricate himself.  I guess there were other incidents with the sloping gravel parking log but I didn't see those.

Back onto the road, yet again, and more miles to travel.  This road was thankfully pretty straight and the last few miles flew by.  In fact, it was such a great feeling with the cool ocean breeze, the clear roads, the sun setting off to my right that I decided to make a few calls.

I called all my kids (Koren didn't answer) and just chatted to see how their week had been and how the grandkids were.  Then I called my wife and heard about the carpet cleaning and re-arranging that she's doing.  I just hope I still have somewhere to sleep when I get home.  It was great to talk to my family while watched the ocean and beach slip past.

We pulled into Santa Cruze and the Mission Inn as the light was fading and checked into our rooms.  We asked for good places to eat and she suggested a BBQ place about 1/4 of a mile away.

I quickly unloaded my gear and started typing the blog.  But I was barely started when a message arrived saying to meet in 5 minutes to walk to dinner.  I thought to myself, "Why Walk" but eventually I caved to peer pressure and left the bike behind.

It wasn't a bad walk, but it was 10 minutes I could have spent writing the blog, or 20 if you count the return trip.

It was a very texas style BBQ.  You ordered a the counter, either sandwiches and side, or loose meet by the 1/4 pound.  I opted for a Fierce Pig sandwich, meaning spicy pulled pork, and coleslaw.  There was live music playing.  2 guys, guitar and harmonica with some sort of electronic drum beat accompaniment.  They weren't bad and really got your toe tapping.

Unfortunately for us, they only sang 2 songs before they called it a night and left.

We pulled together some tables and made a long enough table to seat us all.  I got a lady to take a picture of us since this might be the last time we're all together.

My pork sandwich came and it was sure hot.  It was hotter than I really had wanted but I ate about half of it with coleslaw to cool it off.  Scott gave me some of the tritip and brisket he'd gotten.  When I was full, I headed back to the hotel at a power walking pace to do more blogging.

I saw Larry ride past on his way back.  Larry had injured his knee on some stairs earlier, so he rode to the restaurant.

When I got back to the hotel, Larry came over to ask if I would be interested in skipping tomorrow's twisties and heading straight to Lancaster instead.  He said he was burned out and didn't think he could handle another full day of technical riding, but he also didn't want to cross part of the desert alone.  Nan was also getting tired and worried about Larry struggling with his injured knee and fatigue.  I told him I'd think about it.

I went back to writing the blog and looking at what tomorrow's ride would entail.  It wouldn't be as much as day 2, 6, or 7, but it would be allot and there was nowhere to stop except little pullouts.  That would be 100 miles of continuous technical riding.  Was I even up for that?

I finally decided 2 things.  First,  I would be just fine if I missed that section of road.  Second, if Larry didn't feel he was up to riding that section, then he shouldn't, and he should have someone with him, so I would go with him.  So tomorrow, rather than taking the PCH south, we would head East and pickup Interstate 5.  We would ride 5 hours rather than 8 hours.

In the end, I think I'm also relieved to have the technical riding done.  It's very strenuous even though it's also fun.

With that settled, I went out to tell Nan that I'd go if they needed me to.  I could see the relief on her face, but she said she'd talk with Larry to be sure that's what he wanted.  A bit later they messaged that they wanted to skip Big Sur and would leave whenever I suggested.

I think we'll leave at 8:30 or 9:00, but I'll get up at 7:30 to say goodbye to everyone.  I probably won't see Drew, Penny, Brent, Barb, Scott, or D'nette again as they are headed their own way home.

By the way, if you know me well, you know that I have always struggled with names.  "So how are you casually tossing around the names of people you barely know?" you might be asking, especially when I routinely forget the names of people I see daily.

It's easy, I created a cheat sheet the first day and have been referring to it every few hours.  Some of the people I've seen enough times to remember, but even then I sometimes stumble.  So here's my list.

Gold Harley - Nan and Larry

Blue Harley - Scott and D'nette

Red Honda with Trailer - Brent and Barb

Yamaha & roommate - Ross

Drew and Penny

Ron and Karen

John and Angela

In other words, I know them by what bike they ride. Sometimes it's awkward as I had to wait to see which bike they get on before I can say "Hey Brent, how you doing?"

By the 3rd day, I could just recognize who was on which bike, but I sometimes couldn't remember the name of the Guy riding the Gold Harley, and had to look at the list to remember it was Larry.

As for Drew, Penny, Ron, and Karen, I've been on 2 other rides with them, and already had them remembered, except, again, I sometimes had to refer to my old blogs to remember actual names, rather than "That guy on the red wing with the matching trailer that led the ride" I'd see it was Drew.

Names just don't stick in my head.  I sometimes have to get up from my desk, walk over to someone's cube, and read their name off the label, and that's people that I've worked daily with for years.  It just goes away.

Now, John and Angela I've known for many many years.  I don't think I've ever struggled recalling their name.

Anyway, it's midnight and I still have to add photos. so I'll end this here.  G'night

Late news, this morning Larry says he feels ok and John says it is much less technical so we will stay with the group.

Sunrise on an ocean lookout

Perched on a bench, mostly for the better silhouette

Plants and cool blue water

More staged sunrise watching.  I did sit on the bench for a while just to watch and listen, but this pic was setup.

Preparing to ride

Starting down the PCH

Lighthouse shadow, very cool

Drew's Drone

Point Arena Lighthouse

My ride, 2001 Honda GL1800 ABS (18 years old)

Another shot of my ride

Golden Gate Bridge

PCH just South of San Francisco

Finally out of the traffic and just cruising the highway

Great views while I chat on the phone with my family

John and Angela

Scott and D'nette

Brent and Barb

Ron and Karen

Ross and Clay

Larry and Nannette

Drew and Penny