Colorado Cruiser: 2019 Pacific Coast Highway

2019 Pacific Coast Highway - Day 7 - Crescent City to Fort Bragg

Same ol' same ol', Wake up at 5:00, read mail, facebook, etc. Scan my blog and cringe at my poor wording, spelling, and general story telling. Get out of bed at 6:00, shower, dress, pack.

Breakfast at 7:15. We walked across the street to a little cafe. It advertised seafood and sure enough, they had salmon eggs benedict on the menu. But they also had normal fare. I was sitting down on the end and turned out to be in an odd position. So when Scott and D'Nette came they were going to have to split up.

Ross called "Come sit by me dear", so I got up and wandered over to the other corner. Everyone got a pretty good laugh.

I got french toast, eggs and hash browns. It was very good.

Klair called me during the meal to talk, then Nan called to talk. It was good to catch up on the new grandbaby and all the other happenings. I know there's more stuff going on, but Nan has always kept the crap at bay while I was on vacation so I could just enjoy the moment.

The dump truck will unload shortly after I get home though, but I'll enjoy my ignorant bliss while I can. Thank you Nan, I love you.

We walked back across the street to the hotel after breakfast and began loading the bikes. With the old themed hotel, the individual carports, the full service gas stations we've been at recently, and now with us puttering around the bikes and chatting, I was really reminded of a 50s TV show where all the neighbors mow the yards at the same time.

Yeah, that metaphor is a stretch, but I worked so hard on it that I'm going to leave it in anyway.

We were ready to roll by 8:15. We discussed the route and possible stops, then said a prayer and headed down the road.

The temperature was in the upper 60s when we left Crescent City, but within 5 miles, we rode into some scattered fog and the temperature plummeted down to the low 50s. We pulled over to bundle up. I just turned up the heat on the handlebars and called it good.

The fog continued as we began a bit of a climb away from the shore line. The roads weren't very twisty and there were no great views to speak of, but the sun breaking through the canopy in long streaks through the fog made for some really majestic imagery. I had forgotten to put my camera around my neck, so the only thing I had was the video camera and frame captures.

The temperature slowly warmed and the fog burned off by the time we got to Eureka. Todays lunch plan was to stop at a Subway, and everyone get a sandwich. Then we would look for picnic tables along the way. Ron found us a Subway right between a CVS pharmacy and a Dollar General. With this bunch that was nearly heaven and much stocking up proceeded.

I took the time to ping my nephew Kevin. He's in Kingman where I began this journey. He also attended Humbolt State University here in Eureka. I texted him and he responded that he wished he was there, and reminding me of the great packages my wife used to send to him.

Back onto the road again, we moved South into another Redwood Forest. We exited highway 101 onto the Avenue of Giants and slowed way down, probably going 35 most of the time.

We wove through the massive trees and just enjoyed the views and. This is MUCH more my style of riding. I can do the speed if I need to, but I love meandering and gawking at the views.

We reached a little touristy stop called The Eternal Tree. It's marked by a tree that someone once tried to cut down and was in the middle of a massive flood which left marks. As the tree has grown, the outer markings on the bark have moved well above the ground level.

Perfect for us was a set of picnic tables in a grass field right beside the parking lot. We pulled out our sandwiches, drinks, chips and carrots and ate lunch in a perfect 75 degrees.

After we ate, we wandered around looking at the various points of interest. I went inside the gift shop. There were some beautiful artistic wood pieces. I wandered around staring from one piece to the next in awe that someone had the skill to carve them.

After a bit more wandering I walked back over by the picnic ground, walked out to some shade in the middle of the field, wadded up my jacket and lay down for a short nap. I didn't even come close to sleeping, but that short bit of quiet and rest felt great and prevent the usual post lunch yawns that I often get.

I lay there with my hat over my eyes and listening to the chatter going on back by the bikes. Barb had been looking around the woods and found a big log that had fallen on a hill. She thought we could get a great group photo sitting on that log, so I got up and grabbed my tripod.

Everyone climbed up on some part of the log and I lined up the shot. I did the first one straight onto the log, but it just seemed like we were all standing there instead of sitting on a ginormous log. The second one I gook from off to one side, and to me it looked better. I also got a piece of another big log sticking out over the top of us.

Once that was done, the "gotta move" instincts took over again and we loaded up to get some miles traveled.

We were still on the Avenue of Giants but my GPS kept trying to tell me to get on the highway. We went another 10 miles before John pulled over. We'd gone past a turn that we had wanted to take so some of us could do a short hike. We had to wait for some cars to pass, then started trying to turn around.

One thing led to another and one of the bikes went down. It was very low speed. No one was injured and the bike was back up in just a few seconds. These things just happen sometimes.

We went back to the parking lot and the hike proceeded as usual.

In the parking lot with us were a few other biked. While the hike was going on several of us were just talking and comparing notes when the other group of riders came back. We started chatting and they turned out to be from the Phoenix area as well. In fact, one of the couples was from Goodyear. I asked if they knew the old animal hospital on Litchfield Park Road and they said Yes. They used to take their dogs there and had good memories of my dad. Wow, another gut punch memory of my dad, but a good one.

The hikers came back and we got back on the road, but only for about 10 miles where we stopped for gas and a farmer's market. I think we need bumper stickers that say "We stop every 20 minutes whether we need to or not".

The ladies all headed down to check out the booths. I heard that jam was the big hit. We spent a little extra time standing in the shade of the gas station because the temperature was rising and the sun was really beating down. Everyone stripped down to normal warm weather gear before we headed out again.

I deliberately fell in behind Larry and Nan. I hadn't had a chance o ride behind them and get video footage yet. They ride without helmet speakers and a comm system, so Larry blasts classic rock out the speakers of his Harley. I'd heard that Nan literally dances her way down the road as the music played out loud. I wasn't disappointed.

We stayed on Avenue of Giants for another 10 miles until we were finally forced to get back on the 101. I have some great photos and videos of the Avenue of Giants. Like I said, this slow meandering is really my favorite kind of riding.

Nan didn't start "dancing" until we hit the 101. I think it's more than just the music. I think Nan loves the speed as well. Once we were up over 65, her arms spread out and she started moving to the music. I could often see the beat as shed wave around, but it reminded me more of a Hawaiian song we used to sing, Lovely Hula Hands, where the chorus was "Just keep your eyes on the hands". Anyway, it was fun to watch.

The 101 was allot more hectic than the Avenue of Giants. There were some fun sections of road but there were so many cars that it was hard to relax and enjoy it.

We pulled off into one of the "Drive Through a Redwood" places. Penny and Barb offered to video and take pictures of everyone, but I dont have any of those yet so you'll have to use your imagination. I do have a picture of the "Redwood Village" that was on the way out though.

Finally we turned off of the 101 onto Pacific Coast Highway, Highway 1. Most of the traffic stayed on the 101 so we figured we'd have a great ride.

But within a few miles we got caught up behind some traffic. It turned out to be a couple of motorcycle riders at the head of the pack. It looked to be a guy and girl, each on their own BMW motorcycle, and the girl was the one that was obviously struggling with the twists and turns.

She looked very hunched up over the handlebars and decelerated way too much in the turns. I should know, I've ridden that way many times as I'm getting back into the groove.

I was glad to see that she wasn't letting anyone push her into riding beyond her ability. Often, having a car right on your tail can unnerve you and cause you to make mistakes. She kept riding until there was a big wide pullout for slower traffic, then pulled over, stopped and just about flopped over the controls. The guy had ridden to the end of the pullout but she stopped just as soon as she could, then I lost sight of them as we picked up speed.

The cars ahead of us actually left us pretty quick, they were really moving down the road. John was leading, Larry, then me. I was keeping pace with them through all the tight stuff and feeling pretty good about it until Drew called over the radio and said that Penny had dropped a glove. We all slowed way down till he went on to tell us to keep going. I think Penny just wanted a break and that's the only way to get Drew to stop.

I didn't get many pictures of the first part of highway 1 because I was way too busy controlling the bike. I did get some video, but that will have to wait.

We sped back up for a few miles, then John pulled over and waved us on past him, which left Larry in the lead and me behind him. I kept up for a bit, but Larry is a real speedster so I decided to back off and ride my more comfortable speed. It was only a few miles an hour slower, so I did keep Larry in sight on the straight aways.

Once we finally reached the bottom of the hill, we popped out right on the coast. Larry pulled and we all stopped a little breathless from that road. It wasn't quite as twisty as the ride up to Sequoia National Forest, and it wasn't as fun as Highway 4, but it was quite a challenge.

I tried to get my drone aloft, but the winds were pretty strong. Once I got it 20 feet up the wind really hit it and it couldn't maintain position. I could actively counter the wind my controls, but it was more effort that I felt it was worth, so I flew it back over and landed it. I didn't even take a single picture of video. I should have started the video as soon as I took off. More of that hindsight stuff and learning for the future.

Eventually we all gathered back up and headed to the night's hotel in Fort Bragg. The ride along the coast was a different kind of fun. Less turns There were some really interesting sections where people seemed to have planted redwoods very tight together as wind blocks. It left the roads looking like a tree tunnel.

When we got to the hotel, I quickly checked in and headed to the room. I unloaded the bike and started working on the blog. So when the message came for dinner at 6:30, I responded that I was going to eat the other half of my sub sandwich and keep blogging.

But later, when the message came to go to the hot tub, I dropped everything and suited up for a nice long soak and some good conversation. Much of the conversation was about the final night in Lancaster. Brent hadn't even bothered making a reservation in Lancaster because he wanted to go farther on Thursday, leaving a shorter trip on Friday. Drew and Penny were also thinking about skipping Lancaster and going to LA to visit their daughter.

No real decision was made by the rest of the group. Some messages went back and forth as the evening progressed. Drew cancelled their Lancaster reservations, but Ross decided that 400 miles was plenty for one day and kept his reservations. Since I was rooming with Ross, I was also going to stop in Lancaster for the evening. We will see which way everyone goes. If Ross had opted to go father, I probably would have left the group earlier and headed to Barstow for the night.

I always get a little maudlin as the end of a ride approaches. Coming down off that social high is a real downer. Especially the first couple of hours after everyone separates and I still have to ride, alone, toward home. I'm excited to get back to my family, but I always feel like I'm leaving family, or worse, being left by family.

This re-adjustment of the ride schedule as the end approaches is very typical. I call it "Get Home Fever" or others call it Barn Disease. The urge to ride harder, further, faster and just be done is very common.

When I feel it coming on, I usually try to fight it by finding something else to add on to the end of the trip. This time I'm going to add a stop to see my aunts in Blanding. Adding that extra stop helps keep my head on vacation so I don't spoil the last of the trip with allot of stress that ruins all the good the trip was giving me.

But that's just what and how I do things. To each their own.

We will see in the morning who cancelled reservations. I'm just a tiny bit worried that Ross will end up riding across the desert on Friday alone. I'll be alone, but I'll have a car with a trailer just 4 hours away and be on the freeway with cell service most of the time.

Posing for a group shot on The Avenue of Giants