jyambrovich
aka Papa Yams
Hello all,
I'd like to share about my January 1 ride to begin 2007.
I live near the Monterey Bay on the California coast. I left my home in Scotts Valley around noon and headed South on Highway 1 toward Monterey / Carmel. The weather was SPECTACULAR and the forecast said warm and calm on the coast. SWEET!!!
By 1 (after having stopped just off of Hwy 1 in Marina to fill the fuel tank) I was passing through Carmel on Highway 1. I noticed a sign that said Hearst Castle 90 miles. The area just south of Carmel (near Point Lobos) was somewhat congested but I still found that I could stand up on the pegs riding past Monastery Beach to check the dive conditions and swell/surf. It woulda' been a nice day to scuba dive too.
Once past Pt. Lobos, traffic was a bit lighter and it was one of those days that cause me to remember why we pay the big bucks to live in this area!! The sun was out, there weren't any clouds in the sky to speak of, there was little to no wind along the coast, the roads were in fair shape and open (it IS winter you know) - I couldn't have DREAMED up a better day to ride.
Going through Big Sur, I just couldn't believe what a great ride I was having. On reaching Nepenthe (check it out at http://www.nepenthebigsur.com or get a web-cam view from their veranda and weather forecast at http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/images/weather-cam.html) the parking lot had a BUNCH of cages (oops, I meant cars) clogging the parking lot so I decided that I'd push on a bit further and turn around 'just down the road'.
Since it was such a wonderful day and traffic wasn't TOO horrible (I did have to crack the throttle a few times to get around some people whose driving skills are greatly lacking) I found myself unable to bring myself to turn around at every place I'd set in my mind as the 'next turn around spot'. At around 3:30 in the afternoon, I saw a sign that said Hearst Castle 12 miles and said to myself, "I may as well go all the way now, right?". Got to the gate at Hearst Castle and it was closed for New Years Day!! Oh well, I wasn't going on the tour anyway, just needed a place to stop and use a restroom.
Across Highway 1 from the Hearst Castle entry road is a State Beach so I turned around, crossed the highway and stopped there. I called my unsuspecting wife and when she answered I said, "Guess where I am?" After giving me the usual "I don't know, stop playing around" I told her that I was at Hearst Castle. "WHAT?!?!? Are you kidding me?" I told her No, I wasn't kidding. Just about that time I'm munching on a Clif Bar and having some water (I always keep a 1 liter Nalgene bottle full in the storage compartment) and realize that the sun is going to go down in an hour and I didn't want to ride back toward Monterey on Highway 1 in the dark.
I rode through Cambria, then East on Highway 46 to Paso Robles. Reaching Highway 101 at around 5p.m., I headed North toward Salinas. The moon was nearly full and very bright, bright enough to cast a shadow of me and my bike on the roadway.
I ended up meeting my wife in Salinas at around 6:20 where we had dinner at Margie's Diner , then filled up the RT and headed for home.
All in all a FABULOUS day of riding. 340 miles total - not an Iron Butt but certainly a sweet ride to begin the year.
Please, respond and share about YOUR first ride (or any ride) in 2007. Pictures are welcome, though I didn't have my camera along. (THAT won't happen again!! )
Jay Yambrovich
2000 R1100RT - Opal Blue
I'd like to share about my January 1 ride to begin 2007.
I live near the Monterey Bay on the California coast. I left my home in Scotts Valley around noon and headed South on Highway 1 toward Monterey / Carmel. The weather was SPECTACULAR and the forecast said warm and calm on the coast. SWEET!!!
By 1 (after having stopped just off of Hwy 1 in Marina to fill the fuel tank) I was passing through Carmel on Highway 1. I noticed a sign that said Hearst Castle 90 miles. The area just south of Carmel (near Point Lobos) was somewhat congested but I still found that I could stand up on the pegs riding past Monastery Beach to check the dive conditions and swell/surf. It woulda' been a nice day to scuba dive too.
Once past Pt. Lobos, traffic was a bit lighter and it was one of those days that cause me to remember why we pay the big bucks to live in this area!! The sun was out, there weren't any clouds in the sky to speak of, there was little to no wind along the coast, the roads were in fair shape and open (it IS winter you know) - I couldn't have DREAMED up a better day to ride.
Going through Big Sur, I just couldn't believe what a great ride I was having. On reaching Nepenthe (check it out at http://www.nepenthebigsur.com or get a web-cam view from their veranda and weather forecast at http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/images/weather-cam.html) the parking lot had a BUNCH of cages (oops, I meant cars) clogging the parking lot so I decided that I'd push on a bit further and turn around 'just down the road'.
Since it was such a wonderful day and traffic wasn't TOO horrible (I did have to crack the throttle a few times to get around some people whose driving skills are greatly lacking) I found myself unable to bring myself to turn around at every place I'd set in my mind as the 'next turn around spot'. At around 3:30 in the afternoon, I saw a sign that said Hearst Castle 12 miles and said to myself, "I may as well go all the way now, right?". Got to the gate at Hearst Castle and it was closed for New Years Day!! Oh well, I wasn't going on the tour anyway, just needed a place to stop and use a restroom.
Across Highway 1 from the Hearst Castle entry road is a State Beach so I turned around, crossed the highway and stopped there. I called my unsuspecting wife and when she answered I said, "Guess where I am?" After giving me the usual "I don't know, stop playing around" I told her that I was at Hearst Castle. "WHAT?!?!? Are you kidding me?" I told her No, I wasn't kidding. Just about that time I'm munching on a Clif Bar and having some water (I always keep a 1 liter Nalgene bottle full in the storage compartment) and realize that the sun is going to go down in an hour and I didn't want to ride back toward Monterey on Highway 1 in the dark.
I rode through Cambria, then East on Highway 46 to Paso Robles. Reaching Highway 101 at around 5p.m., I headed North toward Salinas. The moon was nearly full and very bright, bright enough to cast a shadow of me and my bike on the roadway.
I ended up meeting my wife in Salinas at around 6:20 where we had dinner at Margie's Diner , then filled up the RT and headed for home.
All in all a FABULOUS day of riding. 340 miles total - not an Iron Butt but certainly a sweet ride to begin the year.
Please, respond and share about YOUR first ride (or any ride) in 2007. Pictures are welcome, though I didn't have my camera along. (THAT won't happen again!! )
Jay Yambrovich
2000 R1100RT - Opal Blue