1. Trip Report: 1200 miles! Giant redwoods! Naked people!

Day 1
I left Danville around 7:30am. I had been looking forward to this trip for months and was just waiting for the weather to be reliably warm and rain-free. My life has been constantly running from one task to the next for the last several months and I think part of what makes a bike trip so appealing is the fantasy that you are running away; that you can ride off and never come back, completely disappearing from responsibility. In my case it was just four days, but i definitely felt lighter and freer riding away from home than returning.

Here I am all packed up and ready to go-- nice and clean without a dead bug on me.


I wanted to start by riding north up the coast. I took 580 across the Richmond - San Rafael bridge and got off on Sir Francis Drake Blvd which I rode to Highway One. Highway One is a pretty ride, but it was very windy and I didn't feel like I could go as fast as I wanted too. On my Honda 750 I think 80 mph is close to the practical limit, at least in the wind. It accelerates very slowly after that and starts to feel a little squirrely, plus the wind noise was tiresome (more on that later).

I stopped for breakfast at a little coffee house in Fairfax.


I think every person there was wearing beads and had tattoos and piercings. I felt right at home. I drink a lot of coffee and coffee makes me pee. So I stopped here.


And here.


I stopped at Fort Ross just because I was curious-- curious enough to pay $8 to park. Supporting state parks is sort of like buying Girl Scout cookies. Both are well worth the money and you can feel like you are contributing to something greater. Although i don't think state parks can make you fat. Fort Ross was nothing spectacular, but I managed to take a few interesting pictures.




I stopped in Mendicino for lunch. It was my first time visiting there. My impression was that there are lots of girly boutiques where you can by clothes made from sustainably harvested organic cotton and candles that smell like flowers, but not too many places to eat that don't have menus written in fancy cursive fonts and doilies under tea cups. I finally found a place that sold pizza by the slice and ice cream. I had pepperoni and a cone of mint cookies and cream. Then I had more coffee and an outstanding oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. (Finally someone made an oatmeal cookie without raisins in it! It is about time!).


Some kids were standing behind my bike when I started it up and they all screamed and covered their ears. (I have Cobra after-market pipes.) I had tried to warn them...

The stretch of road on 1 when it heads inland to Leggett was real nice. It is heavily forested and it seemed like the turns had been placed just for motorcycles.

After 1 turned into 101, I took the Avenue of the Giants detour (254) off of 101. It is dense and dark with giant redwoods-- absolutely beautiful. I was almost the only person on the road. In fact it was so empty I stood right in the middle of the road to take this picture.



I even stopped to pee on a giant redwood. I felt like I was contributing. Circle of life... or circle of coffee rather.


The Avenue of the Giants parallels 101 for about 20 miles before you hop back onto 101.

At about 7:30pm I stopped in Fortuna to buy ear plugs at Walgreens. The constant wind noise was giving me a headache. I have a windscreen, but it is pretty short.

I stayed at the Super 8 in Fortuna and walked next door to the Eel River Brewery for dinner. I was super hungry and ate a giant slab of tri-tip and had a couple of amber beers. There seemed to be a lot of bikers in the bar-- nobody cared that my pants and boots were covered with dead bugs.

2. Trip Report: 1200 miles! Giant redwoods! Naked people!

Day 2
From Fortuna I took 299 which is a beautiful stretch of highway, but it was cold and my plan to wear my mesh jacket with its liner in and pack clothes I could layer, was seeming like a big mistake. I stopped here to warm my hands on my engine for a bit. Again there were no cars and I stood right in the middle of the road to take the picture.


299 dropped in elevation to follow the Trinity river which was wide and rapid.


The weather warmed up and could feel my hands again. I found that the ear plugs made a huge difference, making for a more peaceful ride. 299 was probably my favorite road on the trip. The views were gorgeous, the road was empty, and there were big sweeping turns that I could take fast. I never saw a cop. Eventually I came to Trinity lake.


I was less impressed with 3, which has some steep grades with some surprising sharp turns and even some gravel in places. I couldn't relax. To get to my sister's house in Gazelle I took Gazelle Callahan road.


The road seemed empty enough to take one of my pictures in the middle of the road, but with my ear plugs and helmet I didn't hear a car come up behind me (the first one I had seen in a long time). The driver, slowed and rolled down his window and said something to me which I didn't hear due to the aforementioned ear plugs and helmet, but I am assuming he had some unflattering question about my parentage or the contents of my cranium.


My sister lives near Mt. Shasta. Great view.


Two signs that I was not in Danville anymore. Every gas station has big dispays of Pabst Blue Ribbon.


And all of the street signs have bullet holes in them.


I had to take a dirt road for the final stretch to my sister's house which was a little scary on the turns. By the time I got there by bike was filthy.

I had a great visit with my sister and her family. I met her new pigs (Scarlet and Rhett):


And we hiked to the Pythian cave, which has old looking bleachers and a podium in it. Apparently a cult called the Lemurians used to have secret meetings here. Lemurians believe there is a secret city inside Mt. Shasta filled with highly advanced beings and it also has something to do with a lost continent and Lemurs. Who knew! My sister says you can still occasionally find a glassy-eyed Lemurian outside the Walmart in Yreka.

Here I am with my sister.


My sister made me an ice cream pie for my birthday, which was very tasty.

3. Trip Report: 1200 miles! Giant redwoods! Naked people!

Day 3
My sister's roosters started crowing a 6am. Actually not a bad way to wake up. I took 5 to 36. Here is my obligatory picture by the sign.


36 seems to have a little bit of everything, but by the end of the 240 miles I was tired of the twisties. My left hand and wrist were hurting from using my clutch. Don't get me wrong, it was awesome, but maybe too much of a good thing. From 36 I took 101 south. I rode about 75 mph for a long while and my bike seemed to be working pretty hard at that speed. When I stopped for gas I noticed that it might be seeping a bit of oil. I thought it might have been water, but it was still there overnight.


I stopped in Ukiah about 7:00pm and stayed at crappy little motel. Modems! In room TV with a remote! No way! (My remote didn't work, though). A shithole by any other name...


But it was only $55 a night and walking distance to the Ukiah Brewing Company. At the Brewing Company I sat at the bar and the cute waitress there convinced me to go to the Orr Hot Springs. I told her I hadn't packed a swim suit and she laughed and said it wouldn't be problem. A truck driver sitting next to me said, "Is that that place on Orr Springs Road in the middle of nowhere? I thought that was a rehab center." Either way I knew I was going.

4. Trip Report: 1200 miles! Giant redwoods! Naked people!

Day 4
Here I am in my motel ready to hit the road again after scrubbing off the dead bugs that seemed to be on everything I brought.


The road to get to the hot springs had some sharp turns that were essentially U turns. I did them in 1st gear. The road was in bad shape and it was one lane in a lot of places. No pictures on the grounds, but here is the little tranquil path that takes you there.


I had never been to a hot spring before and had also never been anywhere that was clothing optional. When they say optional, they mean very optional. There is one co-ed changing room and the showers are co-ed too, which took me by surprise at first, but since everyone is going to be naked anyway, I figured it didn't really matter. Most of the people there were probably in their 50s, but there were a few twenty somethings as well. Everyone was very friendly and the atmosphere was like a meditative retreat. I almost instantly felt comfortable walking around naked, even more so than in the locker room at my gym.

I started with a mineral bath in a tub in the sun on the deck. I think they said the water was 107 degrees. It also smells like sulfur, but I got used to that pretty quickly. It was very relaxing and I loved being able to lay in a bath tub in the sun. I couldn't take the sun and hot water for too long, though, and moved to a pool in the shade where I stayed in it until I felt like I was going to pass out. When I got out my legs felt like they were made of rubber. A woman told me that I should jump in the 70 degree pool to invigorate myself before getting back on my bike. I put my toe in, but it felt pretty damn cold, and I didn't have the balls to take the plunge. The hot springs were a great experience and I would definitely do it again.

I washed to sulfur smell off of me the best I could and headed back to 101. I had lunch in Calistoga along with more ice cream (a pattern is developing). I then took the Silverado trail so I could stay out of downtown Napa which I probably unfairly assumed was filled with drunk drivers. The Silverado Trail was a great road until I hit traffic. I was about 5:00pm on a Monday. After spending so much time on roads with almost nobody else, traffic made it clear that I was close to home. I got home about 7:00.

I was worried about my back being sore, but it wasn't too bad. What did hurt were both my hands-- my left from using the clutch and my right from the throttle. I also have sun burn stripes on my wrists where my jacket doesn't reach my gloves. And the grove on my forehead from my helmet still hasn't gone away, and I have been home for 3 hours. Let's hope that it isn't permanent.

Prior to this trip I had only ridden about 2000 miles on a motorcycle. I think this last 1200 has helped me improve a lot, especially because some of the twisty, challenging roads I took. I am also always struck by what a friendly, inclusive group motorcyclists are. I must have waved to 100 riders and several riders approached me to talk bikes when I made stops. I am glad to be part of the club.

Can't wait for my next trip!

Nice trip report and photos, David! Looks like you had an awesome time!

Wow, all that with only 2000 miles experience prior? Very commendable.

Great write up David. I know those roads well as I go to Portland every year two up.
You probably need to find tall sizes for your jacket so you don't have gaps.
If you ride often that spot will burn bad.

Road trips are the BEST!!! Good report and pics (the new iPhone cameras are really something).

Good report.

Sounds like a great trip!

Great Trip indeed!
Agree that it's even more of an adventure due to your bike new-ness. Only thing missing was the pics of 20 somethings enjoying the hot springs!

Where's the next ride going to take you??

Ezekiel said:

Only thing missing was the pics of 20 somethings enjoying the hot springs!

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Yeah dude, where are the pics?

You will have to use your imaginations, gentlemen. I had to be careful not to ogle them so I wouldn't seem like a pervy old man.

Man, I like your bike. I wish I bought one instead of this stupid harley. Great ride report!

Good read and photos! Thanks for sharing!

Great write-up and great first trip.

Great write up!

There's a great little bar in Mendocino where you can get good food cheap and eat at the bar or some of the small tables inside. It's just down from the grocery store. And on the main drag there's an upstairs cafe with a balcony that's just perfect for sitting and enjoying the view while you get a hamburger.

And where, exactly, were all those naked people?

ST Guy, I wish I would have found the place you described in Mendicino. A burger on a balcony sounds perfect.

Orr Hot Springs in Ukiah = relaxation and naked people

ST Guy said:

Great write up!

There's a great little bar in Mendocino where you can get good food cheap and eat at the bar or some of the small tables inside. It's just down from the grocery store. ..................

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+1

Kilt lifter on tap

Great report! Aren't you glad you discovered earplugs? We always try to tell the newbies, but they don't listen.....

Hey, move that big old cruiser fashion victim pack around in front of the sissy bar and that squirreliness you noted just may disappear.