Ride

One of the things I wanted to do while Laurie and I were out here was give her a taste of California from the back of a Harley. You can ride along a stretch of road in a car, and no matter how beautiful the view out the window, it will always be more memorable on the back of a motorcycle. The main reason being all your senses are engaged. Not only do you see the avocado orchard gracing the mountainside, you feel the coolness of the shadows in the valley you're riding through below it and smell the scent of the cedars along the roadside. Talk about an imprint.

We rented a Road King for the day from Gary Bang Harley Davidson in Atascadero. After filling out all the necessary "understand-you're-screwed-if-you-wreck-it" paperwork they gave us a couple of helmets and the keys and waved goodbye. Since there was no limit on mileage we rode all day on just about every road I could remember riding in my, eh, younger days. Every road I could remember (and cover in a day) came out to exactly 239.9 miles worth. The temperature ranged from 58 on the coast to a blistering 90+ inland. Sometimes it felt like we were riding behind a giant hair dryer.

The picture with this post was taken on Santa Rosa Creek Road near the crest of the coastal range above Cambria, CA. The road winds its way down the slope in a series of hairpin switchbacks. The road itself is half as wide as my driveway in parts. But the relative danger and crummy road condition is well worth the effort as this picture will attest.

When we got back to the room, we freshened up a little and hit the San Luis Obispo farmers market. It's every Thursday and is three solid blocks of fresh produce, mouthwatering barbecue and an odd assortment of other vendors (i.e. snow cones, Libertarians and vegan societies). No trip down memory lane would be complete without it.

Tomorrow morning I take the motorcycle back and we spend our last day on the central coast. I'll probably spend most of it in downtown San Luis reading, loafing and, maybe, indulging in a cigar. Saturday we head back down to L.A. and come home Monday. It'll be tough to leave this lifestyle behind, but we're ready. See you Tuesday.