After leaving the Giants we headed to a nearby small town where we hoped to find a cheap, sleazy motel. Unfortunately we found almost nothing … a near ghost town. But the day was still young, so we decided to Press On! We left highway 101, which was a freeway at that point, and headed back toward the coast down highway #1.
Holy Schmoly, what a ride! Big tough bikers like us love windy, twisty roads, and we’ve had our share of them coming through BC. This road beats them all!! (yes, a double-!!). From the moment we started it was steep, it was dark, and it was full of quite literally hair-pin turns. Forget all those friendly and useful signs warning of tight curves … everything was a tight curve. The road was rock face on one side and drop off on the other. Too much fun.
We finally got down to the coast road and headed south, aiming for Fort Bragg. The fog, which had come and gone through the day, was now as thick as soup. Visibility was down to naught, but as long as we kept ocean to starboard we were all fine. All along this drive we could hear the ocean more than we could see it, which added a surreal quality to the drive. Eventually making it to town, we found a cheap place, and checked in for the night. A Happy Hour beer and dinner, checked emails, made plans for the next night, and then it was off to bed.
Weather remaining uncooperative, we planned to stay in the San Francisco area for two nights. And just for the record, the normal highs are 18C and the normal lows are 11C. Instead we are getting highs of 11C and lows of 3C. What happened to global warming 😉 In any case, we packed up and headed off for another great ride along the coast.
The first part of the day was nearly as twisty and challenging as the day before. The highway snakes its way along the coast. The mountains come right down to the water, so we were running through foothills; not massive peaks, but still significant ups and downs. Every valley and river that emptied into the ocean produced a steep switchback down and back up, with hairpin turns and steep drop offs. Much fun, but also quite taxing. Breathtaking views throughout.
Unfortunately we had to leave the coast to head inland to pick the freeway into San Francisco. Freeway travel is fast, efficient, and no fun at all. 65 mph is 105 km/hr which is fine for our bikes, but no joy for this rider. But it did get us into town fast. The highlight, of course, was coming up to, and then driving over, the Golden Gate Bridge. I wish I could include a picture of us doing this, but it can’t be done. Just imagine the big bridge, then imagine tons of fast moving traffic, and then imagine two little motorcycles putting along in the midst of all the mayhem. It was kinda scary, but pretty cool.
Our route took us through the heart of San Francisco, so we got a good view of the city. Our cheap motel was actually in San Mateo, which is a suburb of San Francisco. With Ann leading the way, and a little luck, we managed to find our way through the city and to our new home. It is quite close to a freeway, but it is also within an easy walking distance of the bay and a great park.
Tomorrow we plan to leave the city. Not sure where we’re going …