California Day 3- Water and Woods

Monday

We woke up around 7am and got our gear packed up and ate a continental breakfast. Over breakfast we played around on Google Maps and wrote down our route.  With the GPS out of juice, Angela was going to have to do the navigating.  Luckily, our route for today was primarily Hwy 1 with just a few excursions.  So it was pretty simple.  We got on the road by 9am and headed north on Hwy 1.

The town of Petaluma had a nice feel to it.  We loved the hills and all the livestock. It was still pretty brown, but bits of green were starting to pop up as we glided toward the coast. The landscape was farmland and rolling hills and with the temperature hovering around 75 degrees things couldn't be nicer.

Traveling west to the coast through idyllic farmlands.

Closer to the ocean!

For the 30 minutes that it took to reach the coast from Petaluma, I played with the electronic suspension.  I settled on 1 rider with luggage in the sport setting.  The bike seemed to handle well without wallowing in the corners yet when we came to a stop, I could securely get my toes on the ground.  I was beginning to love this ESA suspension!

We made it!

The rocky coast line was breath-taking.

When we reached Bodega Bay the scenery started to change. It was amazing, we had mountains on one side and ocean on the other side. It was a little overcast, but so pretty. The rocky shoreline was spectacular.  We rode north on Hwy 1 for quite a while, gazing at the beauty that lay to either side of us.  My head was on a swivel!  Traffic generally wasn't a problem, but of course, as soon as the road got twistier, we got behind some egghead going 10 miles under the speed limit.  

Around 11, we stopped at a little roadside place and had a snack of cherries, skor bar and a coke. We drove another 2 hours and stopped and ate a real lunch at Queenies Roadhouse Cafe in Elk, CA. Soup and panini sandwiches hit the spot. It had just started to lightly rain on us and we were in need of a good break.

Poppin' cherries.

While eating, we met a couple from Alabama who were riding a Harley motorcycle. They were nowhere near as ambitious as we were with riding, but they were nice to talk to.  They were on week one of a two week trip and were amazed when we told them how far we were going that day.  I think they only did 100 or so miles each day.  We were shooting for about 300mi/day!

Not sure of the name of this light house but they wanted an exorbitant amount of money to tour it.  

We road the Hwy until it ended in Leggett, and drove through the famous Chandelier Redwood tree. Where Hwy 1 turns eastward and heads toward Leggett was some of the best riding of the day.  Riding through lush forest, the overcast skies and mist seemed to amplify the deep greens of the ferns and redwoods.  The pavement was perfectly smooth and the curves came one after another.  We were getting a light rain and the temperature dropped a little, but we were still pretty comfortable (nothing our heated seats and hand grips couldn't handle!). Shortly after that, we drove in awe on the Avenue of Giants. We had heard the redwood trees were magnificent, but we just couldn't believe our eyes! They were majestic and beyond what either of us expected.  Those amazing trees had a way of making you feel insignificant and grateful at the same time.  Not to sound too granola here, but Mother Nature is awesome.  

Took a short break just before Leggett.

Redwoods at speed.

Angela's favorite of the day was the Redwoods.  We decided to head back in the morning and ride through them again.

Angela recording that view for posterity.

The light house wave.  (Sorry 'bout the sideways bit, Blogspot apparently does not like vertically oriented pictures.)

One of my favorite pictures of the trip.  Bummer it got turned sideways when uploading.

Yes, I have ridden a motorcycle THROUGH a tree!

 We drove a few more minutes and arrived at Fortuna, CA where we wearily rested at the Super 8 and ate at the delicious Eel River Brewing Company. We split a tri-tip sandwich, beer battered onion rings and white chocolate macadamia Blonde Ale pie with ice cream and fresh whipped cream. It was scrumptious!

Below are some of my notes from the day's riding while the above was taken mostly from Angela's notes.

>>Monday had to have been one of my favorite riding days ever. Things started out pretty sedately as the road meandered through the rolling hills as we made our way from Petaluma to the coast and CA Hwy 1. The sun was shining and the temperature was cool and crisp.

Once Hwy 1 actually hit the coast, I was stunned by the beauty of the rocky shores, rolling foothills and quaint villages and towns. It was all very idyllic. The only issue was traffic. There was a bit of road work, and of course, everybody is on vacation right now so RV's and cars often slowed our progress to a crawl.

I was still trying to get used to the BMW; the size of it, the way it handled, etc. Once Hwy 1 turned inland and headed towards Hwy 101, we hit an amazing stretch of mountain road that curled its way through lush forests. It was here, that I finally figured out how the Beemer (we named it Ingred) liked to be ridden. Suddenly, we were riding to the same rhythm as the road and big lean angles came and went as we marveled at the beauty of the forest.

Humboldt Redwoods State Park and its Avenue of Giants was simply amazing. Those massive, centuries old trees are humbling, beautiful, and awe inspiring. Truly a sight to behold. Dinner at Eel River Brewery was very good: Beer battered onion rings, smoked tri tip sandwhich and some kind of blondie pie with ice cream<<