California Tour @ AZride

Day 18

2010-07-31T12:59:00.001-07:00

Depending on the season and your schedule, the final day can be a straight 275 mile shot from Palm Springs to Phoenix with an early morning start and early afternoon arrival or you can spend some time in Palm Springs before you head back to Phoenix and arrive in the evening. If you do the trip in July or August, we'd suggest the former.

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Day 17

2010-07-21T16:31:00.002-07:00

Every trip has to come to an end and ours was nearing it fast. Our frineds' flight was scheduled in the afternoon on the 18th day, so we still had a nice day to ride but we had to get closer to Phoenix, so they could safely catch their flight the next day. In order to avoid desert heat as much as possible we played out the return this way: We spent the morning in San Diego. Some - who visited SeaWorld the day before - went to check out the USS Midway, we rode to the Cabrillo National Monument at Point Loma. We regrouped around 1pm and headed to Palm Springs following a 200 mile pretty route that stayed at higher elevations almost all the way. The descent started only thirty miles from Palm Springs which kept the temperatures in a pleasant range.

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San Diego is part of the 360 degree view from Point Loma / Cabrillo National Monument.

Higher elevations kept us cool almost all the way to Palm Springs.

Descending to the desert floor still entertained us with some great rides.

The desert floor grows windmills. The temperature is back to normal triple digits, but hey, it's dry heat!

Our last overnight stop: Palm Springs. Make sure your accommodation has a pool.

The picture album of the day:

Day 16

2010-07-21T16:28:00.002-07:00

Our San Diego stay was limited to one full day and there was quite a lot to do there. A round trip to SeaWorld, the Balboa Park, the Maritime Museum and the USS Midway takes only 18 miles from the Dolphin Motel where we stayed but it is impossible to see all of them in one day. We split and most of our group went to SeaWorld. Monica, Peter and I share our passion for boats, so we decided to do the Maritime and USS Midway museums. We arrived back to the Motel after 7PM which gives you idea of how ambitious it would be to discover San Diego in one day. Unfortunately we had only this much time to spend on the trip. The next day, which was the 17th we had to start riding back to Arizona. Anyway, the day in San Diego was superb. If you are not as interested in boats and maritime history as we were, probably you'd find the number of pictures excessive, but it was a special treat for us.

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Walking through the floors of this floating fortress is a really interesting experience.

Leave plenty of time for this visit. This thing is huge and there are so much to see on board from the prison to the captain's bridge.

The Maritime Museum has an eclectic collection of boats from all ages and size along with a nicely done exhibit aboard the old ferry.

This working 13th century schooner replica is one of the highlights of the museum.

You can explore the submarines inside as well. Not an ordinary experience, especially when you visit both the US and the Russian submarines. There are some very interesting differences.

As fun as it is to drive a submarine, you'd still miss the view.

The Russian sub is not for claustrophobic people. You have only this much space to get through the section locks. You'll see that Russian designers were not particularly focused on "user friendly" features.

The picture album of the day:

Day 15

2010-07-21T16:18:00.002-07:00

Completing the fifteenth day of the tour is a bit of a balancing act. While the distance between Santa Monica and San Diego is only about 140 miles, those who are familiar with LA traffic know well that driving across town might turn into an urban adventure. Which way? It depends on your riding style and courage. If you hit rush hour traffic in LA, which spans from 3pm to who knows when, you'd be left with two options. You can try to sneak through the endless line of jammed cars (lane splitting is allowed in CA) or you can try burn your clutch and patience by inching with the cagers. Since none of these seemed to be attractive enough for us, we opted out of the rush hour commute and scheduled the day accordingly. That's where balancing skills come into play. Half of the group was familiar with LA, the other half were first time visitors. Since we did not want to spend more than one night here, we chose to check out Santa Monica Pier, visit the most iconic part of LA, Hollywood and get out of the city before afternoon traffic emerges. In order to provide the newbies with some authentic LA flavor, we connected the Santa Monica Pier and Hollywood by riding Sunset Blvd. all the way from the seashore, which also incorporates Beverly Hills and Sunset Strip as well.
Approaching San Diego we broke off of Interstate 5 as soon as we could and rode along the seashore towns. The timing worked out well, we arrived to our accommodation after sunset but before dark.

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The picture album of the day:

Day 14

2010-07-21T16:13:00.001-07:00

In order to complete the roughly 250 mile ride between Morro Bay and Santa Monica, LA you need to get up early, because there are some slow back roads and points of interest that guzzle up time. The Spanish Mission in San Luis Obispo, the Motorcycle Museum in Solvang, Solvang itself, the Steam Wharf in Santa Barbara, and the scenic detours around Malibu make a tight fit.

The fifth California Mission was founded in 1772. Depending on your level of interest, allocate 30-90 minutes to this stop.

We broke away from main stream traffic between San Luis Obispo and Solvang.

Rolling hills and nicely organized vinyards dominate the landscape towards Solvang.

You'd not expect a stop in Denmark on the way to Los Angeles.

If you wonder where the "danish" got it's name from, you'll find the answer here.

If there is anything, this is the one stop you cannot miss in Solvang.

There are more than ninety similar beauties in the museum.

This almost abandoned back road has seen better days, but the scenery is still gorgeous. The traffic or for the lack of it compensates for the cracks on the asphalt.

The Cold Springs Tavern is frequented by many LA riders on weekends.

Once you turn east from the seashore, you have a very good chance to find some great rides. The detours around Malibu might reward you for the early morning wake-up. If your timing however slips out of your hands, you might need to skip them to get to Santa Monica in time.

The picture album of the day:

Day 13

2010-07-21T15:58:00.001-07:00

In our business we are constantly facing and trying to avoid the question of: How long it would take to get to town XYZ? The reason for our desperate avoidance is that we could only give the predictable and predictably stupid answer of "It depends on."
The roughly 140 miles between Monterey and Morro Bay sounds a ridiculously short leg on a motorcycle trip and you might start wondering what on earth would you do in Morro Bay after arriving at noon? Well, if you put on your blinders and tie yourself to the saddle you can definitely make your way to the destination in a couple of hours. If, however, you let your interest in the surroundings surface, the same distance might very well fill your day. The same dynamics manifested on day 13 in our group. Some of us were concerned about the limited distance (ie: the danger of getting bored) in the morning and at the end of the day we barely made it to the dinner table before all the restaurants closed in Morro Bay.
Sadly the famous "17 mile drive" in Monterey is shut down for motorcyclists. Loud pipes might save lives, but they also result in more and more pissed off people who do everything in their power to keep them away from their homes. This is exactly what happened with the scenic ride that is on a private land. The action of the annoying few led to the ostracizing of the entire group. While no more riding on the 17 mile drive, the Ocean View Blvd that hugs the Pacific Grove at the northern tip of the Monterey Peninsula is still a must.
From there on, it is really up to you how much time you spend on savoring the coastal ride, visiting some points of interest or taking a plunge in the Pacific Ocean. One thing is sure. There are more options than you can accomplish in a day.

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In a short walk in Monterey's Cannery District we found us in the company of John Steinbeck and another capuccino from Ghirardelli.

Ready for attacking one of the nicest stretch of PCH.

One thing better than having an ocean front home: an endless ocean view ride.

Is there anything that beats the freedom of a ride like this?

When you stop to indulge yourself in the view and absorbing even more freedom, you still need to remember earthly things, like turning off the ignition. If not, exercise might follow. In our case - after stalling the bike right when it picked up - the jumper cable turned out to be the ultimate solution.

We looked a bit weird in full m/c gear on the beach. Make sure that you bring your swimsuit and spend some time at Big Sur. Had we not lost time beacuse of the depleted battery, we'd have done so too.

If you avoid the lunch rush at the Nepenthe, you can easily get a table with a view.

The lights only get better after the sun passes its zenith.

The Nacimi-Fergusson road is a short detour. A hidden gem, not for the faint of heart. The road features drop-offs of hundreds of feet and stunning views.

Fishing boats were docked across the street from our Morro Bay accommodation and five restaurants which convert the daily catch into delicious dinner were in walking distance. Since we arrived after sunset, this picture was taken the next morning. Morro Rock is in the background.

We followed our host's advice and went to Tognazzini's Dockside Restaurant which we did not regrett at all. We missed the catch of the day, but the food was still very nice. Nothing fancy, just good food. That was exactly what we needed after a wonderful day like this.

The picture album of the day:

Day 12

2010-07-13T00:32:00.001-07:00

By saying good bye to SF we also started our trip on the second most famous US route, the Pacific Coast Highway aka PCH or California Rt 1. In terms of fame only Rt 66 rivals this spectacular strip of tarmac that parallels the Pacific Ocean. To get to Monterey was an easy going 140 mile ride, so we could afford a lazy start. Before we left the city we had to fulfill two pleasant obligations. We could not leave town without riding down on Lombard Street which claims to be the crookedest street in America and riding up to Twin Peaks which provides visitors with the broadest view of SF. Mother nature was gracious to us and lifted the cloud cover, so we could enjoy - in SF measures - sparkling sunny conditions.

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Riding/driving down on Lombard street is a sort of pilgrimage for motorists who visit SF.

When you can see your shadow, it is time to ride to Twin Peaks.

Leave this experience for last if possible, so you can identify all the places you visited earlier.

If lunch time catches you at Alice's Restaurant you can choose your beloved brand as a burger.

Another experience which cannot be described by words or images. Go and do it for yourself!

A brief stop at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse takes you on a centuries long trip in naval history.

The seals in Monterey were on a different schedule. They were just awakening when we got there.

A quiet sunset at Monterey Bay Marina.

Extensive clam chowder sampling is almost mandatory before you pick your dinner spot.

The picture album of the day:

Day 11

2010-07-13T00:31:00.001-07:00

San Francisco is anchor to the 13th-largest metropolitan area in the country so don't expect all exploration options to be exhausted by walking around for a day. Though we did spend some time strolling around on day nine, we had only discovered how much more we had to discover. Not speaking of the market at the Fisherman's Wharf where we had to go back in order to savor fresh, local, over the counter seafood. Put into context of some Ghirardelli treats and you can figure that life was not too shabby on day eleven either.

Though Ghirardelli Square is more than a bunch of confectioneries, it is probably one of the sweetest urban spots in the U.S.

The Hyde Street Pier features an interesting collection of old ships.

Seafood market at Fisherman's Wharf.

Unless you hate seafood, there is absolutely no way to get out of the market without sampling the offerings. Time your visit around luch time or save your appetite until you get there.

What luck that the Chocolate Store is located within a short walk! At this point we already suspected that serious dieting would follow the trip.

These impressive ocean liners dwarf the surrounding area.

The not too conservative architectural and cultural mix of San Francisco is probably not for everybody.

If jazz is your cup of tea, you'll find it here.

Unless you are a regular in NY's Chinatown, this is a must in SF.

SF's Chinatown is alive with young...

...and elderly equally enjoying the urban outdoors.

Parts of the city become almost monochromatic on a cloud covered day.

Lively colored shops are happy islands amidst hues of grey.

Up and down might become just as important directions of your orientation as left and right.

The picture album of the day:

Day 10

2010-07-13T00:30:00.001-07:00

While we did not feel any particular desire to ride in San Francisco, exploring the neighboring cities had to be done in the saddle. The Golden Gate - Mount Tamalpais - Sausalito excursion also brought to light that the people of San Francisco must have done something that higher authorities did not like and therefore ordered the clouds to stay above the city forever. At least that was the impression we got. Battering wind and thick, low lying clouds forced us to stay at sea level on the ocean side as we left town, but we were still able to find some fine back road rides between the coast and San Pablo Bay.

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St Mary's Cathedral is one of the most interesting modern architectural structures in the City.

Golden Gate from Fort Pointe. Look at the other end of the bridge and you can see where the cloud cover ends.

Well, you can download the pictures from the Internet, you can see them on TV, but riding across the Golden Gate bridge on a motorcycle is something totally different.

The city and it's very own cloud cover from the other side of the bridge.

Going further North and coming across the Mt Tamaplpais watershed area we found some great rides.

Right across the Bay all things are seen in a completely different light. Sunny!

While Saosalito is only a stone's throw from the city, it is another world.

You wonder why people live on the other side?

The picture album of the day:

Day 9

2010-07-13T00:29:00.001-07:00

Weird as it felt, we stayed away from our vehicles and set out for a walking adventure in San Francisco. We aimed for San Francisco's famous Fisherman's Wharf and mostly lead by our instincts walked around town.
It is hard to get to any conclusions what do you like or what is what you don't like about this one of a kind city. Probably diversity is the word that describes the experience the best. Most certainly one day is barely even enough to scratch the surface, but you need to start somewhere. I'm a firm believer in the theory that you can get the best initial impression of an urban area if you start walking around. If you have more than one day to explore a city, don't hop on the first sightseeing bus. Walk around a bit.
This is what we did and nothing speaks better about our experience than the random pictures we took. There is no timeline, no story but you can get a good idea of what it feels like being in San Francisco on a - not too rare - cloudy day.

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The picture album of the day:

Day 8

2010-07-13T00:28:00.001-07:00

We went under. Literally. Since the 143 mile ride between Angels Camp and San Francisco runs straight mostly on flat agricultural land we had plenty of discretionary time for the day.
Mercer Caverns - located in Murphys, the town 7.5 miles NE from Angels Camp on Hwy 4 - caught Monica's attention when she checked out the flyers in our hotel. Since the rest of us had no particular idea about the Caverns and we had plenty of time, we decided to visit the sight. Relatively small in volume but unique in its structure the cave tour was an interesting experience. You descend about 16 stories down and then come back up a different route. Some of the steps are so steep that you'd rather call them a ladder.
The cave tour in combination with gem mining and some F&B in historic Murphys consumed half of the day. The ride between the Sierra Nevada and the coastal area is nothing worth mentioning, but this is something you cannot avoid.
We approached the San Francisco Metro Area via the back roads of Chabot and Redwood regional parks which kept us out of the traffic until the last possible moment and surprised us with a bird's eye view of the metropolis.
Be prepared for a change. As we crossed the coastal mountain range, the temperature dropped from 99 degrees to 63 and stayed there. We thought that it would go up as we descended to sea level but it did not happen. We had to learn that sixties was the new norm, at least in San Francisco anyways.

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If you have the slightest form of claustrophobia, don't go there.

16 stories down was a piece of cake. Then they told us that we had to go back up!

Only a few things feels better than making your fortune in gold mining.

Murphys was in huge contrast with the city we were heading for.

After a week in small town America, we were back to modern day civilization.

Upon arrival we did not know that the clouds were permanently affixed to San Francisco.

The picture album of the day:

Day 7

2010-07-12T23:52:00.001-07:00

It was a BLAST! Most of our days were a combination of riding and other types of traditional touring activities from sight seeing to learning about local history. Though day 7 was not different in terms of diversity, criss-crossing the Sierra Nevada via the Sonora Pass (Hwy 108) going east and Ebbetts Pass (Rt 4) coming back west, made the riding part a dominating memory. The two passes are only the best known beacons of this ride which is an ongoing "wow" yelled into your helmet, practically from mile one to mile two hundred and fifty one. Even the elephants on our Metzler tires were happy with the exposure. A few elevation figures might give you a hint: Mariposa -the starting point- 1851ft; Angels Camp -the end of the ride- 1379ft; Sonora Pass 9625ft; Monitor Pass 8314ft; Ebetts Pass 8732ft.

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Less than 20 miles into the ride and the mood is pertty high. You wonder why?

Look at the road and it explains everything.

Jamestown features many historic buildings. Time for a latte, anyway.

The town's railroad museum is unique. If you listen carefully you can still hear the hissing of the fire and steam, clang, clang, clang as hammer hits a nail, the gasping of forgers and you can virtually feel the excitment, enthusiasm and hope that the railroad brought into the West more than a century ago.

Happy climbing.

Looking at the snow patches we could not help laughing at Death Valley temperatures.

Dramatic vistas over the Sierra Nevada. Sometimes you feel that you should get off the bike and write a poem right on the spot.

With all the inspiration in your mind you should not forget about the law of traction!

The picture album of the day:

Day 6

2010-07-07T07:27:00.001-07:00

Day 6 worked out a bit differently than we planned. According to the original plan we were to check out Yosemite Valley and ride across Yosemite NP in W-E direction via Tioga Pass Road all the way to Lee Vining and then back to Mariposa which would have been a 221 mile ride. Our group however got a little bit lazy and we spent so much time in Yosemite Valley that we decided to abandon the rest of the riding between the Valley and Lee Vining. While it reduced the distance to a mere 87 miles, it was well into dinner time when we got back to Mariposa.
It is a good of rule of thumb for route planning on a longer motorcycle trip anyway: Have a day of very light riding or off the bike between every five days of active riding. If you break this rule, your trip might turn into an endurance ride and the moment when you finally get off the saddle would become the most memorable of all.

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About 12 miles north of Mariposa the pleasant winding road joins the Merced river.

Natural rock tunnel at the entrance of Yosemite National Park.

Dividing your attention between the road and the scenery is a real challenge here.

Don't miss a soothing and delicious frozen cappuccino at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel.

Sport-touring a la Ducati.

George took photography very seriously. Fortunately he always found his way out of the wilderness.

Nature did a great favor by making riverbeds curvy, so roads need to follow the line.

At lower elevations there are some easy access points to the still momentous Merced River.

Mariposa is a pleasant, relatively quiet old town outside the tourist main stream.

The picture album of the day:

Day 5

2010-07-07T07:26:00.001-07:00

Visiting National Parks on a motorcycle is always a balancing act. You want to keep continue riding, but you want to stop and see things. We knew that we'd only regret rushing through these iconic places, so we wanted to leave enough time for ourselves to get off the bike and embrace them fully. Partially due to high season prices, partially in order to avoid the crowd we looked for accommodation outside the park and set up our Yosemite hub in Mariposa. Day 5 - on the way from Fresno to Mariposa - we explored the park from a birds eye view. Glacier Point is the highest accessible point of Yosemite from the road. Our advice would be again: leave enough time. Getting off the bike, taking a snapshot and rushing to the next lookout would only put a check mark next the landmark on your list. Take your time and enjoy it.

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Pine tree shaded roads and

quiet sunny meadows lead your way to a breathtaking scene.

When you get to this turn, you'll feel how wonderful life is.

It is easy to bribe these guys, but keep your fingers away from them. If they mistake it for food, it hurts.

Everybody has their own thing that needs to be captured by the camera.

The knights of Yosemite. Seemingly, this is how we'd like to portray ourselves.

The picture album of the day:

Day 4

2010-07-05T01:39:00.004-07:00

Two National Parks, tons of curves and lots of on and off the bike sums up the day. We got really surprised that 180 miles not only filled the day, but we had to hurry ourselves out of King's Canyon at the end of the day and still couldn't make it to Fresno before dark.
If you do this trip during high season expect some slow moving traffic in the National Parks and if you want to experience them, you need to get off the bike every now and then.
Going relatively slow in Sequoia National Park made us able to fully enjoy the surrounding tree giants, the fresh air and the smell of the forest.
King's Canyon provided us with an exhilarating ride. Traffic was light, the asphalt was smooth and the curves were consistent with very little surprise. The fact that the canyon dead ends served to our advantage. Riding into the Canyon gave us certain familiarity with the curves on the way out. Easy assessment of the correct apex and rows of well visible curves made the ride very enjoyable.

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It is humbling to ride amidst trees that are about hundred times taller than your motorcycle.

There was no lack of curves on day 4 either.

Hm..., we might be able to use this as a table in our garden.

We have seen this tree in pictures so many times. Finally we had a chance to touch it.

Climbing the Moro Rock is a must. Dress accordingly. I wish I'd left my knee protectors in the parking lot with the bike.

The view ws well worth the 400 stairs, even in full motorcycle gear.

Controlled burning of the forest floor created playful lights around those majestic crowns.

Kings Canyon preserves a huge unspoilt area containing deep glaciated canyons, countless lakes, and over 20 peaks that exceed 13,000 feet.

Those curves pose a real challenge for photographers. Especially while in a hurry for the ride.

This picture really puts it all into perspective.

The picture album of the day:

Day 3

2010-07-05T01:38:00.002-07:00

Day 3 was a bit of a discovery. We had two options to connect Lone Pine to Three Rivers on the East and West side of the Sierras. The obvious route hugs the mountain's southern end where Hwy 178 goes from East to West. There is a road less traveled however with less traffic, more scenery but not maintained and questionable road conditions. To make things more interesting, you cannot find two maps - either paper or digital - which would mark this back road with the same name and same designation. In the saddle of the BMW1200GS we were not too concerned but with a fully loaded street bike (1200RT) in the group we did not want to encounter challenging road conditions. Since turning around is always a possible scenario on a 220 mile long day so we decided to cut through the mountain on the road less traveled. While the road wasn't the smoothest our tires ever seen, the scenery and low traffic far outweighed the inconveniences of the potholes.

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For the first fifty miles or so that goes south from Lone Pine is fairly straight, the snow on the hill tops hinted curvy roads through the mountains.

As we turned east on Nine Mile Canyon Rd. the ascent started with broad sweepers.

Leaving the low elevation and hot temperatures behind.

Fortunately only the bear was grumpy at the retreat and despite of the sign "parking only for Harleys" we were treated with cold drinks and tasty food.

Having had breakfast at McDonald's we were not craving for a burger, but whenever buffalo burgers are on the menu, it's a must. Turned out to be a good choice.

Ponds, brooks, meadows, blue sky. The area is part of the Sequoia Natl. Forest.

We really did not regret that we branched off of the highway.

A local 4th of July parade added colors to nature's green and blue dominated pallet.

There was no lack of entertaining curves on this road. Gravel on the road commands self discipline throughout the entire stretch.

Our route joined the Kern River Hwy surprisingly at the Kern River. Expect more curves...

The Yokl Road fills you with nostalgic old country feel and stays away from traffic.

Though we missed the last rays of the 3rd day's sun, there was still time for a plunge before dinner.

The picture album of the day:

Day 2

2010-07-05T01:37:00.001-07:00

According to the original plan we would have crossed Death Valley as fast as we possibly could, since riding around the hottest place in the U.S. in July did not seem to be a promising idea. The shortest route is 223 miles. Our group, however could not resist the temptation to explore Badwater (lowest elevation in North America) and Artists Palette. Zabriskie Point and Dante's View were left in the plan but this way it meant a significant detour. For the generation of the 50's and 60's the pilgrimage to Zabriskie Point doesn't require any explanation. For those who haven't seen Antonioni's movie it is still an interesting place to visit. Especially that the lookout is in route between Furnace Creek and Dante's View which - being located at 5500 feet - provides unobstructed views of entire Death Valley and a temporary escape from the heat. With all the unplanned detours we clocked 319 miles and arrived to Lone Pine in the dark.

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Last chance to get some liquid for the bikes and for ourselves.

Not the wisest choice before descending into the hottest place in the country. Nonetheless, it tastes good.

Someone stopped the clock here.

Though this place is not known for winding roads, the view is still amazing.

Salt flats nearly 300 feet below sea level.

Refreshing curves in sight as approaching Artists Palette.

While we were gasping next to the bikes George savored the hues of the Palette up close.

Back to civilization at Furnace Creek. Get gas here before you climb to Dante's View.

Plus 5800 feet, minus 40 degrees. Not to speak of the view.

The legendary Zabriskie Point.

Perfect beach without water: desert sand dunes of Death Valley.

Exiting the Valley during sunset.

The picture album of the day:

Day 1

2010-07-01T22:32:00.001-07:00

So, finally Day 1 has arrived, and here is the plan:
Scottsdale to Las Vegas via Quartzsite and Lake Havasu City.
The distance is 365 miles but the temperature is expected to be well above the 100 mark. It doesn't matter how early we start, we'll hit the warmest hour of the day anyway.

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Finally everyone got ready, including our travel companion "Egerke".

We reset all possible meters and off we went.

Arizona's coastal roads make you almost completely forget that you are in the desert. The only, but very bold reminder was the thermometer which hit 120F on I-40 between Lake Havasu City and Las Vegas.

Due to the excessive temperatures we had to stop quite frequently and get some liquid. The London Bride stop treated us with the luxury of an air conditioned restaurant and probably the most out of place points of interest in Arizona.

Finally we made it to Vegas without any problems...

and got a nice room in the Paris, right at the foot of the Eiffel Tower

Being on the road all day long on a hot summer day made us so accustomed to the elevated temperature that it felt really, really cold inside the hotel. First we turned the A/C off in the room but it did not solve the problem. Since the whole building is kept at 70 degrees, in order to bring up the temp to at least 78, we had to TURN ON the heat. We thought about many different scenarios for day one, but I would've never bet on that. Probably we'd welcome some of that cold on day 2, when we cross Death Valley.

The picture album of the day:

Prepwork

2010-06-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Only one thing is more fun to do in 110 degrees than riding: changing tires.
...Well, it also part of this sport.

All nice and balanced. Remember, new tires are slippery until they break-in.

The cruiser highway pegs look really, really ugly and awkward on the GS. What can I do? We are going to ride long stretches of pavement in California.

The handlebar raiser should eliminate the terrible back pain I used to get after the 4th day on a longer ride. Time will tell if it works..

BMW R1200RT interrogation.

Everything looks great... at least on the computer screen.

The most cumbersome part of motorcycle travel: packing. We try to pack light this year. Something we could never achieve in earlier trips.

These guys kept wondering if they could join the California tour. They have never been on a motorcycle before. We'll discuss the options with them.

The Plan

2010-06-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

18 days, 3500 miles and loads of fun. This is the plan.
The journey starts in July. It will look something like this:

D_01 Scottsdale to Las Vegas
D_02 Vegas to Lone Pine, CA
D_03 Lone Pine to Three Rivers
D_04 Three River to Fresno
D_05 Fresno to Mariposa
D_06 Mariposa to Mariposa (Yosemite loop)
D_07 Mariposa to Angels Camp
D_08 Angels Camp to San Francisco
D_09 Napa Valley loop
D_10 Golden Gate loop
D_11 Al San Francisco local attracitons
D_12 San Francisoc to Monterey
D_13 Monterey to Moro Bay
D_14 Moro Bay to Santa Monica
D_15 Santa Monica to San Diego
D_16 San Diego local
D_17 San Diego to Palm Springs
D_18 Palm Springs to Scottsdale

STAY TUNED!