California Loop Plus Vegas; 1800 mile ride -By pjsmithres

[Merlin]

CALIFORNIA LOOP
Foreward

Thanks to Triumph Motorcycles for building a solid vehicle (3) that kept up with the elements. The bikes performed well. Better gas mileage or more fuel capacity on the Speed Triple 1050 (SP3) would have been better. The 2001 Trophy 1200 was just about right. The Daytona 955 is just a miracle of a machine; long range it sips gas and never hit reserve, nor did the Trophy (to be expected). All of them are too dirty to see now but will clean up nicely. 6 days on the road in the rain is tough on any bike.

Thanks also to the wives who put up with our exit from the area and sending us away in the rain. The break probably did them some good, too.

We did plan this trip, starting in December, 2005, months in advance, and took our time testing and deciding what gear to get. We synchronized fresh tires and tune-ups to coincide with departure.
Thanks go to all of the companies that we got the gear to survive. Whether it was tires or jackets, we were prepared for the worst of wet and cold and did well. Wet on the outside and dry on the inside. Everything worked as advertised. A review of the gear will be listed later.

Mechanically we all had a thorough check over and recent dealer service and that just checked what we might have missed. Thanks to ROCKET MOTORCYCLES in San Diego, CA! Mark, Lance, James, Alex, Sam, and Greg.

This journal is the brief summary of the day to day adventure of early spring circle of California. All speeds were in legal limits (wink, wink) but were embellished just to add some entertainment value. (I also have a bridge for sale in Brooklyn)

Absolute truth! All motorcycle driving was done completely sober. After a day of riding we used designated drivers or Taxi’s. No attempt was ever made to test the DUI laws.

Rule #1
Safety is the key.
Thanks to Chatter Boxes we had good communications between all riders almost all day, every day. I had added the power adapter to the Trophy and had a fresh charge on the radio batteries and we could swap radios if one battery went down to below minimums. They did a few times, but due to our prepared travel we had communications all day.

Side note: Chatterbox warns that they are not water PROOF. I opted to put all of the radio gear in a water safe/proof tank bag with the extension cord to the helmet and everything worked fine in the rain. Radio, Music, Cell phone, push to talk button, and power adapter. We all agree and really think the PTT (push to talk) is required for speeds above 45 or any time it’s very windy. It just works better and needs no adjustment. We all used the PTT on the clutch side hand grip and it’s great. We found them to work well in the storms, but are probably survivable for moderate periods of rain. We saw plenty of rain and they held up fine. For the last part of the trip we stripped the bikes down of spare gear and shot the gap without full comm gear.
We prepared and planned for gas stops about at 80-100 miles to get the legs stretched and fuel, it made it a much better trip.

In all travels, you have to be able to laugh and especially at yourself. At the time it was a good decision, and , for how crazy it is, after you think about it. We had some real laughs and a long journey to remember.

THE JOURNEY

March 6th
Monday 358 miles
Launched out of San Diego at about 8 AM with three Triumphs and threatening weather.



The ride to Ventura was uneventful with the usual morning commute traffic to and through Los Angeles. Cars in every effort to get to work and think that motorcycles would never be out in this weather, so never looked..
Quick gas in Mission Viejo and Long Beach as the weather looked bad and we missed most of the storms as they blew over.
Some minor adjustments to the gear to get warm or dry was all that was required in the first day.
Mike earns the nickname of Green Flash as he can be seen dashing between the cars, his Bright “Blue†bulbs look green from our distance ahead. Only seen while between the cars, “The Flash†will stick.

Arriving in Camarillo/Ventura (about 180 miles) we met Big Don Miller for lunch. (2002 Trophy 1200 and Daytona 955). Due to emergency job requirements, he had to miss the trip to SF which he had planned. Don, Thanks for the send off and hope you saved the day with IBM.


A great lunch for the day at a local Burger joint called the Habit and we were off again. The Rain was on. We did a quick dash into the nearest gas station in Oxnard and donned the rain gear. The Triumph® rain suit was amazing at protection from wet. The Daytona driver was wide open to the elements and remained completely dry.

So far we had only been hit with light showers and we dodged most of the drops. Then the heavens opened and the rains came. The freeway drivers are less than concerned about motorcycles so a quick stop to set the waterproofing and we are off.

The SP3 and Daytona are shod with Michelin Pilot Powers and they stick well. The Avon Azaros on the Trophy keep it securely on the road. We all had less than 2000 miles on the Rear tires and the Michelins were less than 4K on the front. The Trophy Avons had 8000 on the front and are still looking good.

Water everywhere. It’s pouring.

Through the rest of town and headed north in Ventura on the HWY 33 toward New Cuyama. What a road!
Ventura is essentially on the beach (Sea Level) and we went north through a twisty winding two lane with nary a car and barely ever a truck. No LEO’s on the complete HWY 33 leg. It’s about 60 miles. This was in part due to the downpour of rain that took the spirit out of the weak of heart. As we head north the rain goes to scattered and broken. A break for us. As we head to higher ground the rain is little more than drizzle and stops form time to time. It is heavy overcast, but little rain. I think we are up in the clouds.

We were committed, or should have been. We drove at sufficient pace to be safe on the roads, and the ride was wonderful. Curves at 20 mph seemed challenging and barely another car on the road. As we passed 2000 feet elevation the clouds became broken and scattered showers were on for the rest of the day. We missed some of them and others caught us.

The road north went higher, to about 4300 feet, and we had heard that there would be snow. The first real challenge of the journey.
It really got colder and looked like a climb into the clouds. Although the threat was there is was only cold and wet. The sun peeked out occasionally to let us know that it would be a good ride. Very tight wraparound curves as we went up the mountain in the canyons and short straights kept us in loose formation and left the experience satisfying as a challenging ride. Toward the end of HWY 33 the road, it descends a bit and we arrive at Highway 166. The ride so far has been almost a road to ourselves. Not one other motorcycle and few cars and no trucks on the 33 (except one Highway maintenance snow plow). Minimal rain and no down pours. Lots of signs reporting snow and ice, but we didn’t get any.

Highway 166. About 50 miles. Almost due west. A few miles on down the road we get a fill up and top off the tanks to get to San Luis Obispo (SLO). Highway 166 is a great little descent to the beach near Santa Maria. It has long straights and long sweeping curves along wide canyons, no doubt due to the mountains draining there for 1000’s of years. Very little wind today up on this high plain between the mountains and great long range visibility. It let us test the MAX RPM on the bikes at times when the road was dry and clear. The Daytona and the Trophy cleared their throats and roared away. BTW-The Triumph Trophy speedometer is 10% off from the Garmin GPS. Steady speed for 10 miles on a straight away. It seemed like there were only two exits on the entire 40+ mile stretch of road. The road is in very good condition and two lanes with only occasional trucks and cars going east as we proceed west. I think we passed a few cars but it was almost a road to our selves, again. I’m sure on a dry day, this road, and the HWY 33 would be full of the high speed exotic liter bikes carving up the curves and going fast as the road has fun written all over it.

We hit the coast near Santa Maria and then north to San Luis Obispo and arrived about 4 PM and checked into our hotel. A Ramada Inn at the intersection of 1 and 101 that made the next day get away easy. Basic with covered parking for the bikes. BONUS!

Evening.
The rains have stopped and we walk into town (about 10 blocks) and find the “Downtown Brewery SLOâ€, (used to be the “SLO Brewâ€) and it’s just what we need. A nice, casual, rustic building (retired warehouse) with good food and Happy Hour from 5PM til closing on Monday. Go figure, it’s Monday! Great mix of recorded music and big (HUGE) sports TV. Dave Davenport up from Pismo Beach (95 Trophy 900 and tricked out Thunderbird) met us at the pub and we talked more about the trip and Triumphs and the Trophy. We tried to drink all of the beer there, but they kept making more. It is a brewery and eatery and they have some very good homemade micro brews. An early night back to the hotel at about 8PM. Thanks, Dave, being the designated driver, for driving your car, and for the ride back to the hotel. And don’t worry about the red light. We didn’t see it either.

There was a Pizza place and a local Sushi bar across the street from the hotel. The Pizza place was out of beer. We didn’t do it! Honest! So we had to stop for the first day victory cigar and a few Asahi’s and Sapporo’s at the Sushi place. They let us stay past closing and since it was dry outside, we relaxed in the front patio until late.

 

[Merlin]

Part 2

March 7th.
Tuesday 176 miles
The hotel had the basics but no free breakfast and there was a nice little Creole diner (Bon Temps) attached for breakfast.  A good bit of nosh and we were packing for the second day of forecast bad rains.  I learned that Creole might not be the best choice for travel on the bike.  Mike said he couldn’t bear to look at what I was eating as it looked to be recycled from this and that.  But the taste was fantastic.  The Mardi Gras (FAT TUESDAY) omelet is the excess.  A great mix of Creole spices and chipped beef and dark gravy smothering the 3 egg omelet.  All breakfasts came with grits ( a tasty pile of simmered ground corn meal) and toast.  The coffee was the best I’ve even had.  And I’ve had some coffee.  I’ll regret this choice later.  Fortunately we were riding outside and the EPA didn’t follow us on the road.  ‘Nuf said.  A quick pit stop at the hotel before we fueled up, and we’re off.

We left the hotel and pointed north with rain gear and expecting the worst.
We made a quick stop at SLO Motorsports for a tire pressure check and me a Brit that had been here for a few years.  He didn’t see many Triumphs in SLO, and he liked the batch.  He checked the tires and filled one that was a bit low and then we were off.
The coast road from SLO to Santa Cruz was our track for the day.  It is a fabulous view and winding road from the start to the finish.  The road in the higher spots does have some dastardly rock slide falls and dangers of roads washed out for many of the miles of road that hug the cliffs that drop off to the ocean and rise up to the mountains at the coast line.
The highway repair crews were out in force and there were signs posting warning with sufficient time to avoid any problems.  The stray rock in the road was called ahead on the radios and we got through a great day on the coast without incident...  Another call for safety is the key and we have quite a few calls to slow for rock and debris in the road.  We did get some sprinkles of rain and the sun poked itself out on occasion.  We stopped at the Hearst Castle for a stretch and picture, but didn’t take the full tour of two hours or more, as the weather looked better to keep on moving North.

We transited from Monterey to Santa Cruz with a bit of assistance as we ended up directly behind the Monterey Police SUV and two CHP Motorcycles in Seaside for about 15 miles as we cruised North.  They were getting thrown around with the side winds as raggedly as we had been and we were fully covered and prepared for the rain.  They looked like they only wanted to go home for the day.  An interesting event and they departed just south of Santa Cruz.

We arrived in Santa Cruz early, at about 2 PM, and checked into the hotel near our freeway exit for the morn.  During the check in, one of the gang had to stop for the facilities and somehow dropped his non waterproof cell phone into the porcelain (Loo for you Brits) in the process of checking in with the boss.  LMAO!  Warning!  Don’t use your phone near the pool or while in the WC.  Actually during removal of his waterproof layers, the phone flew loose and ended up there.  That’s his story and we’re sticking to it.

This proves to be great entertainment value for the end of a long wet day.  We checked in and were disappointed to find the Jacuzzi to be inoperative.  Probably a cell phone stuck in the plumbing.  We rode over to the nearest mall with a cell phone store and Mike got the phone sorted out.  We went back to the hotel and parked the bikes and setup for the next days ride.  We took a cab downtown and checked out the rest of the town.  Later went to a Mexican joint that was quite tasty.  The downtown was buzzing with a combination of college kids and people downtown with their hands out and we went for a beer at the local saloon and then home to the hotel.  Probably hit the sack about midnight and ready for the ride the next day.

Minor incident.  During the evening at the local pub, one of the riders had a pool cue tip split and gets a “splinter“ in his thumb.  Didn’t seem too bad at the time, but we moved on.  More on the splinter later.

March 8th
Wednesday 166 miles more or less
Off to San Francisco

We have checked the weather on the TV and have had a revelation in transit that the pass to Reno is not going to be a choice.  Chains required for the pass to Reno.  Due to the recent rain we traveled through, the rain has passed on and it’s clear here in Santa Cruz but the storm is now in front of us and in the pass to Reno and has turned to snow.  Plan “B†is now in effect and we are going to look at the plan in San Francisco and take the customary picture but then probably go short of the Sierras and head south and make Bakersfield or somewhere as a mid stop to Las Vegas.

We roared up the coast to the Golden Gate and across it.  Customary pictures and then…

INTERLUDE

After some quick headwork and a call to my son in Davis (near Sacramento) the weather is still too bad to make the pass to Reno.  We are looking at going to Davis and then make Bakersfield for the night

The splinter in Daytona Phil’s thumb is now festering and the thumb is swollen to +50% of size.  We need to stop and get a medical check.

We find the Kaiser hospital on Geary in San Francisco at 12 noon.  If we are out by 2 we will press on to Bakersfield.  Time slips by and we get Daytona Phil in to see a doctor by 3:20 PM

While we wait, we decide to go up to Davis for the night.  It’s east and the general direction of travel.  It’s good road and only about an hour or so.  After the x-ray and the doctor finding a ½ “ by 1 mm splinter she gives us the go and we are off again.  This picture is the one they didn’t see and was left in the thumb until the next day when it festered itself out.

BACK TO THE ROAD
It’s 430 PM and we are downtown San Francisco and the traffic is as you would expect.  Barely at a crawl, we make it over to Oakland just before it starts looking wet.  Rain and drizzle as we make our way to Davis.  As we arrive in Davis the rain stops.  It just stops for a few minutes and we get to the hotel.
My son, attending UC Davis, escorts us to the hotel and we ride in his dry car, it’s raining again, and go out for big steaks at The Cattleman in Dixon, CA.  Big Harris Ranch beef steaks.  A bit of a birthday party for Mike, turning 49.  A cheerful round of Happy Birthday songs and a new cowboy hat gets Mike feeling a little better after losing the phone.  We are back at the hotel early (like 10 PM) and we are ready for a ride to Bakersfield in the morning.  Covered parking and the bikes are ready.

March 9th
Thursday 427 miles
Planned for Bakersfield
The day faces us with full sun but scattered clouds to the south.  As we learned from the previous days, we dress for wet and stay dry.  After an hour of moderate traffic into Sacramento, we are headed south on the Interstate 5 (Boring but fast).  We get to Bakersfield early and push on to Barstow.  This makes the ride into Vegas tomorrow less than a 3-hour easy ride.

From the Interstate 5 South you pick up the Highway 58 to Bakersfield and then on to Barstow.  The winds are up.  I can’t tell the speed of wind but when it hit us from the side I was wearing down the chicken strip.  We were leaning far over to compensate.  Really strong.  Probably 50 knots or better across the desert.  The wind farms in the Tehachapi Canyon were amazing with the giant and the small wind generators spinning furiously.
The Mojave stretch of road is wide open and the wind is ripping across the sands.  2 mile long freight trains weave their way through the pass and across the desert.  The airplane bone yard to the south looks quietly serene.

Without reservations we stop in Barstow and pull into the first Holiday Inn Express to see what they have.  $100 per room, one bed to a room.  Not good.  The desk girl says to try the American Inn.
The American Inn is a refurbished older hotel a half a mile down the road.  Driving up you would get the feeling of a dead body in the pool, or ducks and geese.  Wind was howling and the sand was flying.  It was getting quite cold and it’s “off seasonâ€.  We were three motorcycles of the 10 cars in the nearly empty parking lot.  If the weather was nice it would have been a great place to stay.  It was clean and very comfortable.  One room – about $80 with three queen beds.  Huge Room.  Bonus!  A little sparse on the niceties, but fine for us.  After four days on the road, our minimums are very flexible.  Right next door is the Canton Café (Chinese and American food and a bar) and they have a dinner special of choice of Chinese dishes $7.99 and Breakfast special for $3.99.  It’s warm inside and there’s beer in bottles (4 choices) and frosty mugs that FREEZE the beer as it touches the mug.  Great Choice.

The night brought the character of Barstow alive with the hourly screech of trains brakes and connections at the freight yard not far away.  Fortunately, Mike kept drowning out the screech with his snoring.  This volume could only be covered by the air conditioner/heater.  Louder than a Navy A-6 on roll out at full throttle.  I would try to stop Mikes snoring by throwing something at him, but my helmet is all that is within reach.

March 10th
Friday 158 miles
Roll into Vegas
We head over the pass to Baker and drive past the largest thermometer and its not reading anything feels like below 50 F.

We departed for Vegas and made good time but hit the NASCAR weekend arrival traffic at noon and the cars were packed worse than LA in Rush hour.  A short two hour ride turned longer as Nevada does not allow lane splitting.  Nearly every car had an 8 or 3 or 24 decal in the rear window and they were primed for NASCAR.
After 30 minutes in aggravation we broke bailed off the freeway and off into the city and escaped the freeway.  We met a friend at McMullans near the New Orleans Casino and then off to the Cowboy and biker friendly bar named Hoggs and Heffers in old down town to check the 30 motorcycle parking spots.  Modeled after the New York original it’s a Coyote Ugly type ambiance with slots and video poker.  Go figure.  It’s Vegas.  Urban renewal and dancing on the bar are not everyday back home.
We got to the hotel at about 4PM.  The Imperial Palace is right in the middle of the Vegas strip and lets you get to most places quickly.  NASCAR weekend rates were reported as up to $300 along the strip and we got a much better rate due to a friend of a friend of a friend.  It’s who you know in Vegas, baby!  Thanks Vegas Don.!

The hotel was packed and the streets were packed.  Earlier in the night the reports of snow in the south bound pass and more weather coming left us changing plan to stay one more day in Vegas and we adapted and stayed for the race day.  200,000 rabid fans of NASCAR can fill the city.  We found a few entertaining casinos.  There is a Mc Donalds tucked in next to Harrah’s for that midnight burger.  At Casino Royale, they had $1 bottles of Michelob, so they had us for a while.  We finally found a spot that I survived for about 6 hours playing Black Jack with some of the casinos money.  They got it all back in the end, but in the early AM (about 4 or 5) we packed it in and we called it a day.

March 11th
Saturday The layover.
With the bad weather reports, we committed to stay the extra day.  After too many hours in the smoky casinos and staying up ‘til probably 5 or later, we expected a late rising.  Multiple incoming phone calls on the cell phone and then the house phone shook us out at 8AM.  At least two hours too early. My tongue feels like I’ve been eating dirt.  We took it a bit slower on day two and did the tours around the Automobile collection (they had 2 motorcycles)  and local Vegas Strip hotels (Venetian, New York New York, Guggenheim Museum, Margaritaville, The Harley Davidson Café, etc) and ended up in the evening at Hooters near the MGM GRAND for another shot at Mike’s birthday.  It’s official, he’s 49 today.  Still the kid…  The pictures were great, but as they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
We split up about 9:30 pm and turn in earlier and prepare for the journeys final leg.

March 12th
Sunday 336 miles
Depart for home
It’s Sunday so a quick trip to church to cleanse the soul and we are off to breakfast about 9:30 AM.  We depart the hotel at about 11 AM and expect an early arrival back at home.  We finally clear the city and traffic is moderate with lots of trucks on the road.  It’s about an hour before the big NASCAR race so 200,000 fans are still at the track and NOT on the road.  The main race starts at 1 PM so we figure it to be an easy ride home.  The winds pick up at 12 noon and are pretty much head on and we get real bad gas mileage.  I forget to shift to 6th gear for almost 80 miles and get to Baker with a low tank (below ¼ marked) so I pull in for a safety gallon it’s still 40 plus miles to Barstow.  Mike usually gets 120 miles a tank and he hits reserve early, misses the next gas by about a mile and we recover him after about an hour or so.  The remote located Mobil gas station sells a one quart empty Red gas container for $13.  We opt for the quart bottle of water and empty it next to the gas pump.  Rinse it with a splash of fuel and we got him a quart of go juice.  After getting emergency fuel to get down the road. and finding him off the highway we go back to the Mobil for a fill up.  Thanks to the radios again with the cell phone option.  We still stop in Barstow for gas and a quick Mc Donald’s.  With an unplanned pit stop we get going about 4PM.  It’s now 4 PM and the sun is gone (behind clouds) and the rains are coming…hard.  We hit traffic and rain from here to home.  Over the 3 hour trip down the mountains and into San Diego we get a bit separated.  Some down pours with a few spots of dry.  Not the good way to end the trip.  Due to the traffic and the weather we spread out a few miles and all make it back to San Diego after 6PM.  Two of us got in front of the traffic jam and Mike got stuck behind it.  With a mid point gas stop he arrived about 45 minutes after we got in to San Diego.

It will take a while to recover and clean the bikes and do laundry, but that’s after my nap.

Back to work now.

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