Today was all about local rides in the Fortuna area. I started the day off meeting some of the other riders for breakfast and we discussed our options for the day. I wasn’t interested in anything too intense after two long days in the saddle and lobbied for a short jaunt through the Avenue of the Giants. This is more of a scenic road that winds through redwood forests.

That part was all well and good but then we decided to head out to a tiny little town near the coast called Honeydew. Honeydew is most notable for it’s reputation in the heart of northern California’s pot growing industry and for the fact it’s a waypoint on a notorious motorcycle ride called The Lost Coast. I’ve done the Lost Coast before and didn’t want to do it again but figured going as far as Honeydew would be fine.

Yeah, right. I had forgotten how bad the road to Honeydew was and how technically challenging it is for a rider on a sport bike. I got through it, but I was pretty sore afterwards. It’s mostly dramatic elevation changes (most of the time you’re going uphill or downhill) and tight, tight switchbacks over very rough and uneven pavement. On a sport bike with a suspension setup for smooth, high speed corners it’s a recipe for a very bumpy ride and a lot of time standing up on the pegs trying to avoid some of the worst of it.

Still, the views from up top are spectacular and that’s a payoff of sorts for enduring the ride. Afterwards we all converged at the house of one of our local riders, Dr. Gil for a BBQ and social session. It creates quite a collection of bikes parked along his street and causes people to stop and visit with us or stop to take their own photos.

After the BBQ I headed back to the hotel for a while to relax and rest, then walked over to our dinner spot for the social event that closes out the official portion of WCRM V. In the morning, we’ll all go our separate ways and I’ll starting winding my way back up the coast on Highway 101 as I head for Seattle over the next two days.

Today may have been the best day I’ve had on the motorcycle ever. I got a bit of a late start (I am on vacation after all) and was just loading the bike when I saw the other riders who overnighted in Florence parade by on their way to Highway 101. My general plan was to follow along in their wake, taking approximately the same route.

I departed Florence on 101 along the coast and then headed inland on Oregon’s Highway 38. This beautiful road curves back and forth as it follows the Umpqua River. As I left the coast behind the temperatures began to rise and it finally reached a point where you could consider things “warm.” This prompted me to begin shedding insulation and finally open the vents in my riding jacket to let the breeze flow through.

Highway 38 eventually links up with Oregon Highway 138 and this eventually connects to I5 heading south into California. Normally slogging along on the interstate is an exercise in boredom and while this section of I5 isn’t much better, it does at least have a few high speed sweepers to provide an occasional bit of fun. It’s main attribute is that it is the quickest route to today’s highlight, California’s Highway 96.

This highway in California is considered by many to be one of it’s crown jewels when it comes to motorcycle riding. This curvaceous road winds its way through California’s northern mountains eventually depositing you back on the coast. At times following river valleys and at others sweeping up and over ridges, you’ll lose track of the corners as they all blur together. High speed sweepers, tight technical twisties, 96 has it all. In fact, by the end of the day you might even think that it has too much. It does make for a tiring bit of riding, but you’ll be happy at the end.

My only real heart-in-the-throat moment so far on this trip was on 96 today. Tooling along at a relatively modest pace (only 10 or so over the posted limit) I heard what I thought was a siren, about the last thing I expected to hear in the middle of nowhere, far from any town or anything remotely resembling civilization. Sure enough, a CHP cruiser was in my rear view mirror with his lights running. I hit the turn signal and slowed to pull to the side of the road but he just whipping on by and kept going. Bigger fish to fry somewhere else I guess. I watched my speed for a while just in case but I never saw him again.

As I neared the coast again, the temperate dropped dramatically and pretty soon I was pulling over to put my liners back in my gloves and close up the vents in my jacket. At this point the clouds returned and the sun disappeared. The last 30 miles or so were a stark contrast in weather compared to most of the day. Still, the rain held off so it’s hard to complain.

The evening was spent socializing with riders I’ve met at previous meets, meeting folks I’ve exchanged posts with online but never met in person, greeting a few people new to the STN fold and in general, talking about riding, motorcycles and what we each plan to do for tomorrow’s local area rides. Personally, after two long days in the saddle I plan to do something relatively easy. As of now I’m thinking about riding the Avenue of the Giants and spending a great deal of time with camera in hand.

Tomorrow we have another big dinner and then Sunday we’ll all begin finding our way back to our respective homes.

A few more photos added to Flickr

Wonderful ride today! I had to run a couple of last minute errands this morning so wound up leaving about an hour later than I wanted to but still managed to avoid traffic for the most part. The morning was a cold, wind slog down I-5 t Longview, WA where I crossed the river into Oregon and headed towards the coast.

Since I didn’t have a motel reservation and my only nominal plan was to meet a couple of other riders in Florence, OR for dinner if I made it that far, I decided to exercise a whim around lunch time and take a short side trip to visit Fort Steven State Park. This is an old WWII fort that mostly just contains foundations to indicate where buildings used to be on post. There are still fortifications in places however, and some of them are open to wander through. I decided to eat my lunch here and spend time poking my nose into an older bunker and mortar pit.

After that I headed south on Oregon’s coastal highway, the 101. Riding this road is more about the scenery though there are a few sections with interesting curves as it follows the coastline. Traffic is hit or miss but I had a good day and only got held up a couple of times. For the most part the weather cooperated. It was gray and cold for a good part of the day but several times I encountered blue skies and a bit of sun beaming down through the clouds to warm things up.

By the time I reached Florence around 6:30pm, the weather had pretty much cleared up completely and everything was lit by the beautiful golden glow of the late afternoon sun. I found a hotel near the place we planned to meet for dinner and got checked in, cleaned up and relaxed a bit before walking over to meet the other riders. We enjoyed a great meal at a place called the Bay Street Grill and pretty much had the place to ourselves.

In the morning, if I’m up in time I’m going to meet the others for breakfast and then decided which route I want to take the rest of the way to Fortuna. Right now I’m leaning towards cutting back over to I-5 in order to catch Highway 96 down into Fortuna. We’ll see how that goes!

More photos available on Flickr!

Bike is buttoned back up and ready to go. Hosed it off a bit and test fit the new luggage. A new Nelson Rigg CL-350 magnetic tank bag up front and a lightly-used Ventura Rack system on the back. Together it is far more space than my old soft luggage setup. All that remains is to pack tonight and load the bike up in the morning (after running a few errands). Then I’m on the road for California!

Getting ready to head to California for the 2008 ST.N West Coast Regional Meet. Just need to put the bike back together and get packed so I can hit the road Thursday morning! I’m taking a laptop and several cameras, so hopefully I’ll be posting while I’m gone.