Lost Coast ride, story only

[Terry]

Pics are in another thread

The weather was better than I figured so I left early for the ride to SF and across the GG bridge. Traffic was great even in the City (surprisingly) and crossing the bridge was too. No wind, again surprisingly, and lots of visibility to the sea. The ride over Mt. Tamalpais into Stinson Beach was good and nearly void of traffic. The small bays and lagoons along the way are a treat to ride. Highway 1 follows the land path around the water's edge so there are a lot of long lefts and long rights thru little communities along the way. Sometimes the road is right at water level and sometimes it runs inland. Trees are plentiful most everywhere and this time of year, all the grass is green, not that summertime yellow. First gas stop in Bodega Bay and then on up the coast towards Ft. Bragg. Lots of great weather overall but for an hour or two, I did run in and out of some fog banks where visibility was almost nil. The farther north I ride the less traffic to deal with, and today, almost no motorcycles. No RVs pulling SUVs either! Just a spectacular two lane up the coast.

Did I mention the weather? Very welcome treat for this time of year. For the most part, the road surface was dry and leaf free. As usual though, I paid special attention under the many tree tunnels hiway 1 has to offer. Luckily, no slips or pucker moments at all, just a great ride all the way. Even during the only foggy/overcast section north of Ft. Bragg, the visibility was enough to have a good ride. Only bad part was not being able to see the ocean in the heavy mist. Its like riding through a cloud. Didn't last too long but did cover most of the last few miles on hiway 1 just before getting to hiway 101.

101 is a real treat as well. No ocean but trees galore and rivers to cross and...its really about a 100' swath cut through the many redwood groves and evergreen forests just inland from the ocean. There are a few two lane sections that replicate the Avenue for old growth redwoods lining the road and speed is reduced through these sections but when the four lane appears, its also a welcome sight. I love riding around long left right sweepers at 70+. The limit on these sections is 65 and its just a blast to ride through at speed. Green trees everywhere, right up to the road's edge so you have to pay close attention to the roadside for forest rats crossing in front. Luckily, I only had one scary moment with a deer. On my ride back down 101 on Monday at the end of a long four lane downhill straightaway, two cars were coming towards me and a large deer ran from left to right, in front of them! One car missed it but the other nailed it good. By this time I was getting on the brakes, planning my next move when the deer landed and got up running the way it was headed in the first place. It took off into the woods to my right and didn't look like it had any injuries at all. Had to have been bruised pretty badly though, maybe even worse but??? The only other hassle with riding this time of year is that the sun goes down too early. A few minutes before 5:00 p.m. up there so darkness is really dark on those roads. Made it into my motel in Fortuna about a half hour after dark. Next morning, the Lost Coast road and the Avenue of the Giants.

Just a short ride to Ferndale and at the west end of town, the road to the coast, Mattole Rd. Had expected at least a morning fog but the motorcycling Gods were with me and the sun was out in full form. Paved it is, but Mattole Rd. is also a very rough road, with patches and neglect apparent everywhere. Sometimes its a one lane road but luckily its so off the beaten path, traffic is almost non existent. Part of it is through heavily forested land and part of it is over bald mountains leading to the coastline. Once you drop down to the actual coast section of the road, where you can see the only dwelling there, a nice ranch house at the north end, the road is less than eight miles long before it takes you back into the forest on the way to the north end of the Avenue of the Giants near Weott (look at your map). I spent a few hours in different places on the coast. Off the bike walking around, the beaches there are black sand and rocky and VACANT! For most of the eight miles the road is right next to the beach. Helmet loose, gloves off, jacket open, just cruising the lost road back and forth about three times I think, before continuing inland. What a place for solitude! There was some traffic. Probably six or seven vehicles came by during the three hours or so I was there...

The road inland and all the way to the northwest entrance to Redwood State Park is just great! Some shady wet corners and some bridges to cross and sunny valleys to ride through. Got a few nice fall color pics in this section. The map shows a few communities along the way, Petrolia, Honeydew and Capetown, but none of them have more than a handful of residents. Some farm/ranch houses along the way too but very few of those even. Off the beaten path, Amundo! Niiiiice, given that I live in a city of a million residents. This ride up the coast and back, on 1 and 101 including dawdling along the Avenue and the lost coast road is only 800 miles round trip from the SF bay area. Every kind of riding is involved too. Slow uphill first gear corners to technical left/right cornering in 2nd or 3rd gear with several elevation changes to very fast high speed running on 101. Of course, along hiway 1 you also have the benefit of seeing the ocean on your side for miles and miles. I realize its as far from most of you as the east coast is for me but for a touring rider, its a must ride before you hang up your helmet.

BTW, my new TM Synergy gloves worked very well. Wore them for a couple hours the first day and all day the last day. Never got too hot and never got cold either. Nice addition to any cold long distance ride but kind of a hassle for picture taking (unplugging and plugging) but when its really cold, you can't beat warm hands! The 82 ran like a champ once again, even with 91,000 miles on the odo. The front Pirelli Sport Demon and the rear Bridgestone BT45 work very well in all conditions.

[Rick Pope]

Terry,
Thanks for the write-up. I sure wanna come back out and spend some quality touring time.