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Trans Americas 2009 - The Blog
The Just One More Mile story of Paul's Trans Americas 2009 motorcycle expedition.Saturday, 18 July 2009
Harley and his Shadow...
After a much better night's sleep, I woke again at 6am, showered and updated the blog with yesterday's adventures... Here's hoping this is the start of a repeatable routine, as it would be nice to think I can keep the blog up-to-date almost daily... But I suspect that as I get more into the trip, I'm going to wake up later and later...
Whilst I wrote the blog, Steve put on some coffee and then made us some pancakes (served with maple syrup, naturally) and some little savoury sausages. They were delicious. Who knows, I might even turn American on this trip...
Breakfasted and with the blog up-to-date we changed into our biker attire and got the bikes out of the garage, before I shattered the early-morning peace and quiet by starting the Harley. It's not got any quieter overnight... And of we rode, out onto Highway 1 again, with the air cooled by the early-morning fog and with the salty aroma of the ocean filling our nostrils. Into San Francisco city so Steve could drop off some checks (sic) at the bank, riding up and down hilly streets, and watching out for all the STOP signs, avoiding the trams (which were all very modern, more like Manchester's Metrolink than the quaint old ones in the movies). With the bank job done (!) we rode back out of the city, via Golden Gate Park with powerful smells of fresh basil (it must have been something else that smelt like basil, as wild basil doesn't grow in the park), and once again over the famous bridge, which was again shrouded in dense fog, the tall support stanchions disappearing just 20 or so feet above our heads, as though they led up into the heavens (or perhaps a land of giants tending to their golden geese – I'm sure I heard “fee fi fo fum” at one point whilst crossing). Once over the bridge we continued along the freeway for a few miles before heading off on a winding road up towards Mt Tamilpais. This road was treat (the first of many today) and despite some occasional slow-moving traffic we managed to get into a rhythm leaning this way and that as the road wound its way up the hillside, with spectacular views over the bay to our left.
Eventually we descended into a small town by a wide sandy beach called “Stinson Beach” where we pulled up for a coffee. From here we rode out of town a few miles and then took a right turn onto a narrow road leading up into the mountains proper (the Bolinas-Fairfax road). Avoiding the brightly dressed mass ranks of the Lance Armstrong wannabee club, huffing and a puffing their way up the mountain, or hurtling downhill using all the road (get out of the way!), we made our way upwards. Whoever said that American roads are predominantly straight has obviously never been on this one, which twisted one way and then the other, with some of the right hand turns in particular being well over 270 degrees, badly cambered and with cyclists hurtling down right where I wanted to be. Challenging is the right word to describe this road, especially when riding a very heavy, very long, Hardly-Turning. But fun, oh, yes....
After an eternity of turning this way and that we emerged onto the ridge above the tree-line, and with the fog still covering most of the bay way below us, it looked for all the world as though we'd ridden into heaven itself...
But we weren't at the top yet, so we continued on our merry way, stopping to take several photos of the incredible vistas (I'll create a separate gallery for them or the blog will get too big!), before rounding a left hand bend and being completely stunned by the view over to San Francisco city, still shrouded in a dense fog...
If you look closely, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge leading from the Marin Highlands to the city in the top centre. Leaving the summit behind, we rode back down and then took the turn towards Fairfax and repeated the left-right-left-right-left-oh-my-god-RIGHT of the way up but going down. Stopping at the oh-so-photogenic reservoir at the Tamilpais Watershed in the now searing heat, we stretched and tried to get life back into muscles that were beginning to ache from the effort of hauling the bikes round the turns. But it felt good, a feeling enhanced by the spectacular scenery...
Finally we descended into Fairfax itself, where we parked the bikes and found a likely-looking Italian restaurant for lunch. It was now 1.30pm, and we'd set off at 9am, but had only covered some 80 miles, an indication of how winding the terrain had been. Glad of the chance to relax and drink something (a glass of Peroni, of course, and several gallons of ice-cold water) and eat (a delicious Fettuccine Carbonara) , we took full advantage of the restaurant and watched the world go by for a good half hour...
We did have to drag ourselves back outside into the sunshine again, though, as the day's riding was far from over. Refreshed we headed out onto the highway (wasn't that a line in a song?) up Highway 101 and onto Highway 37 (the Napa-Sonoma highway) and into wine country. I even had time on these long straight roads to try the Harley's “cruise control”, which enabled me to cruise past Steve and wave to him with both hands... cool! Taking Highway 12 (are you with me still?) into Sonoma, we stopped on the main street and went into a frozen yogurt (sic) shop. I've never had one of these before, but it was great. Like ice-cream but not as unhealthy, although by the time I'd added a few chocolate-based toppings it probably had more calories than a large pizza...
Back on the bikes again, we ditched the jackets in the panniers (it was very, very hot and the traffic very light) and rode along the “wine road” out of Sonoma and passed endless vineyards and “wineries”, stopping for the inevitable photograph...
By now it was getting on a bit and we were still some miles from home, so we filled up with gas and water and put our jackets back on before heading back on Highway 101, from Santa Rosa back to San Francisco, this time heading up onto the Marin Highlands for a view over the Golden Gate Bridge. Despite 40-mile-an-hour winds, the view from the gun emplacements (now without guns) was stunning. The bridge is simply HUGE, and the stanchions are 746 feet tall, rising almost level with the Marin Highlands themselves...
Crossing the bridge again and heading back via the Golden Gate park (more smell of basil, and this time accompanied by an aniseed smell) we took Highway 1 back into Half Moon Bay, put the biks back in Steve's garage and poured ourselves a well-deserved beer. At the end of a 10-hour riding day, we'd covered just 220 miles, but ridden some of the best roads I've ever been on...
But the day still had one more treat in store. Steve rustled up some New York Strip steaks, served with fresh steamed asparagus (cooked to perfection) and a side-order of curried chick peas...
Now that put the seal on it...
Whilst I wrote the blog, Steve put on some coffee and then made us some pancakes (served with maple syrup, naturally) and some little savoury sausages. They were delicious. Who knows, I might even turn American on this trip...
Breakfasted and with the blog up-to-date we changed into our biker attire and got the bikes out of the garage, before I shattered the early-morning peace and quiet by starting the Harley. It's not got any quieter overnight... And of we rode, out onto Highway 1 again, with the air cooled by the early-morning fog and with the salty aroma of the ocean filling our nostrils. Into San Francisco city so Steve could drop off some checks (sic) at the bank, riding up and down hilly streets, and watching out for all the STOP signs, avoiding the trams (which were all very modern, more like Manchester's Metrolink than the quaint old ones in the movies). With the bank job done (!) we rode back out of the city, via Golden Gate Park with powerful smells of fresh basil (it must have been something else that smelt like basil, as wild basil doesn't grow in the park), and once again over the famous bridge, which was again shrouded in dense fog, the tall support stanchions disappearing just 20 or so feet above our heads, as though they led up into the heavens (or perhaps a land of giants tending to their golden geese – I'm sure I heard “fee fi fo fum” at one point whilst crossing). Once over the bridge we continued along the freeway for a few miles before heading off on a winding road up towards Mt Tamilpais. This road was treat (the first of many today) and despite some occasional slow-moving traffic we managed to get into a rhythm leaning this way and that as the road wound its way up the hillside, with spectacular views over the bay to our left.
Eventually we descended into a small town by a wide sandy beach called “Stinson Beach” where we pulled up for a coffee. From here we rode out of town a few miles and then took a right turn onto a narrow road leading up into the mountains proper (the Bolinas-Fairfax road). Avoiding the brightly dressed mass ranks of the Lance Armstrong wannabee club, huffing and a puffing their way up the mountain, or hurtling downhill using all the road (get out of the way!), we made our way upwards. Whoever said that American roads are predominantly straight has obviously never been on this one, which twisted one way and then the other, with some of the right hand turns in particular being well over 270 degrees, badly cambered and with cyclists hurtling down right where I wanted to be. Challenging is the right word to describe this road, especially when riding a very heavy, very long, Hardly-Turning. But fun, oh, yes....
After an eternity of turning this way and that we emerged onto the ridge above the tree-line, and with the fog still covering most of the bay way below us, it looked for all the world as though we'd ridden into heaven itself...
But we weren't at the top yet, so we continued on our merry way, stopping to take several photos of the incredible vistas (I'll create a separate gallery for them or the blog will get too big!), before rounding a left hand bend and being completely stunned by the view over to San Francisco city, still shrouded in a dense fog...
If you look closely, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge leading from the Marin Highlands to the city in the top centre. Leaving the summit behind, we rode back down and then took the turn towards Fairfax and repeated the left-right-left-right-left-oh-my-god-RIGHT of the way up but going down. Stopping at the oh-so-photogenic reservoir at the Tamilpais Watershed in the now searing heat, we stretched and tried to get life back into muscles that were beginning to ache from the effort of hauling the bikes round the turns. But it felt good, a feeling enhanced by the spectacular scenery...
Finally we descended into Fairfax itself, where we parked the bikes and found a likely-looking Italian restaurant for lunch. It was now 1.30pm, and we'd set off at 9am, but had only covered some 80 miles, an indication of how winding the terrain had been. Glad of the chance to relax and drink something (a glass of Peroni, of course, and several gallons of ice-cold water) and eat (a delicious Fettuccine Carbonara) , we took full advantage of the restaurant and watched the world go by for a good half hour...
We did have to drag ourselves back outside into the sunshine again, though, as the day's riding was far from over. Refreshed we headed out onto the highway (wasn't that a line in a song?) up Highway 101 and onto Highway 37 (the Napa-Sonoma highway) and into wine country. I even had time on these long straight roads to try the Harley's “cruise control”, which enabled me to cruise past Steve and wave to him with both hands... cool! Taking Highway 12 (are you with me still?) into Sonoma, we stopped on the main street and went into a frozen yogurt (sic) shop. I've never had one of these before, but it was great. Like ice-cream but not as unhealthy, although by the time I'd added a few chocolate-based toppings it probably had more calories than a large pizza...
Back on the bikes again, we ditched the jackets in the panniers (it was very, very hot and the traffic very light) and rode along the “wine road” out of Sonoma and passed endless vineyards and “wineries”, stopping for the inevitable photograph...
By now it was getting on a bit and we were still some miles from home, so we filled up with gas and water and put our jackets back on before heading back on Highway 101, from Santa Rosa back to San Francisco, this time heading up onto the Marin Highlands for a view over the Golden Gate Bridge. Despite 40-mile-an-hour winds, the view from the gun emplacements (now without guns) was stunning. The bridge is simply HUGE, and the stanchions are 746 feet tall, rising almost level with the Marin Highlands themselves...
Crossing the bridge again and heading back via the Golden Gate park (more smell of basil, and this time accompanied by an aniseed smell) we took Highway 1 back into Half Moon Bay, put the biks back in Steve's garage and poured ourselves a well-deserved beer. At the end of a 10-hour riding day, we'd covered just 220 miles, but ridden some of the best roads I've ever been on...
But the day still had one more treat in store. Steve rustled up some New York Strip steaks, served with fresh steamed asparagus (cooked to perfection) and a side-order of curried chick peas...
Now that put the seal on it...
posted by Paul # 23:00 
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