January Riding - Halcyon to Avila Beach

Hello? Hello is anyone there... testing, TESTING... tick, tick, tick.... is this thing on?

Wow, that's really up close huh? That's what I get for thinking my camera was taking a 10 sec. timed photo.

I just got back from a scooter ride. Gonna post the beginning mileage and see just how many miles I end up going this year. My hubby says he'd like to take a 2 week bike vacation and ride some of Route 66. That sounds like fun... AND a bunch of miles.

So here's where I'm going to say the year began, 3, 426 miles on the bike. Yes, we have done a bit of riding already this year, maybe about 75 miles more... lets' see how many more we can add to that this year.

As I was saying, took a ride on Hwy. 1 from Halcyon to Avila Beach and back. We are having THE BEST weather right now. My bike said it was 75! Here is a picture of my baby in Halcyon....



And here is at Port San Luis...


My Majesty is such a pretty bike and keeps a nice shine most of the time. Oh, and me you ask? Ear to ear smiles, man..... ear to ear smiles!

I'm a lucky girl to be able to ride ANY TIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT!

Ride to Atascadero

We took a quick little ride up to Atascadero today. My son and his wife just bought a home there near the Lake and we went up to have lunch with them. Even though it is the last day of a Holiday weekend, traffic was moving right along and it was a GREAT ride. I looked up the mileage and HERE is says it is only 23 miles / 46 round trip. The photo above is actually on Hwy. 58 East, but if you have ever driven through Santa Margarita on your way to Atascadero, it looks something like this; lots of pastureland with California Oaks here and there.

I also realized as I opened the blog that I never completed posting our vacation pictures. I'm hoping to finish that up by the end of the year. It really was the highlight of our Fall! When I came home from our trip I wanted to ride every day, just like we had on our vacation, but with babysitting my grandsons and the hecticness of the season, that hasn't been the case. I'm going to make a resolution to do it more in the new year though for sure!!

Lone Pine to Lee Vining - 122 Miles

After having breakfast of blueberry muffins and tea at the Espresso Parlor, we packed up and were on the road again. Today was going to be a relatively short trip from Lone Pine to Lee Vining, home to Mono Lake. We made a short rest stop in Bishop at the Bank of America to replenish our money AND ourselves around 11 am. Then it was more riding. You cannot believe how many bikes we saw on the road during this trip. Most of them waved and in Bishop, I even saw another person on a Majesty 400, unfortunately, going the opposite direction. We probably should have turned around and had a chat. All along the way we saw pretty Fall colors even though it wasn't leaves. I was told this is Rabbit Brush.

Fall colors of Owens Valley, in this case flowers rather than leaves.

We arrived in Lee Vining right around noon and checked into Murphy's Motel. This is what worked for us nearly every day. We would check in around noon if we could, then have lunch, leave a bike in a parking spot right outside the door and double up on the other bike for sightseeing. Today it was the June Lake loop and Mono Lake.

June Lake Overlook

Wes & I At June Lake Overlook

Beautiful June Lake

One of my hobbies, taking pictures of Graffiti. I know, graffiti is bad, but it is there none the less.

Around the Lake temperatures were quite a bit cooler making the perfect condition for conifers.

Tufa at Mono Lake

The Eastern Sierras lakes are down a bit as is most of California with the lake of rain we've been having. Even so, there were many people out fishing and playing on the lake. The trees were just beginning to change colors in the cooler areas to a beautiful golden color. In another few weeks, its going to be just beautiful.

Mono Lake was really pretty. Is so interesting that the whole area is a volcanic caldera.
From June Lake, you could look across the freeway and see a line of other volcanic craters. These below are Deadman Creek Dome, Glass Creek Dome, Obsidian Dome, and Wilson Butte. We met a couple on BMW's that were making the reverse of our trip that let us know what to expect in the way of weather. Shopped a bit in the local Trading Post for vacation souvenirs, had some dinner at Nicely's and enjoyed a quiet evening.

Barstow to Lone Pine - 147 Mile Day

The ride from Barstow to Lone Pine was pretty uneventful. We left town around 9 in the morning headed for Kramer Junction. The traffic was light on both 58 and 395 so riding was pretty easy. We had a rest break just outside of China Lake area.

Rest Stop Near China Lake

The people in this area were so friendly. One guy in a truck even stopped briefly to be sure we weren't having any problems.

This is such a pretty time of year on this road. We haven't seen much in the way of Fall colors, but the air is so fresh and pure and the the rugged granite mountain range we are following is impressive.

The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range

We arrived in Lone Pine shortly after noon and got a room at the Dow Villa Motel. The Dow was built in the 1920's by Mr. Walter Dow as a home away from home for the "on location" actors and actresses that starred in the early Westerns. Originally the Dow had 55 rooms and 1 for the manager. The front porch gave a magnificient view of the Sierra with Mt. Whitney as the central attraction. The Dow hotel hosted countless producers, directors and stars. These are just a few of the stars that stayed there; John Wayne, William Boyd, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Pat Butrum, Stewart Granger, Errol Flynn, Robert Mitchum and Clayton Moore.

Dow Villa Motel

After doing a bit of unloading, we left one bike in a parking spot and took the other one on a trip up to the Mt. Whitney Portal, a beginning place for hikers making a climb to the top of Mt. Whitney. This was a really steep climb. First you ride through a portion of the Alabama Hills, the site for many of the old western movies. Next, the road climbs ever higher, offering outstanding views of the valley floor. At the top of the road are several camping areas, a lovely little meandering stream, a General Store and even a bonafide fishing hole stocked with trout.

View of Mt. Whitney

General Store Mt. Whitney Portal

Fish in the Fishing Hole

We hiked a bit and sat in the sun by the fishing hole and took a bunch of pictures. After, we proceeded down the winding road to the Alabama Hills again.

Alabama Hills

Now can't you just imagine a Wild West cowboy or Native American on horseback coming riding down those rocks??

Then we made a late afternoon trip over to the Beverly & Jim Rogers Museum of Film History. This is the location of the annual Lone Pine Film Festival every October. We watched a documentary movie about the making of some of the old Westerns filmed in the Alabama Hills then strolled through the museum that featured clothes, saddles, guns and cars as well as old movie marquees. It was just fascinating the movies that were made there. Even Gunga Din and Iron Man!



Had a great day! Ate at Bonanza, one of the best Mexican food places in town. We are having the BEST time on our vacation.
Us Little Happy Campers at June Lake

267 Miles East To Barstow

We had set 10 AM as the time we were going to take off today.... but, it took us nearly an hour to get the bags securely on the bikes. Tomorrow will be much faster. Today started out beautifully. The sky was full of fluffy white clouds, the hills were covered in red and orange finery and it smelled like it had just rained.

After passing through Cuyama, we found out why when we caught up to the shower. It was right before the grade going into Maricopa. First a few drops, then more of a little rain shower. We didn't need to change into rain gear thankfully. We hit a couple of little showers then we were through most of the rain. Next up was wind.

We bumped into the windy storm front near the top of Tehachapi.We thought we were entirely through that when we hit Mojave. Ok, this was probably the most difficult riding of the entire day. The wind blew steady at about 25 miles per hour and it was coming from the south nearly pushing us into the lane dividers it was so strong. IT WAS AN ARM WORKOUT keeping it between the lines. And last but not least, as the wind spit us out, we went through a pretty large devil duster.

Can I say it??? IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!!! Our bikes did really well loaded, we were never really cold or wet, traffic was light and we got pretty good gas mileage. It was good to get off and let our bodies rest for a bit. Staying with my sister tonight in Barstow and having some of that good Del Taco for dinner.

Tomorrow we will be turning back West and heading to the 395 again near Mojave (please no more wind!!) and should be staying in Lone Pine tomorrow night. Its going to be quite a bit shorter drive tomorrow and I KNOW it will take us less time to get going in the morning. We got some pictures today of us leaving that I will try to get up in the next couple of days. Happy Trails.......

Day Before the Ride - First Leg Tomorrow ..... Barstow

We are making final preparations for our trip. The morning was spent trying to decide what to take, what we would REALLY need and leaving room for things we may find on the ride.

So today, it was finally time to buy a REAL jacket. I know, I should have had one all along for safety reasons, but we mostly ride around town and what I had was enough. I've looked at several jackets over the last couple of weeks and I have a BIG problem... or maybe two. The available selection here is for either teeny tiny ladies or men's jackets. When buying a man's jacket, you have to get one that will accomodate the "girlfriends" properly... which means going up in size a bit. So today I got lucky and found a Tourmaster JJET Series 2 jacket that I LOVE. No, it's not a ladies jacket and somewhere down the line, I'm sure I'm going to want one of those, but at least it fit without being TOO huge.

We also picked up a couple of Cramp Busters for the ride. My husband put his on immediately and said with a few minor adjustments, it worked great. I've decided to wait until tomorrow to try mine out. Our first day out we will be going 254 miles to Barstow to visit with my sister and her family, which I'm REALLY looking forward to. The Cramp Busters should really come in handy for the full day of riding.

We are hoping to be able to post daily, but that will mostly depend on the internet service we get along the way. We've checked the weather and it looks like it is going to cooperate with very little extremely cold temperatures and rain, YAHOO!! I'm sure there will be stories, so if you found this post by accident, bookmark it and come back to enjoy the "ride". I'd love to hear your scooter travel stories as well, so please leave a comment/link to your blog or website.

Happy Trails!!

Weekend Warm-Up 273 Miles

Grover Beach

This is our plan for this weekend. Call it a Weekend Warm-up. We are leaving from Grover Beach and heading South to Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara

Lots of freeway miles, some extra busy, extra lanes kind of riding.

Next we will be going East towards Ojai; some climbing and winding roads, stop and go town traffic and a gas stop. (THIS is a beautiful location and will probably be lunch....YUMMY!)

Ojai

Then we will descend on Hwy. 33 towards the Cuyama Valley; descending the mountain and some more two way roads. This will more than likely be the hottest part of our ride too. So we may get the opportunity to change what we are wearing a bit.

Cuyama Valley

And finally from Cuyama on Hwy. 166 to Santa Maria. Another long stretch of two way traffic. This part of the ride is one of the most dangerous. The speed limit has been decreased from 65 to 55 with small areas for passing. There have been many accidents out here so we will be on our most alert status.

Santa Maria

And finally the home stretch between Santa Maria and Grover Beach. Back to the cool ocean breezes, home, rest and the feeling of exhilaration that comes from making a 273 mile drive in a day.

Grover Beach

I'll let you know how it goes and share some photos when we get back. We are really looking forward to it.



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