The Ride of my Life.

[klaviator]

In August of 1986 I took a short break from riding and flying to go back to Florida and take care of some unfinished business.

I picked up a Spousal Unit, Mark 1, Mod 0, one each. ;)



On a more serious note, the best decision I have ever made.



Normally I am the one with the weird sense of humor but in this case:



With Debbi's Grandmother:



I look back at these last few pics and can't believe how young I was once upon a time....

Our Honeymoon consisted of one night in a nice hotel at the beach followed by a drive to San Diego in Debbi's old Corolla. We did get one pic of our "honeymoon" I think this was in Yuma where we stopped on our last night before getting into San Diego.



Of course when we got back to San Diego we were able to get back to the important business of riding ;)

We often went out and rode with other guys in the squadron.  We headed out into the mountains to enjoy the endless curves and scenic views.



Stopping in one of our favorite destinations, Julian, Ca.



I had ridden with some of these riders in Florida and some I met here. I'll go ahead and introduce them. From the left.

Chuck. He only had about 8000 miles of riding experience but rode his Nighthawk S like he was an experienced expert. I think he was just exceptionally well coordinated.

Chris. Riding a Yamaha Vision. You may remember him from my Florida Pics. He was a Marine H-46 pilot stationed at MCAS Tustin. He would ride down to San Diego to ride with us. He was another very talented rider.

Ted. Another one of the "Florida Boys." He rode a 1000 sportster.

Debbi. Passenger extrordinaire. She was a real trooper sitting on the back of a sportbike for 250 miles or so in a day.

Ray and Sandra. Husband and wife in a Gold Wing.

Phil. He was a California native and knew all the local roads as well as local riders. He was riding a K100RS which was not in the pic. He was another very experienced rider.


Although you can't see it. All the bikes on this ride had Florida tags. Someone came up and asked us if we rode all the way from Florida. So of course we said that we had gotten on the road real early that morning

Julian was a touristy but really cool little town nestled way up in the mountains. There were several good places to eat and they were famous for their apple pie. Debbi and I rode up there one time for lunch. Debbi wanted to split some apple pie for desert but I had never particularly cared for apple pie. But she twisted my arm and got an Apple pie ALA mode. It only took one bite and then we were fighting over it   We nearly stabbed each other with our forks.     I was now an apple pie convert. that was the last time we split a pie there.

Also on this ride we did a little bike swapping. Phil and Ted swapped bikes. Phil, wearing full BMW blue and grey leathers did look out of place on the Sportster.

Towards the end of the ride I swapped with Ted. I took his sportster and he took my FJ and Debbi. We got on the highway and I thought I was riding a jackhammer.   I don't know how he ride with us all day because we had been riding pretty fast. But then we got off the highway and on to a street with traffic lights and a lower speed limit and suddenly the sportster was in it's element. The motor felt really cool accelerating from a light and then rumbling along at 45 or so. That was my first but not last ride on a Harley. Definitely an interesting experience.

[klaviator]

One day I just happened to stop and talk to a guy on a bike in a local parking lot. We decided to get together and ride some time.

This was Scott and Lynn. They were on a shiny new Ninja 750.



Debbi was tired and taking a short nap. We had a fun ride out to Julian for lunch. Debbi and I got our own Apple pies this time ;D

[klaviator]

One of the spots that I thought was really cool when I visited San Diego back in 85 was Mt Soledad. I drove to it in a Renta Cage. I knew then that it would be better to ride there on a bike. So, one day I did.



I didn't know it at the time but this would be the last pic I took of the Vision. It's days in my garage where numbered. I was mostly riding the FJ but for around town the Vision was actually a more fun ride. The way the V-twin accelerated from lower speeds was just more pleasant than the four cylinder FJ. Despite being far less powerful than the FJ it didn't feel slow at all at the speeds normally used around town.

This cross was on top of a hill with a great 360 degree view.  I don't think I took any pics of the view.

The cross on the hill later became the subject of lawsuits by protesters determined to remove religion from public land. I assumed that it had been removed but a check with wikipedia shows that it is still there. Maybe I'll get the chance to visit it again some day.

More info on Mt Soledad and the cross is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Soledad

[klaviator]

The FJ1100 was pretty comfortable for a sportbike, even two up. I think we did some rides up to 250 miles 2 up. However, it was no Gold Wing. The problem was that Gold Wings were for old foggies. Or at least that's how I felt at the time. I figured it would be at least 30 years before I'd consider something like that.

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On top of being an old folks bike it was way too expensive.

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I don't remember exactly what happened to change my mind but one day I was in the Yamaha dealer and noticed they had these leftover Yamaha Ventures. So I took one for a test ride.

What a revelation!  The V four engine felt like a small block V-8 and had a nice rumble to it. The steering on the Venture, despite being a 750 pound full dress touring bike, was lighter than that of the FJ.  I'm pretty sure it was mostly due to the wide handlebar. I also read some magazine reviews. They where very positive. I wanted one.

I just had to decide between the 83 venture or the 84 Venture Royal. The Royal had a stereo and built in air compressor. It was also more expensive. I went with the standard venture partly to save money and partly because i really didn't see the need for a radio. Riding was entertaining enough. I didn't need a radio to keep from getting bored. The price on this new Venture was $4300. I also traded in the Vision so I paid less than that.



The Vision had been a fun bike and I only put 14,300 miles on it but at that point in my life my MBS wasn't nearly as severe as it is today and I couldn't justify having three bikes.

[klaviator]

So now we had this new touring bike so we needed to do some touring on it.  The opportunity didn't take long to come along. . Ray and Sandra, introduced a few posts back, were headed to a camp in the mountains north of LA. I don't remember the details but one of them had a relative who ran a church camp and had invited them to come up, spend the night, and eat at a cookout the next day. They invited us to come along.

We decided to ride up to Big Bear Lake and then head over to the camp. the road up to Big Bear Lake was called "Rim of the World Drive".  It was called that for a reason as it had some spectacular scenery and views. We stopped along the way to take some pics.  Unfortunately my cheap camera and almost total lack of skills as a photographer didn't come close to showing what the views were like. 



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So here we were on this fantastic ride when the bike started feeling squirrely and I stopped to find up a nail in the rear tire :'( I tried using some fix-a-flat but the hole was in the sidewall and it didn't work.

Ray took me to Big Bear Lake where we found a Yamaha Dealer and tow truck. We had the bike towed to the dealer and then had a new tire installed. We were real lucky they had a tire in the correct size in stock.

We were now behind schedule so we didn't have the time to enjoy all the scenery and headed off to our destination which was to the west on the other side of I-15. I had a map (remember those paper things we used to use before GPS?) that showed a short cut from the back side of Lake Arrowhead. We tried to find it with no luck. I think it was probably a dirt road not suitable for our big heavy touring bikes.

So we had to back track down to San Bernadino and then north and west. I do remember it seemed like a big adventure riding into the fading light with strange mountains all around us. I had no idea where we were and still don't today.

We finally got there well after dark and spent the night in a cabin. We got some more pics the next day.



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I remember the first day of the trip pretty well. I barely remember the second day and I no recollection of the ride back home but we did do it. It must not have been very memorable.

[klaviator]

This was the first place I lived in California. It was a 2 bedroom, one bath, and most importantly, TWO CAR GARAGE, townhouse in Chula Vista. I originally moved in there with Andy who had been my roommate during flight school in Florida.  He moved out when Debbi and I got married so this was where Debbi and I first lived and where we launched out California Adventures.



Our next adventure was not far away.  In November of 1986 I finished my training in the H-46 Helicopter  checked out of the training squadron.  The best time to take leave in the Navy is often when between duty stations.  Since Debbi and I didn't have a real honeymoon we decided to take some leave and do it now.

I wanted to go out on our new touring bike and go ride!  Debbi wanted to go somewhere and be a tourist.  We compromised.  We would ride up the coast to San Francisco, be tourists for several days and then ride back.  Debbi had always wanted to go Sky Diving so we planned on getting back in time to do that before my leave was over.  So we were young and we had a plan.  What could go wrong?

We loaded up the Venture and headed North.  I don't remember much from the first days ride. We just got on the interstate and headed through LA. We probably got stuck in traffic in LA because I don't think I ever went through LA without getting stuck in traffic.  Somewhere past LA we picked up the Pacific Coast Highway. We stopped and spent the night in Carpenteria. We didn't plan this.  We just stopped when we felt like stopping and found a motel.  Back then you didn't pull out your smart phone and use an app to find a motel.  We rode into town and looked for a motel.  Most motels back then had Vacancy/no vacancy signs.  This is the one we found.  I think it was a Best Western.



This town was right on the ocean.



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One thing I do remember is that we had shark for dinner. I believe that was my only time eating shark.

So what does shark taste like? If I remember right it tastes like chicken ;D

[klaviator]

The next morning we got back on the road. We went north through Santa Barbara and then picked up 154 through the mountains.  Why did we ride 154?  Because I looked at a map and 154 was a squiggly line through the mountains.  It looked like it might be fun I don't know if we got any pics of this part of this ride so I'll just throw in this pic of Debbi and the bike. I actually have no idea exactly when and where this pic was taken but it this is a good of a place to post it as any.



Then we headed north on 101. While riding I noticed a sign for a place called the Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo. A little later we stopped and talked about getting something for lunch. Debbi had also noticed the sign and thought the same thing that I had. It looked like a good place for lunch. We had to go a little past our planned exit to get there but it was worth it. I don't remember what I ate but I stuffed myself to the point that I didn't have room left for desert. That almost never happens. the food was so good that if you were to ask Debbi or I today what our favorite restaurant is we'll both say the Apple Farm. Although we have never lived anywhere close to San Luis Obispo, we would end up eating there a few more times.

So now we were stuffed and continued our ride. We picked up Hwy 1 and rode past Morro Bay and then stopped in in the town of Cambria. It was only early afternoon an we had no plans of stopping that early but Debbi and I both thought that Cambria was such a cool place that we decided to stop there. We found a motel that was right across the road from the ocean. It had a fireplace in the room and a Hot tub towards the back of the motel. They had a vacancy and I don't remember it being all that expensive so we got a room.

We unloaded our stuff from the bike and Debbi decided to take a nap. I think that the enormous lunch made us both tired and probably influenced us into stopping so early.

So I went and rode around a little. I found some really scenic houses up on the side of the mountain overlooking Cambria and the ocean. I also found a really unusual house that I knew I would have to show Debbi.

So I took Debbi up to this place.



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This house was known as Nitt Witt Ridge. It was built by an eccentric man known as Captain Nitt Witt over a 50 year period starting in 1928. Although much of it was made of stone, it had all kinds of unusual things in the walls such as car parts, appliances and even a TV.

Here's a quote from wikipedia:

"Nitt Witt Ridge, one of California's remarkable twentieth-century folk-art environments, is the creation of Arthur Harold Beal (Der Tinkerpaw, or Capt. Nitt Witt), a Cambria Pines pioneer who sculpted the land using hand tools and indigenous materials, inventiveness and self-taught skills. A blend of native materials and contemporary elements, impressive in its sheer mass and meticulous placement, it is a revealing memorial to Art's cosmic humor and zest for life.
California Registered Historical Landmark No. 939.
Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation for saving and preserving arts and cultural environments with the Art Beal Foundation, non-profit and educational corporation. June 26, 1986."

After that we headed into town for one of Debbi's favorite activities.



We had dinner in town and then headed back to the motel. The ocean was just across the street and we could hear the waves crashing on the shore from inside our room. We walked over to the shore to enjoy the view.



And since it was our honeymoon.



A selfie from back before selfie's were as popular as today.



So we were out on this rock taking these pics and enjoying the view and we didn't notice that the tide was coming in. We nearly had to swim to get back to shore but managed to jump for it and stay dry.

It ended up being a very memorable day for us.

The next day would be as well.....


Oh, I almost forgot. That evening Debbi, the conservative one who I had to talk into getting a Bikini to replace her one piece, wanted to go skinny dipping in the motel Hot Tub ???

[klaviator]

The next morning we headed north on Hwy 1 and soon came to the town of San Simeon. This town seemed to exist mainly to cater to tourists visiting the Hearst Castle. Debbi wanted to take a tour so we did.  Although I would rather have just continue riding, I'm glad we stopped for the tour.   It was something I'll always remember. I didn't take any pics but I'll just steal a few off the web:



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This place was built by William Randolph Hearst who must of had an obscene amount of money. I'm not talking about winning the lottery kind of money. This was on a whole other level. Besides the pool pictured above there was also a giant indoor pool. We toured a "small" guesthouse of 4000 square feet.

Despite how huge and impressive this place was the two thing that really stood out to me where the impressive view from on top of the hill and the twisty "driveway" that lead up the hill. I was thinking it would have been a blast to ride............as I was going up it in a tour bus

Then we got back on the bike to do what I came here for. To ride the famous section of highway 1 that was coming up.

I believe this was just before getting to the good part:



Then we got to the good part. The road started to twist it's way up with a drop off to the Pacific on the left and mountains to the right. There is a reason that this road is one of the most famous rides/drives in the country. The curves make it a blast to ride but at the same time you want to enjoy the view. My solution; ride fast and stop a lot to enjoy the view. I did get a few pics at those stops.



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We decided to take a break at a really beautiful spot. There was a dirt driveway leading down to a dirt parking area. We rode down, parked and took a pic.




Then we climbed out on the ridge to the right side of the picture, took a break and enjoyed the view.



I even worked on my tan ;D



So here I was.  I was at this incredibly scenic spot on a perfect day.  I was riding one of the best motorcycle roads in the country on my new motorcycle with my beautiful wife.  Life was pretty much perfect.  What could go wrong?

[klaviator]

We went back to our bike, got on and took of.   As we started going there was a jolt as the bike grounded out on something. I stopped and looked back.

CRAP!!!

We were leaving a trail of oil!!

I quickly shut of the engine and we got off and inspected the bike.  Oil was pouring out of the bottom.  We had grounded out on a rock and it hit just the wrong spot where there was a metal lip just behind where the oil filter was attached. 

So here we were in the middle of nowhere with no cell signal.......

Well there weren't any cell phones back then so that didn't matter ::)

Still the fact was that our perfect day and possibly our vacation were ruined. 

We took these next two pics days later but I'm going to post them here.

The "crash site"



The expression I probably had on my face at the time :D


We walked up to the road and managed to hitch a ride to the nearest town.  When I say town I'm being generous.  The name of this town was Gorda.  Gorda consisted of three things; a gas station, a small store and the "Sorta Gorda" restaurant :D   There must have been a few houses out of view because someone told us that Gorda had a population of 20 something.

Gorda also had something probably unfamiliar to many of the people reading this.



That would be a pay phone.  You put in coins to make it work.  Since any call from Gorda was long distance, we had to put in a lot of coins.  There was also a phone book there.  We looked in the yellow pages and looked for towing companies.  We called a few but they either didn't tow motorcycles or weren't willing to come that far out.  We finally found someone willing to come get us.  It would take them a few hours.

So we hung around the exciting "town" of Gorda for what seemed an eternity. 

Gorda:




Eventually the tow truck showed up, took us back to the bike and we loaded it up and headed off to Salinas some 75 miles away.  That would be 75 miles of mostly very curvy road.  In a tow truck and not a bike :'(   It was so late by this time that much of the drive was in the dark.  The driver told us we were lucky since it was often very foggy here this time of year.

Yeah, we really felt lucky.

[Brian A]

And rotary dial to boot!

Enjoying your story Win.

[klaviator]

When we got to Salinas out lucky did start to improve.   Right next to the Towing garage was a small motel and we were able to get a room. There was a Yamaha dealer a block away. The next morning we got the bike and pushed it to the dealer.

The dealer looked at the bike and had some good news and bad news.

The bad news. The motor would have to be removed to replace the crank case which would have to be ordered. Then, they might have to order new bearing to fit the crankcase. It would be a lengthy and expensive process.

Luckily, since this was technically and accident, not a mechanical failure, my insurance would cover this minus my deductable.

Now for the dealer's good news. They had a wrecked 84 Venture with only 900 miles on it in the back. It had been totaled by the insurance company but there motor was good except for the water pump. They could replace my motor with this one, replace the water pump from my motor, and do it all in less time and lower cost than fixing my motor.

So that's what we decided to do. However, it would still take some time so we decided to rent a car and continue on. Luckily there was a car rental place nearby as well.

We drove to San Francisco and played tourist for several days. I really don't remember that much from those days. The things I do remember are:
- San Francisco has real steep hills.
- Lombard Street
- The golden gate bridge
- We saw the play "Greater Tuna."
- We went to the Muir Woods just across the Golden gate bridge.

We did get a pic of me at the Muir Woods by a redwood tree;

[klaviator]

Soon it was time to head back home. The Venture was not ready yet so the plan was to drive the renta car home and then when the bike was ready I would drive back to Salinas and pick it up. We decided to drive down Hwy 1 and see what we missed. We took a few pics.



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The renta car was better than the tow truck but not nearly as fun as the bike would have been. We stopped in Cambria and stayed in the same motel.



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I did a google search for this place a couple of years ago. It was  still there although it looked like it had been rebuilt and the room prices had gone up just a "little".

The next day we stopped by the Apple Farm again for lunch. This time we decided we would eat a light lunch so we would have room left for desert. This place had an awesome desert menu. We both got a veggie plate. We figured this would make a light and healthy lunch to make up for the decadent deserts we planned on getting. The waitress brought out these big plates with a HUGE pile of cheese covered veggies on them.  So much for a light lunch. We should have split one plate, it would have been more than enough. We restrained ourselves and then decided to get an apple dumpling A La Mode and split it. So we ordered one and asked the waitress to bring two spoons. A little later she came out with these two plates covered with apple dumpling and ice cream:eek1 We only oreder one we said. This is one she replied. I had them split it and put it on two plates.

I don't normally take food pics but I wish I had taken a pic of this. To use a famous old saying: " I can't believe we ate the whole thing". But we did. they were that good.

Then it was an uneventful drive except for one thing. We stopped at a fast food place somewhere, ate and headed off. A little later Debbi realized she had left her purse there :o  So we drove back but it was gone :'(  Besides some cash she would have to cancel and replace her credit card and replace her drivers license among other things.

This was the second bad thing that happened on this trip. We had planned on going sky diving when we got back but with the way our luck was going, we figured the chutes probably wouldn't open.

[klaviator]

And rotary dial to boot!

Enjoying your story Win.

I got that pic off the internet.  It might have actually been a rotary dial phone but I really don't remember.  It just seemed appropriate.

I just googled Gorda to see if it was still there and if so what it looked like today.

What a change!!



I wonder if they still have a Pay Phone there?

[klaviator]

So we didn't go sky diving.  The following weekend  Venture was ready, I drove back up to Salinas in the renta car and picked it up. I don't remember that much about the ride. I do remember that riding Hwy 1 was much more fun than driving it. I also remember that the new motor ran much stronger AND got more MPGs than the old one.  I did stop and get some pics.



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I wanted to ride some different roads on the way back so I followed 101 south a bit then took a left on 166 then south on 133 to Ojai. 133 was an awesome ride and is often mentioned in the some of the motorcycle magazines that are bases in SoCal.  The next two pics were taken somewhere on that part of the ride.



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Then I don't remember the route home after Ojai.

This was my, and OUR, first long vacation on a motorcycle. Well, part of it was on a motorcycle. Despite the bad things that happened, it was a trip that I will never forget. Parts of it were getting pretty fuzzy but putting it down in a ride report  helped me sharpen up my memory and to some extent re-live the trip.

If I had not bought a full dress touring bike I don't know we would or could have done a trip like this two up.  I was really glad I bought the Venture even if full dress touring bikes were for old foggies ;D  This would not be our last big trip.

More to come........

[jrobinson]

Video cassette players in every room. Nothing like going all out. lol

great story