Several weeks ago I happened to pick up an old (March, 1987) issue of Road Rider magazine in which one of the featured stories was "365 Reasons To Hate Southern California," the premise being that in So-Cal one can ride a motorcycle 365 days a year and people in other parts of the country are jealous. The article contained descriptions of several motorcycle hangouts and many good motorcycling roads, so I thought that this was a good excuse for a short trip and I could also stop in Long Beach to see my son, Andrew.
(Wednesday, June 26, 2024) The Harley's (2021 Low Rider S) last prepaid service is this month, so I rode that bike figuring that the miles I put on the bike would be free. I left home a little after 11 a.m. and rode down US 101 past Gilroy to CA 25 to Hollister where I stopped for gas and a coffee and sandwich at a Starbuck's and continued on 25 to CA 198. This is the same route that John and I rode a little over a month ago on our way to an old bike show in Hanford, and the road was just as much fun this time - curves, hills, good scenery, and little traffic. The day started off chilly, but by the time I got to Coalinga it had warmed up and I stopped in the town park to switch to lighter gloves and open the vents on my Klim jacket.
From Coalinga I went south on CA 33 to Blackwell's Corner at the junction of CA 46. This is the last place actor James Dean was seen alive before he crashed his Porsche 550 Spyder into a left turning Ford sedan at the junction of Highways 46 and 41 and died. I stopped at the Shell station there for gas and went inside the café/gift shop where there were many pictures and posters of Dean and other movie stars
Heading east on CA 46 I rode by fields of oil pumps before I reached I-5 and headed south to Buttonwillow where I went east on CA 58 to Bakersfield, where I checked into a Hilton Express. Bakersfield had reached a high of over 100 degrees earlier in the day, but it had cooled a bit before I arrived at 6:30 PM. The location was in a somewhat sketchy part of town, but the lady at the desk said I could park the bike at the covered check-in area by the front door, so I was happy. The room itself was slightly tired, but better than most places I stay at. Dinner was at a nearby Mexican restaurant. On my way to the hotel I rode on old US 99 for a couple of miles and went by many motels that dated back to when the street was the main route through the city. The fact that some of the motels advertised "Color TV" on their signs gives you an idea of their vintage. (300 miles)
(Thursday, June 27) Yesterday in Coalinga I realized that my GPS was no longer working. It has an internal battery and the unit plugs into a power outlet on the handlebar, so I surmised that either the power outlet wasn't working or there was a fault with the GPS, probably the battery not accepting a charge. Fortunately, I still had a mount for my phone on the handlebar and I quickly switched devices and used the phone for navigation. Unfortunately, my phone is an iPhone SE, which is small (it fits in my shirt pocket) and the directions on Google Maps are difficult to read.
Breakfast at the Hilton was good, and since I had a short day I didn't leave until 9:30 and then spent an hour at a Harbor Freight and Walmart looking for an SAE/female cigarette lighter adapter cable that I could connect to the SAE cable by the seat of the bike in case the fault was in the handlebar power outlet. Neither place had an appropriate cable so I continued on using the phone for navigation.
Back on I-5 heading south I went over the Grapevine and down towards Burbank. It had become quite warm and in Burbank the traffic increased with inexplicable jams every few miles followed by 80 mph. Since I was on a motorcycle I took advantage of the Express (toll) lanes, HOV lanes, and lane-splitting and I kept moving. I stayed on I-5 to CA 22 south of Anaheim where I went east to Orange and then went south on Santiago Canyon Road, which is a pleasant and well-maintained rural road that is a big contrast to the busy highways and streets just a few miles away. The road goes through a corner of the Cleveland National Forest and the elevation had increased a bit, so the temperature was pleasant. After 15 miles I arrived at Cook's Corner (Santiago Canyon Road and Live Oak Canyon Road in Trabuco Canyon), an old (built in 1884) roadhouse and motorcycle hangout that has barbeque, country dancing, entertainment, and of course drinks. On a quiet Thursday afternoon there weren't many people.
The building is larger than it looks in the picture - there is a large inner room where, presumably, the entertainment and dancing take place, and there is also a large, covered outdoor patio and another parking lot. I ordered a salad with chicken and ate on the patio.
By this time it was 2:30 and I wanted to avoid the worst of the afternoon commute traffic - futile, I know. I followed Google Maps to the 241 toll road to 133 to I-405 into Long Beach, where there was a very slow few blocks before I turned onto the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, which is several miles inland at this point) to the Hotel Current, where I stayed last year. I checked in, unpacked, showered and called Andrew who said to come on over. We chatted awhile at his apartment, played with the cats, and then walked a few blocks to the bluff overlooking the Long Beach beach. It was a pleasant afternoon and considerably cooler than inland. We walked away from the beach to E. Broadway (only a block from Andrew's apartment) to The Attic, where we've eaten before. We both had lobster rolls and Grandma's cornbread and roasted carrots. Back at the apartment we talked some more, and then I left for the hotel. (200 miles)
(Friday, June 28) There was no hurry this morning because it was a short day and I was going through LA to Santa Monica and an early departure would just mean more traffic. I left a little after 9 and took I-405 to I-10 to the PCH. Traffic was Friday Lite (light for LA, anyway) and I split lanes in several places but otherwise had an easy ride. I had researched breakfast places along my route on US 1, and stopped at the Country Kitchen in Malibu, which is more of a take-out place but it does have three small outdoor tables. It looks like it has been there forever, and the clientele was a mixture of tradesmen getting breakfast to go, locals who walked down for coffee and pastry, and of course me. Breakfast was bacon and eggs and it was very good.
The buildings along Highway 1 are a mixture of old and new apartments, fancy private residences, older cottages, surf shops, restaurants, and a few strip malls. There were a couple of construction zones on the PCH with consequent slow traffic, but after a few miles I turned onto Malibu Canyon Rd. and followed that into the Santa Monica mountains to Mulholland Highway and then to the Rock Store, a famous motorcycle hangout and watering hole. The location was originally a hot springs and during prohibition Hollywood celebrities would travel there to soak and drink whiskey. In the 1940s and 1950s it was a gas station, and in 1961 a grocery store. Ed and Veronica (Vern) Savko purchased the place in 1963 and it became the Rock Store (the main building is made of stone) with a café and shop and it quickly became a motorcycle gathering place. Ed died in 2012 and now his son runs the place. Zapata Espinoza described The Rock Store in Mountain Bike magazine: "humble but infamous hangout is like a church for wayward souls whose paths to Heaven are found with throttle in hand,"
On this quiet Friday there were less than a dozen bikes in the lot and mostly older riders, like me. I wandered into the gift shop and found an appropriate T-shirt and paid for it in the café, then talked for awhile with a Triumph rider. The food is supposed to be good, but I had just had breakfast, so I was soon back on the road.
I rode on Mulholland Highway to Kanan Road then onto Latigo Canyon Road to the coast. This is a very twisty and enjoyable ride with dramatic views to the west, a few scattered and very expensive houses with more being built. One of the ads in that 1987 Road Rider magazine was for Yamaha and featured Latigo Canyon Road.
The road is just like the ad and it goes on for 15 miles. Back on the PCH I rode north and into Oxnard and US 101. I needed gas, so I stopped in Montecito, which is a popular vacation spot south of Santa Barbara and crowded with wandering pedestrians and expensive cars. My next destination was Cold Spring Tavern, a former stagecoach stop in the hills above Santa Barbara and normally reached via CA 154 over San Marcos Pass. Unfortunately, 154 was closed for several miles at the southern end, so I followed Google Maps to North San Marcos Road which joins 154 north of the closure. North San Marcos is a narrow, twisty road that is probably more fun on a smaller bike with no other traffic. As it was quite a few people were bypassing the road closure and the several 180 degree uphill hairpin turns were a challenge at a couple of miles an hour. Finally on 154 I went north for several miles and turned on Old Stagecoach Road and was soon at Cold Spring Tavern, where parking was a challenge for a 700 pound motorcycle. The only real parking lot is an uphill, unpaved area with rocks and soft dirt and after trying that and another slanted space near the road, I finally found a small spot that was mostly level and on firm ground. Cold Spring Tavern is definitely rustic, but the food and service are very good and most of the patrons (myself excepted) were expensively dressed and groomed. My house salad with steak was very good (and very filling) .
Continuing on Old Stagecoach Road I soon connected with 154 and followed that by Cachuma Lake, Santa Ynez, and Los Olivos to US 101 where I went north to Santa Maria. After a tour of Santa Maria I found the Solaire Motel and checked in. The place was OK, but definitely my kind of place and not Carol's. I walked around the area looking for a place to eat, and finally decided that I wasn't that hungry after a large and late lunch, so I purchased a fruit bowl and a bag of trail mix at a Smart and Final and ate in my room. (210 miles)
(Saturday, June 29) The morning was overcast and chilly, and I walked across the street to a donut shop where I got coffee and a maple buttermilk bar which would get me going before a real breakfast an hour away at Margie's Diner in Paso Robles. I've eaten at Margie's many times over the years, but never breakfast. I chose a Ranch Omellete which is served over a whole Anaheim Chile with salsa and sour cream, and it was very good.
After breakfast I packed my jacket liner, rode across the street to a Chevron station, and was back on 101. The day was just warm enough and pleasant and I rode through King City (where it was warmer) and Salinas and stopped in Gilroy for gas where it was quite warm. Back on 101 there was very slow traffic in Morgan Hill (early Saturday afternoon?) so I split lanes for a mile or two and soon I was on 85 and then I-280 and home, arriving before 2 p.m. (265 miles)
The Harley is very happy on the Interstates and freeways cruising at 75 mph, and equally happy on smooth and curvy backroads. On very tight roads (Old San Marcos Rd.) the 700 pounds make themselves known, but the bike manages.
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