Saturday, July 14, 2012

A Western Roll PT3























Bodega Bay to a little north of Point Arena - I decided on the trip it's the best road I have ever ridden on.  If you only had one more day to live this is where I'd spend my final hours.  There wasn't a bad stretch of road or a view that wasn't picture worthy.  It's also basically a ghost road with very few other travelers which made it even more surreal.  We stopped at Stewarts Point for gas and a beverage at the local general store that has been owned by the same family since 1868.  North of there the road begins to stretch out a little and  I was able to use 4th gear for the first time - the road to the south was a challenge with my stock rocker clutch/tank shift set-up read curves, curves, curves and major changes in elevation around every corner.  In Point Arena I stopped by the Zen House looking for some fork oil but found it closed for the day - to bad because it's a pretty cool shop/story. Look into it if you ever find yourself up that way - especially if you need some wrenching, a tire, or a quart of oil.  After a stop at the pier to watch the days catch come in we headed back south to Bodega with the sun sinking over our right shoulders.  We found cattle on the road and some extra chubby seals on the beach all within the same mile - it's that kind of road.  Put it on your list and do it soon before the creeping fingers of the wall-mart minded developer finds a reason to cook-up his cancer there.

Friday, July 13, 2012

A Western Roll PT2









After pushing across an ultra-dry Utah and Nevada it was refreshing to see the cold blue water of Lake Tahoe.  We rolled in late with no plans and found a little cozy log cabin next to a late night restaurant which served our best meal in days.  After a visit to the restaurant bar we stumbled 200 feet back to the cabin, lit a fire in the ancient stone fireplace and collapsed.  The following morning the owner of the cabins cooked us breakfast and gave us a late check out. We did some hiking around the lake and then beat it towards San Francisco.  On the way we contacted Max Schaaf who is in the final push on his new Born Free build.  He kindly gave us the Marin/Sonoma county lowdown and an invite to his place when we got to Oakland. In Wine country we found  another super cozy cabin (sans TV, Phone and Net) in Guerneville, Ca where I unloaded Rosemary and got her ready for the trip up the coast the following morning.  It took us only two days to make the trip from Detroit to California but it felt like a million miles away once we arrived. The next day Rose would have the ride of her lifetime.  I could barley sleep.

Hated

http://www.hatedoftheworld.com/

Thursday, July 12, 2012

A Western Roll PT1













Left Detroit at 7pm on a Friday and drove straight through the night on a five hour energy shot. 22 hours later we found ourselves in Green River, Utah.  Had a solid meal at Ray's - a burger joint that had been in business since WWII when the town was home to an airbase.  The place had a warm quiet vibe but it's past wasn't so stoic.  Butch and Sundance choose the bank in town (pictured) as their last heist before heading to South America for their doomed final chapter.  The next morning we pointed the truck down the loneliest road in america Highway 50, arcing across some of Utah and Nevada's most beautiful (but absolutely desolate) scenery like an asphalt lifeline to the West.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Our Daily Sled #278


Saw this one at Born Free - NICE.  A bitch in the corners maybe.....

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Why California...


...doesn't suck.

Monday, July 9, 2012

6790 Miles Later......


















...I'm back with over 1900 pics, a bunch of new friends and some great memories.  It will be difficult to put all I experienced into words but I'll try.  Hopefully the images will help fill the gaps in my feeble sentences.  I'll say this right off the bat - It was about the best vacation I've ever had. TONS more to come soon...