bike 0 mike 1
hopefully thats the extent of getting tools out
hopefully thats the extent of getting tools out
Time to travel again...
- Thread starter MikeO
- Start date
Just popped over the road to fuel up ready for tomorrow - the job that got interrupted 48hrs ago...
The Adv is doing 38.6mpg (US Gals) or 45.2mpg (UK Gals) over the 545 miles covered so far. I'd be happy with thet economy on my Adv...
The Adv is doing 38.6mpg (US Gals) or 45.2mpg (UK Gals) over the 545 miles covered so far. I'd be happy with thet economy on my Adv...
mike is it a follow yer nose trip or are you heading for somewhere (you end up at specific things sometimes right? 
)
)
Saturday 10th September 2022
A good night's sleep - aided, it must be said, by a celebratory six-pack of Miller High Life...
I wake at about 0730, leap out of bed, then have a sit down for a minute to remind myself leaping isn't good for me...
I'm quickly abluted and dressed, and open the door to a dull, overcast day...
It's pleasantly warm (68F), and there's a gentle onshore breeze. Out to sea is a fog bank - a common occurence in the Bay area, where I'll be heading today.
I finish packing the bike and, at just after 0900, press the starter, which instantly spurs the engine into action...
I leave the Super 8 parking lot - it's a nice hotel, but it's good to get moving again...
...and start heading south down California Highway One...
Aha! An old car! I thought they'd all gone. Apologies for the camera shake - must have been the excitement. Anyone care to guess make/model/year?
I was talking to Jorge about the paucity of old cars on this trip. We came to the conclusion it was likely Covid - either people wanted a project and therefore restored them, or were so short of money they sold them to those who could afford to buy them...
I keep heading south. It's a beautiful road to ride - and not nearly as gloomy as my camera paints it, although it sure isn't sunny...
The road follows the coastline, dipping down to sea level where a river or stream enters the Pacific, then winding its way back up into the hillside...
Sure beats being at work...
First bridge pic of the day...
After about fifteen miles, Betty turns me right at this bridge...
A sign warns of twisty roads for 17 miles. Oh no!
It's a great road...
The sun keeps trying to burn through the cloud, but the onshore breeze is blowing the fog-bank in from over the sea, which is cooling the land and maintaining the murk...
Not the same Manchester. Bit smaller.
Occasionally I ride through tunnels made of these beautiful trees...
Drought or not, this farmer's irrigators are in action...
Aha! This is what I've been looking for. Regular readers will know that a good restaurant/café is marked not by its appearance, but by how busy the car park is. At 1030 on a Saturday, I am third in line to wait for a table - 'nuff said...
I'm seated within about 15 minutes. It's a homely little place, most likely family run, with three generations cooking and serving...
They have a wide selection of hot-sauces. Being British, I won't need them, of course...
So - made your choice from the menu?
The lovely Cherelle brings me a monkey omelette, with hash browns and sourdough toast - and two blueberry pancakes...
I mean, if there's something called a monkey omelette on the menu, you just have to try it, don't you?
It was delicious. I may have to eat again on Tuesday...
I like their sign.
I get kitted up again, having slightly more difficulty than usual zipping up my jacket, and go back out to the bike.
The weather has deteriorated slightly, and there's a mist of drizzle on the wind. Not enough to get the road wet, or even freckle the front of my gloves, but enough to leave a mist on my glasses...
I keep heading south along CA HW1...
...and come across the Zen House of Motorcycle Maintenance in Point Arena...
...with this beautiful 750 Desmo parked outside...
There are some interesting bikes inside...
Any guesses for make/model/year?
This last one's too easy - even with the crappy camera shake...
The scenery is still stunning, and the misty drizzle stuff has cleared up now, although the sun is failing to beat the ocean fog...
Three years ago, this chap had a lovely old Ford V8 he was going to restore. This appears to be the only vintage car around now - any guesses?
Betty leads me through downtown Petaluma...
...then something in her algorithm says "Ha!" and she steers me through several residential streets, before depositing me on a farm road...
...with a dreadful road surface - it was about 20% original and 80% patch...
...good barns, though...
Eventually we find our way onto the road more travelled and I spend a pleasant 20-30 minutes riding this well-maintained and empty road towards the dreaded, but inevitable freeway...
To begin with, I'm steered down what was clearly the main road before the freeway was built...
...with advantageous views of barns and other agricultural buildings...
...but eventually, I'm spat onto the 101 for the last ten or so miles...
Not the first Brit to visit, though...
I arrive at the Muir Woods Lodge at about 1400, check in and park the Adv outside my very pleasant room.
Good day. Still feel full, though...
A good night's sleep - aided, it must be said, by a celebratory six-pack of Miller High Life...
I wake at about 0730, leap out of bed, then have a sit down for a minute to remind myself leaping isn't good for me...
I'm quickly abluted and dressed, and open the door to a dull, overcast day...
It's pleasantly warm (68F), and there's a gentle onshore breeze. Out to sea is a fog bank - a common occurence in the Bay area, where I'll be heading today.
I finish packing the bike and, at just after 0900, press the starter, which instantly spurs the engine into action...
I leave the Super 8 parking lot - it's a nice hotel, but it's good to get moving again...
...and start heading south down California Highway One...
Aha! An old car! I thought they'd all gone. Apologies for the camera shake - must have been the excitement.
Anyone care to guess make/model/year? I was talking to Jorge about the paucity of old cars on this trip. We came to the conclusion it was likely Covid - either people wanted a project and therefore restored them, or were so short of money they sold them to those who could afford to buy them...
I keep heading south. It's a beautiful road to ride - and not nearly as gloomy as my camera paints it, although it sure isn't sunny...
The road follows the coastline, dipping down to sea level where a river or stream enters the Pacific, then winding its way back up into the hillside...
Sure beats being at work...
First bridge pic of the day...
After about fifteen miles, Betty turns me right at this bridge...
A sign warns of twisty roads for 17 miles. Oh no!
It's a great road...
The sun keeps trying to burn through the cloud, but the onshore breeze is blowing the fog-bank in from over the sea, which is cooling the land and maintaining the murk...
Not the same Manchester. Bit smaller.
Occasionally I ride through tunnels made of these beautiful trees...
Drought or not, this farmer's irrigators are in action...
Aha! This is what I've been looking for. Regular readers will know that a good restaurant/café is marked not by its appearance, but by how busy the car park is. At 1030 on a Saturday, I am third in line to wait for a table - 'nuff said...
I'm seated within about 15 minutes. It's a homely little place, most likely family run, with three generations cooking and serving...
They have a wide selection of hot-sauces. Being British, I won't need them, of course...
So - made your choice from the menu?
The lovely Cherelle brings me a monkey omelette, with hash browns and sourdough toast - and two blueberry pancakes...
I mean, if there's something called a monkey omelette on the menu, you just have to try it, don't you?
It was delicious. I may have to eat again on Tuesday...
I like their sign.
I get kitted up again, having slightly more difficulty than usual zipping up my jacket, and go back out to the bike.
The weather has deteriorated slightly, and there's a mist of drizzle on the wind. Not enough to get the road wet, or even freckle the front of my gloves, but enough to leave a mist on my glasses...
I keep heading south along CA HW1...
...and come across the Zen House of Motorcycle Maintenance in Point Arena...
...with this beautiful 750 Desmo parked outside...
There are some interesting bikes inside...
Any guesses for make/model/year?
This last one's too easy - even with the crappy camera shake...
The scenery is still stunning, and the misty drizzle stuff has cleared up now, although the sun is failing to beat the ocean fog...
Three years ago, this chap had a lovely old Ford V8 he was going to restore. This appears to be the only vintage car around now - any guesses?
Betty leads me through downtown Petaluma...
...then something in her algorithm says "Ha!" and she steers me through several residential streets, before depositing me on a farm road...
...with a dreadful road surface - it was about 20% original and 80% patch...
...good barns, though...
Eventually we find our way onto the road more travelled and I spend a pleasant 20-30 minutes riding this well-maintained and empty road towards the dreaded, but inevitable freeway...
To begin with, I'm steered down what was clearly the main road before the freeway was built...
...with advantageous views of barns and other agricultural buildings...
...but eventually, I'm spat onto the 101 for the last ten or so miles...
Not the first Brit to visit, though...
I arrive at the Muir Woods Lodge at about 1400, check in and park the Adv outside my very pleasant room.
Good day. Still feel full, though...
'53 Ford Mainline and the pickup is a '63 ish Ford Ranchero. Is that Ducati emporium a recent addition in Point Arena? I don't remember it being there. That was 2008, though...
I asked Jorge how Aster was doing...
Yep - about the same as me...
Yep - about the same as me...
'53 Ford Mainline and the pickup is a '63 ish Ford Ranchero. Is that Ducati emporium a recent addition in Point Arena? I don't remember it being there. That was 2008, though...
According to their website, it was founded in 2008. Just after you left town, apparently…
'53 Ford Mainline and the pickup is a '63 ish Ford Ranchero. Is that Ducati emporium a recent addition in Point Arena? I don't remember it being there. That was 2008, though...
Yep - I think you're on the money with both of them Schtum...
Sunday 11th September 2022
Hard to believe it was 21yrs ago those lunatics attacked the USA, isn't it? There's a whole generation that didn't know the world before then...
Anyway - this is a lovely hotel and I slept very well. I wake just before 0900 to a warm and brightly overcast day, which is forecast to become sunny and about 85F. Today will be a pretty short one - about three and a half hours - so I'm in no hurry to get moving.
I do my daily checks on the bike and note that the oil window is showing a quarter full. I'll find a garage today or tomorrow and put a quart/litre of 20/50 Dino in it to top it up.
I slowly gather my gear together. This is the second hotel on the trot whose guest laundry has been out of use - I'm hoping that tonight's hotel will buck the trend, as I'm going to go underwear-critical on Tuesday...
I get on the road at just after 1100 (it is Sunday, after all) and Betty immediately steers me onto the freeway towards San Francisco, as I was expecting...
I ride through the Robin Williams Tunnel...
...and in no time at all, I'm crossing the Golden Gate bridge...
...the tops of the towers are hidden in cloud...
...and the traffic keeps moving up near the 45mph limit...
Although it's a toll bridge, tolls are collected automatically - Jorge will get a bill for around $9 in a couple of days.
On this point - shame on you Bay Area riders - get together and lobby for bridge tolls being waived for bikes - we managed it in the UK with the Dartford Crossing. It's unconscionable that it costs the same to cross the bridge on a motorcycle as a large pick-up...
I'm turned south, through the MacArthur tunnel, after a fleeting glimpse of San Francisco in the sunshine, and enter the Praesidio Highway (or something like that), which keeps me going in a stop/start fashion for several miles...
I should imagine traffic moves far more swiftly on a weekday...
Up on the hillside, someone has painted "RESIST" on a retaining wall...
I ride past an Authentic Church - a few people have been looking for one of those...
We're soon out onto the freeway again and my thoughts turn to fuel. I set Betty the task of finding some, and a few minutes later I am filling up with Supreme at $6.29 per gallon.
Betty has taken me off the freeway into a rather nice part of town...
Here you can sit in your garden, overlooking San Francisco International Airport, having a gin fizz and remembering the last time you flew First Class. Judging by the lawn chairs to the left of the pic - this is exactly what people do...
This old boy is still earning his keep by the look of it - ferrying motorcycles around. Any guesses on make/model/year?
Betty recalculates my route and sends me west along a small road...
...which leads me to Skyline Boulevard - famous for starring in any number of "motorcyclists coming off whilst trying to impress their mates" videos on YouTube.
As I turned onto the road, and was therefore unable to take a picture, a load of exotic looking cars were exiting at the same junction. One of them was an electric blue Rolls Royce convertible with a gold-plated 'Spirit of Ecstasy" on the radiator, and the roof down...
A couple of those 'Chips' chaps were at the junction - no doubt ready to scoop up whatever mess occurs today...
After taking the pic of the Highway Patrol, a 1200GS came past, so I followed him for a while. Now, I'm all for being careful if you have a passenger on the pillion seat, but hell man - get some training...
I pass them when safe and mosey along at about 45mph. In a couple of minutes, I am overtaken by a clutch of sports bikes - some of their overtakes were just insane - no view and hoping for the best. If they'd looked in their mirrors, they would have seen Darwin staring back at them...
Skyline is a lovely road to ride - I was last here in 2004, but wasn't feeling 100% and went to find a hotel early. Today, I feel great, but have no more than a rapid amble along, as the squids* are creating enough drama for everyone...
Eventually I arrive at the much Arlo Guthried Alice's Restaurant...
It's packed and, although I could do with something to eat, I decide to move on...
Spookily well-maintained barn...
I take a quick run down several of these lovely woodland roads, following Betty's directions...
...before turning left onto Alpine Road, which I almost have to myself...
A lot of the cloud has burnt off and it's turning into a warm day. I drink regularly from my CamelBack...
Suddenly, just after taking the pic above, something stings me just below my right eye - the pain is immediate and excruciating. I move my left hand up to swat whatever it was away, but it had gone. It feels like a hot needle has been sunk into my cheekbone and held there. I stop for a couple of minutes, slop some water from my CamelBack onto it and rub the site - I can already feel it starting to swell...
I re-programme Betty on the fly and ask her to recalculate the route to my hotel by the fastest route - this brings my ETA forward by about 40 minutes...
The pain has eased off, but my right eye is watering profusely...
This is Frosty's Christmas Tree farm...
It's a lovely ride...
...but I am relieved when Betty finally spits us out onto the freeway and tells me there's 40 minutes to travel.
I decide it would be wise to have something to eat and drink. I turn off at Watsonville and stop at the first place I see - a Round Table pizza restaurant (a chain I'd not heard of before)...
It is entirely populated by US Latinos - and they have it working a treat. Mums and Dads are in one room of the place, hundreds of kids in the other room, only coming through to have some perceived slight by one of the other kids rectified. It's a great, noisy atmosphere, and I get the impression this is a standard Sunday afternoon thing...
I quickly fill up on lemonade - pink - why not? I order a chicken club sandwich, which was tasty and filling...
I text Jorge and send a pic of the sting site (Jorge is a trained EMT), he suggests a warm compress and some Benadryl when I get to the hotel. He also says no alcohol.
Always with the no alcohol Jorge - never with the 'get slaughtered on Tequila'...
I finish up, jam my helmet back on my head and set off.
It has turned into a lovely day - about 85F and sunny as you like...
I get to the unoriginally, but accurately named town of Seaside at about 1620 and check into my very pleasant room at the Sand Castle Motel...
The guest laundry is working! Huzzah!
I ask the desk clerk to change $15 into quarters for me - which will get two lots done. As I type the second load is in - all the first load folded and ready to pack.
Oh yes - the sting. Well, it has got worse, despite Jorge's efforts and three Benadryl as soon as I unpacked. Those of a nervous disposition shouldn't click on the link...
Elephant Man
*So Quick Until I Die
Hard to believe it was 21yrs ago those lunatics attacked the USA, isn't it? There's a whole generation that didn't know the world before then...
Anyway - this is a lovely hotel and I slept very well. I wake just before 0900 to a warm and brightly overcast day, which is forecast to become sunny and about 85F. Today will be a pretty short one - about three and a half hours - so I'm in no hurry to get moving.
I do my daily checks on the bike and note that the oil window is showing a quarter full. I'll find a garage today or tomorrow and put a quart/litre of 20/50 Dino in it to top it up.
I slowly gather my gear together. This is the second hotel on the trot whose guest laundry has been out of use - I'm hoping that tonight's hotel will buck the trend, as I'm going to go underwear-critical on Tuesday...
I get on the road at just after 1100 (it is Sunday, after all) and Betty immediately steers me onto the freeway towards San Francisco, as I was expecting...
I ride through the Robin Williams Tunnel...
...and in no time at all, I'm crossing the Golden Gate bridge...
...the tops of the towers are hidden in cloud...
...and the traffic keeps moving up near the 45mph limit...
Although it's a toll bridge, tolls are collected automatically - Jorge will get a bill for around $9 in a couple of days.
On this point - shame on you Bay Area riders - get together and lobby for bridge tolls being waived for bikes - we managed it in the UK with the Dartford Crossing. It's unconscionable that it costs the same to cross the bridge on a motorcycle as a large pick-up...
I'm turned south, through the MacArthur tunnel, after a fleeting glimpse of San Francisco in the sunshine, and enter the Praesidio Highway (or something like that), which keeps me going in a stop/start fashion for several miles...
I should imagine traffic moves far more swiftly on a weekday...
Up on the hillside, someone has painted "RESIST" on a retaining wall...
I ride past an Authentic Church - a few people have been looking for one of those...
We're soon out onto the freeway again and my thoughts turn to fuel. I set Betty the task of finding some, and a few minutes later I am filling up with Supreme at $6.29 per gallon.
Betty has taken me off the freeway into a rather nice part of town...
Here you can sit in your garden, overlooking San Francisco International Airport, having a gin fizz and remembering the last time you flew First Class. Judging by the lawn chairs to the left of the pic - this is exactly what people do...
This old boy is still earning his keep by the look of it - ferrying motorcycles around. Any guesses on make/model/year?
Betty recalculates my route and sends me west along a small road...
...which leads me to Skyline Boulevard - famous for starring in any number of "motorcyclists coming off whilst trying to impress their mates" videos on YouTube.
As I turned onto the road, and was therefore unable to take a picture, a load of exotic looking cars were exiting at the same junction. One of them was an electric blue Rolls Royce convertible with a gold-plated 'Spirit of Ecstasy" on the radiator, and the roof down...
A couple of those 'Chips' chaps were at the junction - no doubt ready to scoop up whatever mess occurs today...
After taking the pic of the Highway Patrol, a 1200GS came past, so I followed him for a while. Now, I'm all for being careful if you have a passenger on the pillion seat, but hell man - get some training...
I pass them when safe and mosey along at about 45mph. In a couple of minutes, I am overtaken by a clutch of sports bikes - some of their overtakes were just insane - no view and hoping for the best. If they'd looked in their mirrors, they would have seen Darwin staring back at them...
Skyline is a lovely road to ride - I was last here in 2004, but wasn't feeling 100% and went to find a hotel early. Today, I feel great, but have no more than a rapid amble along, as the squids* are creating enough drama for everyone...
Eventually I arrive at the much Arlo Guthried Alice's Restaurant...
It's packed and, although I could do with something to eat, I decide to move on...
Spookily well-maintained barn...
I take a quick run down several of these lovely woodland roads, following Betty's directions...
...before turning left onto Alpine Road, which I almost have to myself...
A lot of the cloud has burnt off and it's turning into a warm day. I drink regularly from my CamelBack...
Suddenly, just after taking the pic above, something stings me just below my right eye - the pain is immediate and excruciating. I move my left hand up to swat whatever it was away, but it had gone. It feels like a hot needle has been sunk into my cheekbone and held there. I stop for a couple of minutes, slop some water from my CamelBack onto it and rub the site - I can already feel it starting to swell...
I re-programme Betty on the fly and ask her to recalculate the route to my hotel by the fastest route - this brings my ETA forward by about 40 minutes...
The pain has eased off, but my right eye is watering profusely...
This is Frosty's Christmas Tree farm...
It's a lovely ride...
...but I am relieved when Betty finally spits us out onto the freeway and tells me there's 40 minutes to travel.
I decide it would be wise to have something to eat and drink. I turn off at Watsonville and stop at the first place I see - a Round Table pizza restaurant (a chain I'd not heard of before)...
It is entirely populated by US Latinos - and they have it working a treat. Mums and Dads are in one room of the place, hundreds of kids in the other room, only coming through to have some perceived slight by one of the other kids rectified. It's a great, noisy atmosphere, and I get the impression this is a standard Sunday afternoon thing...
I quickly fill up on lemonade - pink - why not? I order a chicken club sandwich, which was tasty and filling...
I text Jorge and send a pic of the sting site (Jorge is a trained EMT), he suggests a warm compress and some Benadryl when I get to the hotel. He also says no alcohol.
Always with the no alcohol Jorge - never with the 'get slaughtered on Tequila'...
I finish up, jam my helmet back on my head and set off.
It has turned into a lovely day - about 85F and sunny as you like...
I get to the unoriginally, but accurately named town of Seaside at about 1620 and check into my very pleasant room at the Sand Castle Motel...
The guest laundry is working! Huzzah!
I ask the desk clerk to change $15 into quarters for me - which will get two lots done. As I type the second load is in - all the first load folded and ready to pack.
Oh yes - the sting. Well, it has got worse, despite Jorge's efforts and three Benadryl as soon as I unpacked. Those of a nervous disposition shouldn't click on the link...
Elephant Man
*So Quick Until I Die
Mike it would be interesting to see if it, burned any more ?
I used to think my 1200 was thirsty and I was talking to someone (may even have been Proff) and they said and I quote
They find their own level
Stop topping to the top of the window every time Let it get down the sightglass a bit and keep an eye on it
I followed the advice and mine hit the 1/3 up the sightglass point and then seemed to stop burning it off
My 3 litre plus of top ups between services was suddenly at most half a litre
You have to remember there are two 1/2 litre paint can sized things whalloping about in there at high speed basically vapourising the oil
What Size Boots ????
kin ell mike hope that does a runner quickly
had the same breakfast issues as you yesterday (no ferraris tho)
super sausage was rammed cos of indian event on
chap had owned that 20+ years - he did cos hed just always wanted one - gets well used and he rides thru the winter sometimes
had the same breakfast issues as you yesterday (no ferraris tho)
super sausage was rammed cos of indian event on
chap had owned that 20+ years - he did cos hed just always wanted one - gets well used and he rides thru the winter sometimes
Attachments
Quattroformaggio
Registered user
On an Oilhead it's normal and perfectly acceptable to use 250ml of oil per 1000 miles.
Avoid synth or semi synth.....20W50 mineral is the one.
Avoid synth or semi synth.....20W50 mineral is the one.
Have to disagree with that
My thoughts and the wise old owl (Gawd he'd turn in his grave if he heard me call him that!! edit to ""If the Old Bugger!!")
The point being made ...............Did it only burn it because you topped it up??
Quite possibly!
I know that, when I stopped focussing on topping up the 1200 or the R100 they do "find their own level" and since you are not topping up to the vapouring level they stop using it so quickly
Edit number 2
Agree strongly with avoiding Fully synth and much lower viscosity oils
Edit number 3 Sorry for interrupting a great thread Mike!! I hope that sting dissipates quickly Wee dab of that horrible stuff not dettol The other one Wee brown bottle of really stinky stuff you can dilute with water *TCP*
oh el camino i think 59?
ITYM Skyline Boulevard or State Route 35, old chap. Put "Skyline Drive" into a Garmin and you'll probably end up at Oakland Zoo. DAMHIK.
Alpine is fun, although my last time going along it, I binned a Dubbelju GS in the loam at the side of an uphill 180 deg left hander. Lots of bits of broken fairing at the same point.
I'm not sure where you've got to but if you're still in the area, Stage Road, China Grade, Ice Cream Grade and Bonny Doon are fun. I also like Tunitas Creek Road which is a bit of a challenge and runs down off Route 35 to Hwy 1 at Tunitas Beach.
Envious - moi?
ice cream grade?
thats after the ride surely?
thats after the ride surely?
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