This was to be a trip different than my usual, ride hard for 400 miles, sleep in the dirt and do it all over again the next day type of trip. Finally, for the first time since late May, I was able to get my favorite traveling companion, Nancy, to join me for this adventure. To do so, of course, I had to do some modifications to my usual route planning. First of all, there's the "8 hour rule". This means no more than 8 hours on the motorcycle each day. Not just 8 hours in the saddle, but 8 hours from the start to the end. Secondly, I needed to plan some "non-touring" days for sightseeing. No problem!

Our first stop was Big Sur. We have been trying to get to Big Sur all summer long. Originally, we were going to Big Sur on the front end of a trip to Auburn for the 49er Rally over Memorial Weekend. I had just returned from the RoadRunner Rally in Heber, AZ in time for one day of recuperation and one day to do a Level 1 service. After two days home, I was not ready for another six day trip. Originally, we were going to spend two nights in Yosemite, two nights in Auburn and two nights in Big Sur. Instead, we agreed to blow off the 49er Rally, reschedule Big Sur for August and expand Yosemite from two nights to three. But that's another story (click here for details).

The weekend before we were going to go to Big Sur in August, I took a dirt bike class, locked the throttle wide open doing a wheelie exercise and slightly separated my shoulder. I called the facility at Big Sur and they graciously accommodated our wishes to reschedule, putting Big Sur on the front end of a trip to the Beemer Bash in Quincy.

Our first day out, Wednesday, was terrific once we got on the road after taking the pups to the lodge and doing some important banking duties. Riding on the coast after Labor Day weekend during the week was pure bliss. Beautiful weather and no traffic. What more can one ask?

We arrived at our facility still in daylight, even though we didn't leave town until 10:30, got checked in and relaxed. We were amazed to find that our tent cabin was right on the stream (I think the locals call this a river, but not this time of year). We unpacked, rode 1/2 mile into town and had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Big Sur, the Roadhouse. After dinner, we went back to the campsite, took a well received shower (not far away) and had no trouble getting to sleep.

Day two, Thursday, was a tourist day. We rode into Monterey after breakfast in Big Sur. We first toured the Maritime Museum then had chowder on Fisherman's Wharf (of course). I still can't figure out why they call it a wharf when it's actually a pier. A wharf runs parallel to the shoreline whereas a pier is perpendicular to it. We didn't discuss that topic very long as such things bore Nancy quickly.

After chowder, we walked around town a little bit then rode to Carmel to visit the mission there. As most of you know, we are on a "mission" to visit all of the California missions. It will take us a while. I believe there are 22 of them.

We then went back into Monterey to find a tour of the town. There was a trolley tour scheduled to depart the Marriott at 3:40 which was going to fit into our schedule perfectly. We sat and waited for the trolley to arrive and saw it park at the Double Tree down the street. We knew we were the next stop so we waited patiently (yes, I'm getting better at that feat).

Amazingly, as the trolley left the Double Tree, it turned right, before coming to the Marriott, avoiding our stop altogether. We started walking up and down the street trying to find out if there was another stop between the Double Tree and the Marriott but could not find one. Fortunately, we obtained a business card from the Marriott concierge which had their phone number on it. I called them and, in the best diplomatic tone I could muster, informed the tour operator of "our" dilemma. Apparently, this being the last tour of the day on a Thursday after Labor Day weekend, there wasn't much tour activity and the tour operator assumed that there were no more customers. Five minutes later, the trolley returned to the Marriott to pick us up. We were the only two on the trolley and had a private tour.

The tour took us through old town Monterey and we learned more about the history of Monterey in 90 minutes than we ever imagined possible. Nancy loves these guided tours, so I know how to earn "brownie points" when I need them. I had no idea that there were so many Victorian homes in Monterey nor had I imagined how beautiful the coastline was in Pacific Grove.

We had dinner in Cannery Row and had a nice, early evening ride back to the campground.

Know all those "brownie points" I earned yesterday? Well, I spent them today, Friday. I knew I was going to violate the "8 hour rule", but there was no alternative other than spend the entire day on the Interstate, to which I have an allergic reaction.

The day began riding up the coast, past Monterey, past Santa Cruz, through Half Moon Bay, into Pacifica then picking up Hwy 280 to the Bay Bridge, through Vallejo and then on to Sacramento. The section between San Francisco and Sacramento was about the only section of Interstate we were on outside of the L.A. Basin with the exception of portions of Hwy 101 between Camarillo and San Luis Obisbo.

We went north on Hwy 70 out of Sacramento to Oroville then had a choice between Hwy 70 or Hwy 162 to Quincy. Hwy 162 was more scenic, but took about 25 minutes longer. Hmmm...tough decision. Which to take? The longer route, silly! It turned out to be a beautiful ride. It seems like every trip I discover a "magical" road and Hwy 162 qualified as a "keeper". We pulled into our motel, checked in and relaxed for the evening.

The Beemer Bash was going on at the fairgrounds not far from the motel, so there were plenty of Beemers in town. Saturday was our day to explore the Rally. We bought day passes and signed up for the poker run. Our hands stunk, but the ride (110 miles) was nice. After the poker run, we checked out old town Quincy and the museum there. We had lunch then went to the rally. The rally site was really nice. Campers pitched on thick grass, early arrivers in shade, others in barns.

We really didn’t see anyone we knew. I thought I saw Werner’s bike in town at a café Saturday morning, but I didn’t see him at the rally that afternoon.  He must have been out exploring the countryside. We stayed around for the awards (before dinner) then went into town for dinner and retired. According to the organizers, the rally was a success. Attendance was about 605, a record for the Bash.

Sunday morning we left Quincy bright and early (40 degrees!) and followed Hwy 89 south past Lake Tahoe, over Monitor Pass and on to Hwy 395 stopping at Mammoth Lakes. After checking in, we did a little tour of the town which was very quite since it was Sunday evening. We went up to the lakes (first time for both of us), checked out the lodge and the campsites and returned to town for ice cream.

Monday was a blast down Hwy 395. it was nice of course until we reached Lone Pine. We took a couple of detours, one at Glacier Lodge (never did find the Lodge at Glacier Lodge) and the other at Cinders Road. The former was a nice detour (nice campsites, too) but the latter was a bad road with deep gravel. Not a good place for a loaded up RT (or even a GS). Nancy said I did a good job handling the bike in the gravel. I'm glad she didn't see the white knuckles or the sweat running down my forehead. I just said "Thanks!".

It got hot quick and so we hydrated often and didn't worry (too much) about the schedule.

We arrived home at 4:00 pm and the heat took it's toll. We were exhausted. We barely had enough energy to pick up the pups from the lodge and grab some carry out Mexican food on the way home.

This was a wonderful trip as we discovered several places we would like to revisit including Big Sur and Mammoth Lakes.

The RT performed magnificently and got us home without a hitch. The only downside is that it's time for another service already! I guess that's the price one pays for riding as much as I do.