August 6th-7th, 2004
© Bill Allen, 2004
 |
The Route Is it obvious that I'm allergic
to the Interstate System? |
|
click on image for larger version |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
It had been nearly two months since I had been out on the bike for any significant rides and I could tell. My wife, Nancy, could tell. My dogs could tell. I definitely needed an "attitude adjustment. The only problem is that it's difficult to find a decent campsite in California at the last minute. I finally found one in Kings Canyon, one fo my favorite places in the whole world, on a Friday night, August 6th. Good enough for me! I pack up and I'm out on the road by 8 am. I miss my turn where the 57 separates from the 60 and end up taking a quick tour of Chino. I make a U-turn and lose about a half an hour getting out of town. Still not enough compelling evidence to get a GPS. I follow the 57 Fwy to the 210 west and pick up Hwy 2 (aka Angeles Crest Highway) at La Cañada/Flintridge [2] for my escape from L.A. It's a nice ride over the "hill" and I arrive in in Lancaster while it's still relatively cool. By the time I reach Mojave [4], it's warming up. I take Hwy 58 west towards Bakersfield and then the cutoff to Caliente-Bodfish [5] towards Lake Isabella and Kernville. I stop for lunch in Kernville [6] and the heat is definitely taking it's toll. I get a deli sandwich and relax in the shade at a park along the Kern River watching the kids float by on inner tubes. I lose an hour, but it's worth it. Back on the road, I travel north, up the "backbone" of the Sierras towards Johnsondale [7]. This route is long, twisty and pretty devoid of four wheeled traffic. I top off my gas in Lemon Cove before entering Kings Canyon and find my campsite (in Dorst Campground [10], about 7 miles west of Lodgepole) by 6:30 pm. My campsite is adjacent to a couple of families with a ka-jillion kids running around. "Great", I thought. Hopefully, they'll be quite when I get back from my shower. My tent is pitched by 7 and I'm off to Stony Creek for a shower and phone call home to let Nancy know that I made it safe and sound. I return to camp for a session of "time and distance" studies around the campfire, planning the route for tomorrow. By 9:30, I'm having a hard time holding my head up and I'm off to bed.
431 miles for the day.
Even though it's August in California, it's a little cool at night and I could have used an extra layer in my sleeping bag. After all, the campsite is at an elevation of approximately 7,300 feet. With all the water I drank today, to fight off dehydration, it proves to be more of a convenience than a nuisance that my campsite is adjacent to the restroom.
At 2:30, I'm awaken by what sounds like a howling dog. But wait! That voice is too low for a dog! There are two of them. Can it be bears? There are signs all over camp that this is active bear area, but this campsite heavily populated, certainly no place for bears, right? The howling continues as it seems someone or something is thrashing through garbage. I open my tent and, even though the moonlight is pretty dim, I see two large and round animals directly in front of my tent. I turn on my flash light and immediately get four illuminated eyeballs looking back at me! I turn off the flashlight and zip up the tent. These are definitely not raccoons! The two bears are rummaging through my neighbors bear box (which was unlocked) not 50 yards from my tent! I don't hear anyone else getting out of their tents, so I don't move either. Fortunately, I had stored all my snacks in my bear box, so things should be O.K. for me. But, wait. I forgot to pack that can of chili which was still on my bike! Yikes! I lay there in my sleeping bag listening to the bears finish off what my neighbors had. After a few moments of silence, I could hear breathing outside my tent. All I could think of was my toothpaste in my shaving kit right next to my head. The breathing (and sniffing) went on for a couple of moments then all was quite again. With my heart pounding like a kettle drum, I wondered how I was ever going to get back to sleep. The next thing I know was my alarm was going off. It was 5 am and time to get up.
I get up and discover that the bear box the bears were rummaging through belong to the car campers who arrived after I went to bed. The managed to put their food in the bear box, but, for some reason, didn't secure it. I felt fortunate that they sacrificed their food because I'm sure they would have still been hungry by the time they made it to my site. I have certainly become a believer in using bear boxes for everything after that experience. For more information on California Black Bears, click here.
I'm on the road by 7 am and on a mission to collect tee shirts from BMW shops. It's not like finding a Harley Davidson shop, which seem to be on just about every street corner. There are only two dealers in Central California; one in Fresno and one in Watsonville. I call Nancy from Fresno [11] and let her know my plan and that my next stop was Watsonville. She remarked that the coast wasn't that close to Fresno and I assured her I would be O.K. and, if it turns out to be too ambitious of a plan, I would stop somewhere along the way. I look around the nice facility in Fresno, have a cup of coffee, grab my souvenir tee shirt and I'm on my way. My goal is to be on the coast before noon and certainly before it gets hot. I head west on Hwy 180, turn north on Hwy 33 [12] and then west again on Hwy 152. I gas up in Los Baños [13] (what a terrible name for a town) and "navigate" through traffic over the "hill" into Gilroy. It's a little challenging following 152 through Gilroy [14], but I get through O.K. and on the right road. Still no justification for GPS. The section of 152 from Gilroy to the coast is a nice twisty road with tree canopies in several sections. It would be nicer if there was less traffic. I make it to Watsonville [15], miss a "secret" right turn downtown and have a hard time finding the BMW shop. I always have a hard time finding this place if I'm coming in from the north or the east. Nope, still no GPS. Eventually, I find it. The shop is located in a shopping center with a Togo's and a Chevron station. I arrive at 12:45 and all needs are met. I grab a nice tee shirt and a Wunderlich catalog for Christmas shopping ideas.
I head south towards Monterey. This is early August and it's already my 5th time through Monterey. One of my measures of a successful riding season is the number of times I ride to or through Monterey. Last season's count was eight. What a change in weather. It's dense fog and cool temps! I don my rain gloves for a little added warmth augmented with the heated grips. By the time I'm through Big Sur, the fog becomes sporadic and the riding sublime.
I stop for gas, or so I thought, at Ragged Point Inn (between Big Sur and Cambria), but the gas station is closed for remodeling! Fortunately, I have enough fuel to make it comfortably to Cambria [17]. South of Big Sur, the tourist traffic drops off and the scenery takes over. This section makes the plan worthwhile. I stop for gas in Cambria at a quarter to 5 pm with nearly 300 miles still to go. I finally pick up the Interstate (O.K., so Hwy 101 isn't technically part of the US Interstate system, but it's the same thing to me) in San Luis Obispo and make it south to Santa Maria [18] where I stop and call Nancy. I let her know that I feel pretty good and I plan on being home by 11 pm. I reassured her that, if my energy level drops, I will still stop somewhere along the way. After a "leg stretch" in Santa Barbara, I turn off of Hwy 101 at Camarillo and take Las Posas Road [20] to PCH. I stop for gas in Malibu [20]. It's 8:30 and I'm still feeling pretty good, considering I've been on the road nearly 14 hours. I get caught up in the remnants of a traffic accident on what I believe to be the worst section of freeway in the country (I-405 between LAX and Hwy 101). I'm too tired to safely split lanes, so I sit in traffic. Otherwise, I move through the L.A. basin expeditiously and arrive home at 10:45.
I'm instructed to shower before going to bed and, afterwards, have no difficulty falling asleep.
664 miles for the day.
1,095 miles
for the trip, a personal best for a two day ride.
