July 20th-24th, 2006

I have no idea how long Manny has looked forward to this weekend. He will have to tell you that. All I know is that from the first moment I met him in Austria while Nancy and I were on our "Dream Ride of a Lifetime" in the Alps, he has been talking about MotoGP and specifically Laguna Seca. Of course, my reaction was a normal one for a Californian. What's so special about MotoGP? 

Finally he makes the commitment by reserving the bike rental, purchases his GA and camping tickets and makes the airline reservation. It's official.

I pick Manny up at the airport on Wednesday. On the way home, we stop off at Eagle Rider (located at the BMW dealership in Long Beach) to pick up his R1200RT, nearly identical to the one Nancy and I rode in the Alps the previous year. Of course, we had to stop at the Dainese store on the way home. Apparently there's nothing like this in Toronto. He picks up a pair of gloves. When the salesman tells us the price, I realize I could buy two rear tires and one front tire for the price of those gloves. Manny merely whips out the credit card and points out that his riding friends will be very jealous when riding this October.

Thursday

After a good night's sleep, we are packed and on our way at 5:30 am. Well, almost. We get about 200 yards down the street when Manny realizes he forgot his Laguna Seca tickets. We turn around and, while he grabs the tickets, I take the opportunity to top off the oil.

There were two things on Manny's famous "California To-Do List", but I kept thinking "How can this Canuck go back home without experiencing L.A.'s famous traffic and learn that delicate art of lane sharing? California is the only place in North America where lane sharing is not illegal. He's got to experience it, right?" We depart home, now about 6 am, and take a casual ride along the coast highway from Dana Point through Long Beach. We pick up I-710 (Long Beach Freeway) Northbound to the I-105 Westbound and settle into the HOV lane. It's not long before traffic starts backing up and I move to the right to find that slot between that line of cars and the first pair of double yellow lines separating the HOV lane from the single occupant vehicles. We start off slow and Manny follows suit. 

We soon encounter the flyover connecting us to the I-110 North (Harbor Freeway). This is where I believe Manny gets his first glimpse of downtown Los Angeles and the sheer magnitude of the traffic. We descend to street level and find ourselves in two lanes of packed in HOV traffic. I once again find that groove between the rightmost lane of HOV traffic and the double yellow line. Later I would find out that Manny is particularly impressed lane sharing with a County of Los Angeles police vehicle. We reach downtown L.A. at the intersection of I-110 and I-10 right at 8 am. I couldn't have timed it any better. We exit I-110 and take I-10 west towards Santa Monica. Here on the I-10 west is where we encounter traffic which even surprises me. I had no idea there was so much traffic leaving L.A. for West L.A. There is no HOV lane on the I-10 west and, worse, a lane had been fabricated by reducing the existing lane widths. It's now very tight going through the traffic and Manny soon disappears in my rear view mirror.

I-10 finally ends and I turn north on PCH. Traffic is just as bad. Three narrow lanes filled with cars going slower than bicycles. I stop at the 76 station at Sunset Blvd. I'm thinking it's going to be a while before Manny shows up, so I go inside for a cup of coffee thinking this will be our next stop. I barely get my coffee and get back to my bike before I notice Manny right outside the station. I wave to him and catch his eye. Unfortunately, he's in the number 1 lane and can't get over. I ditch the coffee, get back on the bike and we stop at the originally planned location; Starbuck's at Trancas Canyon. We talk a little while about the traffic at which time Manny says: "I was mistaken. Toronto doesn't have any traffic congestion at all."

While enjoying our coffee, Manny gets another unexpected surprise. He is able to meet a California Surfer girl. Unfortunately, the occasion is that she backs into his bike, nearly knocking it over into mine. As it turns out, there is more damage to her car than the rental. Manny collects information and we gather witness statements and we are on our way once again. Welcome to California, I think to myself.

We continue north on PCH, following a familiar route (to me) consisting of Las Posas Rd. to Camarillo then Hwy 101 through Santa Barbara. We stop in Buellton for gas and meet a few others on their way to Laguna Seca. After refueling, we continue north on 101 for a short bit where I grow weary of the Interstate. We turn right onto Hwy 154 (San Marcos Pass) but immediately turn left on Zaca Station Road which takes us to Foxen Canyon Road. We both enjoy this nice, twisty road through the vineyards and eventually reach civilization again at Santa Maria. I apologize to Manny when I tell him we have to get back on the freeway. Manny shrugs his shoulders thinking that's a normal course of action. We are on 101 for less than two miles when we exit and turn west on 166 towards Guadalupe. We follow 166 to PCH then follow PCH north through Pismo Beach where we have no other (practical) options but to take Hwy 101 to San Luis Obispo. We top off our gas tanks in SLO (because it's cheaper than Cambria) and head towards Morro Bay for lunch.

As we are about to depart Morro Bay, I take note that we are not setting any land speed records on the journey so far. We left San Juan Capistrano at 6 am and leave Morro Bay a little after 2 pm. Manny asks" Are we going to have to pitch tents in the dark"? That's not what he said, but that's what he meant. Manny hasn't camped (at least in a while), so this is going to be a new experience to him. Additionally, he has a new tent and has never set it up before. Nope; no trial runs at home. I asked him. I respond with what would be a famous quote for the rest of the weekend "It's only 120 miles. We can surely do that in 5 hours, right?"

We ride PCH north around Morro Bay. Manny can't see Morro Rock because of the fog. He takes my word for it that it's there. We stop at Piedras Blancas to see the elephant seals. It's a popular stop today. The parking lot is nearly full. There are LOTS of motorcycles.

Soon after Piedras Blancas, we start climbing away from the coastline and the road becomes more technical. Lots of fun!

We stop at Plaskett Creek for a break and take a peek of the ocean from the picnic grounds. A little further up the road, we tour Kirk Creek which may be a stopping point for us Sunday night. The two negatives are that there are no showers and, as it turns out, Manny would like to stop a little further south to avoid the traffic in L.A. (like that was even possible).

We stop again in Big Sur, looking for that unique memento, get gas in Carmel and find our campsite a little after 7 pm. We tour the grounds looking for that perfect campsite and we make our decision. We start offloading gear as the sunlight starts to fade. We successfully time the event so that we do manage to pitch Manny's tent by flashlight. I make it to the showers (much better than last year) and we have completed our first day on the road. 14 hours to go 455 miles! Yikes!

Total for the day: 455 miles

click on image for larger view
Manny in Morro Bay	Manny at Peidras Blancas amazed by the elephant seals	Manny relaxin' near Plaskett Creek on PCH
Bixby Bridge

Friday

We're up pretty early because we decide to to go San Francisco for a day ride. Manny agrees that it would be great to get a picture in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. We get some sage directions at a coffee shop in Half Moon Bay (I now know how to avoid Van Ness!). The trip takes a little longer than we had anticipated so we are not able to go to the track.

Total for the day: 334 miles

click on image for larger view
Setting up camp at Toro Park	Day ride to San Francisco

Saturday

No riding today. Well, not very much anyway. We take the shuttle to the track and Manny gets his first Laguna Seca experience. It's very hot. The announcer says the air temperature is 102 degrees (F) and the heat kicks my butt. Fortunately, I'm able to take Manny up the hill to the corkscrew before I run out of energy. I spend the afternoon looking for shade, liquids and other refreshment regardless of the price (Minutemaid frozen lemonade cups for five dollars!). By the end of the day, we have seen MotoGP practice and qualifying as well as the AMA Superbike championship won by Ben Spies. We take the shuttle back to the camp, get cleaned up and ride into town to witness the frenzy on Cannery Row. We tour the area, check out the sport bikes with the huge chicken strips and decide to get something to eat. We find a restaurant which isn't too crowded (hard to find) specializing in fish. We enjoy our dinner and ride back to camp with our smoke face shields elevated.

click on image for larger view
MotoGP bikes practicing at the corkscrew
Turn 4
Breaking down camp
The motorcycle parking "lot"

Sunday

Race day. We pack our camp and ride our loaded bikes to the track. We reach the "parking lot" which is a grassy sloped hill (Wolf Hill). I loan my sidestand pad to Manny and try to deploy my centerstand pad. Unfortunately, Half of the centerstand misses the pad, so I ask Manny to push the bike off the centerstand. As he does, the bike starts to topple away from me. Fortunately, my neighbor is still there unpacking his Buell and he's able to catch the RT. We reposition the centerstand support, change our clothes and head for the track.

We make it to the track and Manny appears as tired as I was yesterday. I have no trouble talking him into catching some shade at the Kawasaki tent. It's getting close to race time so we make our way over the packed Dunlop bridge, grab some lunch and find our seats. The stands are full today so we find the seats that are actually printed on our ticket. I forget that Manny has my camera in the pouch in his Camelback. I'm hoping he took some great shots.

The race turned out great (Nicky Hayden wins again!) and we start the least anticipated part of our trip: making our way out of the racetrack. The line getting out is really bad. An older woman faints. Paramedics are running all over the place. We finally make our way over the bridge and up to the parking lot. We change back into riding gear. There's no modesty on Wolf Hill. We have a couple of exciting moments getting out of the parking lot. One bike turns in front of me without looking. Another stops dead in front of me (we're on a dirt road). Fortunately I'm paying attention and we get out safely.

We make our way onto PCH and down to the Del Monte Center where I pick up some batteries for my radar detector receiver in my helmet (H.A.R.D.). We also use this opportunity to have dinner. We are back on PCH and heading south, trying to get as far south as San Simeon to reduce the length of ride for Monday. I have some fun with some Ducati's with Alberta license plates while Manny stops for the last few photo opportunities of Big Sur. We ride together once again at Limekiln and make some good time.

The sun is starting to go down by the time we get to San Simeon. We watch two Beemers pull into the motel lot in San Simeon. Soon afterwards Manny flashes his lights at me and makes the offer: "Let's stay in a motel. I'll pay." I know Manny's tired. I agree but suggest that Cambria is a nicer place to stay. We go to the Fireside Inn (the cheapest place I know of) where we are quoted a price of $209 per night. "But it has a patio" the manager says. Manny has a near bipolar incident and we leave for San Simeon State Park. Manny once again pitches his tent in the dark. This time he has help. Apparently he's looking pretty helpless with the tent poles and our neighbor comes over to help. I guess Manny's tent is a "chick magnet". Unfortunately, so far it only appears to attract married women who feel sorry for his tent pitching abilities.  I go into Cambria for some refreshments, but mostly to let Manny calm down. I return and we have a relaxing evening recapping the day.

click on image for larger view
Camping at San Simeon

Total for the day: 148 miles

Monday

We are up and on the road fairly early, but each day is getting later. Manny is glad we stayed at San Simeon. "Part of the adventure" he says. At San Luis Obispo, we essentially backtrack our Thursday route (sans Foxen Canyon). Manny is pretty adamant about his dislike of lane sharing, so I try to avoid I-405 (the section between I-10 and LAX is the worst section in the country) as much as possible. The surface streets aren't any better as we ride through Venice Beach. My oil temperature gage hits 8 bars (the next one is in the red) before we are able to get some fresh air. We are home before dark, get the bikes unpacked and go out to dinner. After sharing our experiences with Nancy, we make it an early evening.

Yes, Manny, we really are on the Pacific Coast Highway.

Total for the day: 314 miles

Tuesday

We are up and ready to go. Manny says it's O.K. if he gets to the airport early. We try to get to LB BMW by 10 (the website says they open at 10, the door says 9). We turn in the bike (with cord showing on the tire), indicating the damage created by the surfer chick and we are off to LAX.

I drop Manny off at the terminal, unload his gear from the car and say our goodbyes. As I see him get small in the rear view mirror, I speculate whether he wants to ever see Los Angeles again.

Total for the trip: 1,251 miles