5:15 am . It seems I never have trouble getting up on the morning of a bike ride. Today is no different. The skies are clear and, even though it's December and it's not 7 am , it's fairly warm outside.

I'm enjoying the weather too much because I miss the exit for the toll road. I think "No problem, I'll just take the 5 through downtown L.A. " I can always tell when it's been too long since I've been on a ride when I don't think taking the worst freeway through the worst place on the planet. Of course, this was Saturday morning and traffic was fairly light, so it wasn't too bad. I connect with the 10 West to Santa Monica to Pacific Coast Highway . I stop for gas.

I take PCH through Malibu and take Decker Canyon (Hwy 23) to Hwy 101. I stop off to check the progress at the new BMW shop, BMW of Ventura, but it's not open yet; still under construction.

I jump back onto the 101 to Santa Barbara and take the Hwy 154 shortcut. I stop again for gas in San Luis Obispo . Five hours from San Juan to San Luis Obispo . Thirteen miles to Morro Bay and the ride is really getting nice. Pacific Coast Highway between Morro Bay and Big Sur. If my purgatory was riding a motorcycle for eternity on PCH from Morro Bay to Big Sur I would say, "Lord, you can take me now". Only today is even more special. The weather is amazing. The skies are a deep blue and the air temperature is in the 70s. The best part? It's December so there's no tourist traffic!

Just before reaching Cambria , the bubble bursts. I see the worst possible sign. It reads "Road Closed 50 Miles Ahead Due To Landslide". Of course, the smart thing to do is to go over to the 101 at Cambria . Do you think that's one of the options I consider? Of course not! After Cambria , there's only one other crossing from PCH to the 101 until Monterey and that's at Nacimiento Pass. If the slide is after Nacimiento Pass , I can take Nacimiento Pass to G16 to Carmel . If the slide is south of Nacimiento Pass, well, I would have to backtrack to Cambria . Of course, there's another option. There could be enough room for me to squeeze by. That's me; the optimist (dreamer is probably more accurate).

I stop for coffee at Ragged Point where I find that the rockslide is near Lucia, north of Nacimiento Pass. Yeah! After a couple of hours of amazing riding on the coast, I get to the line where cars are stopped at the landslide. The construction worker says the road has been closed for two days, but it will open in about half an hour! What incredible luck! I wait the half hour and enjoy a clear roadway all the way to Carmel . After stopping for a snack and to check my map, I 'm off to find my campsite; KOA in Watsonville . I arrive at the campsite near 5 pm . The air is already cool and is very damp. The KOA doesn't look that impressive (not nearly as nice as the one in Manchester ). Thinking that the campsite is not that much cheaper than a warm and dry motel room (with a shower and TV), I turn around and check into a Red Roof Inn.

I take a shower and watch ESPN for a couple of hours (something I can't get away with at home). I awake to my glasses sitting crooked on my face and some kind of infomercial on the tube. I guess I fell asleep. I turn off the TV and lights and I'm out again.

I don't wake up again until a quarter to 7. I immediately think "I want my money back". If I was out camping, I'm certain that I would have had to get up, get dressed and walk a hundred yards to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Last night, I had one right here with me and I didn't even use it! What a waste!

I pack up and I'm on the road at a quarter to eight. The fog is just lifting but it is still overcast and very damp. It seems like the humidity is very high as droplets form on my face shield. I've got every piece of gear on and the heated grips are set at two dots.

I stop for breakfast at my favorite cafe in Big Sur. I'm surprised they don't welcome me by name by now. After all, this is the 9th time I've ridden through Big Sur this year! This is my only "sit down" meal of the weekend, so I take my time reading the newspaper and warming up. Eventually, the cafe starts to fill up and I'm getting a little antsy.

The weather is about the same all the way down the coast, at least to San Luis Obispo where I stop for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie at Margies. When the weather is good, this is a great time to tour the coast. Very little traffic and accommodations are aplenty. As an example, the Piedras Blancas Motel (just north of San Simeon) is advertising rooms at "39.95 and up". Nancy and I have paid $170 a night. The room is not much better than a Motel 6, but you can't beat falling asleep to the waves crashing on the cliffs nearby. Also, there were plenty of sites available at Kirk Creek, one of my favorite campsites on the coast but difficult to book since they are a "first come-first serve" campsite and are usually full by Thursday night during the summer.

The remainder of the ride home is uneventful. I don't start to warm up until I get to Santa Barbara. I start thinking that the first thing I do when I get home is order a Gerbing heated liner.

Overall, a nice weekend of riding. 878 miles and my attitude is officially adjusted.