Kirk Creek 2006

Dean Tanji of LDRiders.com suggests ending the year by meeting for lunch in Guadalupe. "Sounds good to me" is my reaction. It's about 250 miles from San Juan Capistrano to Guadalupe, which makes a great destination for a lunch meeting. No wonder the "Ride to Eat" concept works. Of course, I get the idea that I could either return home Saturday afternoon after lunch or ride a little further north and camp at my favorite campsite, Kirk Creek. Hmmmm...tough choice.

I send a note to Phil Blackstone who had to bail out of the Chocolate Run due to a bout with bronchitis to see if he had recovered and would be interested in joining me. His initial response was "yes, I'm interested, but I have to get permission..." a few days later, I get the note that he will be able to join me and would also like to camp at Kirk Creek. I didn't ask what he had to do get permission. I didn't want to know.

We meet at Starbuck's in Malibu at 7:30. The first thing Phil says to me is "did you see a sleeping bag and tent on the road along the way?" Apparently, he had a problem with his tie down and lost his tent, bag and, worst of all, his Kermit chair. We stop in Lompoc at pick up a replacement bag and tent at the Big 5. But in the future, if you ever hear of anyone saying "Wow, he pulled a Blackstone", you'll know that someone lost something off the back of their bike because they didn't tie it down properly. Phil seemed the most upset losing his Kermit chair. My wife, Nancy, quickly came up with the solution. She said "All Phil has to do is be President of the South Coast BMW Riders Club again and he'll get another chair". I mention this to Phil, who rolled his eyes. I told him "I would love to see Sandy's reaction to Nancy's idea." He only cringed.

No, Phil didn't stop for a quick touch up on his tan. He's strapping on his new tent and sleeping bag.

The route to lunch and to the campsite. Note the excessive use of the Interstate.

We arrive at the Far Western Tavern in Guadalupe. Seeing all the motorcycles in the parking lot confirm that we are in the right place. All of the bikes are loaded with farkles galore. There are also several fuel cells in attendance. A total of twenty riders braved the elements for this important meeting. Unfortunately, there were no riders from the Bay Area who were able to make the meeting. Hmmm...I wonder what that says?


Some of the twenty attendees of meeting for lunch in Guadalupe

The lunch was pretty good, but the conversation was better. We were able to meet new folks. Upon leaving, I recognized a guy on a Connie parked next to me. I asked him if he was at Laguna Seca this year. He said "Yes". I asked if he camped at Toro Park. The look on his face changed and then said "You were camped next to me, weren't you?" What a small world. Some would say it's getting smaller a thousand miles at a time.

Phil and I depart Guadalupe and make our way north. We stop at Ragged Point for coffee, but the service was too slow. We stop at Gorda for beverages. We arrive at Kirk Creek (about 4 pm) to find only a few campsites empty. We find one with a decent view, but it's a sloping site. We get our bikes situated on a stable spot and then find two fairly level spots to pitch our tents. We barely get our camp setup before sunset.


How's this for a campsite on the last weekend of the year?

Sunset on the coast in Big Sur

Sunset on the coast in Big Sur	Phil getting unpacked. Why is he always grinning?

Bill's campsite

I get up late (7:30!), brew a pot of Starbuck's (of course!) and start the fire. Phil is already up and walking around the camp somewhere. He's probably off making new friends. We take our time getting out of camp, probably too long, and don't really get on the road until 10. We leave camp and immediately take a left turn onto Nacimiento Pass. This is Phil's first Nacimiento Pass experience and he stops several times to take pictures of the spectacular view of the ocean as the road takes us quite a bit above sea level. The road is dirty (as usual), so we take our time making our way to the guard shack at Hunter-Liggett Army Base. We provide our drivers' license, registration and insurance information to the guard and have a nice ride through the base. Fortunately, we are not part of the target practice this day. We turn right onto G14 for a nice ride into Paso Robles just in time to participate in the Sunday Brunch at the Paso Robles Inn.

At brunch is when I find out that Phil intends to pick up his big screen TV today (the store closes at 5 pm). He tries to talk Sandy into picking it up for him, but she's not biting. We decide it's a good time to "pick up the pace". We stay on Hwy 101 until we reach the San Marcos Pass (Hwy 154). Phil wants to stay on 101, but I convince him this is the short cut (wink-wink). We get separated getting through traffic, but are back together at the 101 when I stop to change into gloves that aren't as hot as my electric Gerbings.

We continue south on 101 together until I turn off at Los Posas Road. We wave and I'm hoping he made it to the store on time. I stop at the Starbuck's in Malibu one last time for a break and enjoy the coastal view. I'm home a little after 5, making it from Paso Robles in less than 5 hours. Not bad for this slow poke.

I pet the dogs and kiss the wife (this time, I get it right), get out of my riding clothes, unpack my wet tent and still have enough energy to go pick up Chinese for dinner. Amazingly, I almost make it to the new year with my head hitting the pillow at 11:30.

Although I only burned half a bun (BunBurner = 1,500 miles in 36 hours), it was a great weekend nonetheless.