We didn�t hang around here too long as the shadows clearly show, it was getting late in the day. We still had over 100 miles to go to get back to San Simeon. The plan was to take G14, another twisty, country road to Highway 46, which was a sweeper type road that cut inland back to the coast.
The fun part of G16 ends at some flat and featureless farm town called Greenfield. There, we met up with the 101 Freeway and headed South towards G14. It was now 4:30PM. While cruising on the freeway, I got lulled into a stupor and I had to constantly fight dozing off. We were moving at around 85 mph and somewhere along the way I missed our exit to G14. All I remember was that Marty buzzed by me on his CBR1100XX and led me to the very next exit. Thanks Marty. I must have dozed off or something because I don�t ever remember seeing the G14 exit. Nor was I aware of missing it.
We turned off at King City, which was a small town with some hotel chain, restaurant chains, and gas stations. We gassed up quickly, and just when we were all suited up and about to hit the road, a CHP car pulled up. The Officer came out of his car and walked up to us. He started talking to us about sportbikes, sportbike roads, famous racers, and the Laguna Seca Raceway. It turns out, he rides an R1 and lives in the area. He had never seen a Hayabusa up close. This Officer talked to us for a good 25 minutes. I don�t want to seem rude but, although we enjoyed his company, we were short on time. And just when the Officer �let us go�, the time read 5:45PM. The thought of going through unfamiliar roads on a setting sun, roads most likely filled with dumb, leaping deer, we decided to cut and make a run for the coast using the fastest way possible. That meant the 101 Freeway.
We got on the 101 Freeway again, set the cruise control at 90 mph and boogied. We made it to Highway 46 and chased the sunset down onto the coast. I had on a dark visor so I was especially keen on getting back to our hotel before all the light disappeared. I led our group down the 46 at a good clip. This road was actually quite pleasant. It was made up of mainly sweepers, but it went through some pretty countryside and pretty looking wineries. At the middle of this road, it climbed up about 1,000 feet above sea level, affording us a nice view of the setting sun. By the time we got to Cambria, it was dark. I had to keep my visor partially open to see. It was also cold as we were dressed for warm weather riding, and didn�t expect to be caught in the dark.
It was 7PM by the time we pulled up to our hotel. We�d been riding for 8 hours, walking around for 3 hours, and had covered 260 miles. 95% of which were twisty roads.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, we had dinner at the restaurant next to our hotel and had�..Fish and Chips again! There were a lot of British tourists eating there that night. I could hear their familiar accents. Then we went to the bar and had a few drinks. A bunch of Brits were there too laughing it up and having their drinks. After a few drinks and some lies and stories, we decided to call it a day.
Day 3 � Saturday, September 29th, 2001
Our final day. Time to head back home and face the reality of jobs, bosses, angry customers, work computers, traffic congestion, and family responsibilities. The three guys that were acting like little boys have to grow back up again and be men again. -Sigh-
Matt & Marty woke up a bit late so while I was waiting for them down at the parking lot of our hotel, I had a chance to snap some pictures and check out of the hotel.e got pretty tired and decided to call it a day. I went to bed again at 11PM. |
