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Central Coast and Bay Area Tour: October 2004

The Bay Area is known to have the largest population of motorcyclists in all the US. Many believe this reason is due to its geographic location, weather, and the general layout of the area, all of which encourage the enjoyment of motorcycling. The Bay Area is located right at the center of the State of California, right along the coast. It is surrounded by a beautiful coastline, rolling hills and mountains to the east, and relatively undeveloped areas to its north and south. All these areas are filled with twisting, winding roads of varying flavors, then covered year round with fairly mild weather. It rains some, but that�s really about it for winters. Most of the time, it�s sunny and mild, which is perfect motorcycling weather.

At the heart of the Bay Area is the city of San Francisco. Established by the Spaniards in 1776 when a Presidio and a Mission were established. The city is one of the most dynamic cities in the Western US, rivaling that of New York City�without the extreme weather. Back when Los Angeles was just a whisper, San Francisco was a bustling, city with a huge natural harbor, an established trade and commerce, and about 30,000 residents. Today, San Francisco is home to about a million happy people from all walks of life. Together with a strong tourist economy, the city is alive and thriving with a dynamic nature no other big city in California can match.

The streets of San Francisco is like a maze of tight little roads that go up and down steep hills that fill both residential and commercial areas. Along with an efficient public transportation system, it encourages motorcycles as an excellent mode of transportation. Compared to the sprawling city of Los Angeles where everyone chooses to retreat behind gated communities and outlying suburbs, coming out only when safely inside their huge SUV�s, the people of San Francisco enjoy being in their beautiful city, and don�t mind using buses, trains, and other more efficient means of transport including walking! It�s no wonder that Motorcyclist Magazine named San Francisco number 1 in their 10 best motorcycling cities in the US.

So, when one of my riding friends invited me over for a BBQ, which was located at his new home in Sunnyvale, California, 30 minutes south of San Francisco, I decided to take advantage of an opportunity to tour the Bay Area. I�ve actually been to the Bay Area many times by car, and twice by bike. However, those trips have always been just �passing through� the city on my way to other places. This time around, I thought I�d get the chance to actually ride in the Bay Area for the sake of riding around the Bay Area.

Phil, actually invited other riders to his home for a BBQ get together. Along with myself, a few others from Southern California decided to make the trip up to the Bay Area. A familiar rider, Ken and his Moto Guzzi V11, and a couple of new long distance riders, Carl on his Triumph Sprint ST, Jackie on her Anniversary model Suzuki Hayabusa. I brought along my 2001 Honda VFR800 Interceptor.

Day 1: Getting Out Of The Urban Sprawl Distance: 483 miles
I left my house in Mission Viejo at 5:30am. The sky was clear and the usual morning fog was nowhere to be found. The air temperature was around 50 degrees. Gone was the summer heat and early sunshine. Instead, it was dark, clear, and cold. After passing by the gas station mini mart to buy some bottled water, I got on Interstate 5 for the trip north. I was surprised to see quite a bit of morning commuters on the freeway so early. I felt sorry for them.

The ride up to the first meeting point was uneventful. All freeways and no traffic. I hooked up with Carl and Jackie, both on their first long distance tours on their bikes. Sometimes I take it for granted that I�ve taken many multi-day trips, which help in knowing what to bring and what to do or not to do, etc. So, when I noticed Jackie had on a big back pack, I couldn�t help but snicker. Hee-hee. I didn�t have the heart to tell her that thing is going to feel like a 100 lb. rock towards the end of a 300 mile day, even worse at the end of a near 500 mile day, which was going to be the case. Nevertheless, our spirits where high and excitement was flowing! On to the next meeting place!

We hopped back on the 57 Freeway northbound then onto the 210 Freeway eastbound. That�s were we immediately ran into rush hour traffic going to LA. It was dark and traffic was stopping and going. We split lanes, which was very stressful due to the reduced visibility and the proximity of cars, SUV�s, & big rigs whizzing by us. Jackie took the lead as she preferred to split lanes at a faster speed than me. I followed her until we exited the freeway somewhere in the city of Duarte to meet up with Ken. It was a relief to get out of that traffic mess!

After a brief discussion of the planned route, Ken proceeded to lead us out of LA. Like I said before, this guy�s the master lane splitter. The traffic on the 101 Freeway getting out of the city was horrendously worse than before. An accident occurred somewhere and it backed up cars on all lanes where they where stopped like a parking lot! We split lanes very quickly with Ken in the lead. There were times when the guys would miss cars by mere inches on both sides! I was more than happy to stay back. However, sometimes we�d get split up and our order would get mixed up. But, we�d eventually get back together as a small group with me preferring to stay at the rear.

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