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From there, we traveled along Hwy. 25, taking in the turns and the beautiful vista views along the way and looking up at the jet stream lines, akin to lazy white paintbrush strokes splashed across the blue sky. A few of us in the sweep group stopped along the way to try to help out a couple of guys pulled over on the side of the road with technical difficulties, all trying to find the right sized wrench for the repair work - I love how motorcycle riders are always looking out for each other, strangers or not. Continuing on after that, we stopped at the junction of King City Rd. for a quick stop to help Madeleine out with an adjustment on her side view mirror - and we cooed and ahhed at the big strong men who helped the poor helpless females… yeah, right. Again, a bit of banter but then the ride leader, AH (Attila the Hunny, aka Tyler), cracked the whip to try and keep everyone on track as we had a lot of territory to cover and only so many hours in the day! We stopped in King City for gas again to make sure we didn't get stuck in the boonies of Carmel Valley. Debra had to head off for responsibilities back at home so we bid her a fond adieu and now we were ten, splitting up into two groups of five - CC leading those who like a friskier pace, AH leading the group who like a more leisurely pace. Metz Rd (G15) was an interesting road - it snaked right along the edge of the foothills with flat farmland off to our left so it sort of felt like you were hanging on the edge of the land at certain parts. Turning left onto Elm Ave., we traveled through Arroyo Seco and into the beginning of the fertile Carmel valley, watching the wind make ripples across the tall dry grass along the hills. Carmel Valley Rd. is a wonderful experience, transitioning from two lanes to a wide, one-lane road, mostly well paved, and traveling through some gorgeous land… canopies of trees covering the road with the sun glinting off a stream on the right, wineries with rows and rows of lush vineyards stretching out as far as the eye could see, a pond to the left with yellow wildflowers growing all around it and reflecting off the water (and yes, I vow to all, the next time we come upon something like that, I promise we'll stop for photo opps!), and bees… yes, those favorite of the winged creatures that motorcyclists just can't wait to encounter. This particular time it was Audrey who got one of the critters in her glove and he was on a free-for-all stinging spree. Since she was riding sweep, Bob had stopped for a, um, nature stop, while she removed the infringing bee and I, as the lead for our part of the group, had a panic attack for a few minutes when looking in the rear view mirror and not seeing them behind me… and stopping and waiting and still not seeing them behind me… and my heart started pounding and I'm thinking, "Oh crap…" and turning around to go find out what happened… and seeing them coming toward me and thinking, "THANK YOU!!" to the heavens that it was just a bee! We continued into Carmel Valley and stopped for a wonderful lunch at the Baja Cantina, where everyone shared stories and just the beginning of lots of laughs for the day. Sated, we headed out Hwy. 1, which was quite windy along certain stretches, and felt like the wind was trying to rip the helmet right off your head… made me think of the Flying Nun with Sally Fields… wondered if we could get the bikes off the ground. We passed a park that caught our attention as it was having some sort of family event and there were dozens of kites, one of them a huge blue & white octopus with tentacles trailing in the wind… was quite a sight! Once we came to 129, Nancy, Madeleine, and Joanie peeled off for their homes, Nat peeled off at 17 to ready her home for a Mother's day brunch the next day, and the remaining pack stopped in Santa Cruz for our final gas stop. We also finally managed to hook up with (Diva) Don & Pamela and Don's daughter, Desiree, a 17-year old beauty. They hadn't been able to get up and out early enough to hook up with us in the a.m. but endeavored and overcame the obstacles to join us. We also got to view one of the oddest "motorbikes" I've ever seen… check out the pictures but it was like a mini-Harley… 19 mph top speed… and tried to envision Todd on it with his knees up around his ears… THAT would have been quite a sight. The guy that was riding it was quite a sight all on his own! The last leg of our journey was along Hwy. 1 with lovely views of the foaming ocean, majestic cliffs, dozens of colorful windsurfing kites filling the sky at the beaches, the smell of the sea enveloping your senses. AH decided to treat everyone to a jaunt down Stage Rd. but unfortunately the road was really bad disrepair so it wasn't so much of a treat as a challenge just to get to the other side. Finally, we descended upon Bob & Barbara's lovely home in Moss Beach. Parking the bikes and shedding our gear (and probably giving the neighbors lots to talk about!), we all got a libation and Bob led everyone to the cliffs overlooking the beach, about a ¼-mile from their house. We stood overlooking the ocean in awe of its grandeur and power. And we were also treated to something extremely rare and very special - whales. Yes, we saw several whales breeching out from the shoreline. If the lure of Barbara's feast had not been imminent, I think everyone would still be up on that cliff right now. As we arrived, Aussie Rob made a surprise appearance having had to work all day and miss the ride… smart man to show up when the food is presented. We headed back for dinner and my, oh my, what a spread was presented!
Pasta, salad, hors d'oeuvres, and bbq'd steak to die for. Everyone settled
in and supped together, sharing stories and more laughs than I can remember
in one evening… well, maybe except for the Gold Country trip! The
commentaries, good-natured barbs, and double entendres were flying left
and right… it was hard to keep up! Todd did his impressions of
Ahnuld and Yul Brynner - and was quite good at both… maybe he can
give up that day job! Cheryl, well, the poor girl didn't seem to get
a break from laughing… we were worried that she might not be able
to breath at one point! Finally, as the hour grew late, one by one the
travelers reluctantly headed off to their respective homes, sated, sore
stomach muscles from laughing, and the glow from the memories of a wonderful
day with great people their gift to take home with them.
Peace,
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The
day dawned bright and cool, meeting up at Starbucks were Tyler, Brit
Bob, Natalie, CC, Audrey, Cheryl, and first timers with DC, Madeleine
and Debra. We enjoyed some conversation and caffeinated beverages and
then headed out at 9 a.m. Traveling via 101 (the boring part of the
trip), we rode along 156 to Union to Southside and stopped in Tres Pinos
for gas and to pick up Nancy. We also were unexpectedly surprised with
the appearance of Todd, who had said he was going but didn't make it
to the coffee rendezvous so we figured he wasn't gonna make it, and
Joanie, who we were going to try to have tag on to our group along Hwy.
101. Seems Joanie got to the agreed pickup spot after we had already
passed it. Todd, zooming his way along 101 to catch up with us, and
being ever the gentleman, saw Joanie on the side of the road and figured
she must be waiting for our group (good intuition, Todd). So he pulled
off, she tagged along, and they both made it in time to join us for
the rest of the ride - 11 bikes… our largest group this year!