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Started out with coffee at Starbucks – Audrey, CC, and Bill - and then jetted to Tres Pinos where Stevie, Patrick, and John were waiting up for us. We chatted and got caught up then headed off down 25 which is always a treat. It was still cool as we traveled along the twists and turns but by the time we got to King City, it had warmed up quite a bit. We met up with another group of riders that John knew and he decided to jump ship and join up with them (heard they did 550 miles that day… must have more forgiving rear ends than mine! ).
We then scooted up 101 an exit or two to Jolon Road and came to the station at Ft. Hunter-Leggett with our papers in order. Passing inspection, we journeyed across the base which seemed to be quite busy with lots of training exercises, tanks, etc. A left turn at the metal bridge and we were on our way west along Ferguson-Nacimiento Rd. It was really hot coming across the dried lands – was evident there had been a couple of fires recently by the burnt remains of dried grass.
Then out of nowhere, we came across an intensely green and shaded section where we pulled over for some photos and water (we drank lots of it on this portion of the trip!). It was so beautiful and such a contrast to the yellowed grasslands we had just come through. The road gets quite twisty and windy at this point, barely enough room to pass a car coming the other way, and lots of gravel and road trash to keep an eye out for.
As we continued west, we could feel the temperature decline as the road did the same. We stopped on the other side and saw a thick bank of fog and as we descended into it, I remember thinking I don’t remember being so grateful for the cool, cool fog! Hwy. 1 south for about 25 miles and our lunch stop at Ragged Point materialized. We heartily ate our meals as we watched the flurry of activity as a wedding was getting ready to take place.
Fully sated, it was time to head north on Hwy. 1 and we had the best run for the next 40 miles or so – no motor homes or pokey cars to hinder our progress so we had a great time taking the turns on Hwy. 1 – now that’s how it should be ridden! Pit stop in Big Sur for a butt break and lounging on a grassy knoll in the cool shade, supporting CC’s time-honored tradition of the power nap! More north riding, some slow traffic but not horrible and we came to our final stop in Monterey where we chatted for some time at the gas station since no one really seemed to want the day to end!
We all came up Hwy. 1 until Stevie and Patrick headed off for Capitola, and CC & Bill continued on Hwy. 1. By the time we got to Capitola, it was about 7:30 p.m. as Audrey and I peeled off to take San Jose-Soquel Rd., Summit Rd., and Old Santa Cruz Hwy., ending up riding the last part pretty much in the dark, which is always an experience. We stopped at the bottom of the road before coming to 17, listening to evening sounds of the countryside – crickets, rustling bushes (we didn’t try to find out what was doing the rustling!), dogs barking in the distance. It was so peaceful.
Finally, it was time for the inevitable slab ride home… a 14-hour day and about 350 miles added to the odometer for this day’s adventure. I think there were a lot of people who slept quite well that night!
Peace,
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