A Long Ride

Well the trip to San Diego was one hell of a long ride. I didn't get to leave Portland until around 2pm. I had to get in some mileage so I rode hard and got 260 miles in. I was about 40 miles outside of the California border. I stopped at a nice little KOA for the night. My ride was nothing special. Don't really think I ever want to be on I-5 ever again. The people were nice and once I got off of I-5 It was smooth sailing on the Pacific Coast Hwy. A nice little white cat greeted me when I got to the KOA and was sitting outside to see me off in the morning.

The next day it was off to San Francisco. The fog was thick. At points you could see no more than 1/8th of a mile. I eventually Made my way into the redwoods and boy are they big. What A nice ride 101 was. As soon as the road pulled away from the shore the fog disappeared. When the fog went the heat came. Boy was it hot. It must have been about 100 degrees. I had a very enjoyable ride out to rt 1 which is the twistiest rd I have ever ridden. It was full of really tight curves back out to the coast. With the coast came more fog so eventually it was back out to 101 via 20. 20 was a nicely paced road with 26 miles of curves( know this because it said it on the sign). What a great time. Got out to 101 and rode hard into San Francisco. It was late and I was tired and didn't know the Golden Gate Bridge had a toll. I couldn't even see the bridge (and I was on it) it was so foggy out. Got to the toll booth asked the woman if the took credit cards and she said no. She said they'll send me a bill for something like 31 dollars. At that point I just rode off while saying "send me the bill." Got to a Super 8 for the night and grabbed some food at an Original Buffalo Wings. I also got an extra dozen and gave them to a couple of homeless people sitting on the curb.

Off to San Diego the next day I went. Finally going to see my Great Uncle Ralph again. The ride was awful. I rode through part of the desert it was about 110 degrees. I did get to see some vineyards and nut groves but it wasn't really special. Finally I got close to San Diego and the highway started getting curvy enough to be interesting. It's not as city like as I thought it would be. It's really a nice looking place if you like living right next to your neighbor. I got to my Great Uncle Ralph's and pulled the bike into the garage. Had a nice home cooked meal, some great conversation and a comfortable bed.

Today we went out and had breakfast at a Mexican place. I got to meet a few of Ralph's children an one of his Grandchildren. Drove around the local area a little and relaxed watching some UFC, which Ralph is a big fan of. Had another great home cooked dinner and a shave. Feeling pretty good, but cant wait to see all the people back home.