People, what are you thinking?
Ok, look, if you're going to move here then at least be prepared. I's say , at the minimum, you'll need a fire extinguisher, an earthquake survival kit, and lots and lots of bottled water. A good set of solar panels would also come in handy because I don't think we're going to have enough electricity to go around (nuclear works too).
As for myself, I'm a native, and as long as I've got some gas in my tank then I'll survive. Yeah, call it a case of Nero fiddlin' while California burns, but we've got so many natural disasters going on around here that a person just can't keep up. Better just to gas our tanks, fire up the engine, and go cruising.
Today was particularly bad. Seems a big, smelly high pressure system decided to park itself outside our door, and I'm telling ya' it must have been 900 degrees outside. The kind of day where everything gets frazzled - the people, the birds, and even the trees start getting droopy. I'll never forget it. This afternoon I saw a heat exhausted cat try to cross the street and get to some shade and it just broke my heart to hear his little paws start to sizzle as he stepped across the hot pavement.
Poor little kitty.
All you could see as after he made it across the road were the spots where his skin had blistered off and peeled, leaving little pawprints melted into the asphalt. (Sorry. I just made that up. No animlas were injured in the posting of this blog)
Well, I'm no poor little kitty and I'm no fool either, so when the furnace started heating up I did what any sane Californian would do. I went to the beach. Yeah sure, we had this "spare the air" alert in the valley and we weren't supposed to drive if we didn't have to, but c'mon. Besides, going to the beach gave me a chance to take my first long ride on my new bike. I say if you want clean air then move to the Himalayas - I'm going riding.
The bike is still 100% stock so I headed out without benefit of a windshield or a comfortable place to sit, but it was still a nice ride - about a hundred miles roundtrip. I don't really need a windshield to ride that far anyway, and the seat - well, what can I say about the seat. Let me put it this way.
It was about a 45 minute ride to Santa Cruz due to the road congestion. Unfortunately, about a quarter of million other people had the same idea I had and decided to make it a "beach day" too, so the traffic was a little heavy going over the mountain. It ended up taking me about 45 minutes, and by the time I got to Santa Cruz I felt like I just had a colonoscopy and the proctologist had left a couple of his instruments up there.
Why is that, you ask? Why don't motorcycle manufacturers put a decent seats on their bikes? Well, you're not the only one who wonders this very thing because I've read hundreds and hundreds of posts on the various motorcycle forums about this very same subject, and the consensus seems to be that uncomfortable stock motorcycle seats, like just about every other problem discussed on the internet, is part of a huge conspiracy. The theory among the uniformed is that motorcycle manufacturers recieve secret kickbacks from motorcycle accessory companies for each aftermarket motorcycle seat they sell. Thus, the crappier the stock seats, the more aftermarket seats they sell, and the more money the motorcycle manufacturers make down the road.
Well I've heard some wild conspiracy theories before, and all I can say is that before we all start jumping to conclusions we should look at the facts. Having no facts to look at, however, let me just say that I'm in total agreement. It's a conspiracy, dammit, and those aftermarket seats aren't cheap either.
Of course there are the dissenters, and I particularly remember this one post I read where the guy said "You're riding a motorcycle not sitting on your living room sofa. Get over it." (subtext: quit you're complaining you snively-nosed bunch of whiners). I guess it's reassuring to know that in this age of excess there's still a minimalist or two among us. Just give him a frame, an engine, a couple of wheels and set of handlebars and he's all set. Personally, whiner that I am, I'd add a comfortable place to sit into the mix as well.
Anyway, like I said it was around 900 degrees in the valley today, but the coast was a little cooler. Actually, a lot cooler. Actually, pretty frickin' cold, and there I was with nothing but my mesh riding jacket, my mesh gloves, tshirt, jeans and boots on. As soon as I got north of Santa Cruz the temperature dropped from 900 degrees above zero to about 20 below. Still, ever the adventurer I sallied on, even as my heart slowed and my arms went numb and frostbite started to tickle my toes. The proficient motorcyclist always comes prepared for changing weather conditions, the dumbass motorcyclist just freezes his butt off.
I managed to finish the ride, however, and I had my trusty little camerphone along for some quick snaps. This shot is from the cliffs above Pescadero beach looking south. Normally, the haze you see along this part of the coast would be the fog drifting in from the ocean, but this is not fog. It is the smoke from the California fires making it's way south. Over the next few days the weather people are expecting more and more of this smoke to settle into the Bay Area and across the state, so if you're planning on coming out to California any time soon you might want to throw a respirator or two into your overnight bag.The bike ran like a dream. This road along this particular stretch of coast is officially called The Cabrillo Highway, but I don't know anyone who calls it that. In fact, if you asked any of the locals for directions on how to get to the Cabrillo Highway, I'm pretty sure they would punch you in the nose and ask "What did you call me?" Up here everyone just calls it Highway 1, and it's a very popular place to go biking (both motorized and non-motorized). I must have seen at least a couple dozen motorcycles go past in just the short stretch I rode - sportbikes, mostly, with just an occaisional hog. Lots of cars like to use the road too and you may even come across an RV or two along the way, but the really nice thing about Highway 1, besides the scenery and the open road, is that it's not very popular with the truckers. In fact, I didn't see a single one today, and that's always a good thing.
All in all, I had a great ride. Lots of butt breaks, but that's just the way it goes. Luckily there a lots of beaches along the way where you can stop and stretch your legs or do whatever you need to do. I'm including this last picture just so you can see some of the luxury accomodations you'll find as you pass down the highway. It's strange that travel writers hardly ever mention restroom facilities when they publish their travel guides, as if that's something no one ever thinks about. I mean, if you're taking a road trip then pitstops are an important consideration, aren't they? I know I think about them, and worry if none are around. Have you ever been travelling down an interstate and casually scanned the bushes along the side of the road wondering what would make a good stopping point in case of emergency? Or is that just me?
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