Day 4 : Eureka to Mountain View, CA
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My final day. The rain started while I was sleeping. I didn’t stop until I got to Mountain View.
I might have made a mistake in deciding to stay on the PCH (SR-1).
The view was amazing, but in the wet, it was dreary, and down-right scary in some places.
In fact. I managed to ‘depart controlled flight’ as my pilot instructor would say. I ended up sliding off the road at the apex of a tight corner that had a standing puddle hidden from view until it was too late. In retrospect, I was getting too comfortable with the deteriorating conditions and likely wanted to get going and continue at all costs.
It was a very low speed tip-over by the time I got things under control on the side of the road, but I still managed to scratch up my leathers and ding the fairing on the right hand side – badly enough that it needs replacing. Honda wants all together too much for this repair, so I managed to find someone on craigslist (yeah!) with the right parts (and more) at less total cost than the two Honda parts I needed. So with some modest paint work (the tank cover and inner side fairings) and a ton of elbow grease, I should have a new bike look shortly. (Repsol replica). This is much better than the factory red, of which I was never a fan. Regardless, it was very frustrating to drop the bike – once in the garage and once on this ride within a 2 week period after years of not dropping anything.
All in all it was a powerful reminder that I ride for fun, not to win a race, that I should remember to look through the turns and that paying to fix your leathers is money well spent. Oh – and I’m not getting any younger.
Of course, the deed isn’t done yet and much mashing of teeth might have to happen in order for me to be through this experience.
That said – the ride was still amazing. There was a moment near the redwood scenic parkway where the sun broke through and the light shone down through the canopy in what any cinematographer could only describe as ‘prototypical angelic forest scene’ — top that with the way the road wound around the trees, a little steam rising from the road and a fantastic rhythm from apex to apex and it was an altogether biker nirvana albeit far too brief in duration. The rain returned moments later to take the edge off my euphoria and add edges where I didn’t know I needed them.
With the downpour set to ‘drench’, the euphoria I had experienced at every other major crossing of the trip was dulled and muted when I reached the Golden Gate Bridge. Having to fiddle around with my wallet while wearing all the rain gear to pay the toll took the remaining romance out of the moment, but a few minutes later as I completed the climb up the bridge deck, I recovered enough composure and wonder to be delighted at the accomplishments. Aware that I still had a distance to go – I tried to celebrate the intermediate goal and not settle too quickly into the “I made it” mode.
The 101 turns into downtown San Francisco, where curiously, it was not raining. I needed to pay attention, after 3 long days without city traffic, downtown San Francisco required more attention that I had at the ready.
Once I was back on the 101 southbound and passing the airport (SFO) I realized that I had, indeed, done it. I was retracing the rental car route that is so familiar to me, but I was on my own bike and it was very satisfying (excepting that blasphemous never ending rain).
My leathers are still drying out – and that’s THROUGH the rain gear.
