What a GREAT trip. We showed up at McGuire's in Walnut Creek early Saturday morning in anticipation of the upcoming ride. Pam brought a bunch of breakfast goodies and some orange juice to get things started and we gladly helped to take these off her hands. We did the pre-ride brief and then the 19 bikes departed for Solvang right at 7:00 AM.
We jumped on 680 south and settled in for the first leg of our trip. It was a little nippy and everyone was bundled up against the chill. When we crossed over the Sunol Grade and descended into the Silicon Valley the temperature dropped a few more degrees, reminding us yet again how chilly it was. As we rounded the southern end of the 680/280 loop we merged onto 101 south and continued on our way. We arrived at our first stop at the Chevron station on 10th St. in Gilroy and everyone took this opportunity to eat some of the power and granola bars that Pam was handing out. Then it was time to saddle up and continue on our way. We made our way back to 101 and rode south, easing our way through the early morning traffic. While riding south past Salinas we noted the cloud cover over the valley. Over the hills to the east it was overcast and gloomy. In the center of the valley, where we were, there was a strip of sunshine. Then over the hills to the west there was a layer of white fluffy clouds hugging the tops of the hill. Some said it appeared as if there was snow on the peaks, but to me it looked like a warm fluffy blanket laying over the hills to keep them warm. Insert your Freudian analogy here, there must be one.
Our second stop was in King City and this was also our breakfast stop. We refueled and then made our way into the restaurant (Denny's) looking for food and coffee. We had arrived here ahead of schedule, which turned out to be a good thing because they needed the extra time to serve us all. As it was, we had a few people just getting their food when the rest of us were paying our checks. We hung out for a few minutes until everyone was finished and ready to go, then re-joined 101 south. So far, so good.
We continued south bound on 101 to our third scheduled stop in San Luis Obispo. This is where we had to ad lib a bit. We exited 101 at the Hwy 1 offramp as planned, but then we noted that the gas station was closed. Not just closed as in 'out to lunch' closed, but out of business closed. But we had 2 alternate re-fueling points planned, so we continued on to the first alternate. Imagine our surprise when this station didn't even exist. No sign of a gas station along this stretch of road at all, so after a brief consultation with the master planner we made our obligatory U-Turn and headed for the second alternate. Now if we were surprised at not finding the first alternate, our next discovery would have to be classified as unbelievable. This station too was out of business! That's three for three! We decided to continue into town knowing we would eventually find a station that was open. We did find a Shell station on Mission that was open and we made this our re-fueling stop. The fuel in this part of the state is really expensive. Premium was going for $4.17/Gal, unless you pulled up to the Full Service pumps where it was $4.59/Gal. OUCH!
With freshly filled tanks we rode down the street and re-joined 101 south. From there is was a short sixty something miles to our hotel, Peasoup Andersen's in Buellton. We checked into the hotel and then headed for the vintage motorcycle museum in Solvang, a short three mile ride down Hwy 246. On the way to Solvang we spotted Alan & Diane. We knew they were going to be meeting us here, but we didn't expect to find them along the road. We continued to the museum and paid our $5.00. I can honestly say that this is worth the price of admission as there are many bikes that bring back memories. I found myself saying 'Hey! I had one like that!' several times. Then it dawned on me that it was a weird feeling seeing motorcycles that you had when you were younger in a museum. Now I feel old :?( Oh well, a great exhibit nonetheless.
Then it was back to the hotel. We lounged around the pool till we couldn't take the wind and cold any longer. It was still in the sixties but the wind had picked up even more, making it downright cold. We kept playing revolving chairs with people moving into the sun as the shade crept over us. Then we discovered that the door to the gazebo was open so we all gathered inside where it was warmer and out of the wind. We even found the controls for the fireplace and had the heat on, relaxing in comfort till it was time to prepare for the evening meal.
Pam had arranged for us to eat at Pea Soup Andersen's on the other side of the parking lot, so it was a short walk to dinner. We had our meals then it was time for the games. Pam had given us a list of things to watch for on our trip down to Solvang and now it was time to see how alert we were. There were prizes awarded to those that got the right answers. The debates on what the 'correct' answer was were hilarious and had everyone laughing, and some blushing. Then it was time to head back to our rooms to rest up for the ride home.
In the morning we had coffee and the continental breakfast and decided who was taking which route home. Some were heading straight home while others were taking various scenic routes.
Our group of nine bikes took Hwy 246 to the coast and then turned north on Hwy 1 to Pismo Beach where we stopped for lunch. After lunch we merged onto 101 and slabbed it the rest of the way home, fighting the wind the entire way.
Now it's time to start thinking about the next LOH ride. Great job, Pam!! Thank you!
