I said my goodbyes to Paul after a couple of photos were taken by another guest at the hotel. Paul was to deliver his bike to the shipping agent ready for it’s sea voyage back to Oz, I was off to Morrow Bay. A sad moment, our big journey together was over! I didn’t get the luxury of dwelling over the parting as I was soon concentrating on making it through 5 lanes of traffic for 40 km, alive! It was slow going so I went for the car pooling lane and began lane splitting, which is a little scary at 60-70 kmh. The drivers are very courteous and actually move over for you. After about 70 km I was out of the worst of it. The rest of the ride was just hard work as it was all highway even though I tried alternative roads.
Morrow Bay was a lovely tourist and fishing village and after finding a hotel and bargaining the price down went for a long wander along the waterfront taking photos. I looked for a seafood restaurant for diner as I figured that by the sea it would be fresh, there were actually many to choose from. I spied a menu and what I thought would be a great meal and incredibly cheap, $13.95 for clam chowder, 3 pieces of fish and fries plus vegetables. In I went to discover that this was actually a lunch time special, however said the waitress there is a similar deal if you are a senior which I probably didn’t qualify for. Dejectedly I asked how old is a senior, fifty five I was told. I let the waitress know my age with ID if she wished then had a “seniors” meal. The afternoon had been a lot of fun as I managed to chat with a few different people in the town as I wandered around and the older waitress in the restaurant. I have also discovered an advertisement for BOGA – Yoga that is finished up with a beer afterwards, could be something I could get into! A good start to my independent riding.
15th July
CA1 is the highway that stretches it’s way along the coast of California and was reportedly spectacular and a good ride. I managed to knock out the usual distance of around 350 km for the day. It turned out to be exactly what I was told, good riding with some excellent curving sections and scenic, although the fog had rolled in off the sea not long into the days ride. Stopping for a drink and a leg stretch in a tiny little village, I struck up a conversation with a middle aged Afro American guy that worked there. He explained to me it was basically due to the heat further inland causing the cooler air to be drawn in from the sea to replace the hot air as it rose in the desert. Once again the conversation drifted to politics and the candidates for president of the United States. Not a lot positive is being said about Trump and I keep wondering how did this guy get to the point he is at!
My objective was Half Moon Bay. It is a very popular beachside area for tourists and the locals of San Fransisco as it is only thirty kilometres away. This of course makes it rather expensive and the cheapest place I could find to hang my helmet was at the Coast side inn, a whopping 160 dollars, that’s a weeks worth of travel in South America. I wanted to be within striking distance of San Fransisco to enable an early morning ride to the Golden Gate Bridge to escape the hordes of tourists that would flood the viewing areas. Hopefully the cost would be outweighed by the thrill of photographing this iconic structure.
The hotel was on the main highway, hence it’s “low cost”, and the only eatery I could find close by was across the road, a Spanish restaurant. The restaurant had only just started operating and was empty when I arrived. The young lady behind the bar informed me of the Spanish owner/chefs history and that his experience of working around the world ensured the food would be exceptional, and it was. The owner came out to the bar joining the staff and myself for a really great chat. It had turned into a very nice evening.
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