Happy 5th Anniversary

(pardon the brief interruption from the Oshkosh trip to get this done while it’s fresh)

Valerie worked out a deal for our 5th anniversary that we could get 36 contiguous hours of baby sitting (some paid, some graciously offered by family) which would give us a night away from our 3 lovely kiddos and enough daytime to travel away and get back whilst actually sleeping in and enjoying a morning! Don’t have to twist my arm, let’s go!

Valerie has been wanting to ride with me on the motorcycle ever since we’d met nearly 10 years ago. My previous 2 bikes were small “beginners” bikes, and I really wasn’t all that keen on 2-up riding with them. But, the real kicker was I insisted that she needed all the gear in order to go. Fast forward 9 nears, and I have a bike well capable of going double and all the gear, but, we just couldn’t get away with 3 kids (oldest is 3, plus 1 year old twins). Finally, this is our chance to hit the road together.

The other nagging issue is that in my 12 years of riding road bikes, I’d yet to ever carry a passenger. I got some helpful pointers from folks here. A bit of nay saying about the length of the trip, and needing practice (how exactly *do* you “practice” 2-up riding, without actually, ya know riding 2-up?!?), and stories of trips gone bad … it all had me slightly spooked that the motorcycle would be the thing that spoiled this getaway trip. But, Valerie is not your average chica and I had a good feeling that it’d all work itself out just fine.

Enough yack’n, lets get started …

[ click to go interactive ]

The destination is Anchor Bay, up Highway 1 — a “short” 180 mile trip.

The trip begins

DMC-ZS3, ISO 100, ƒ/4.5, 1/60sec, 25.9 mm focal L., map

I actually wanted to get some slow-speed practice since we’d be heading through San Francisco. We bopped around our local neighborhood looking for a good window to snap a photo in. It was great surface street and parking lot practice to get the feel for the bike with twice the accustomed passenger load on it. I was feeling good. Valerie was anxious to get some miles behind us. A quick 1 hour burn up 101 and we arrived at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

I think the lane splitting might have been a bit much for the first trip out — she said it was fine. The pick-up truck that was hot-boxing (seriously it was skunky!) down the freeway was a little bit freaky, but, we got around them OK.

Not being stuck in the Embarcadero gridlock through San Francisco — priceless!

Rock star parking — Stopped at the San Francisco Ferry Building to get some treats to “picnic” on later that night by the fire.

DMC-ZS3, ISO 80, ƒ/5.0, 1/400sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~48mi from prev photo, map

Elvis impersonator — OK, maybe that’s stretching it, but, his lip sync routine was largely Elvis.

DMC-ZS3, ISO 125, ƒ/4.4, 1/400sec, 18.2 mm focal L. ~1ft from prev photo, map

With about 50 miles under our collective belts, the cycle was working out well for both of us. It’s kinda hot seeing Valerie in gear…

All smiles

DMC-ZS3, ISO 100, ƒ/3.3, 1/60sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~6ft from prev photo, map

The SF Ferry Building is (now) a collection of boutique food shops. Meats, cheese, chocolate, bread, pastries, restaurants, ohh, and a farmers market on the weekends. Since we knew we’d be eating a later lunch (more on that later…), we gathered the fix’ns for a “picnic” dinner to enjoy by the fireplace in our room.

Crowded — We’re heading for the Cowgirl Creamery for cheese.

DMC-ZS3, ISO 100, ƒ/3.3, 1/30sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~0ft from prev photo, map

Personalized queso tasting — Too many choices of yummy stinky cheese

DMC-ZS3, ISO 125, ƒ/3.4, 1/30sec, 4.7 mm focal L. ~13ft from prev photo, map

It was unseasonably warm downtown. All the squids were running around in tank tops and shorts on their scooters — we must have looked as funny to them as they looked to us.

A trip over the Golden Gate Bridge got us out of the city and a brief respite of cooler air. But, heading through Fairfax was much warmer than I’d been expecting. Sir Francis Drake Blvd gave both Valerie and I a taste of the twisties that were in our route ahead of us — traffic kept the speeds very nicely tempered as we both explored the bike’s handling with 2 people. Valerie experimented with following my leans and realized it was much more comfortable than trying to stay rigid with the bike.

Our lunch destination was the Station House Cafe, in Pt Reyes Station. Being sans-children meant appetizers; oysters and a Martini, but only a few sips for me.

Kumamoto Oysters — Stopped for lunch at the Station House Cafe, a favorite of ours.

DMC-ZS3, ISO 80, ƒ/3.3, 1/60sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~34mi from prev photo, map

The rest of the route took us north up CA-1. It’s a route I’d driven before and always wanted to take the cycle up. The weather was sunny and warm along the coast (2 rarities), and being a weekend, the traffic was moderate, but tolerable. We both settled into a nice groove making decent time after getting around some of the slowest cages.

During one particularly tasty stretch of maybe dozen connected “slalom” turns with unrestricted visibility throughout all the corners, my right hand kept getting heavier and heavier as we flicked the bike over side to side, making quick carving cuts. After about the 8th corner, I get a gentle pat on the side — we’d reached the Speed-o-Valerie, and I cooled it down a bit.

After 180 miles in the saddle for the day, we were both reaching that, “it’s a good time to stop” feeling — any further and it truly would have been too much for our first trip.

Settling in — We stayed at the Whale Watch Inn — it’s not crazy fancy, but, it made a nice retreat for us.

DMC-ZS3, ISO 400, ƒ/3.3, 1/30sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~74mi from prev photo, map

The Whale Watch Inn was a great retreat. It’s not uber luxury; the decor is dating itself. However, the seclusion, private beach access, a real fireplace in the room, and a private hot-tub on our deck with an ocean view, all at a fair price — let’s just say decor was the farthest thing from our minds…

Private hot-tub with an ocean view on our deck. — Ohhhh, yeaaaahh.

DMC-ZS3, ISO 100, ƒ/3.3, 1/30sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~0ft from prev photo, map

View from the cliff

DMC-ZS3, ISO 80, ƒ/4.0, 1/160sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~0ft from prev photo, map

We took advantage of the wine and vittles in the common room while we chatted with some of the other guests. Then a short walk down to the beach.

My Purple haired vixen

DMC-ZS3, ISO 200, ƒ/3.3, 1/30sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~0ft from prev photo, map

Use at your own risk — There was literally a sign posted. It was quite stable…

DMC-ZS3, ISO 250, ƒ/3.3, 1/30sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~0ft from prev photo, map

When I went to start the fire, I was greeted by shredded paper with easy burning sap wood arranged nicely atop it. I reckon they’ve had too many city slickers come in that think fireplaces are “turned on” with a switch.

What’s the fun in that? — Just add a match.

DMC-ZS3, ISO 100, ƒ/3.3, 1/125sec, 4.1 mm focal L.

No phones in the room. No cell service. No computers. No TV. No clock. No kids (nor worries about them; they were in good hands). Tasty treats acquired and a bottle of Cava (sparkling wine, !champagne) … yeaaaahh, it was a very relaxing evening.

Heading home

DMC-ZS3, ISO 80, ƒ/5.0, 1/400sec, 4.1 mm focal L. @42 MPH,, map

The nice thing about riding the cycle — the trip home isn’t just about traveling; it’s half the fun and we were both happy to get on the road as check-out time approached.

Long line of cars

DMC-ZS3, ISO 125, ƒ/5.0, 1/400sec, 4.1 mm focal L. @44 MPH, ~993ft from prev photo, map

We hit slow-poke traffic backing up a dozen cars. I hit the “detour” function on the GPS, and it happily routed us through Annapolis. The post office is about all there is in Annapolis, CA. I kid you not, there’s a 30MPH sign a few hundred yards on either side of the post office and an odd house or two visible from the road, and that’s it.

Why the USPS loses money

DMC-ZS3, ISO 100, ƒ/4.0, 1/125sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~7.4mi from prev photo, map

But, the road was all kinds of fun and almost completely empty of other vehicles. Pavement was in decent shape and fairly smooth considering all the patchwork that makes up large sections of the road. We worked on braking technique, and I realized that I needed to be smoother on the brakes leading up to corners. Valerie was really good about anticipating it, but, I don’t think it was very relaxing for her.

Annapolis Rd

DMC-ZS3, ISO 100, ƒ/5.6, 1/640sec, 4.1 mm focal L. @37 MPH, ~2.4mi from prev photo, map

Annapolis Rd ends at this bridge. The GPS suggested I turn right and head back to CA-1 — uhm, no thanks, I’ll go left onto Stewart Point Skaggs Spring Rd (say that 5-times, fast). This was equally as empty, and sufficiently maintained that we made fairly good time.

And then, the road widened and had proper markings and an actual shoulder. It was smooth, fast, sweeper after sweeper after sweeper. Valerie was following my leans and the two of us just connected with the machine and chewed up the corners. One of the best stretch of roads I’ve had the pleasure of riding. The only bummer is the damn road is posted at 35-40MPH. We weren’t setting any speed records, yet were rarely under 55. I saw quite a few sport bikes heading in that general direction on our way to Healdsburg; I wonder how frequently it’s patrolled…

Time to go — Don’t want traffic to pass us by…

DMC-ZS3, ISO 100, ƒ/4.0, 1/320sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~3.6mi from prev photo, map

We had just enough time to get some lunch at fantastic brewery we found many years ago in Healdsburg: Bear Republic Brewery. It brought back fond memories of when we first started dating…

Bear Republic Brewery — A favorite of ours in Healdsburg.

DMC-ZS3, ISO 200, ƒ/3.3, 1/30sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~31mi from prev photo, map

We took some real goat trails east of Santa Rosa that turned out to be a waste of time. Rough roads with lots of traffic. You win some; you lose some.

Rolling through Glen Ellen, we couldn’t place our finger on what was so unusual about the town. Valerie thought it must’ve been ex-military, but, it just wasn’t right for that. Turns out it was an institution built in the late 1800′s where people dumped there learning impaired children.

Glen Ellen — Weird vibe from all the buildings that look the same.

DMC-ZS3, ISO 100, ƒ/4.0, 1/250sec, 4.1 mm focal L. @21 MPH, ~30mi from prev photo, map

And from there, we just made our way back to San Jose. The kids were very awfully happy to see us and the chaos of our regular life resumed as if we’d never set foot out of the house.

I later asked Valerie if she thought she’d had had more fun on the trip by taking the cycle — unequivocally, she agreed it was perfect for such a trip. I think she’s hooked