SLO IV AKA Reg's Roundhouse Roundup - Revenge of the Fallen

was debating on putting up the live feed since no one showed from out of town. It's just us locals that you guys have all seen plenty of times... hehe...

 

Ok, I am testing the ustream live feed again...

search for reg71's garage on ustream.tv

 

It was the best of times. Despite being a small group, our spirits were high, and mother nature decided to smile upon us. The gathering took place in Atascadero around 10 a.m. The communications spaghetti wiring took a little sorting out and we were all gussied up in leather so the sun started a slow boil of the family jewels that would forcast the condition of my crotch for the day.

Some discussion about route that essentially boiled down to a similar route to the last BBQ where we crossed the fort and out to the coast for the hotter part of the day. We left Atascadero in high spirits with much radio chatter about this and that. First off we took Templeton Rd in a northwest-ish direction. From there we hung a right onto Lupine and rode over a couple hills and felt the warm breath of the wind sliding under our helmets. At the end of Lupine we took a left onto El Pomar and witnessed the first of what was to be a harbinger for road conditions for the day. A fresh black smooth road surface for a mile or so. It was the first but not to be the last. You could hear the excitement in the coomments made on the radio about the surface.

We continued on through Templeton and onto Vineyard where the real riding was to begin. The first part goes through town and is slow going but still nice enough and you get to see a couple nice vinyards while you are tooling along. Then we crossed 46 and stayed on the fun part of vineyard drive. What's this? Oh my, more new road surface. Doth mine eyes deceive me? We continue on enjoying the twists and turns and scenery offerred by vineyard. The old oaks stretch their arms above us giving us shade tunnels and flashes of light that seem to pulsate in our vision. We follow vineyard all the way to the end and take a right onto Adelaida and back into Paso Robles for fuel.

After tanking up we head back out on G14 towards Nacimiento Lake. Fortunately (or unfortuantely) for us one of SLO county's finest was tooling along in front of us at about mach zero. Riding a motorcycle through some of the twistiest roads you can imagine going about 45 is as close to my idea of hell as I want to get. The radio chatter at this time was about what would happen if we all just passed him on a wheelie cross the double yellow and took off. This is how we entertained ourselves for the next 15 minutes. The most excruciating passage of time for the entire ride by far.

He turned off at the lake and we continued on over the damn and up the hill finally getting to creep off the seat and reach our knees out toward the asphalt. Upand over the hill and left on interlakes road. The breath of wind now smells of char as mother nature reminds us of her dominance of this dry season where we live. The normally brown hills are blackened and small areas of white ash are strewn about. Blackened trees stand starkly against the bright blue skyline. We continue on through this section at a rate of speed that might be questionable in some circles but sometimes it just has to be done.





I stop for a quick pic while the guys head on ahead to Lockwood Store where the smell of char continues but this one is a pleasant kind and also foreshadowing our plans for the evening. Brian gives me the go ahead over the radio letting me know they made it all the way without noting any police presence so I get to stretch Scratch's legs a bit. There's nothing quite like the feeling of taking a set of curves at triple digit speeds with a smooth surface and great visibility. It really gets the blood pumping.

We stop and eat and enjoying some conversation with some local troops that happen to be partaking of the fruit of the grill at the same time. Tori and Brian opt for the yard bard while Bob and myself go the less greasy route and have cold sandwiches from inside the store.

After eating we headed toward Fort Hunter-Liggett stopping a moment at the tank posted outside the gate for a pic then heading for the security checkpoint. The secuity fellow was cheerful but not agreeable to the suggestion of giving Bob a cavity search since it was his first time crossing the fort. We proceeded on across the fort on Fergusen-Nacimiento Rd and through the national forest.

Those of you who have made this journey probably remember that this section of road has a fair amount of debris on it so the going is fairly slow. Luckily the scenery is beautiful so the real challenge is to keep from becoming distracted and crashing. We continue on climbing up and up through the winding road and into the mountains. Up ahead I notice a maroon mini van and give everyone the heads-up on the radio. Hmm, looks suspicious. Now I am not one to promote stereotypes. Who am I kidding? Yes I am, and I'm about to do it again. We have a definite case of DWA ahead of us. Those of you in Cali know what I am talking about. This lady was taking her share of the road right from the middle at best and the left at worst. My guess is she was freaking out about the cliff the fell a couple hundred feet on her right. In one instance she actually forced an oncoming BMW off his side of the road to get past her. Bob and I actually ended up passing her twice because further up the road we stopped to add our contribution to keeping the forest fire risk down a couple ounces at a time.

The road continues is sand strewn twisty way up and over and to one of the best views I have found in California. It's like being on the top of the world and gazing at creation. We wind our way down coasting most of the time without bothering to turn on the bike gliding like a gull on the wind. Much of the time I spend with my hands at either side with the wind slipping between the fingers of my gloves.



Our spacing grows drastically in this section of road as we each slip into our own little piece of the world and enjoy it in our individual ways. We all regroup once we make it to the bottom and take some pics at a clearing of all the bikes lined up that Tori or Bob will post later.



After a short conversation with a national forest service ranger looking for a stranded motorcyclist, (I should have told him to look for a Harley) we all degeared and enjoyed a break in some of the finest weather I have ever seen on the coast. Conditions were ideal. They could not have been better short of the roads being blocked off for all vehicles except bikes.

We all jump on Hwy 1 the most scenic road in California and one of the twistiest and blast our way down the cliffside breaking as many traffic laws as you might imagine to get around the cages crawling along watching Blue as much as the road. All in all the traffic was rather light and we only had maybe one close pass. We stayed on one down through San Simeon and past Hearst Castle up on it's hillside watching the Pacific. The cool breeze slipping off the water and under my helmet felt great. We continue on and wave at the seals out sunning on the beach. Further south near Cambria, the parachute surfers are out enjoying the day while the sun worshippers lay in the sand. On down and through town heading inland. We come to hwy 46 and Bob heads out on his own. Back to Atascadero we go and start getting ready for good eats and cold beers.

All in all, it was a good day. We had some great weather, great roads, and no mishaps. Just about a perfect day of riding. Wish you were here.

reg