Newsletter No. 34
September 21, 2022

REACHED THE FINISH LINE STILL RUNNING!

We were greeted by a rainbow in Goleta Monday morning as we were leaving. The important thing to remember about rainbows is that they require water in the air (otherwise known as rain). It was drizzling as we were getting ready to leave the hotel, so I made the executive decision to haul the bike up the 101 to the rather obscure turnoff where the Old Coast Highway takes you into Solvang.

I put on my Frogg Toggs® rain jacket and paints and we headed toward Solvang, a neat town that has a clear German heritage.  There, we stopped out front of the Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum. It was Monday and I knew they were only open on weekends, so Willie and Glen peeked in the windows while I rested on my trusty steed, the Red One

Moderate rain persisted for a good part of the morning, so some of the intended ride legs had to be passed up including the much anticipated ride through the town of Pismo Beach.

I did manage to ride through Santa Margarita and Atasadero, then trailered it up to Santa Margarita where I got back on the road and rode all the way to King City. We put it back in the trailer and had lunch in King City before heading up to Salinas. Willie’s concerns not withstanding, I insisted on putting the Red One back on the road just north of Salinas on the San Juan Grade Road that is a twisty (and very rough) road over the hills to San Juan Bautista. By the time I covered those eight miles at between 10-25 mph bobbing and weaving the potholes and bumps, my body announced I was done riding for the day!

Yesterday morning, after looking at the rush hour traffic, I made an audible call change... we would trailer the Red One direct to the Clift Hotel. My childhood friend Dirk Setchko met us upon arrival having already schmoozed the doorman Todd Shinn to hold a prime parking spot at the front door to the hotel! 

I fired up the Red One and did a Facebook Live video feed shot by Glen Pyle, talking about the ride and generally celebrating the completion of this seemingly-never-ending quest.

I will be preparing and posting more material on the way home. We leave Winnemucca, Nevada today, and will overnight in Laramie Wyoming tonight.  I will be home by Friday I think.

If you have not checked and followed the Facebook page, you can see it here:

https://facebook.com/aabmc2019/

Thanks again for all your support!

Mark