Conclusion 2022 Recap Day 10

Day 10: September 19, 2022
Goleta to Gilroy, California

April 26, 2024

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

In the hotel parking lot, first thing in the morning in Goleta (just north of Santa Barbara), we were greeted with a rainbow as we were preparing to leave. Willie took a photo and then applied some kind of filter. The rainbow was beautiful, but I saw it for what it was, a sign that rain was in the air. It was already drizzling as we were getting ready to leave the hotel. Our first bit of riding was going to be on US 101, followed by a hill climb to the Old Coast Highway turnoff north of Gaviota. C.K. Shepherd wrote he was near Gaviota when he found a spot in the hills to camp for one night. But, due to rain and slick roads, we ended up trailering the Red One up to the turnoff to the Old Coast Highway.

It was still raining when we arrived at the Old Coast Highway, so put on my rain gear before firing up the Red One. This was beautiful country and – at times – the rain subsided and gave way to a thin fog that let the morning sun through to illuminate the golden grass growing across the tops of the rolling hills. I recalled the similarity of this landscape to that in a photograph that C.K. Shepherd saved in his personal archives as being taken somewhere between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

After rolling comfortably for several miles through the countryside, we came upon Solvang. This is a pretty town that was clearly influenced by Danish immigrants. We stopped out front of the Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum. It was only open on weekends, so all we could do is peek in the windows.

I rode out of Solvang, toward Los Olivos, where we would soon after be forced back onto US 101. Rain – often moderate – persisted for a good part of the morning. We pulled over at a market in Los Berros, south of Pismo Beach, hoping the rain would let up at least enough to allow me to ride through the town of Pismo Beach, but it just kept raining! I had been looking forward to riding through Pismo Beach, but the weather just refused to cooperate and we instead opted to load up the Red One.

I did manage to ride through Santa Margarita and Atasadero, then trailered to San Ardo where I got back on the road all the way to King City. For miles on the road north of San Ardo, C.K.’s words rang true: “Always the Southern Pacific Railroad is on our right, sometimes just a few feet from the highway.”

We had lunch in King City and then, just north of Salinas, I put the Red One back on the road so that I could ride the San Juan Grade Road. This is a meandering road that climbs into the hills and then descends into San Juan Bautista toward Gilroy. Back in 1919, this was the road that all motorists took from Salinas to San Jose and beyond, but the last 100 years have not treated the roadway well. It was very rough. It was only eight miles to San Juan Bautista, but it was an extremely rough passage. By the time I covered the distance, most often riding no faster than 25 MPH while bobbing and weaving around the potholes and bumps, my body resolutely sent all the signals that even I could understand: I was done riding for the day!

We spent that last night on the road in Gilroy, south of San Jose.

Mark

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