CA Coast and wine Country - Ride Reports - Sport-Touring

• CA Coast and wine Country by nevinfs327 on 16 Feb, 2016 00:04
• Just a day ride.  Two days really, but given the bar for ride reports may be lower in February thought I'd post some pics from Saturday and today.
  
  Traffic was already starting to appear in wine country at 10am. This was a quick stop to change to perforated gloves along highway 12. Very green after the January rains.
  
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  121 northbound from Napa to 128 westbound - both awesome.
  
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  Lake Hennessey - water levels looking good!
  
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  Another solo rider enjoying the day and I took photos of one another.
  
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  Back in the valley - the Silverado Trail tends to have much less traffic than 128 in this section.  No grapes this time of year, but vineyards are far from barren.
  
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  Trees are blooming - lots of yellow this time of year.
  
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  Looking down at Lake Sonoma.
  
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  Stewart's Point - Skagg's Spring Road is a lot of fun.  It starts very wide and open with excellent pavement, then gets narrow and a bit bumpy before dumping you out of the woods to beautiful Pacific Ocean views.
  
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  Sometimes 2 lanes, sometimes 1, typically no warning of change.
  
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  The creek below was rushing in some spots, and slower in others.  I don't know the story of this car, but a good reminder to keep speeds in check.
  
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  Where I started getting nervous about range on reserve.
  
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  The ground was extremely soft and mushy under these redwoods.
  
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  The western length of the road is definitely the tightest.
  
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  Then...the coast and salvation in the form of fuel at Stewart's Point...except I forgot the store is temporary closed.  Google Maps says Gualala is my best bet for fuel. In the wrong direction, but hard to complain when these are the views...
  
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  Not sure why the above photo looks hazy - it was very clear and sunny.
  
  Fort Ross to Jenner is one of my favorite sections of road.
  
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  The Russian River meeting the Pacific.
  
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  Followed the coast to Valley Ford, then cut over to Petaluma for the last leg of the ride as the sun quickly set.  A great ride in February, especially with a partially perforated leather jacket and just a t-shirt underneath.
  
  Bonus pics.
  
  My wife and I rode to Nick's Cove for lunch, enjoying another warm day along the coast.
  
  Ridgecrest Blvd looking down on Stinson Beach and Bolinas.
  
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  It is a rollercoaster of a road, but that first step is a big one...
  
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  Obviously I need to reset the date stamp on my camera.
• #1 by Cookie on 16 Feb, 2016 04:56
• Very nice.
  
  (change the date on your camera)
• #2 by stew71 on 25 Feb, 2016 23:53
• Nice pics. I love that portion of the PCH from SF to Ft. Bragg. Just north of Ft. Ross is one of our "secret" honeyholes for ab diving....
• #3 by Jim on 26 Feb, 2016 00:03
• Thank you!
  
  Yea, photo datestamp had me double-check the post datestamp thinking it might have been a thread from the dead resurrection.
• #4 by nevinfs327 on 28 Feb, 2016 18:49
• Adding a few more photos from yesterday's ride which went into the hills west of the Bay and included the coast from Watsonville to Pescadero.
  
  It was another beautiful day: mid-60s on departure and mostly mid-70s throughout the day.  Reminded me of late spring in the northeast.
  
  Didn't break out the camera until Mines Rd.  It offers a good selection of turns, views, pavement quality and tends to have little traffic.
  
  The road is cut along the hillside in the distance.
  
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  Some areas are lush and green, and others very dry.
  
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  130 Eastbound toward Patterson descends from wooded hilltops into rolling hills that remind me of parts of South Dakota and Nebraska.
  
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  The hillsides are mostly cow pastures, so this planted area really stood out.
  
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  33 in the Central Valley is not picture worthy in a ride report; 152 past San Luis Reservoir is, but heading westbound it is difficult to find a place to cut over...so no pics.  The good news is that the water levels look much better than a year ago.
  
  While 152 east of Gilroy is not a bad ride, from Gilroy to Watsonville it can be really fun through the dense coastal woods.
  
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  The view from Hecker Pass, over the farmland to the Pacific in the distance.
  
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  Highway 1 northbound from Santa Cruz was perfect.
  
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  From San Gregorio I took 84 over the hills to avoid beach traffic around Half Moon Bay, enjoying the ride up past Alice's before making the last leg home on 280. 
• #5 by Rincewind on 08 Mar, 2016 12:25
• So lush and green - makes this East Coaster jealous. 
  
  Just curious - did the Scrambler replace your Street Triple and V7 Cafe? 
• #6 by nevinfs327 on 08 Mar, 2016 14:39
• Quote from: Rincewind on 08 Mar, 2016 12:25

  So lush and green - makes this East Coaster jealous. 
  
  Just curious - did the Scrambler replace your Street Triple and V7 Cafe?
  

  
  I didn't move to CA for the weather, but warm sunny days in the winter are definitely a bonus.
  
  Yes, I did sell the other two bikes.  Street Triple last April, and the Moto Guzzi in December.  The Scrambler really does a good job of bridging the attributes of each of them.  Good for simple, fun riding. 
  
  I also had a lot of downtime with the Guzzi almost as soon as it became my main bike (clutch pushrod bearing, various electrical gremlins).  I was using the 1 or 2 days per month I get to go riding for troubleshooting.