SLO Ride

On Sunday, my friend Peter and I departed Santa Cruz on our way to San Luis Obispo, CA. The plan: ride roads we have not ridden, ride some dirt, eat well and have fun.

Old Hernandez Road off of Hwy 25. The goat path turns to dirt with so rocks the size of your fist scattered in soft dirt.

Riding the San Andreas Fault we take Parkfield Grade into the tiny town of Parkfield.

After a BBQ tri-tip sandwich and ortega burger we took some photos…

It’s a great time to ride in California. After the rains the hills turn vibrant green, rather than the yellow straw we see in the summer. I imagine I’m riding in Ireland. Bitterwater Road is quite sweet.

Peter was falling asleep when we were riding on hwy 58 about 22 miles out of SLO. He stopped to rest for a few minutes and I went into town to gas up, get beer and check in to the motel. As I was stuffing my duffel bag with beer, my cell phone rang at the Chevron and Peter was on the stuck side of Hwy 101, 4 miles north, with and empty tank of gas. My MSR fule bottle with a liter of gas came to the rescue. My R1200 made it 220 miles on a tank (fuel spout drilled) and I put in 5.7 gallons of gas there. The 1150’s range was a bit shorter.

After we checked in we polished of a 12 pack of Pacifico and walked over to our favorite Italian restaurant, Buono Travola. Carpacchio, penne ariabiata and veal along with two bottles of the Central Coast’s finest red wine.

This Sangiovese was so complex I had to think about it.

After dinner we stumbled over to Mother’s bar and made some friends..

It was karaoke night and I’m not shy. I convinced our new friend April to join me on stage but she got stage fright and would not sing into the mic.

Sweet Child O’ Mine!

The crowd can’t contain themselves. It was as if the spirit of Axl Rose had taken over my body. I wish his voice was included.

The best place in the area to have breakfast is in Santa Margarita. No relation to the other Tina’s Place in McKittrick, CA.

The central coast of California is the birthplace of tri-tip. That tender triangular tip of the sirloin. It’s not just for dinner around here.

Hangover cures: Vitamins, Advil and Grease…

After breakfast we headed over to one of our favorite roads in the area: Hwy 229, Creston Road. I have never taken any photos of this rollercoaster because there’s no where to stop and you don’t want to stop because it’s so fun.

We pop out behind Paso Robles and take Estrella Road for the first time up to San Miguel. A nice find on the GPS…

After gasing up in San Miguel we rode Indian Valley Rd to Peach Tree Road. I think we saw two motorcycles and one car on the entire 38 mile stretch.

From here we flew up the the Airline hwy toward Hollister where we split up to go home.

A great Presidents Day Ride.

The Full Monty