Redwood forests, the Pacific Coast, one lighthouse and a touch of Hitchcock!

rickster

Member
The first thing I did to accessorize my CTX was to add luggage. I knew that I wanted to hit the road with this thing and sidecases and a top box were a must. I finished buying and installing the cases, hooked up the brake lights to the top box and promptly realized that I had dressed her all up and had no place to go. It was December. And, it seemed as though spring was an eternity away. I'd go out to the garage and just look at the bike...it was just like being a kid in a candy store with coins burning holes in my pockets. I swear, that sleek red sled kept talking to me. She'd softly say things like: “I'm ready...what are you waiting for?” OMG! Is this what impotence feels like? Then, in January, the weather gave me a break. This was a drought year in California and the temps had been warmer than usual throughout the fall and early winter. A small little storm was forecast to quickly move in and out of our area the next day. Then, the weather guy said, the temps were going to rise into the low 60's in the afternoon. So, my wife and I assembled all of the gear that we'd need for an excursion to the coast and packed up the CTX. The next morning I was glued to my favorite radar weather site and watched as the storm which had been accurately forecast moved to the east and out of our valley. At noon, I pushed the kickstand up and began my first motorcycle tour. An hour and a half later as we approached Clear Lake on California Highway 20, an enormous rain cell that I hadn't seen on the weather radar map found it's way from over the Pacific Ocean and had stalled over the coastal mountains I was riding through. A few hours after that, I was dripping on the floor of the inn that I would stay at in Mendocino with my trembling, freezing wife standing beside me at check in. Unlike the earlier conversations with my bike....my wife wasn't speaking softly... I guess 60 degrees of drenched isn't the same as 60 degrees of dry. And to think it took me this long to figure that out!

Now, we talk about that first tour every time we go out on the bike for a few days. It's become a running joke between us. Yes, once she thawed out she was able to find humor in my flawed decision making process. So, fast forward to late October of 2017...almost two years after the ill fated first adventure. The same TV weather guy is telling me that a very large high pressure area will push the temps into the mid 80's in the Sacramento Valley and into the 70's on the California coast. Not only that, but the high would push the foggy marine layer out to sea leaving the coast bright and sunny. Now...those are perfect conditions for returning to the Mendocino coast and riding along the most beautiful part of Highway 1 in all of California. And this time the warm, dry weather would smile on us for every inch of our tour as if asking forgiveness for having been so cruel 22 months earlier.

We left our home east of Sacramento and cruised up Highways 65 and 70 through Yuba City where we connected to Highway 20 which would take us to the coast. Just to the north of Yuba City are the Sutter Buttes. The Buttes are sometimes spoken of as the smallest mountain range on Earth. I don't know if that is true, but they are an oddity as they rise to over 2,000 feet in the middle of the Sacramento valley.

Once past the Buttes, our ride took us through farmland that is used for rice production. Rice is big business in this part of California and half of the popular medium grain rice grown here is exported. Crossing the junction of Highway 20 and Interstate 5 at Williams, the farmland gave way to ranch land as the coastal mountains on the western side of our valley began to rise before us. Before long we were twisting our way through the shoreline towns along Clear Lake. Clear Lake, the largest freshwater lake with its shoreline entirely in California (part of Lake Tahoe is in Nevada) is a popular place for boating and fishing. Even though the shoreline towns look a bit run down, the lake makes the ride on this part of Hwy. 20 quite beautiful.

Even though I knew I'd be riding through an area recently burned in Redwood Valley, I was surprised at how large the burn zone was and how it had so easily crossed Highway 101 / 20 which I was now on. The fire had burned so hot that it had incinerated the thick wooden posts that the highway guardrails were attached to and highway crews were busily installing new posts and rails made of metal. We continued on the combined 101/20 north into Willets where Hwy. 20 splits from 101 and heads west to the coast. This part of Hwy. 20 is popular with motorcyclists because it travels through scenic redwood forests and the road is one of the twistiest in the state. Once through the Jackson State Forest, the road drops to the coast and meets the famous California Highway 1 at the southern city limits of Fort Bragg. We turned left to go south on 1 and continued to Mendocino only 9 miles away.

Mendocino's charm is apparent the moment one wheels into town. The words that come to mind are “hip”, “artsy”, “rugged”, “windswept”, and “romantic”. The town is small and sits on a headland that is surrounded by the Pacific. Waves crash into the coast, the sun brightens up the town and the smell of sea air permeates everything. Water towers, many of which are still in use are scattered around town. There are eateries, friendly bars and ice cream shops all over town to keep a tourist entertained. Mendocino was once in economic difficulty, but in the 50's the arts community discovered it. Today, it's galleries, charm and gorgeous location have combined to bring life back to the town. Many tourists come and go in a day since the town is small and easy to see. But we like to hang out there and soak it all in. So, for us, Mendocino is always an overnight stop.

We pulled out onto Hwy 1 again at 9 the following morning. There was a little sea mist in the air, but nothing to impair visibility on the road. Once heading south from Mendocino, it is one turn after another. A lot of them require a motorcycle to slow down as the trees over the roadway collect water in their leaves overnight and drip onto the road. It seems that each little twisty reveals a view of the ocean that is better than the last. I was easy on the throttle for our safety and to enjoy the expansive views. This part of California's coast is much more rugged than the coast south of San Francisco. It is very rocky and windswept and the land takes a beating from the water as the two meet. The interplay between the rocks, water and wind can only be described as vicious.

About 30 miles south of Mendocino sits the Point Arena Lighthouse. It's still in operation although the original lighthouse that was built in 1870 was destroyed in 1906 by the earthquake that also demolished much of San Francisco. The replacement was built by a company that made industrial smokestacks and that's what the new lighthouse looks like. There is a museum next to the tower that has the original Fresnel lens on display. It is a gigantic chunk of glass. As we visited the lighthouse there was a pod of whales going by. We watched for a half an hour as they blew water out of their blowholes and arched up out of the water. We even saw one huge tale slap the water.

We continued through the twisties for another 55 miles and found ourselves in Bodega Bay. For you Alfred Hitchcock film buffs, the towns of Bodega and Bodega Bay are where the film “The Birds” was made. Bodega Bay is a beautiful small coastal village and we stopped there for lunch at Lucas Wharf. There are two restaurants there. One is larger with nice windows overlooking the water. The last time we were in Bodega Bay we ate there. This time, we ate next door at the smaller, more casual restaurant. We each had fish and chips that were amazingly fresh.

Sometimes we stay in Bodega Bay, but not on this trip. Instead we went inland a few miles and stayed in Occidental. Occidental is very small...one of those “tourists don't come here very often” kind of places. It sits in a thick forest where it's cool and the smoke from home fireplaces tints the air. For us, it was just a change of pace from the coast that we had enjoyed so much. One thing that the town offers is two large Italian “Family Style” restaurants that draw a clientele mostly from the nearby Santa Rosa area.

The next morning we headed toward home by taking California Highway 12 through Santa Rosa and Sonoma. This is my preferred way to get back from the coast and I didn't realize that I would be going through areas that had suffered through the recent firestorms. Being surprised at seeing how much destruction there was made it all the more heartbreaking. Peoples homes have been reduced to ash, cars were burned with flames so hot that the auto bodies were deformed. And still, two weeks after the fires had started there were hot spot crews racing up and down the highway with lights flashing and sirens blaring. Each town that we went through had been transformed as each light post, mailbox and storefront had a sign thanking the fire fighters for saving their towns, homes and businesses. Here out west, we are accustomed to forest fires. But this was different. These fires destroyed entire neighborhoods that were within city limits. Forty-two people died and 8,400 homes and other structures burned. Even the home of Peanuts artist Charles Schulz was destroyed. Vineyards went up in flames and wineries burned to the ground. Life is beginning...just beginning to return to normal in the area. But it was humbling to ride through such devastation.

We finished our adventure by following Hwy. 12 into the Napa Valley and on to Interstate 80 where we found relatively light traffic all of the way back into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada where our home is. It was an excellent trip and I recommend it if you like riding in redwood forests, along a stunning coastline and enjoy small towns, lighthouses and twisty roads. The CTX 700 performed flawlessly with the two of us and our belongings aboard. If you are considering a tour on the northern part of Hwy. 1, you have many options. The large, famous redwood parks are just north of Mendocino. San Francisco is only another 50 miles or so from Bodega Bay.

Highway 1 in the Big Sur area south of San Francisco has been closed due to a bridge being swept away in last winters storms and an enormous mudslide that has buried the roadway. The Pfeifer Canyon Bridge has been rebuilt and the new roadway over the enormous mudslide is being worked on. But, the roadwork at the mudslide won't be finished until late summer of 2018. So, while it's not possible to get from San Francisco to L.A. entirely on the Pacific Coast Highway, the northern section of Highway 1 above S.F., the most dramatic part is free and clear.

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Mendocino California, one of the great coastal hangouts in all of California!

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A classic view of the northern coast along California Highway 1...the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH)

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The Mendocino water towers are a common sight in town. Many of them are still in use for water and a few have been turned into residences.

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Mendocino driftwood art. There's a lot of cool art in the local galleries but the displays made from nature are interesting too.

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OK, I have to include a photo of the CTX700 as she's resting after the mountainous ride from our home to the coast. The light play on the trees from the sun setting off the coast captured my eye.
 
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rickster

Member
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Sunset at Mendocino

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Rocky, rugged, windy, salty air...yep, that'd be the California Coast.

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The Point Arena Lighthouse

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Spelling aside, the messages to the firefighters who saved so much in communities that have lost so much just rips your heart from your chest.
 
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