Due to a little mishap while riding my Triumph Bonneville up in the foothills after work one evening in late May, (close encounter with a coyote) I busted my ankle and didn't get healed up in time to follow thru on my plans to make the 3500 mile round trip to Sturgis and back from Central California. Very disappointing. It's been a bucket list item for a long time, and this year was the first time it was realizable. I reckon it will just have to wait.
Although still not 100%, I decided to meet a buddy who lives 100 miles south of me, in Cayucos on the Central Coast. It's about 150 miles there from where I live. I rode my Softail Deluxe, leaving at 2pm on Friday with temps here in the valley approaching 100°. It's about the same distance for him from where he lives, but he brought his bike, a Honda CBR600, in the back of his truck.
Saturday morning we made an out and back run up the Pacific Coast Hiway to Monterey and back.
It was a glorious day! This picture is just south of Big Sur. At this point the road is pretty twisty with hairpin turns posted at 15-20mph. I have to admit that since it's been a while since I've been on a long ride, I was a bit twitchy in the tight turns, especially after draggin' the floorboards a couple times, which added to my apprehension. Eventually I was able to relax and the riding became much smoother.
Traffic getting into Carmel/Monterey was heavier than I thought it would be. Maybe because of the last weeks of summer before school is back in session. There was also a "Ferrari Fun Run" going on. We were getting pressure from behind, and a couple of 'em passed us (and a bunch of other cars) in the turns over the double yellow line, hitting' the paddle shifters as they passed. Crazy stuff
Although my buddy was able to leave me behind through the tight turns, I caught up when he pulled off looking for relief from his sore backside. Apparently the seat padding on them there sport bike is not conducive to long rides!
Anyway, it was a nice all day ride, and the Deluxe knocked down 48mpg. I gotta say I am surprised at that!

There's the thread about Harley guys disliking metric bikes...Who really give a ****? A ride with friends is a ride with friends!

 

Sounds like a great time.

Nice scoot too!!! I'm a little partial to that model.

 

Beautiful part of the country and a great ride..rode it years ago when I had relatives in cayucos. Went over to wine country from there but that is another tale!

 

Plenty of Sturgis on You Tube. I just watched about 2 minutes and had enough. If you feel like you missed out on something go to the tube.

 

Sorry you missed Sturgis, as it was on your "bucket list." I rode from Santa Cruz and enjoyed the 75th very much. Hopefully, you'll be able to go next year. Anyway, really nice pictures and a great ride on PCH. I live right on PCH and enjoy riding down to Big Sur and beyond. Sounds like you had a great ride!!

 

Is it normal now for so much traffic on that stretch? Through the park areas such as Big Sur, Pfeiffer and others, the sides of the road were lined with cars and campers. People walking on the side of the road, sometimes walking out into the road without looking….Through those areas, it was bumper to bumper for a bit.

Now it's been a few years since I've been on that stretch, and I don't remember there being that much activity.

Even so, yeah, the ride was great! I'm thinking I'll do it again during the non-summer months. Maybe being the closing days of summer had something to do with the amount of traffic