San Francisco CA to Fortuna CA
Monday August 7, 2017
(~305 miles)

Finally, we were hitting the open road and getting on with this vacation! Comments from riding friends about the stability of plugged car tires allowed me to push most of my stress to the back of my mind for the day, though I checked pressure frequently for peace of mind.

Lombard Street actually coincides with US 101, the highway that crosses the Golden Gate Bridge. so in a matter of minutes after leaving the hotel, there we were crossing the scarlet span. One of those special lifetime moments for sure.

I had plugged in a waypoint on the northern side of the bridge up on the Marin Highlands, to take in The View. The original plan was to be there around 7 a.m. before most of the tourist world was up and about. Due to our tire delay, we arrived near midday amidst tourist traffic craziness, with people stopping in the street regardless of whether there were parking spaces left at the popular viewpoint pullout.

The advantages of riding a motorcycle showed themselves as I pulled a quick U-ey and pulled into the curb at the edge of the parking area, surrounded by cages jockeying for position. It was worth the hassle for an iconic look across the mouth of the bay.

We quickly took our photos and hopped back on the bike to escape the craziness right as a park patrol SUV was circling back to move everyone along. We continued north on US 101 past Sausalito and Marin City to where CA 1  diverged toward the coast. We knew there were road closures ahead on Route 1 due to landslides, and were ready for some traffic backup and a detour.

It was slow going on such a beautiful twisty road for a while until we turned off on Panoramic Highway, which would take us around Muir Woods Natl Monument on a more inland inland route (which looked equally as curvy on the map!).

After a brief stop to snap a state park sign for the Americana tour, we enjoyed the lighter traffic and forested curves of the coastal highlands until rejoining Route 1 in Stinson Beach on the coast.

I spotted an opportunity for my California fire station category here.

We rode north cutting across the base of the peninsula of Point Reyes National Seashore, which encloses Tomales Bay. Here in the small village of Marshall, we stopped at the Marshall Store for lunch, where I  had heard that the oysters were to die for. Thanks again to the LD online community for setting us straight!

I ordered a half-dozen smoked oysters and a tri-tip sandwich, all of which was delicious. Char claimed that her veggie panini sandwich was one of the best she’d ever had as well. We ate sitting outside at a long counter facing the water and cool sea breezes.

Aside from one more short jog inland near Bodega Bay, CA 1 kept us right on the coast for miles and miles, endless scenery and sweeping roads mixed with a little fog and sunshine – oh and cows.

As we were running a few hours behind, we skipped a few optional roadside attractions along the route, but we did stop about half way up the coast at Point Arena lighthouse, which would be my first (only?) Pacific coast lighthouse for the Iron Butt Lighthouse tour. The lighthouse was actually open that day for tours, but we arrived as they were closing down. I did get to walk inside the museum and see the first order fresnel lens, which is gigantic.

Char also spotted these rusty prehistoric predators for me, in Gualala – good for my Americana Tour dinosaur category in CA.

 

I began to get concerned about finding fuel as the afternoon wore on… The original plan had us getting to the hotel by early evening, but we were way behind. It was all small villages out by the coast, and I had noticed a distinct lack of modern 24-hour fuel stops (normally a good thing). Luckily, the GPS found us a local gas station in Mendocino that was closed up for the day, but had apparently left the pumps turned on for the locals to fill up.
The nearby lighthouse at Point Cabrillo was on the list of stops, but turned out to be a no-go due to the half mile walk necessary to reach the light… we simply didn’t have the time at this late hour. However we did stop close by for a bathroom break at Russian Gulch State Park, which turned out to be a hidden little beauty of a campground and beach, in a canyon beneath Route 1.

Fueled up and refreshed, we continued sweeping up the coast enjoying amazing scenery and roads.

We passed through Fort Bragg, which was certainly the biggest town we saw all day. I snapped a local motorcycle shop there for the Americana tour.

In another 25 miles, CA 1 again turned inland for the final time of our ride, and we soaked in our last view of the Pacific:

We headed northeast over and through the coastal hills, enjoying a few more forested curves (with evidence of past landslides) en route to Leggett and our final distraction of the day at the famous drive-thru Chandelier Tree.

Having come up the coast road, this was our first real look at the bigger redwood trees. I hadn’t known what to expect, but I was super impressed with these grand old trees and especially the Chandelier Tree itself, which had persevered for decades despite the damage humans have done to it on a lark. In fact, looking at its foliage, the tree looks robust and in its prime to this untrained eye.

We bought some souvenirs in the gift shop and headed out into the darkening evening. It was now too late and dark to appreciate riding the famous Avenue of Giants, which I had planned as the grand finale for our day. Instead we stuck to the faster-moving US 101 all the way up to our hotel in Fortuna, glad to have reached our destination safely for the night and thrilled with all we had seen that day.