From Sonoma to Palo Alto

The long and winding road.

Again, the coast from a roadside view point on Highway 1.

Flowers that I stopped to "pick" for Jane

Them there grapevines around Sonoma that everybody talks about

I drove west from Sonoma bacl to the Highway 1 and the coast, and yep, this bit of the costal highwagy was as screwy as the others: clutching, braking, downshifting, accelerating, clutching and upchifting, over and over to negotiate the curves with at speeds of 15, 20, 25, and 30 mph. I stopped for a light breakfast/lunch at Pine Coves Diner in Point Reyes Station; a breakfast sandwich which consisted of two fried eggs, 3 strips of bacon, tomato and cheddar cheese ON WHOLE WHEAT BREAD, with hashbrowns (about half a pound I'd guess) and coffee.

The rest of the ride into san Fransisco was uneventful; except for the bit where we were stopped by the highway patrol to let an oversized load pass; a huge tank of some kind on a trailer which I can't figure out how it got through the hairpin turns.

And then as I rounded yet another curve in the road, there in front of me was the Golden Gate Bridge. which I crossed in mid afternoon with, as the song say, the glorious sun shining on me and a staedy stream of pedestrians crossing it as well.

I made my way through San Fransisco to a BMW motorcycle shop in Palo Alto where, to my surprise they were able to do an oil change and an inspection while I inspected the merchandise in their store. While I didn't buy a nelovely w bike, I did purchase a new pair of lightweight BMW gloves; and they even match my riding jacket. When I went to retrieve my bike tghe technician who had done the service said that I would have to change the rear shock as it was no longer working. When I asked if he had checked the shock adjustment he replied; No, but the wawa, yak yak ardu estamu giggling pin thingy whatchamaycallit is more blah blah. I thanked him for his extert advice, paid for the oil change and went off to find aroom for the nite. Having located an America's Best Value Inn, the Sky Ranch Inn on El Camino Real in Palo Alto, I unloaded the bike, retrieved the srewdriver from my toolkit, and proceeded to adjust the tension of the rear shock absorber. I was quite proud of myself and I'm sure that Jesse, my BMW mechanic in Ottawa would also have been.

As a reward for all my efforts I had dinner at Trader Vic's; some large oysters on a half shell with a glass of La Crema Chardonnay from Monterey, and a delicious steak with asparagus and roasted sweet potato accompanied by a lovely cabernet sauvignon whose provenance escapes me.

Today I rode from Palo Alto to Yosemite, the subject of another post.