TAHOE CALIFORNIA

Finally, a chance to access this blog again. I've stayed with friends who had computer service, but no WiFi.. so I couldn't load photos.
Problem is that now I have too MANY photos backed-up.... so here's a little update and then some shots.

I left Jena and Vic's lovely home in San Rafael about two PM today, and now, around 9:30, I'm in north Lake Tahoe in a little town called King's Beach.
Time for a re-cap on my Bay Area experiences ...

I spent about a week there, based again, ou of San Rafael, a suburb of San Francisco 15 miles north of the city across the Golden Gate Bridge...a town made famous due in part to Jerry Garcia and other Dead members living there.
First, the Coast. Here are some shots coming down from Eureka, up north in California, including redwood forests:

Okay, here're some pictures of San Francisco proper, including Haight Ashbury, where I spent a few days lolli-gagging around.. not quite the same as 1967 of course, but still a loit of young grimy panhandlers... head shops... cafes and bars. A fun place to people-watch... Also, a "Power to the Peaceful" event happening in Golden Gate Park just yesterday (Saturday). California girls really ARE the Most.. many unbelieveable beauties..

I took a few rides up the West Marin coastline, past Muir and Stinson Beaches, and up to Point Reyes National Seashore. The ride up Cal Rte 1 was twisty-insane... one of the pay-off reasons why I'm riding a sportbike across country. California, outside the rather widely-separated cities, is raw wilderness. This is what gives it such character... and the SCALE of the landscapes is truly stunning.

Up at Point Reyes I stood on a thousand-foot precipice and wacthed whales spouting far below. Nearby North Beach (not the city place) was crisp and wild...the Pacific there is heavy cold and beautiful and grand.

what else.... I did a lot of stuff in a week.. toured all over the Bay area on the bike... got to know my around SF quite well... pretty easy city to navigate. Little town called Bolinas in a corner of the Point Reyes peninnsula... tiny place set back in time... sat in the local bar with scruffy fiushermen locals and we tore it up pretty good. Went to a great arts fastival in Sausalito; had Paul Kantner, Slick Aguilar and David Frieberg from Quicksilver, doing Airplane and Starship tunes, with a great female vocalist. Small venue, beautiful against the backdrop of the SF Bay. Maybe will get photos later... (how 'bout it, Jena?)

Got Religion last Sunday morning and decided to attend morning service at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church over in posh Belvidere; this is the same church where Jerry Garcia got married and had his funeral. The minister looked unsettlingly like Phil Lesh (talked like him, too).

ahhh. lastly but not leastly, a fun shot of my ver magnanimous hosts in the Bay, Jena and Victor, working towards their Carnegie Hall show coming up. THANKS GUYS...love ya.

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Okay. Bonus Footage....

I left my Heart in San Francisco and ripped East (a new direction) towards Lake Tahoe. A hot ride, once I was off of the Coastal Range. One the way I rode across the infamous Donner Pass, where a wagon train of early settlers heading for California got stuck just short of a pass in the Sierras, due to a huge snowfall, and ended up eating each other. Here's some shots of the Pass and Donner Lake.

After that it a shot of Lake Tahoe as I was coming in tonight.

Ahh.

Noiw Caught Up. Basically.

No complaints, please.

Tomorrow heading for Yosemite.

SAN RAFAEL CA II

Still in the Bay Area... my friends Jena and Victor have been wonderful hosts and pals, and I've put off my Escape from San Fran a little longer. There's a festival of sorts happening down in Golden Gate Park this Saturday that looks likely to have whatever is left of the Bohemian Element surface... so my plan is to attend that event then head out again soon after.

In the past few days I've had a slew of important maintenance tasks completed on the Bandit; down in San Francisco (15 miles away... an easy run, except for the devasating wind and liquid fog pouring off the Golden Gate headlands near the bridge). Golden Gate Cycles changed my tires, chain and sprockets, and I bought brake pads, oil filter, and front caliper pins (the ones that stripped out in Urbana Ill.) from them. They sort of rooked me on the service fees, adding costs for tire valve stems and wheel weights on top of an already pricey estimate for labor. The mechanic added oil (the wrong type and weight for what I had in there) without asking, adn they initially wanted to charge me for that.. there are no wheel weights on the front wheel which makes me nervous, as it's unusual that a tire would balance-up "0-0-0" across the balancer machine without weights... they were supposed to call me back but never did.
Anyway, tires and chain changed... yesterday I changed the oil and filter myself, as well as brake pads up front. Finally... back to Suzuki pads. Yay.

So today is a bit of a test ride... maybe swing back up the coast towards Bolinas near Point Reyes again, where I saw whales from the cliffs.

Sorry no photos at present; when I get to a Wifi place (motel) I will load some pretty stuff.

SAN RAFAEL CALIFORNIA

A quick tide-yaz-over, until I can get photos loaded from my computer, as I'm typing on my friend's machine.

Safe & Sound in the northern San Francisco suburbs, staying with pals Jena and Victor. SOOOPer DOOPer nice people; gentle, evolved, aware.. pragmatic, (in relation to many S.F. dwellers, I would say).

Just an awesome ride down the coast from Eureka, a beautiful pacific coast town with a whole lot of scary-looking transient bag-people asking me if I can provide any Spare Change, free rides, or stale Vicodins.

California Route 101 is the main drag heading north and south on the western edge of the state; after about an hour you flip right at Leggett across 28 miles of the twistiest road in the world, towards wild and wonderful California 1 that runs along the cliffs all the way to Los Angeles. The colors are other-worldly; the absolute richness of the blue hues in the sea are contrasted wildly with the sharp browns and tans of trhe cliff faces, as well as the bold, craggy rocks jutting freakily up from the water.

Arrived in San Rafael late dinner time... Jen and Vic awesome hospitable.. they have a really lovely ranch house on the side of a VERY steep hill overlooking the Bay.. tidy, well-kept house full of all sorts of artsy knick-knacks and fun collectibles (BEATLES FUN PACK! BIG!).. musical instruments, etc. A really great port on this long sea cruise.

Yesterday went into SF city on the bike to arrange changing tires, chain, sprockets, front brake pads (got get back to STOCK! Will never buy anything but stock pads for this bike again). There's now only three Suzuki dealerships in bay area.. and the downtown one was as close as any... I was afraid of the prices here, and rightly so; the parts I need (including tires) came to most of $500... and then it will cost another 200 to install all. Ouch. But needs to be done.

Went over to Haight Ashbury afterwards and walked up and down for a while. Many nice shops... including head shops... mixed in with "normal" local stores like hardware, cafes, etc. I parked the bike right at the intersection of H/A streets, (there were motorcycle parking slots, fortunately)... went to a neat bar one block up Haight St. that had a big plate-glass window and had drinks for an hour or more. Cute Eurasian bartender gal... had a chat wiht a (seemingly) normal guy next to me who came from Maine a long time back.. lives out by "the beach". The air was cool, the sun clear and crisp... and I looked out at the unique, flat-topped Victorian architetcure and tried to imagine the place during 1966. Once in a while got a brief flash... Otherwise I got to watch the Giants playing the Pats there, ...and how often do you get a chance to load-up a jukebox in Haight Ahsbury?

More on this all later... including photos.