San Francisco 2013

I had a blast riding to San Francisco and back last week. California Highway 36 was everything I'd hoped for as far as being possibly the best motorcycle road in America. It's like riding a roller coaster.

It was a long day riding from Mt. Shasta, west on 36 and then south on highway 1 to Gualala. The distance wasn't that far but 140 miles of curvy, twisty, up and down road on 36 and then another 100 of similar road on 1 was an exercise in concentration and endurance for me.

I had a great time in San Francisco visiting Becca and Alex. It was really nice to see them and their new place in Outer Sunset. We cooked some good food at home and ate at Gracias Madre which has some tasty vegan food. I stopped at Judahlicious a couple of times for a snack while Alex and Becca were working. I enjoyed meeting the Comcast installer, getting the kids bikes ready, washing a window, getting some plants and putting together their new BBQ - and then eating some delicious food.

I left for home early Saturday morning so I could avoid the heat in the Central Valley. It had been over 100 degrees all week - 115 degrees one day in Redding. Saturday's high was predicted to be 100.

I was pretty much in the groove riding and got into Redding about 10 am. I figured I'd ride until I didn't feel like it anymore. I ended up making a 1 shot trip from San Francisco to Everett. I got home about 7:30 pm and felt pretty good. A Red Bull and Odwalla bar at each gas stop seemed to work well.

I didn't take many pictures but the ones I took are on  San Francisco 2013 - a set on Flickr

This isn't my picture, it came from Adventure Riders, it's the sign on Highway 36 west of Red Bluff. The road is nice and flat here but that doesn't last very long. Lots of blind hairpins and roller coasters coming up. The road narrows down to a 1 1/2 lane road with no center line for several miles at one point, luckily there wasn't a lot of traffic on this Saturday. Near the end of the ride I entered a long stretch of old growth redwoods - beautiful!

Cali MC Trip 2013

View Cali MC Trip 2013 in a larger map

Everett, Tacoma, Finlandia Lodge Mt Shasta CA, Highway 36 to coast, Surf Motel Gualala CA, Sunset District San Francisco.

I'm looking forward to getting on the road and seeing Rachel and Kelly today, and Becca and Alex on Monday. I'm also excited to ride Highway 36 - Red Bluff to Eureka, California and then down Highway 1.

It's 1057 miles on Google Maps. My longest day will be Tacoma to Mt Shasta on Saturday which is 504 miles. Sunday Mt Shasta to Gualala (Wah - la - la) is 379 miles. Monday Gualala to San Francisco is nice leisurely 115 miles.

Predicted high of 109 degrees in Red Bluff on Sunday - firecracker hot. I'll be hydrating a lot going through the Central Valley and looking forward to gaining some elevation and getting to the coast.

Denver

Denver, a photo by Jack Crossen on Flickr.

Spending the week in Denver. Nice to see the sun and lots of fun things to do here.

I'm posting my pictures to this Flickr set.

I've really enjoyed having access to the Denver BCcyles. You can buy a 7 day pass for twenty dollars and get unlimited use of bicycles parked at special computerized racks around the city. I haven't had to use motorized transportation all week.

RTD bus line AF takes you to and from downtown and the airport for 11 dollars. Make sure you have the exact change before you get on the bus.

I went to a Reggae concert at the Bluebird Theater last night. The Long Mile, Expanders and The Green played. It was a thumpin good time.

I checked out the Denver Art Museum. There's are textile exhibits currently, plus a lot of cool Western art. You could easily spend a full day or more there. The architecture of the buildings is impressive.

I went to an exhibit of Michelangelo's art at the Denver Pavillions on the 16th Pedestrian Street Mall. The tour guide was excellent.

I went to a Rockies/Dodgers game tonight at Coors Field. It was a nice evening and that's a nice ballpark. There were a whole bunch of peewee/little league players there to walk the outfield before the game. It was 5-2 Dodgers when I left but I see the Rockies tied it up in the 9th to make it an extra inning game.

I have had some pretty good vegen food here at the Watercourse, City O' City, and the Pho-natic. There's also a few Noodles and Company fast food restaurants around the city where you can get vegen noodles.

The Warwick Hotel where I'm staying is conveniently located 2 blocks from the state capitol. It's also the only hotel in Denver with a rooftop pool - which I've been enjoying. Nothing like the sun in the mile high city after coming from the land of clouds and drizzle :-).

I visited the State Capitol early one morning and basically it was me and a few state employees. The legislature isn't in session so things are pretty quiet. It's an interesting building to poke around in.

I've been to Denver before but never had a chance to stay in the city for any length of time. It was worth the trip. It's a good city to walk/bike around in and the weather has been great - sunny and 70's. Round trip airfare on Frontier from Seattle to Denver is currently about $218. I picked this trip by looking at a map of the U.S. and finding places where it was expected to be sunny and warm...turned out very nice.

Hey Jack Kerouac

Denver, a photo by Jack Crossen on Flickr.

I forgot Jack Kerouac had been in Denver.