October, 2016
In October 2016, , we launched on our first moto odyssey after a 35-year hiatus from two-wheel touring. We rented a BMW R1200GS and a Suzuki V-Strom 650 from Motoquest on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, and spent 6 days transiting 5 counties over 1,000 miles in Northern California, weaving from the Coast up into the valleys of wine country, giant redwood forests and ranch lands.
The weather wasn’t always perfect, but our gear kept us reasonably dry for the most part. Nights were cool, days varied from high 60’s to high-70’s – just about perfect riding weather. Anybody who has driven or ridden the Pacific Coast Highway will concur that it’s the eighth wonder of the world, with vistas and natural spectacles around every bend.
The East-West roads that head up into the coastal range and connect to the big valleys (Sonoma, Alexander, etc.) offers some of the most challenging and technical riding in the US. You can expect a mix of high-speed sweepers, steep climbs, and first-gear switchbacks strewn with redwood needles ready to give your tires the slip. But the views are breathtaking and the riding offers the kind of rhythmic carving the riders ache for.
And at the end of the day, there’s the food, wine and if you’re lucky, a spa waiting. Maybe even a mud bath.
