Morro Bay: A Passenger's View

Under a portentous sky, Daryl and I pulled into the Red Apple Cafe in Watsonville on Saturday, November 29, to be pleasantly surprised to find Ron Cash's K100 and Patrick Mulrooney's R1100RS parked in the cafe lot. (Ron Cash is a personal hero, having sponsored my maiden journey with Daryl 'cross the states to the Colorado 500 a few years back.)

We had a happy reunion with Ron and wished good morning to Patrick. Ray Trujillo came in rubbing his hands together from a brisk ride down from Sac through the fog on his Kawasaki. Bob Love and lots of other fine folks began drifting in and filling the breakfast spot - but where was Don? Didn't the last newsletter exhort: "show up on a safe bike with good tires and a full gas tank and be ready to leave the restaurant at 9:00 a.m. sharp"? Don eventually arrived and our infamous "Lord of the Levees" was ready to lead us on another skillfully and thoughtfully arranged tour south - far beyond the reach of the thunderheads that neatly piled themselves up from the north and northeast in beautiful variations of blue and purple - and black! - run, Don, run!

After a quick ride through San Juan Bautista from Watsonville, we headed south on old San Juan Grade, the surface of which left much to be desired from a passenger's point of view, but exciting even more so because of this. A safe turn onto Old Stage Coach Road sent us zipping by the soft green of the newly rained upon mountains, the sight of cows and winter's birds keeping us company along our route. Don's acumen as a tour leader was apparent; not only does he give complete listings and a detailed log of mileage, turns and roads, but he is kind enough to pause after all 51 of these turns to make sure all of us are still with him! What a guide!

The first rest spot along our course was at the Soledad mission. Ray Trujillo was sweeping for our thirteen bikes at this point but ran into a bit of a flat tire situation and was ably assisted by Bob Love, once again joining us at Chular for gas... not much of a down time, I'd say. Great work, guys!

Wilson's in Paso Robles found us languishing at yet another break after touring through some beautiful vineyards and pastures outside the town. The weather was fresh and comfortable, despite the ever present rain clouds. The sun actually broke through in spots by the time we got to my favorite part of the tour, Santa Rosa Creek Road.

Even though we went by Nacimiento Lake and the afore mentioned areas outside of Paso Robles, nothing is as beautiful as coming down all the twisties into the town of Cambria to the coast via Santa Rosa Creek Road. The panorama of the ocean as backdrop and the sidesweep of the mountain ranges fading off into incredible drop offs to the sea left the passenger with a sense of awe. Bike and rider were in unison with the quickness of the descent. I was left silent witness to an awesome skill that only time and experience can provide.

Eventually, all of us arrived down the mountain to Highway 1 and proceeded with determination to make it to the meeting place - past the towns of Harmony and Cayucas to our last destination on this tour - the town of Morro Bay. With the monolithic landmark of this town to our right, the sun streaming in through the cumulus clouds pressing against the ocean skyline, we entered the campsite area to great weather, a mere 17 or so minutes late... not so bad, really, considering all the incredible roads, turns, stops and sights we managed to pack into this one day's ride. Thanks again, Don... another amazingly well-designed trip.

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