The California Tour: Ventura

Late Start
I had a lot of last minute details to take care of so the Honda Shadow and I didn’t roll out of Dana Point until 4PM today which was fine because we were only heading up to my Mom’s in Ventura. Door to door the ride was 127 miles.

Early Morning Surprise
I got a phone call this morning from my dear friend ALAN SANTO informing me that he was on his way over with breakfast.  20 minutes later ALAN SANTO was at my door with a huge burrito, salad and assorted salsas. If you don’t  live in California this might not sound like breakfast but for us it’s pretty typical.

ALAN SANTO said he was sent by the “Unemployment Welcome Wagon” bearing gifts: My first free meal. He also brought me a beautiful silver ring for my key chain with this simple inscription: Serenity.  It was perfect. Thank you my friend.

By the way in case you’re wondering why I use his full name and in all caps it’s because ALAN SANTO loves to see his name in print.

Packing For A Motorcycle Trip
Obviously traveling by motorcycle requires one to travel a lot lighter than normal. I thought that I had my list pretty lean but still had to move up to a bag slightly larger than an airplane carry on. I’m guessing the weight to be about 40 pounds.

I don’t think I over packed: Three sets of base layers, socks, two pairs of jeans, one pair of sweats and a hoodie. But the laptop was a bummer. It’s a 17” and carrying it in its own case would have been way to bulky so I’ve got it sandwiched in between my clothes which is what adds the extra weight to the bag.

The Ride To Ventura
I think I did this right. Starting tomorrow I’m going to be riding through some of the most beautiful country in the world so I think it was only fitting that I start by riding through the biggest human cesspool in the world, Los Angeles. To make this short leg of my ride even more enjoyable I left Dana Point at exactly 4 PM, which put me at the LA County line at the height of rush hour. Like George Carlin used to ask: Why do they call it rush hour if nobody’s moving?”

Now I’m not big on splitting lane but honestly in LA it doesn’t really matter. As I mentioned in my Los Angeles Fashion District Post in LA the lane markers are only a suggestion. A suggestion that no one really takes too seriously. So I was able to wind through the traffic with a minimum of terror. The nifty part is that in LA Soccer Moms in Escalades are also splitting lanes so the competition is tough.

On top of all the traffic the wind was blowing like hell. It had been all day. The news said gusts were up to 50 MPH in some places. I got pushed around pretty good a few times but it was annoying more than anything. Besides how bad can it be when you’re going 5 MHP?

My ride to Ventura usually takes me right about two hours. This afternoon’s jaunt took me two hours and 45 minutes. But like I said LA in behind me now and I’m glad I won’t have to deal with it in the morning.

My plan for tomorrow is to head up the 101 north to Santa Maria, cut across the 166 west to Guadalupe and hit the 1 north. I’m hoping to end up somewhere near Santa Cruz by the end of the day but I think that’s a little over optimistic. There is so much to see and so many places to stop that I’m going to have to pick and choose carefully. We’ll see what happens.

Tom Petty
I had Tom Petty’s Square One in my head all the way up here. Great song, great verse. It certainly seems to fit:

Had to find some higher ground
Had some fear to get around
You can’t say what you don’t know
Later on won’t work no more
Last time though I hid my tracks
So well I could not get back
Yeah my way was hard to find
Can’t sell your soul for peace of mind

Square one, my slate is clear
Rest your head and meet my dear
It took a world of trouble, it took a world of tears
It took a long time to get back here