Lost Coast 2009, Details Part 2

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So this is day three of the trip, Friday; Day 1 was getting to Ft Bragg and Day 2 was getting from there to Petrolia (after a daliance with the infamous Usal road).

Each evening after dinner, the slideshows and presentations would run until 11pm or so in the large Grange hall. That previous night while I'd missed dinner, I did catch most of the presentations. The first one I missed most of, but the next was on emergency survival; the four A's...Assess, Airway,Adapt, Act. Must have the WILL to survive; never give up.

After that, Grant gave a talk on how to take better travel pictures. I actually picked up a lot of great tips in that session which I practiced later on the trip. Rule of thirds; tell a story; Don't center subject, think about framing the shot; holding the camera and having it ready for quick action. After that, some small talk with some nice guys from Great Britain about their trips across Russia, then off to my tent to try to get some rest.

The moles or gophers digging kept me freaked out most of the night. And the owner of the tent closest to mine was a loud snorer. And it had been some time since I'd camped, and the mummy bag I brought had been loaned out in sleepovers, and wreaked terribly of urine; pretty sure it wasn't human either. And it was cold, so I just had to hunker down in it. It was tolerable if I kept my head out and didn't move around much. So while I did catch a few hours sleep, dawn couldn't have come soon enough.

When dawn finally broke across the open meadow of the Petrolia Grange, it was brilliant to see all the adventure motorbikes bristling with aluminum panniers next to their owners' multi-colored tents.

Breakfast was served every morning by the Grange employees, and was really good. Pretty much everything you could ask, from fresh fruit and cereals to eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, gravy, you name it. Even real cream for the coffee. Nobody leaves the Grange hungry, ever.

After getting acquainted with those at the breakfast table, I walked around meeting people and looking at the different bikes.

Eventually there were about 70 bikes there, but that first morning only about half that. Many were BMW GS adventure bikes, but there were a fair number of lighter dual-sport (enduro) type bikes as well as the ubiquitous KLRs.




Turns out it can get pretty warm in that open meadow, and the experienced campers and those who'd been given the word were congregated on the south side where the tall trees provided needed shade all day.

Once our host Grant Johnson told me this, I decided to relocate my tent from its current mole-infested locale to the quieter and cooler south side.

Then did more meet and greet, and bike pictures. I found about five other Vstroms there, so of course I had to examine those more closely to see what accessories or customizations they had done. Here's a red one I liked.



And here's the Vstrom 1000 that Erdem Yucel just finished riding around the world. He hadn't even made it home yet, and was to be one of the most interesting presenter of the trip.

Erdem showed me how he carried all his tools underneath his seat, and demonstrated each one. He even had home-made throttle body synch tubes filled with hydrolic fluid for that job. He showed the Russian-made shock customized to his Vstrom when the washboard roads broke his stock one. Those guys can fabricate amazing work from practically nothing, and the charity and helpfulness of the people he met were a consistent theme for all the solo Round The World (RTW) riders I met on this trip. Here is Erdem's blog where you can read about his fantastic journey: http://blog.erdemyucel.com/


And not every bike there was an "adventure" bike either. Some people know how to ride in comfort. Turned out this Goldwing wasn't the only bike there pulling a trailer either.









By then it was reviewing maps and deciding where to explore first amongst all the small local roads and sights. I wanted to take old Mattole road out to the coast, then up to the Victorian town of Ferndale. Knowing the coast may be windy and foggy, I took my jacket liner and both sets of riding gloves, and was later very glad I did. Weather was fantastic really but it got pretty cool once you cross that last coastal mountain crest and smell the salty sea air and mist. Once I got to the ocean, I stopped briefly for a couple pictures.


On the left is my bike in front of the ocean.




To the right is some of the hideous ugly scenery on the twisty mountain ride up to Ferndale; you know, those tiresome incredible views of wildflowers and green lushness? ;-)

The mountains and the roads were so good in this section, I ended up going up and down them twice...back to back! No traffic and while pretty rough in parts, a super fun road for motorbikes.

Ferndale was larger than I expected, and had cell coverage and high-brow coffee to boot. I asked a local on the best spot for coffee, and she laughed and pointed right behind where I'd parked to a small window in the wall. Behind it was a combination candy shop and coffee house. I sat and enjoyed a large brew before riding around town taking pictures as I went.


Apparently Ferndale was once called Cream City as it was the location of the first big dairies. The huge Victorian mansions were known as "Butterfat Palaces", paid for by dairy wealth. I have to say, there are still lots of free-roaming cattle in the area. They are happy California cows, I'm sure.


Turns out Guy Fieri of the Food Network fame was raised and got his start selling pretzels at ten years old here. One of his top rated burger joints turned out to be the "No Brand Burger Stand", which I found adjacent to this incredible old building.




Even though I wasn't hungry, I just had to try it, and ordered an incredible bacon burger. It was probably top three best burgers I've ever had, and recommend you meat eaters make a pont of stopping here.

After that burger, I got permission to use the restroom inside the back hallway inside the old creamery building next door. It was dark and musty inside, with this back-hallway having connecting doors to each external room. Along the way I found a real old antique safe; it was quite large and had flaking gold accents over faded green paint. I'd left my camera back on the bike, but would have liked to show you that sight. It was like a shipwreck treasure, only above water and all covered in dust. But instead, here's a reproduction antique sign that was inside the No Brand Burger Stand.


Here's a picture of the interesting rooftop across the street from the "good" coffee in Ferndale.

Then it was getting late afternoon, and time to ride back to camp before dark. Why? Cause animals come out at dusk and you can't see well. But along the way back I'd hoped for a chance for some sunset pictures of the ocean. So one more chance to ride that brilliant twisty road from Ferndale back down to Mattole road and the beach.






With views like this and the twisty steep marvelously dangerous roads, it's a wonder there's so few cars or people. I'm not complaining but let's not mention it to too many people, ok? It just wouldn't be the same follwing the RV "slowskis" on this stretch.






Turns out Cape Mendocino (by the big rock behind me) is the furthest most western point in the lower 48 states. So here's the obligatory proof pic...





Here's a different angle and a better picture













Timing is everything. Just happened to be shooting long coastal shots, and although a bit hazy, I really liked how this one came out when a random biker came by at just the right time.













How's this for a crowded beach! Not another living soul there the entire time.





As I was shooting more pictures, a motorcyclist came rolling up from the other direction, and as he drew closer I recognized the familiar sound of yet another Vstrom. He slowed and pulled in, and we introduced ourselves. His name was Joseph, and he had a slight accent and was somewhat of a character. Turns out that was his fifth Vstrom, and he'd been all around the perimeter of the US four different times. He had small laminated map cards showing his route each time, and had so many folks ask the same questions, he carried CDs of each trip that could be puchased at cost to explain everything.

This guy had custom fabricated his own luggage mounts, camera and gps mounts, custom cruise control he designed himself, and on and on. He had stickers on his bright yellow tank from places he'd visited. He'd been to the gathering I was attending, and was not impressed; they were just sitting around and he felt they should be having FUN! Joseph was staying at a hotel in Ferndale on this, his 5th? trip around the perimeter of the USA.

Then it was time to ride back to camp.

That evening after a big dinner, the sessions were really interesting. Erdem gave his talk about his just-completed RTW trip, and all the kindness people extended him at every turn, the great and wondrous sights, and the difficulties and broken parts needing welding. Great pictures and stories.

Then there was a first aid session by an EMT and wilderness medical expert, and we got to practice removing the helmet off a motorcycle crash victim without causing further injury. The final session was terrific by a young woman who'd just ridden solo through Mexico on a little Honda Rebel 250cc bike. She called her trip "Solita through Mexico" because everywhere she went the people could hardly believe it was a woman alone traveling on a motorbike. She was a terrific presenter and her ride was very entertaining to hear her retell.

That night was to bring a much better gopher-free sleep. Still some distant snoring but nothing too loud from where my tent was relocated. But the acrid animal urine smell of that old mummy bag awaited my return with a vengeance. Fell asleep after reading a couple chapters of Ted Simon's book Jupiter's Travels. Ted was scheduled to talk at this event, and I'd brought my copy of his book in hopes of an autograph. But he fell ill and couldn't make the long flight. We all wish him a quick recovery.

Here's a nice picture I took of Steamboat rock on this fantastic day at the lost coast...




And here's the view looking North,where some othr motorcyclist had stopped to watch the sunset too.