NorCal

Day 22

Miles today: 194 Total miles: 4,596

Today was a good day on the road. We slept pretty late and got going
around 11 or so. I guess we still pretty tired from thre weekend.
Today was just a great day of riding along the PCH and checking out
the awesome views.

The bike is doing ok, but the low speeds are getting s little
frustrating. On the way out here, I ususally averaged about 45 mph
with stops, but now we're only doing about 25. With a top speed of 40
and all the curves and hills of the highway we're on, we're generally
going pretty slow. It's ok on this road for the most part. There's so
much to see that I'm almost happy to slow down and take it all in, but
it's getting frustrating and feeling a little uncomfortable at times.
During some of the straightaways, some cars/trucks tend to come right
up to your fender while they wait to pass. There are some turnouts
that I've been using, but sometimes there's just nowhere to go for a
while. We haven't been in any dangerous spots yet, but like I said,
it's been a little uncomfortable in a few instances. We had to go on a
freeway for a while today, which wasn't fun, but we did find a scenic
alternate route: Avenue of the Giants, which snakes through a redwood
forest. We hit a patch of irony when we got stuck behind a BMW that we
couldn't pass for about 5 miles until I got impatient and honked at
him to use one of the turnouts.

As cool as the PCH was between LA and SF, I think it might be even
cooler north of SF. There are a lot more boulders in the ocean up
here, and the cliffs overlooking the water are a lot more dramatic.

I don't think Sharon's seat is quite as pillowy soft as mine. It
probably doesn't help that her butt is much smaller than mine. She's
also wearing a backpack that's weighing her down more than me. Stay
tuned to see if she kicks me in the butt to even things up.

Staying in Eureka, CA tonight, which apparently used to be a town
based on fishing and timber, but now has moved on to motels and bail
bonds. That's the surest sign that a city has taken a downward turn,
when you have 3 offices competing for the bail bond market on the same
block.