Another picture of Lisa, the day I left her house.
I am sorry again for not posting a blog today, but the motel I stayed at did not have a WiFi connection. Tomorrow I will post two. Anyway, I was back on the road again today. My goal was to get through the LA traffic and start heading up the coast. I was also about to turn 3000 miles on the odometer so I also needed to stop for an oil change. Before hitting the road this morning Lisa and I went out for breakfast with a couple of her friends. During breakfast we discussed possible routes for me to get me through LA with the least amount of traffic and to find a Harley dealer along the way. After selecting a route and an appropriate dealer I called ahead to see if they could change my oil that day. Santa Barbara Harley-Davidson in Carpentaria, CA had me in and out in about a half hour. While I was waiting, several of the employees came over and made numerous suggestions about where I should ride if I want to maximize my riding pleasure and witness some of the best scenery.
Carpentaria was only 140 miles from San Bernardino but it took me 4 hours to get there. For the most part, the traffic moved along well, but there were at least four times when the expressway traffic came to a standstill and it was stop and go for several miles at a time. What made it worse was that the temperature was close to 100 again. I guess when you are in LA you just need to put up with traffic problems. One of the things that surprised me most about riding through LA was how many of the towns and street names were familiar to me. I guess it must be the power of television and movies. The towns and streets have become household names.
As I neared the ocean, I could feel the temperature begin to drop. When I crossed the mountains by Oxnard, it felt like someone turned on the air conditioner. I think it went from 100 to 70 in less than a minute. Not only that, but it also looked like someone turned on the Technicolor switch because it went from brown, drab, and dry to green, lush, flowered and full of color.
I rode 270 miles today which took me to San Luis Obispo. I am about 230 miles south of San Francisco. From here I will head out in the morning on US-1 which follows the coast and should start the beginning of some of the most picturesque coastal scenery in the country. I am looking forward to getting some good pictures and hopefully some video as I ride along the coast.
