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[JCZ]

Not having been on a bike for a couple of years it begin for me by getting on a plane in San Diego and landing an hour and twenty minutes later in San Jose, Ca. where Andy picked me up.

Don (DDavidson) showed up about noon and the three of us rode down the hill to get lunch and run some errands.  Don had bought all my riding gear when I had quite riding and so he brought it all to me....to give me a running start at it again.  Thanks a bunch Don....I appreciate it!

The next afternoon, Sunday, Jock hooked up with us.  We rode locally for the afternoon, Sun. and spent that night at Andy's.  The next morning Andy went to his office for a couple of appts. and Jock and I headed up over the Santa Cruz mountains.





We stopped in Santa Cruz long enough to ride out on the end of the pier and a shot of the Boardwalk...



Next stop was the Santa Cruz yacht harbor, near Andy's condo....








Time for lunch.....we're headed to Margaritaville in Capitola, Ca....







and I caught Jock shopping for new swim wear....

[JCZ]

We finally arrived at the host hotel.....













The fog rolled in at night...heavy enough to the point where everything was wet when we came out in the mornings.




I used my Best Western Ride Rewards points to cover my lodging at the BW in the next block down....



And our breakfast each morning was at Friar Tuck's.....about the best breakfast place in Carmel



L to R:  Mike, Terry, Lou and Simon....

[JCZ]

Jim, (hd-dude) made the ride for half a day....

























As we arrived at Alice's Restaurant up on Skyline, we came up on a car club that I followed in the last couple of miles.  We ended up running in to them again over on the coast, later in the day....













Lunch was out on the back deck of Alice's.  A great lunch and a great time to chatch up with everybody....





















Friends, JR & Debbie drove in from Memphis.  Since they were in a retal car, I spent Wed. with them, showing them some of the sites that they'd not otherwise get to see....



We stopped by the Carmel Mission and toured....

































Soon we were back in Monterey....down on Cannery Row, and very hungry.  Deb led us to Bubba Gump's Shrimp Factory for lunch...where a window table is required for the full affect and ombiance...

[JCZ]

It got pretty cold (by Cali standards) this night, as the fog blew in off the coast.  Bundled up, most went across the street to the closest pub for dinner and to visit with each other....





and the final ride the next day.  Greg handing out the box lunches....









The fog rolls in each night and rolls back out to sea each morning.  As you can see here, while it's lifted a bit...it's still not rolled back out to sea.......doesn't slow Andy down, he's rollin....

[JCZ]

The bridge was closed so we had to take the road down through the creek bed.....





and there's Gabe....he's been coming to these GTGs for about ten years now.
































and there goes Jock......



























John and John at McWay Falls...





and another quick break at Little River Inn...









Great friends, Lou & Terry.  Lookin forward to many more great rides with these two down here in So Cal. 







and I've put many miles down on many rides with Russ & Vivian...





and here we have Mark, John and John....



and everybody knows the Jockster....



and some of the ladys from the group....



and some of the guys from the group....



and the three amigos...shady lookin charicters....



and a new friend, Big Mike.  Look forward to ridin with you brother....





as we were getting ready to leave we met a little baby Bully....a cute little girl.

[JCZ]

Fri. morning I got up early and hit the road about 8:00 a.m.  Fortunately, this was the first morning that everything wasn't all wet.....no fog!  Whoooo-hooooo!

As I got to San Simeon and the Hearst Castle, I stopped at the beach that's known for all the sea lions.  This time of year it's just what they call the pre-adults.  There was a park ranger that explained a lot about these animals that I never knew....interesting stuff.













My plan was to head south along the coast, all the way.  I wanted to get through Los Angeles by 3:00 p.m. but it didn't quite happen as planned.  However, in West Los Angeles I stopped for gas and as I got back on I-405 South and was merging over to the car pool lane, a CHP motor officer was lane splitting.  There were several other bikes back a couple hundred yards and so I dropped in right behing him.  He lane split for the next hour.....and they really clear the way for the CHP.  I'm not sure where we were at when he peeled off but he waved adios and I was through the big mess.

It was great to be back on a bike with only minor back issues.  It was great seeing old friends and of course making new friends.

I mentioned a ride down to Mexico.....Rosarita Beach or Ensenada next year.  A couple of people mentioned a fear of going over the boarder however, a number of you mentioned to me that they're looking forward to it.  Some of us will be heading down in the near future to start researching for this event.  Lookin forward to it. 

[MAT]

  Awesome photos JC, thanks for all your effort, it was great to finally meet you and ride with you.
 I look forward to future rides with you and absorbing some of your experience and wisdom.

 Mike

[GregKhougaz]

Good to see you and great photos, JC.  Let me know about the research ride.   

[WestCoastRuss]

Great stuff JC!!!!!  As always, so very special to see and ride with you again......

[JR]

Wow! Awesome pictures JC...as usual! Deb and I can't thank you enough for showing us around. It was absolutely a fabulous day and we had a great time meeting everyone. Thanks for capturing some wonderful memories! Love ya buddy, God Bless!

 

[JCZ]

Thank you everybody, for the comments and complaments in the PMs and posted here.

Rich, I was on one of Andy's bikes.  Brought it back to San Diego with me so that he'll have something to ride when he flys in to visit his daughter.  Hope you two can make it down for the Mexico ride next year.  I assume my old SERG is running great?  I didn't know you were just over the hill from us.....you should have stopped by.

Greg, I'll not be trying to take Andy's bike across the boarder without him being with me.  Lou & Terry suggested we just drive down.  I don't have a problem with others riding and I'll go back down in my truck if others want to ride down for the research mission if you/they choose to.  It'll probably be an overnight (a Sat. night) trip and try to get back across early in the morning on Sun.  If any others want to join us, let me know and I'll add you to the contact list.

Terry & Karen (Rooster) suggested something that had not occured to me via a PM.  I'd been riding the SEEG and then the SESG since late 04.  The 01 Ultra Classic, even though it's older, has an additional inch of travel and that extra inch may be what made the difference for those four days of riding.  That is a consideration however, my back was hurting more on Sat. and even more yesterday. Not quite so bad this morning.  Friday I spent nine hours in the saddle and so that probably didn't help.  We'll see how it goes, going forward and the next time I do get on that bike.   

Bill & Trudy....good luck in selling that SEUC.  Sure hope you two have a great and successful vacation and I sure hope Trudy's back holds up for that journey.  Also hope you two can make it for the Mexico ride next year.

[D-N-D]

Nice Pictures !!!!!!! Thanks !!!!!

[Jock]

Excellent!  You really captured the moments and the spirit here!

It was great to get the krewe back together and ride in the mother land!  I hope to have another opportunity one day.

Thanks for everything.

 

[Harvey Mushman]

Great to see JC back on two wheels! I'm looking forward to riding a few miles with you when I move out there. (Still on track.) Did you mention something about a Mexico trip? I know a guy who lives near the border who was a great help to me when I crossed this past March. Oh, wait, that was you.
Thanks for yet another well done ride report.
Tom

[DesertHOG]

Nice job on the pics JC .. great to see you again. Looking forward to the next time already.