Thanksgiving Ride Report – Pacific Coastal Highway

11/22/07
Morning Tripometer: 475
Evening Tripometer: 827

The last place I had left off is the random cliff along the Pacific Coastal Highway north of LA to setup camp. My first “stealth camping” experience. The sight and smell of the Pacific invigorated me that morning. I packed up and was on the road at 8:30. I wanted to stop at Neptune’s Net for breakfast, but alas, it was closed for Thanksgiving. I had almost forgotten about that fact. I spent the next 3-4 hours heading north on highway 1. There were occasions where the road would bend around the coast, but the majority of those first 150 miles were some uninteresting roads. It didn’t weigh on me though. Hell, last year I drove 600 miles just so I could ride on a 11 mile stretch of tarmac (Deals Gap), so this is hardly a setback in sights.

Once I reached Big Sur the roads tightened up and suddenly I was climbing up cliffs along side the ocean. My song for that road was “Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!” by Do May Say Think. It’s a very slow song, but it to fit so well. The first half is mellow and just builds and builds, and I would admire the view. Then there is that one point in the song where it breaks and suddenly I’m a flying through the corners like a madman with tears dripping down my face because I can’t spare a moment to blink. I repeat this cycle to this song for over an hour, passing up amazing scenic overlooks but I couldn’t stand to stop very much. I was having too much fun.

As I passed through Monterey Bay the light begins to fade. I’m intent on getting as close as I can to Google in Mountain View and make it just south a San Jose. I gave up on stealth camping that night. The temperatures were getting pretty low as I traveled north and I was craving a warm room. The next day I get to visit Google’s headquarters. I had no idea if I was going to even be allowed access to the area. But the past 800 miles wouldn’t be all for naught if I wasn’t able to get in. I didn’t come here for Google, I came here for moments like in Big Sur. I’m reminded of the saying, “To travel is better than to arrive.”

Continued…

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