Day 36...reflections on the past few days

Day 36, Tuesday the 15th of July

Today I reflect on the rides of the past several days.  My ride today was not the longest but it ended with a milestone...I am in the southwest corner of the US, ready to turn east and complete the circle I started in Galveston back in June.

Today I said goodbye to my cousin David and his wife Ingrid with whom I road for over 300 miles yesterday.  It was nice to ride with another bike for a change.  Having somebody with which to share the beauty and experiences of the ride really enhances the experience.  I suspect this is why you so often see groups of bikers on the roads.  California Dreamin

I rode on highway 101 from Santa Maria to Camp Pendleton (where I spent the night).  This was not the best idea I've had in the last 30+ days because it took me through the meat of Los Angeles and its surrounding cities.  I shared rush hour traffic with 90% of the population of LA it seemed.  This was my fault because I stopped at two different BMW service centers to see if I could get a replacement bolt for the 'jpeg' cruising peg that broke off a few days ago.  I can ride without the highway pegs, but it's more comfortable to occasionally stretch my legs as I go down the road.  At the first dealership they were so busy with 'emergency' recalls for BMW fuel pumps that they wouldn't even talk to me about my non-emergency problem, but they would schedule me an appointment for a few days down the road.  The 2nd place had the time and staff to do the job, but they didn't have the piece I needed.  So I decided to forego the maintenance until I get home and just live without the cruising pegs.  But, anyway, killing time at two dealerships delayed me enough to put me in LA at the worst possible time.  Lesson learned.

On the plus side, I continue to be amazed at the agricultural productivity of the irrigated California farms.  Fruits and vegetables are everywhere you look.  Farms are covered in sheets of plastic with plants sprouting out in very precise rows.  There are even acres of greenhouses with who-knows-what growing in them.  I saw hundreds of workers harvesting what appeared to be strawberries.  This may not be the bread basket of the US, but it sure does make life more pleasant for fruit and veggie lovers.

The day, luckily, was moderate and overcast making the worst part of the drive through the traffic more tolerable.  It would have been a lot worse had the temperature been in the triple digits.

When I arrived at Camp Pendleton I had been planning to camp for the night somewhere east of San Diego.  The opportunity to have access to free laundry and one last night on a military facility was too good to pass up.  I love seeing the soldiers (ok, Marines) and feeling the pride they exude as they go about their lives in the service of their country.  I can member the feeling from my days in uniform and I envy them their youth and sense of purpose.  I also envy them their young knees and lungs.

a Marine cobra was practicing emergency landings... pretty dramatic

what I thought was an urban warfare training village was, in actuality, a recreational paintball facility

 

 Someone asked me today what my favorite portion of the ride had been so far.  Looking  back I really haven't had any bad days on the trip.  But if pressed I'd have to say my favorite was Montana and its diversity of terrain and dramatic beauty.  But for riding I'd have to say that the California coast, from the border with Oregon in the north to the tragically congested southern coast around LA was the best riding of the trip.  The coastal climate kept the temperature down.  The mosquitos weren't bad.  There are plenty of places to camp and a plethora of nice places to stay in motels.  It's pretty hard to starve with all the good places to eat in California and I only wish I had the time to sample all the wines from the boutique wineries I passed along the way.

Another plus over the past few days was the time spent with my cousins.  I was really excited to renew my relationship with my 'long lost' cousin Glen in Portland.  I think family is really important and renewing the friendship with Glen was really special.  If you count the effort that my sister went through to get Glen and I linked up we truly had a family moment.

And what can I say about David and Ingrid?  If there are two better people in the state of California you would be hard pressed to find them.  Smart, funny, and giving, they made the past two days memorable and more than just a mad dash down the coast.  When their Harley malfunctioned 30 miles short of our destination in Santa Maria it speaks volumes about them that they were able to call a friend just a few miles away and get the loan of both a car and trailer to get their bike to the shop.

Even farther back I cherish the time I spent with the Flippin family at the beginning of the trip, renewing friendships in North Carolina, making new friends in Cape Cod, Hilton Head and Montana, and visiting with my wife's family in Virginia.

The trend here is that friends and family are what has made for the best parts of the trips.