Fess Parker Winery - 1/15/06: 250 miles r/t

Together with an old friend from my Microsoft days, Alex, along with a new friend, most recently of H-P, we took a quick cruise up the coast this past Sunday. Both of them have decided (smartly if I do say so myself) to winter their bikes down here in LA. Alex is from Seattle, and Nick from the Bay Area, and there's no question about the riding being better here all winter. Both of the guys had nice big grins on their faces as we headed north up the PCH after leaving the Loew's Hotel in Santa Monica. The weather was perfect, typical California Sunshine(TM) and beautiful surf to our left.

I led the guys on a requisite run up to Neptune's Net north of Malibu, where we stopped for a quick bite to eat. With my failing memory, I wasn't *exactly* certain of how far up past Zuma Beach Neptune's was, and knowing the driveway comes up on you pretty fast, it led to the three of us pulling into two different driveways on either side of "The Net", and then doing the obligatory circuling around, trying to find which side of the building the other guy was on. The biker crowds wasn't that large at that time of the morning, and Nick wanted to keep going exploring up the coast. Tough guy - considering the two of them had just driven DOWN the 101 the day before, in and out of rain & hail most of the way. One of the locals suggested Santa Barbara as a nice ride, and that prompted Nick to remember a favorite winery of his. Off we went.

Aside from a mis-read on the signage in Oxnard, and a double-back to Hwy 154 off the PCH, the trip up was uneventful - that is, until we got up near the top of the San Marcos Pass on Hwy 154, heading towards Solvang, CA. The wind kicked up, and to call it "exciting" is an understatement. Something about being blown around, AND up on top of a mountain pass looking down over a valley is especially disconcerting. As Nick pointed out later - the same wind, on flat ground, probably wouldn't have bothered us at all.

A couple of missed turns later and we found ourselves at the Fess Parker Winery -- yup -- "Daniel Boone" has a family winery up here. Nick apparently enjoyed their Pinot Noir before, so we had high expectations as we pulled in. Great scene though - the genteel Upwardly Mobile out doing their weekend winery tours, and three leather clad Harley riders in their midst, sipping wines. To be honest, I thought most of the wines sucked, and even poured out one of their Syrah's after the first sip. Neither of the Chardonnays in the tasting were very good, but their Viognier was very good. Brought home a bottle of that, along with their "Port style" wine, called "Traditions". Those two are worth seeking out.

After a couple of glasses of port, accompanied by cigars out on the veranda, we tried to race the setting sun back home, so we could get Alex on a flight back up to Seattle that night. We took the coastal route the whole way home, and the wind we'd experienced on the way up was doubly intense on the way back. Definitely scarier than the wind I'd faced in the Rhone river valley in Switzerland last summer - at least there I was on a nice wide - and mostly straight - highway. Up and down mountain turns, and the curves along the coast, I got a bit spooked. To make things more exciting, the temperature was dropping fast, and we soon found ourselves in the dark, in heavy traffic, in Ventura, CA. We were trying to head to a restaurant in Woodland Hills, where I'd split off up Topanga Canyon, and Alex and Nick would continue on to LAX and Burbank respectively. After some ever thrilling traffic dodging on the 101 from Ventura to Woodland Hills, we finally arrived at the restaurant, and each used various remedies of hot water, hot drinks, and/or alcohol to warm ourselves up. Aside from my fouled mood due to the Chicago Bears losing their playoff game to the Carolina Panthers (Carolina?!? WTF!), it was a great trip all around. As always, the Street Glide performed perfectly, and I'm looking forward to these guys coming back in future weeks for more SoCal riding.

By the way - go check out (and buy) some of Alex's games here.

You MUST get "Long Way Round"

REVIEW: Absolutely stunning documentary/series/film/whatever. You follow along with Ewan MacGregor and Charley Boorman as go on their round-the-world journey on a couple of BMW GS's in 2004.

I've read lots of comments about this on various boards; Amazon, IMDB, etc., but none of them really spoke to what struck me - the intimacy you as the viewer have with Ewan and Charley. These guys have no guards up - you see just a couple of friends goofing off, having fun, frustrated, terrified and elated. It is without a doubt, the most "honest" television I have seen, perhaps ever.

I dare even the most hardened biker to not get choked up or be touched by the final episode, when Ewan and Charley are reuinted with their wives after ~120 days, and their final ride into Manhattan. Ironically enough, I was still living in Manhattan in the summer of 2004, and living just blocks away from their final destination party. Damn! I wish I'd know about this then.

Recommendations:
1)If you buy the DVD, definitely look for the 10 episode "Extended Edition" that of the series that was shown on Outdoor Life Network - not the 7 episode version from the original Bravo airing. The extended footage - and the (ahem) colorful language is all the more realistic. Also - make sure to watch the Extras - the scenes are brilliant!

2) Read the book. I haven't yet picked up "The Illustrated Edition", but the standard hardcover is an excellent read - and adds a LOT of color you wouldn't pick up by watching the series. The book is written in an alternating diary style by both Ewan and Charley, and adds their personal thoughts & concerns that just couldn't come across on film.

Also - check out their web site here.

Been offline for a while...

Sorry - with the move to SoCal before the Holidays, it's been slow going on the posting.

The best news however, is getting settled into the new home in Topanga Canyon.
Still under :45 to the office, but very much out in the country. The primary roads up & down are great - but I desparately need to get the headlight on the FLHX upgraded. As I'm now on the backside of 40 years old, I'm noticing that my eye's receptiveness to light has changed. Need a LOT more of it than I used to - whether indoors or out. Heading up the canyon at night absolutley requires my high-beams for me - and I spend a good bit of the ride flicking in and out of high-beam mode due to oncoming traffic. The last thing I need is to be limited in my vision, and come around a corer to one of these.

10/2/05 - Marin Headlands, Tomales, Pentaluma

Started out as a an absolutely perfect morning to stretch the legs on the FLHXI. (Which, by the way, I'm trying to find a shorthand name for. I not a blues guitarist, so a feminine name just doesn't fit, and I don't want to anthropomorphize it - but something more friendly than the H-D alphabet soup seems necessary. I momentarily considered "flixie" - but that runs into the aforementioned feminine naming problem)

Anyhow, back to the ride. I wanted / needed to rack up some serious miles, as I wanted to get the clock over the first 1,000 miles in preparation for this week's 1K Maintenance appointment down at House of Thunder H-D. Given that I've got the impending SoCal move coming up, I wanted to get that service out of the way before the move. So, instead of tooling around the "neighborhood" (Hwy 9 to Santa Cruz, etc.), I thought I'd head someplace I'd never seen before, the Marin Headlands.

Hitting the road at 7am, took the 280 up to S.F., and remembered that I need to buy a balaclava. My police-style highway jacket, while plenty thick enough, leaves the neck open. I had nightmares of talking like Lucille Ball all day afterwards, so I snapped up what flaps I could and powered on. Ah but wait! Hot coffee and warm donuts awaited at the Krispy Kreme in Daly City, so I popped in there for a quick fix, and then continued on through the city on 19th, and over the Golden Gate.

First stop was in the the National Park there just off the Alexander exit right over the bridge. While it wasn't suprising to find the old military presence, I had no idea it was so extensive. Kept climbing uphill to the largest battery I saw on the horizon, which I discovered was named Battery Mendell. Apparently, these were in place just after the turn of the century, and finally dismantled for scrap during WWII. Another good view of the installation is available here.

It's worth exploring around inside the placement (if not a little creepy). You can get down inside the magazine and surrounding spaces, but you certainly won't be the first. Not only is the graffiti widespread -- and some of it really creative -- some previous visitors chose not to use the suprisingly clean Porta-Poti out front, and left *ahem* other evidence of their visit. Watch your step.

From 101 to the Coast
After doubling back to 101, it's a short shot back up to Hwy 1, which breaks off the 101 just a couple of exits North. I decided to gas up and check the air in the tires here, and discovered that this area must have quite a few bikers. At the gas station, I was approached by no less than four different groups of people, asking me if I knew the area. The most entertaining of these was the pair of punk rock chics withi a U-Haul truck, asking me if I knew anything about Hwy 1 from this point on, as they were wondering if they could handle it in the truck. At that moment, I should have gotten a clue, and bolted for the bike to get ahead of them. I spent a good bit of the next 1/2 hour crawling in the backlog of traffic they created trying to snake up the very narrow road to the coast. Thankfully, they eventually pulled into a turn-out and the traffic opened up a bit, but to be honest, given the way the rest of the road was - I'm worried about whether they made it or not!

After roaring down through this valley, you wind your way through the hills and find yourself dangling over the Pacific. The road has definitely seen better days - lots of patches and sunken spots, but it still is breathtaking. More than a couple of times I had to catch my speed, as you'd come around a delicious curve, only to be caught on a horrible stretch of asphalt, with uneven surfaces and bad patches.

Tomales Bay
After about 15 miles hugging the coast, you come to some of the prettiest part of the ride, right alongside Tomales Bay. Meandering road (much better surface here) and the occasional Crane, or Heron, or whatever the hell those tall birds are. Connected anecdote: I rode right by one of these birds one time up in The Hamptons on Long Island, NY. The bird just stared back at me with a fish in it's beak. Same thing happened again yesterday, minus the fish. These birds are definitely tougher than you'd think, if the sounds of a Harley flying by doesn't freak them out. When I stopped to take this picture, it had warmed up to the point where I could ditch the leather coat, and just go with the t-shirt & vest.


Point Reyes Station

Continued on up to the town of Point Reyes Station, where I dediced it was necessary to stop for a "proper" breakfast, and sampled the biscuits & gravy at the Pine Cone Diner. Great coffee, good food, and outdoor seating where I could keep an eye on the bike. The staff was appropriately surly. Kind of went with the place, ya know? By the way, make sure you gas up before getting to this point in the route. Premium was $3.36 a gallon on 10/2/05, and there are no other stations nearby.

By the time I walked out of the diner, the sky had clouded over, and the wind picked up. It must have been 5-10 degrees colder - time for the full leathers again. (Notice the change in the sky in the pictures...)

Just spittin' distance up the hill from the diner is the junction for the highway to Pentaluma; missed it once as I was going by so fast. Once on the road, it's more good twisties without the horrible surface of parts of Hwy 1. It's just plenty of left & right sweepers, meandering through farm country. While it is almost 25+ miles to 101, it went by in a flash. Next thing I know I'm merging into the madness of 101 through Marin county. Nothing exciting here except dodging the cars.

Note: Until recently, I never noticed how many people are oblivious while driving and just chatting away on their cell phones - it really is shocking. Guess while I've been in my truck I never noticed it, but it's hard not to when on the bike; especially since you're watching out for the crazy driver.

Typical ride back; traffic slams to a crawl through Marin. Had to lane split the big ol' FLHX through - not like my other bikes, that's for sure! Only had two a**holes actually move to *block* me as I was scooting up between the HOV and 3rd lane. Don't understand those folks.

Anyhow, mission accomplished: 880 miles on the clock, and I'll easily burn the remainder before Wednesday's drop off at the dealer. But I don't have my sea legs (riding legs?) like I used to back in NYC for long-distance rides. After two days of hard riding, I was more than a little sore when I hit the couch that night. Nothing some ibuproffen and a beer couldn't fix, but damn, am I starting to feel my age?? I had some of the hardest, fittest sleep I've had in months, and dreaded the way I'm gonna feel on the trip to Sturgis next year!

"Gadget-Glide"?

At Jack's Place in San Jose the other night, I pulled up on the new toy, and got a subtle dig from one of the regulars - tantamount to him questioning my manhood, or suggesting that I secretly ride Japanese cruisers... he looked at the new FLHX and said "Oh, it's the new Gadget-Glide".

It stings because as my friends know - I am a gadget freak. Some of my favorite blogs are gadget-related (Engadget & Gizmodo to name two of the best). And yes, I did equip the new Street Glide with the Advanced Audio System, and the MP3 player, and am about to place an order for the GPS. (Truth be told - it's the new Ultra-Glide that has been nicknamed the "Gadget-Glide" by the H-D faithful, but I'm still guilty as accused).

Sigh.

Personally, I find it very cool to have something so raw and lo-tech as big, air-cooled V-Twin rumbling away, but the bike having well-integrated modern conveniences. Having a bunch of random crap hanging off it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. At least the items I'm talking about are seemlessly part of the bike, and probably wouldn't be noticed unless I pointed them out to somebody.

Which brings me to the point about the GPS...

I am debating equipping the FLHX with either the new Road Tech (read: H-D badged Garmin) external GPS pictured here, or with the new integrated GPS navigation built into the Advanced Audio System. Problem is, on the AAS you only get directional arrows and text prompts. Down on the radio's LCD.

Standalone GPS:
Pros: Large color screen, sits better in the line-of-sight, easy to program waypoints & routes on the PC and upload them.

Cons: Big honkin' thing hanging off the edge of the fairing. Even when removed to be locked away, you've got an ugly-ass bracket sitting there.

AAS Integrated Navigation:
Pros: Clean - no extra doodads hanging off the bike to ugly it up, and less invitation for theft.

Cons: Harder to read, practically impossible to program waypoints without going through some obscure sequence of buttons.

Your thoughts people?

The New Ride - '06 FLHXI

Well, at long last, my first new Harley.

Picked up a brand, spankin' new 2006 FLHXI Street Glide this past weekend at House of Thunder Harley-Davidson in Morgan Hill, California. To say that there's a permanent grin affixed to my face is an understatement. After months of renting HD's on the weekends, its sooooo nice to have a new baby to call my own.

Struggled for a long time with which HD to get. Everything except the two ends of the spectrum was under consideration (no Sporster, no Ultra). The new Street Bob is great - particularly with al l the changes they've made to the Dyna platform for '06. Goodness knows I was more impressed with the VROD I rented in Switzerland this summer than I'd expected to be. The new fat tire Fat Boy certainly has it's attractions. Decisions, decisions.

It all came down to my wanting a bike for the long haul, but still "streetable". Plus the slammed look just says "bad ass" to me more than most other models (though the Low Rider, Night Rod and Street Bob all do the same in their own way.)

Was only able to put 270 miles or so on it, and seeing as how I have to be back on the East Coast this weekend, I'm gonna be eager when I get back to put some miles on it.

Morning in Zermatt

Morning in Zermatt,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

Birds chirping, a hearty Swiss breakfast in the hotel room, and THIS ight outside your window.

Definitely have to come back in winter. It really is charming, and so Swiss-efficient. They have everything right here. It's very hard to leave.

The saddest part of the trip so far...

The saddest part of the trip so far...,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

...an empty stein.

Zermatt... Matterhorn

Zermatt... Matterhorn,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

...'nuff said.

I Claim This Mountain In The Name Of...

I Claim This Mountain In The Name Of...,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

...Me!

Top of the Alps pass at Gimslepass. Motorcycle heaven up on this road. 3 out of every 4 vehicles are motorcycles. Stranger still is all the bicyclists who are making their way over the pass. Seeing those guys pedaling up past the glaciers in their little nylon shorts is impressive.

Funnier still was at the very top of the pass, there was a little gravel turnout, with a little sandwich wagon with drinks, sandwiches, cheese. All the way up here. Three other Harley riders parked up here along with us. I guess the biker trade is good enough for this guy to make a business out of his little wagon, but you gotta stop an think about how in the hell they tow his trailer all the way up here.

Convenient

Convenient,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

This little chapel sit here 1/2 way up the Alps in Gimselpass, so you pray before continuing up that road in the background.

Ride of The Valkyries...

Ride of The Valkyries...,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

playing on the MP3 player, seems just about right. Stopped for a coffee in Grindewald. The damn shame is that, as far as this trip goes, I've run out of f*#@ing adjectives. Please email me some, or leave them in the comments!

The Big Cheese

The Big Cheese,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

So you come through this valley, and up on a hilltop to your right, about 800 feet up is this monastery. These guys make some damned fine cheese here. Gruyere they call it. Hmm. You know, tastes better than the same stuff from my local Safeway. Go figure.

Why We Came

Why We Came,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

Juan (prn. "Yoon") Pass, on the way to Interlaken. Words can't describe the road. Thing of fast, rythmic downhill skiing - only with about 90 horsepower under your ass.

THIS is why we came here.

Afterwards, it took about 5 minutes for us to get oyr helmets off, 'cause we were grinning so hard.

Can I tow this behind the bike?

Can I tow this behind the bike?,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

More chocolate goodness from Broc.

Brian And The Chocolate Factory

Bruan And The Chocolate Factory,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

Nestle' / Callier's Factory tour here in Broc, near Gruyere... Awesome is all I can say. They claim they process about 6 tons on a given day. That means I'm good for about 1/2 a day's production before I'd start to get sick.

Where's the factory outlet for the pens?

Where's the factory outlet for the pens?,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

Mount Blanc in the background, Brian checking the map in the foreground. I want a discount on the pens, dammit.

What are the odds?

What are the odds?,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

Brian and I, who can probably speak 4 words of French between us, pull into this little village to try and find some lunch. We pull up to the first place in town, and with no discernable signs other than "Ouvert" (open?), we walk straight into a biker bar.

Helmets hung from the ceiling as lamps, clock made out of a Honda crankcase, and MotoGP posters all over the walls.

See... this entire trip is fate I tell you, fate.

Black Is Sliming

Black Is Sliming,
originally uploaded by Thom Kozik.

Yeah... I make the fashion statement, no matter what language they speak.