Chrome on the Coast II (Chapter 1)

May 2004. It was decided there should be another Chrome on the Coast ride. Chrome on the Coast II. I secretly hoped that the ride would not be another cheap imitation of the original. I hoped that we would blaze new trails, see new sights, and ride even greater roads. Well, we did just that.


This is Mike. He is the Ride Lord. Chrome on the Coast was his brainchild in the beginning, and this ride was going to be bigger and better. You can tell by the gleam in his eye that he has something very special planned. Completely cool.

Somehow the word got out that the first ride was great. The group suddenly got bigger. People invited more people, who (in turn) invited more people. I believe that there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 motorcycles. Outstanding. Last time I was the only Honda in the bunch. This time there were 3!! Here is a motley looking crew standing in front of our hotel in Monterey.

We met at the traditional Starbucks location. Mike held his traditional rider's briefing. We had never had a group this large before, so we talked about safety (which is always our number one factor!) Mike looked over his notes, and reviewed the route. Anticipation was absoultely palpable. Ron (2nd from left) paid the most attention to the Ride Lord. I was trying to distract him. We all thought that Mike (3rd from left) was more concerned with his leather. We had several Mike(s) this trip.

This Mike was entirely sure that he had not yet ingested nearly enough caffeine for this early hour. He knew that his bike was ready, that his hair was handsomely coiffed, but a therapeutic level of the coffee flavored stimulant was not yet coursing through his veins. Thank heavens that we choose to meet at Starbucks.

Off we rode, toward our first destination... LUNCH!