Day 1 recap - May 9, 2010

The 210 freeway wasn’t too crowded.  We were on the road at 0930 sharp.  A few of the guys who are leaving tomorrow stopped by to wish us well.  Wendell Eaton will be riding with a contingent of 3 CotC veterans, and one newcomer.  Ray Vaszquez, and Gabriel Rousette also bid us bon voyage.

We made our way on the freeways for a little over an hour.  A group this size tends to travel a little slower.  Art Madison once told me that no matter what the conditions are, groups travel at 50 miles per hour.  He was right.  As we were cruising along, we needed to keep an eye out.  Perry Rock told me that a few of his buddies were waiting for us along the way.  Sure enough, Perry was out front on his bright red Harley and they saw him coming.  Mike Maas and Jim Rock jumped right in with the pack.  On to Santa Barbara!!  About 15 minutes later Mike Clark got on the CB radio.  He asked if I had seen the biker that was broken down alongside the road.  As I passed him, I saw the low slung custom bike with the big handle bars.  I said I thought it was our friend Jett Schuster.  Later, Bill Beaumont told me that he had talked to Jett on the phone.  He had a major electrical problem.  When we got to the Chevron gas station (our meeting place), we picked up a few more riders.  Dennis and Dale Downs and Felipe Niquete were waiting to join up with the group.  Bill gave Jett another call.  Somehow, Jett had hooked up with some nice folks from a world famous “outlaw” motorcycle club.  They actually helped him out by getting him off the road, brining him to a mechanic and then actually giving him a tow home.  People (no matter what the public perception of their organization) can be amazingly kind.  Jett was bummed, but we’ll catch up with him next year.

Highway 154 by Lake Cachuma was amazingly green.  Last time we rode here, it was still smoking from the wildfire that had raged through.  Nature recovers quite quickly sometimes.  The sky was blue, the temperature was right around 60 degrees and the traffic was light.

There is something magic that happens when you get close to the ocean.  Its beauty is awe inspiring, its size is humbling.  One of our riders, Kathy Hill, put it best – the ocean makes you feel connected to everything.  Well said Kathy.

The Best Western Cavalier Oceanside is a wonderful hotel.  The accommodations in San Simeon were welcoming and beautiful.  Michael McCarthy said to me that he could just stare at the ocean all day.  It was a little windy, but the view was amazing.

Several bottles of wine were open, stories shared and then we made our way to dinner at the hotel restaurant.  The day ended on a high note, as the wind died down and the seas were calm.  I walked down to the fire pits to find the Rock brothers, Bruce Stevens and Mike Mass having a cigar and huddling around the warm fire.  Their laughter and excitement was contagious, and it is great to see that everyone is having a good time.  Safe and sound, we turned in – looking forward to the days ahead.