May 9, 2010 - part 2

We departed Pasadena at 9:30 am, and headed toward the coast.  I was mildly surprised by the volume of traffic on Mother's Day.  As I tooled down the freeway, I would casually glance into the cars as I went by.  Moms and Dads in the front seats, kids in the back.  Balloons and flowers stuffed in as well.  Occasionally a pooch would be jumping from side to side, trying to get a glimpse of who was nearby.

It was a lazy Sunday morning. The weather was cool, crisp and slightly overcast.  The clouds were pale grey, not ominous and threatening.  We moved at freeway speed without a problem, the group choosing to travel in smaller packs for safety.  It worked out well.

My good buddy Bill Beaumont took the lead on this stretch of the ride.  I rode drag, behind the whole group.  This is always a pretty good position (contrary to popular beliefs).  First, you get to look at the very cool, long line of bikes making their way along the highway.  Second, you are there if anything bad happens.  Third, you can prevent a lot of bad things from happening.

For instance, you hear on the CB radio that the person in the lead wants to change lanes.  You are in a position to secure the lane (meaning, blocking oncoming traffic from plowing into the bikes.  I like doing that.  Anyway, we made our way through traffic without a problem.  Even on Hwy 154, we were able to pass safely.

City driving can be tedious.  The only saving grace is the fact that you have anticipation of what is to come. You see, we know that the coast is our destination today.  We know, that if we continue to twist the throttle and point our machines toward the coast, we will eventually get to see the ocean.

Well, our persistence paid off.  There it is in all it's glory.  Big, blue and capped with white foam as the waves come crashing into the shore.  Now imagine getting to see this for several hours.

Travelling with a group this large is slower than I had originally anticipated.  We stayed a little longer at the fuel stops than I had intended, but everyone seemed to need it.  We arrived at the hotel at about 4:30 pm.

From the restaurant to the company we arrived with, this day was perfect.

Ho yeah!!