Mid-Week Rides: Ride to Nepenthe

29 September 2009

Chris writes:

After much publicity and seeming interest a total of five intrepid riders appeared at the appointed hour, wwWobble (Bob Burns, aka: Major Wobble), Randy Hendricks, John Guy, Chris Weld and an ever smiling Dick Zunkel. Why ever smiling you might ask? Dick was riding his second brand new motorcycle acquired in as many months. Besides the new Harley, Dick now sports a new 1400cc Kawasaki Concours, one without self-canceling turn signals - his only ‘complaint’.

We all rode down Hwy#85 for US#101 and jumped off at Bailey Road for a break at Uvas Reservoir. Next, we hit a traffic-free Hecker Pass route into Watsonville where wwWobble left us for ‘grandchild management’. The rest of us headed south for Monterey with a brief detour into Moss Landing to educate new RV owner Randy about a good boondocking location. We paused at Reservation Road’s off-ramp where we added sweater/jacket liners and the like as fingers of cool fog where then encroaching into the lowlands.

Dick wanted to photograph the Bixbie Bridge, built in 1932 and made famous in the prologue for the TV series, ‘Then Came Bronson’ (or, something similar with ‘Bronson’). This was all accomplished before we arrived at Nepenthe, a restaurant about 30 miles or so below Carmel on the Big Sur Coast. Nepenthe is ‘upscale’ but they do have a ‘patio sandwich spot’ where the cheapest sandwich and a cup of coffee are yours for a mere $17.48 -ask me and I’ll tell you how I come to know this…

After lunch we rode-up an almost traffic-less CA Hwy#1 for gas at Carmel and back to Moss Landing as neither John, nor Randy, knew of Phil’s Fish Market and Restaurant. (Share knowledge…) Afterwards it was on up to Santa Cruz where Dick peeled-off for Hwy#17 and San Jose leaving Randy, John and Chris to themselves. At Davenport the three amigos consumed some java (or was it ‘joe’?) before heading home.

It was a great ride, good fellowship and, as the pictures will attest, only wisps of fog.