Total: 985 miles
Estimated time: 18:30 hours
(for more detailed maps, go to the individual days)
[ Tuesday - May 12,
2009 ]
When Mother Nature deals you a bad hand and tells you, "Don't even
think about it!", what do you do? You tuck you tail and run away
so that you can ride another day. Such is the case when it came
to the Central Coast '09 trip. Everything was planned, we
reserved our campsite, but the rains came and wiped out our
plans. Yes I know the enduros can handle the rain, but it's not
me that I'm concerned about. Additionally, the idea of riding the
1 Hwy in the dark with wet conditions doesn't sound too
appealing. The 1 Hwy is treacherous enough as it is in dry
conditions, between Hearst Castle and Big Sur, that I don't care to
ponder what it's like to have a caravan of motorbikes traversing under
said conditions. So what do I do? I move a trip intended
for later in the year up to an earlier date. Hey, if life deals
you lemons, make lemonade. So now we're shooting for Yosemite in
late May instead.
The 8GS is pretty much ready to go. The only change I did was to
swap out the 12R trunk for the old 4550 Pelican case. Yeah I
know... Pelican case. What can I say, I need a flat area to carry
the 2.5G gas can. I can do the pillion peg caddy for the gas can,
but I haven't bothered to build the bracket yet. Buy one?
Forget it. Everybody and their mother wants more than $100 for
something that should only cost $25. However, I eventually have
to build the bracket before we head out for Mammoth Lakes at the end of
the year. Why do it now when I can procrastinate, and do it
later. A gas can
is not an absolute necessity on this trip, but it's good insurance
because some areas of the Central Valley, that we're traversing, has
population of 0 for miles on end. Beyond this minor mod, there's
not
much else that needs to be done. The camping equipment is still
packed
from the canceled trip so not much packing is needed. This sure
makes things easier. Knowing
me I'm sure I'll still be scramble at the last minute.