The Pacific Coast Highway - My Way
By Scott Morton aka Riceburner

I'm headed out again this afternoon, but here's a description of my trip last weekend and a few photos.

POINT MUGU, Calif. - July 28, 2003 Ever since I've owned a motorcycle, it's been a dream of mine to ride along the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH. Yesterday that dream came true.
Thanks to my friends at Eagle Rider in Los Angeles, I experienced heaven from the seat of a 2003 Harley Davidson Road King.
My great adventure began Saturday morning, July 26, while I was on my two-week active duty with the Navy Reserves. I left Point Mugu to pick up my hog near LAX (the Los Angeles Airport). I had made the reservation online, but called en route to confirm my reservation. Two hours later I had the keys to the 80 cubic-inch, V-twin-powered beast in my hand and a basic understanding of the bike and its many locks. Embarrassing enough, it took me a minute to get her fired up after I loaded the bike down. I then slathered on some sunscreen, circled the parking lot scraping her left floorboard and pointed my steel-blue colored steed down the road with a grin stretching from ear-to-ear.
I headed west on Imperial Highway toward the beach - destination: the PCH; Direction: north. Bathed in sunshine, I hung a right on US 1 and opened the throttle and skimmed along the PCH. Just then it occurred to me that this moment was one that I would remember for the rest of my life. I couldn't help it. Ten minutes - make that five - I pulled over and asked a jogger to take a picture of me and "my date."
The names on the signs stood out like the names of old friends; Santa Monica Boulevard, Ventura Boulevard, Zuma Beach, Malibu Beach and the list goes on. Just being amongst these places made me smile.
Now I have to warn you that this was not a well-planned trip. I was armed with a very basic map of Southern California. However, I did one thing that every member of Ride Motorcycle should do before planning a motorcycle trip: contact a fellow member in that area before you get there! I emailed Tom Wilson - our only active member in the LA area. He gave me some tips on must stops and roads to take. More on our ride together later.
Still brimming with excitement, I did a U-turn at Malibu Beach to get ocean-side for another "photo shoot," then pressed on toward the Los Angeles/Ventura County line and "Neptune's" for lunch. There's a picture of it at http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mccompare/king-vs-star.html. Unfortunately, I ran out of film before stopping there. As I headed north I followed Tom's advice and occasionally split some lanes along the coastal highway and eventually rumbled into the parking lot of "Neptune's" in decent time. I then did an about face snuggling face-out next to another Harley.
Great call! There were about 50 bikes lining the front of the seafood restaurant and watering hole. I bought a tall Sierra Nevada and ordered the fish and shrimp platter and chatted with a local gal and her boyfriend while waiting for chow. I tell you that was one of the best parts of cruising along the PCH - meeting so many friendly folks at restaurants, rest stops and whatnot. Doing so, I picked up a tip from a middle-age surfer dude on a place to visit when you're in Shell Beach, but I'll get to that later.
After "Neptune's," I topped off my tank at Point Mugu Naval Base and I uttered the phrase that describes my 25-hour vacation, "I'm in heaven!" Not to gloat (too much), but I called a friend from my cell phone as I picked up more film and told him what I was doing. "Cruising the PCH!!! You can read about my trip online!"
My journey got a little hairy in Oxnard - just north of Port Hueneme. Road construction forced me onto the 101 (a highway that parallels the PCH) in an odd sort of way. Checking my map, it was either pick up the PCH around Point Conception or make some good time on the freeway. I chose the latter. Seeing signs for Santa Barbara, I stopped at the beach for a pit stop, a postcard and some advice from the tourist bureau. Their recommendation: Head toward San Luis Obispo (SLO) where you can pick up the PCH and then take it to Hearst Castle. No hotels there, but it's "a great destination spot" according to the woman who gave me a travel magazine and a better map.
I cruised through SLO, changing from warm to cool weather gear several times due to cloud cover, then sun and back to overcast skies. At one point I even cruised by a 6,000-acre brush fire!? Shortly after that I noticed the signs for Shell Beach and pulled off for some gas and something to drink. I contemplated the dude from "Neptune's" tip to get off of the bike for an hour and relax in the natural hot springs of a hotel for $10 an hour. Tempting. A left at the second stop sign and down the road a couple of blocks and on your left. No. There was a lot more road to conquer!
Sunset was less than three hours away so I scratched Hearst Castle as my destination and opted instead for a cold cerveza and couple of hot tamales. That will warm you up! I mean they were hot, hot, hot!!! My revised plan: Head back to SLO, find a place to rest, get a hot shower, a couple of beers and night, night! Yeah right!
Quite by accident, I discovered Pismo Beach south of SLO and its pier where you can actually drive out to the end, park and play tourist. En route to the Pacific Ocean off the 101, you wind your way along a tree-lined road and past a campground on your right. Considering it was nearly dusk, there were several campfires dotting the beach. I mean like whoa! Dude!
California has got to be America's Playground and many people know it as evidenced by the hundreds... make that thousand of RVs I saw along the Central California Coast. As I was taking some photos, someone pointed out a female sea lion and her pup out on a floating dock. It was the first time that I had seen sea lions that weren't in captivity.
I chatted with a gal whose fishing skills were rather mediocre along with a guy selling larger versions of what she was catching and some live crabs. I asked him to take my picture and I then putted back down the pier to begin my search for a hotel. A guy walking out onto the pier as I was leaving smiled at me. Maybe I'm just imaging it, but I thought that his grin was one of envy.
Minutes after sunset, I barreled down the old, scenic PCH (the stretch that I avoided earlier in the day) then darkness fell on me as I rumbled on south. I quickly learned that there just isn't that much south of Pismo Beach until you get closer to Santa Barbara so I hung a left on the 101 headed north a bit then took a right on 154 into Ballard. It was getting late... about 9:30, but I was confident that I could find a hotel, so I stopped at the Stagecoach Inn (a very upscale restaurant and pub) for one fantastic local draft and a Portafino cigar to celebrate the day. Unfortunately, my trip wasn't all "ups."
The innkeeper there directed me to a couple of nearby hotels as I knew I couldn't afford a room there. No luck! On to Solvang, which is a quaint tourist town and again "no room at the inn." At this point I was getting pretty tired so I stopped at a lovely bed and breakfast in Buellton for a room or at least some help in finding one. At this point, I had been riding on and off for nearly 12 hours and I would've taken anything!?! The kids at the desk tried every hotel around without luck, so I filled up on coffee and braved the swerving roads out of wine country in pitch darkness and made it to Santa Barbara about 25 miles away.
It was a scavenger hunt as several tired tourists were attempting to do what I was - find a bed and crash. Finally! A hotel with a vacancy!! I was second in line and thankfully the guy before refused to pay $165 for a $65 room. I told the woman behind me, "Hey, I'm taking it. You can always sleep in your car." I look at it as a $100 shower and a $65 room.
Sunday morning, I hooked up with Tom in the San Fernando Valley and another "must stop" for bikers - the "Rock Store" half way up a canyon road. Which one? I don't know. Tom was leading, but talk about great riding!? We followed some other bikers up the mountain and we parked our bikes for a short stop. While we were there, we talked with guys like Dan who was 60-something and who proudly told us about "Mabel" - his brand-new 2003 Low Rider. We had a smoke and coke and checked out some of the wild machines as a film crew from the "Travel Channel" shot a documentary. We then pressed on. Some of the hairpin turns had us slowing down to 10 miles-per-hour or less!?
We stopped at Santa Monica Beach on the PCH for break and a snap shot of the two of us standing beside our machines. I then noticed that it was past 11:30 and I had to get my hog home and I didn't know exactly how long it would take so back onto my friend the PCH, west on Highway 10 and down the 405 in wall-to-wall traffic. I didn't want to pay $25 an hour for having the bike back late so I yelled to Tom, "I gotta split some lanes! See ya!" I didn't actually do it right I later learned from Tom. My riding could be described more like running from the law as I darted in between cars, but I got back to Eagle Rider five minutes before noon.
What a trip! I'd do it again in a minute.
As a matter of fact with the help of a place called "Haug Heaven" in Ventura, I am. This time I'm headed back to wine country near Solvang to see what that area looks like in daylight. Then it's back down to the L.A. area and some cruising with Tom and his Gold Wing Club.