Southern States Tour – Day 3 – Steel Horse Journeys

The weather started in the low 40’s but was in the mid 60’s by the time I reached the California border. It dropped backed down into the high 50’s as I approached the coast on Hwy 1. The sky was partly cloudy with a lot of sunshine compared to prior days. Strong crosswinds in the afternoon were challenging.

Day’s distance: 365 miles
Total trip distance: 892 miles

Mark, my host in Coos Bay, and I rode our motorcycles to Simpson Reef Overlook, part of Shores Acres State Park this morning. The sky was mostly clear and the sun bright.

We left the park along the Cape Arago Hwy, then turned south onto Seven Devils Road. This local road has a number of nice twisty sections and the surface is reasonably free of potholes. Seven Devils Road meets up with Hwy 101 and we traveled south to Bandon for breakfast.

After breakfast, Mark headed east for a short day ride. I went south towards California to continue my tour. It was 10:30 or so by this time.

I reached California shortly after noon.

I didn’t stop in Crescent City or ride the Lost Coast Road this year. But I did ride through the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park again. Last year, I created of video of my ride along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Here’s that video …

I took a short break prior to reaching Leggett, my planned stop for the day. After a snack, I decided that I could go farther today. I’ll be riding into San Francisco tomorrow and don’t want to do so at the peak of rush hour so traveling an extra hour today seemed sensible.

Fort Bragg became my new destination and while on my break I reserved a room at the Travelodge online.

My only disappointment today was not capturing my ride along the northern-most part of Hwy 1 from Leggett to the coast on video. I set up the GoPro on my helmet before turning off Hwy 101. Alas, when I reached up to adjust the camera’s angle, I accidentally turned it off. I realized this only after reaching the coast, some twenty minutes later. Maybe next time 😦

It didn’t take long for me to remember how nervous I was last year while traveling this coast. No guardrails, blind curves, and steep drop-offs still make me nervous.

I reached the motel in Fort Bragg shortly after 7:30 pm. Dan, the clerk at the desk, recommended Cucina Verona when I asked about food. After a quick shower, I walked the one-half mile to the restaurant.

Once there, I discovered that the have a small Jazz ensemble on Wednesday evenings and I was able to catch their second set. I spoke with the bass player after they finished their final set. She told me that she learned to ride a motorcycle in San Francisco in the 60’s. It seems almost everyone has a motorcycle story.