Distance traveled – 196 miles

I left the house shortly after 9am on a motorcycle ride down to Santa Cruz, CA. Heading south, I was on the interstate for about 50 miles before turning west on Hwy 8. I meet up with Hwy 101 just north of Raymond.

The best road segment of the day was the curvy bit of road south of the Hwy 4 turnoff. The road adjacent to Long Island and towards the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, specifically.

I’m heading down to Santa Cruz to reconnect with friends. On my way, I’ll be stopping in Oakland to visit another friend I met in Santa Cruz but who lives in Oakland now. Reasonably short days in the saddle with a full day off the bike on the way, I’ll land in Santa Cruz on Sunday.

The weather started in the 60s and warmed to the 70s when the overcast skies cleared. That’s perfect for the gear I wear. There is no rain in my forecast 🙂 so I left the rain gear at home.

In addition to leaving the rain gear, I left some other gear I normally carry, including a 12v air pump, some motorcycle jumper cables and a USB battery backup. I made room for the tool set by strapping my sneakers to the back seat. I am also bringing my DSLR and a second lens, but that stuff is in one of the panniers and not as convenient. I’m going to be taking more photos with the phone as an experiment. I like traveling this light and I’m going to try ways to make it work.

I didn’t take any photos until I was close to the Oregon border.

And the next photos were taken during a walk, starting at my hotel to the beach. Seaside is known for being the end of the Lewis and Clark Trail.

The weather gods were smiling today.

Tomorrow I ride to Gold Beach, Oregon. It’s located about 30 minutes north of the border of California.