Day’s distance – 246 miles

Total trip distance so far – 1,245 miles

Today was the start of my return leg. After coffee and hugs with my hosts, I left Santa Cruz shortly after 8am. My first stop was Alice’s Restaurant, estimated to be an hour away.

This was my opportunity to take Hwy 9, a road I’ve ridden in the past on both a motorcycle and a bicycle.

The road surface between Santa Cruz and Felton did have a lot of tar snakes. Above Felton, the surface was better. The weather was overcast and it did start to rain after I was on Skyline Blvd (aka Hwy 35). I kept the speed way down as it may be the first rain of the season, I didn’t know.

My arrival at Alice’s Restaurant was a little later than expected.

On this day, I was the only motorcycle in the parking lot. 😦 I understand – it is a school day and it was rainy and wet.

After breakfast, I continued north on Skyline until I could get back to the coast in Half Moon Bay. Heading north from there, I rode through San Francisco and crossed the Golgen Gate Bridge. This is the second time for me on this motorcycle – once now in each direction.

It was an hour later than I estimated based on google. It took an hour extra to get to the restaurant. So I decided to stay on Hwy 101 until Cloverdale, and then backtrack on Hwy 128. In theory that saved me time but I got caught in a heavy rain shower.

I filled up with gas and then went into the Starbucks next door.

It didn’t rain for long and I was dry the rest of the day. I returned to the coast south of Mendocino.

Dinner was at Cucina Verona again. Salmon Alla Genovese.

And entertainment during dinner again. Excellent staff and solid entertainment.

Tomorrow I’ll go back to Hwy 101 at Leggett over my favorite segment, and ride Hwy 199, a promising road that I’ve not ridden yet. Grants Pass is my stop for the day.