NorCal holiday loop: Santa Cruz -> Mendocino -> Eurika and back!

[JRD]

Well, I am back home safe in Santa Cruz.

Ride back was uneventful. I played with the idea of taking hw 1 back down until SF, but I was already looking at 6 hours in the saddle and detouring down The 1 would up that to 8.5. I love that ride, but I also love my hips and knees and I made the practical choice to just bomb it down the 101. Parts of that ride were pretty, but mostly it was fast and hot and long.

Not much in the way of scenery to wax on about, but doing 6 hours at 75-80mhp along side cars and trucks did give me another opportunity to appreciate the power and weight and presence of the CB. While freeway riding is no one's favorite, it is a big part of riding in the US, and the CB handles it with confidence-inspiring ease.

I did this loop last year on my Royal Enfield INT 650 and this gave me a direct, 1-to-1 comparison. I am pleased to report that while the RE is a fine bike and was able to handle the ride (after getting about 2 grand in touring farkles, including a Corbin seat), the stock CB was noticeably smoother, more comfortable, and less fatiguing. All in all, I continue to be vary pleased with the upgrade!

I continue to have massive trouble uploading photos to the site. Sorry to deny you my good good vacation picks. I also played with getting some GoPro footage on the ride. Some of it turned out. Now I just need to look into editing it to a useable montage and getting it uploaded. We'll see if that actually happens or not.