Sea Slotter

 Gettin rad in the man van! Corkscrew was seriously scary


I know I'm behind... Stay tuned for the full Sea Otter story soon. 

Party time

Windy and Windy

 
So, am I wrong or is that how 2 totally different words are spelled. The weekend was filled with meandering back country roads that wound throughout the central California coast. Adrian met up with us in Ventura and too us on some pretty epic roads up through the lovely towns of Taft and Maricopa. The petroleum highway was quite a site to see. After several hours of remote curvy roads we ended up in SLO. It's amazing that a relatively short trip to San Luis can be turned into a couple hundred mile one way trip. 

 After getting into downtown SLO we took a little stroll through bubble gum alley. I'm not a total germophobe but seriously!? That shit is unsanitary and disgusting to say the least. We next made our way to the visitors center where Brandon befriended a wonderful civil servant who was very interested to know that we ride motorcycles. We took a look at the local map and decided to head towards Moro Bay and look for a nice spot to lay our sleeping bags under the eucalyptus trees. We were successful. After one failed attempt we ended up at a pretty epic site right on the quiet bay. Quiet until we go there anyways. After finding some firewood we headed to town to take a walkabout. Moro is a sleepy little town with a lot of character and I was pretty impressed with the little Embarcadero they had, lots of cool shops and restaurants. I just remembered I did NOT get my salt water taffy! 

 We headed back to the campsite shortly after dark and set to makin our fire. What ensued was an experience that can not really be experienced unless you were there to witness and observe. I will say that the ranger did come to visit us a couple times and as usual, I was left amazed at people and their actions. It really is quite amazing, life, and how people live it. 

 After wearing ourselves out I dusted off a spot of dirt and laid out my new Big Agnes sleeping bag next to the fire. As I laid down staring up through the tall trees I could barely see the sky and reflected on a great day on the road, riding with friends. It's a great day when you spend the day coming around corners smiling from ear to ear and going over roller coaster type dips and rises on back highways at 100mph. Every time we got off after a fun section it was quite hard to resist high fiving each other and reliving our favorite g-out, or corner facing a beautiful vista on a sharp cliff. I went to sleep with ears ringing, lips chapped and burning, and a smile on my face.

We awoke early to the rising sun and decided to get a move on since shivering in our sleeping bags wasn't helping us see many new sights. We packed up and hit the road, hoping to beat the rain and stay dry we got on the 101 south and made haste. Aside from Scott's minor crash just outside of Pismo, the ride home was more of a challenge of will power and determination than anything. The wind was unyielding, and it seemed no matter which way the highway turned it was always a head wind. If we were lucky it would switch to an angled head wind which meant we had to fight getting blown into the next lane, or off the side of the freeway. (Scott's crash)

Oh how I wish a video camera was rolling for that one. After some minor road side first aid and prying on bent parts, we were on the road again with only a couple more technical stops on the way. Scott, we're all glad you're ok and it is a reminder in how quick things can go from happy and carefree, to disastrous. Which I guess is as good a spot as any to wrap it up. Although my weekend has spun past faster than I can realize, I feel completely satisfied knowing that while most sat around watching TV or surfing the web thinking of things to do, we were doing. Although we set out with no set destination or plan for a place to sleep. We had open minds, open hearts, and open roads to guide us. It is truly a blessing that many of us take for granted, the ability to just do. So many people are in positions they physically can't get out and do. They spend days wishing or dreaming of going outside to feel the wind, see blossoming flowers, smell new smells as the road blurs underfoot. Yet how many people, including myself, take that for granted. Sitting inside wasting beautiful sunlight, the world is one big adventure. It's little trips like this that stir that adventurous spirit around and shake the complacency of compliance. My ass is sore, and my hands hurt, but not like they do after sitting in a seat in front of a computer all day, this is a good sore, the type that reminds a person they have accomplished something, pushed themselves; and for that we are stronger, better, and happier.

Ride On

      

Random Ramblings

http://www.itsbetterinthewind.com/
  Well, once again I have fallen behind in what was once my vigilant attempt to join the tech revolution. I have found that taking time to do "real" life activities is more important and far too time consuming to stay on top of. However, that being said, I will be making a good effort to stay on top of this more. Training is ramping up SLOWLY for BC and as that picks up I'm sure I will have less time out running around bullshitting and more time working, riding, and relaxing (which may mean I'll be on the interweb) Anyhow, I'm going to blast a quick update on here and just upload a bunch of pictures of what's been happening and where I've been. First off, the link attached is for my friend Scott Toepfer's website. The site is for a project he's been working very hard on and I am lucky enough to be a part of, which naturally means it's going to kick ass. We went out a couple weekends ago and rode all around the high desert and into the mountains for some snow play. Be sure to check out the cool video.

  Onto other 2 wheeled activities. Been doing a good amount of riding lately. Gettin out for some road rides in the new hood. Riding with Sammy has led to a few good adventures through the Chevy Chase Estates below La Canada. We've found some pristine low traffic roads that put us out to the Rose Bowl. Aside from that, the Niner company rides have been a blast lately too.

Feel free to join us on Tuesday nights. This week we rode Caballero Canyon off Reseda up to the top of dirt Mulholland. After cresting the top of the Santa Monicas, we headed east on the dirt highway towards the old Nike missile sight, remnants from the Cold War, what a trip! After that we cruised around some more rode MG motorway/ Broken Arrow and headed down Cookies. I've got no possible guess or even a clever thought as to why a trail that gnarly would be given such a name. I will say, by the time I reached the bottom I had a half clueless, shocked grin on my face that may have resembled that of a kid after puking up a batch of cookie dough.

  Well, I think that'll about do'er for the ol' jibba jabba as MR. T liked to call it. Enjoy the pics and stay tuned for more soon... FTW

       Happy trails friends