Over to Point Arena

So, I had a free weekend – what to do, what to do. I decided a short Cycle Sabbatical was in order, so I planned a trip to the Northern California coast – specifically, to Point Arena. Here’s my tale.

It started a bit differently than I expected: I spent the first 2 hours or so getting a new front tire. Turns out I had some sort of nail in it, and wasn’t about to trust my safety to a plug.

Once I got started, though, things looked up. Wound my way over to Winters, where I stopped for some water and a Kind bar, and wound up talking with a guy named Joe for a bit. He tells me he has a Suzuki Bandit 600 – he apparently bobbed the rear end (i.e. cut the back end of the frame off to add a smaller seat), and then got a girlfriend so he extended it again and added a longer seat. Seems like there might have been an easier way…

From there, I made my way up Highway 128 past Lake Berryessa. It’s a beautiful view:

Lake Berryessa

I also saw this Pterodactyl nest at the same site: So, I got out of there very quickly.

I had decided early on in the planning that I wanted to spend some time off the beaten path, so I took a back road called Berryessa Knoxville Road up to Clear Lake. It was in need of some TLC – the potholes had potholes – but was fun, solitary, and wound through a picturesque canyon. Finally, at the end of the bad part, the road went up to the top of a hill, and showed me this amazing view! From there, on to Clear Lake for more incredible views – I hadn’t been there since I was a kid, so it was a pleasant surprise! Had lunch at the Howling Dog Cafe – a little hole in the wall – was worth the stop.

As I got closer to Point Arena, I went through Boonville, where it turns out they were holding the Mendocino County Fair this weekend. I would have stopped, but fairs aren’t as fun when going solo. Who knows, though – it could have been “A Fair to Remember”!

The road from Boonville to Point Arena was Brilliant! Lots of twisties, not as hot as the rest of… well, the entire western half of the United States, and held all the telltale signs of the Northern California coast. I found this grove of redwoods at a small county park: About 10 miles from the ocean, someone turned on the air conditioner outside! Finally, some cool air. A bowl of clam chowder at the Rollerville Cafe for dinner (I’m not making this up, folks – here’s their sign…) Finally, on to Thoreau Cabin – booked on AirBNB. It was at the end of a dirt road that definitely challenged me, but I was happy for the place to rest. Coffee in the morning at this place – they had an “interesting” next door neighbor to the right… …and then breakfast at the Bones Roadhouse in Gualala.

Noticed the protesters have been at it again…

For those of you who haven’t ridden it, CA Highway 1 is an amazing road! Put it on your bucket list. But alas, I eventually had to cut inland to get home. Was just 2 days and 475 miles, but what a great day to spend a weekend!