Not just another day's ride

22 March 2012
Woke up and decided, screw it, I'm going for a ride. But first had to fill the tank. Then to the beach and check the surf, just to make sure I wasn't missing something. Nope, flat. Then to my local cafe for sustenance - coffee and a toasted bagel with cream cheese. Right. Ready.


Briefly, the itinerary: Due east on Interstate 8 to Pine Valley, then up the Sunrise Highway to Lake Cuyamaca. A fun blast over Engineers Road and Boulder Creek Rd, then through Julian, down Banner Grade, a detour to Sentenac Canyon and San Felipe Creek, then back to Scissors Crossing. Down the "Great Southern Overland Stage Route of 1849", otherwise known as S2 to Ocotillo Wells, with stops at Box Canyon, Butterfield Ranch, the Carrizo Badlands before getting on the freeway again up to Desert View Tower. Old Hiway 80 to Campo Road, AKA 94 and back to the city via the thriving metropolises of Jacumba, Boulevard, Campo, Dogpatch, Potrero, Dulzura, and Jamul.


The stats:
distance: 275 miles
elevation change: sea level to 6035' to 373' and back
max speed: 90 something
duration: 9am to 9pm

 A storm came through a week ago and there was still plenty of snow above 4000' and some below that. Hardly any traffic, so it was an easy cruise the whole way, until close to town on the way back when I had to get aggressive. Saw quite a few bikes of all makes and types, but a mere fraction what's out on a weekend. Saw a few guys with guns and badges, but nothing worrisome. I was hoping the wildflowers would be out in the desert. I was a few weeks too early, it seems. They are unpredictable and only show for a few weeks every year. Still, I found a few. It was a beautiful day and a great ride. I don't know of too many places in the world where you can go from the beach through snowy mountains to the desert in 2 hours. Of course, I took a good deal more than that, but I sure had fun.

The 9ers. A group of serious swimmers who go out every day at 9am. I think there are a couple of English Channel swimmers there.

Matt - your friendly neighborhood lifeguard

The local fishing crew, hard at work. California Sea Lions and Brandt's Cormorants. Good thing you can't smell them.

LJ post office. The government is broke and wants to sell it. Locals consider it the heart of the village and want to preserve it. A great eucalyptus next to it.

Eucalyptus bark

Major's Cafe in Pine Valley. A fine American roadhouse. Apple pie and 50's rock 'n roll.

A glorious day in the mountains. 6000' elevation. The snow's melting fast.

'Nuff said.

The old road at Kwaaymii Point. A jump spot for experienced hang gliders. There are numerous plaques for those who didn't make it. The drop is ~3500' down to the Anza Borrego. The distance gliding record from here is 168 miles.

Lake Cuyamaca from Engineers Road.

Engineers Road.

If it weren't for the coastal low clouds, you could see the ocean. The dead trees are a remnant of the Cedar fire in 2003 that burned 1134sqkm.

Boulder Creek Road

Manzanita - a beautiful hardwood shrub. The Cedar fire destroyed large tracts of it but it's making a comeback.

The Pine Hills Lodge. In 1926, Jack Dempsey trained here for his fight with Gene Tunney. It'd make a great base for a stay in the area.

The lobby of the Pine Hills Lodge.

Wild turkeys. I also saw a few quail, a Steller's Jay, and a hawk or two.

Banner Grade, between Julian and the Anza Borrego desert.

There are very few places where water runs free in the desert. This is San Felipe Creek in Sentenac Canyon.

Barrel cactus.

This is Box Canyon on the Overland Stage Route. The trail in the middle is the first road from the east into Southern California.

Flower season doesn't last long in the desert and sometimes you have to look hard to see them.

Sweeny Pass on S2, looking towards Bow Willow.

The top of Sweeny Pass on S2.

At the Carrizo Badlands overlook.

Ocotillo in bloom, Carrizo Badlands overlook.

Ocotillo flower.

Desert View Tower, one of those classic American road-side attractions. It houses an eclectic collection of weird stuff. The new owner is a very smart man (meaning he agrees with my world view.)

People who live in the back country can be a bit strange. The cardboard sign says, "Occupy Earth."

The border fence, Mexico is on the other side. The fence used to be just 3 strands of barbed wire, if that.

flying home

It's been a great trip. I fly out in a few hours. It'll be a lot easier writing the stories and adding photos when I get home. I spent last night here at Stefan's, and had a nice dinner at a little cafe a couple of blocks away near the train station. The place is called Stazione and served a great 1/2 liter dunkel beer. I had a delicious tomato soup with a huge dollop of cream and a basil garnish, followed by a gorgonzola penne dish with a nice mixed salad on the side. I should have stuck with the tiramisu, but the waitress talked me into a special combination of the tiramisu, creme brulee, and neoploitan ice cream. Too much, but delicious.

The night before, I stayed in a little town in France called La Petite Pierre - "The Little Peter." Heh. There were a few hotels, but none looked particularly interesting, so I cruised around town until I saw a "zimmer frei" sign - "room to rent."  I stopped and found the sweet lady who owns the place. We talked in German and when she found I was American, she told me all about her children in America, and the fact she can't communicate with her daughter-in-law because she doesn't speak English. After so many weeks of language challenges, I know the problem. She pointed to the building next door and said I could have it for 42 Euros a night. Yeah, the whole house. Two bedrooms, kitchen, lounge, bath, the whole house, for 42 Euros a night. Not bad. It started raining after I moved in, but I went into town for dinner any way. I found a place called The Lion of Gold and met a Belgian couple outside. They are both motorcyclists, he on a BMW GS, she on a BMW S. We hit it off and spent the next few hours eating, drinking, and talking motorcycles. Dinner was superb. I had an amazing fish pate appetizer, and a delicious salmon and potato plate in a cream sauce. Desert was indescribable. Really, I don't know what it was, but it tasted great. Some kind of creamy blocks that were between ice cream and yoghurt, with little pieces of fruit mixed in. I think they were berries or grapes, but at that point, I didn't care, it was so good. I may have to make a return trip to find out. Not a bad way to wind down a trip.

Chatel, France

7-9-10 OK, at some point I’ll fill in the blanks. For now, it’s important I leave clues to the rest of the stories…

Edit Bordeaux – cheese cellar for buffets… red button is for the alarm, not lights…

Central Massif, and the national parks of France are cool… Col de Sarenne above the Alpe d’Huez is better than the A d’H, but a much rougher & narrower road.

Places to picnic – bee heaven in my helmet & jacket, picking snacks from the wild cherry trees, feet dangling in streams, wooden bridges, and naps wherever I have to, including a town bench.  Swimming at Choranche les Bains under the town buildings in the gorge.

People I’ve met – the Poles (one a giant on a  FJR, the other on a VFR800) on a work trip from Poland to Paris in 2 days, plus a few extra days in the Alps, the slow but nice Norwegian(BMW R!2RT), the Dutch trio on GoldWings with music, Nicky the Aussie blonde*** working at the CB Hotel in Val d’I.,

Grenoble – the YH, nice place with a bar and a big back yard with game space… later (10pm) in the old city, the film festival of shorts (the old man carrying a pistol everywhere in advance of suicide, the Asian artist who used her blood in her art til she faded away with the ink…

Chatel – Dinner at Le Fiacre… In the background, stupid 80’s girl band pop and bad disco music, and Stayin’ Alive, with a pizza and great beer (Leffe) in an Alps chateau building. Desert was a delicious 3 little bowls of sorbet, crème, and brulee, with a tasse of café. A man on a horse rode by on the sidewalk while I ate on the terrace. It almost seemed normal.

In the central square at Chatel, a trio of guys took the stage at 9pm for a free concert of French songs. Good performers, they played barefoot, and switched off between 2 guitars, a snare drum, and a one-string washtub bass. A fun time for the 150 or so children and adults in the audience.

Wild animals I’ve seen – yesterday, near the top of the Col de l’Iseran (the 3^rd highest road in Europe at a measly 2770m,) I saw a bunch of marmots. Cool looking critters, fast and furry rodents. I’ve seen 2 deer, one in Austria, the other in Spain. Some snakes - one stayed in the road long enough to film (which is probably lost.) And of course, birds. I think the ubiquitous “we’re going extinct” bird is some kind of dove. I’ve also seen some snowy egrets, many hawks or falcons, and some large black and white birds.  I think they’re too small to be marabou storks, but they look similar. And they build huge nests on top of narrow outcrops – such as telephone poles and church steeples.

Oh, and just to check if anyone is still reading this, the first person to email me gets a free 6-pack of beer.

6July Oviedo, Spain

Back to mountain twisties, and it sure feels good. There is a stunning range of mountains that runs East-West across Northern Spain not far from the coast. Some peaks are almost 3000 meters high, and there are snow patches even in early July. I’ve been winding my way up and down the mountains.

Fiorella

Bilbao Guggenheim

San Sebastian sand and jetty, almost arrested 1978

Hossegor guys – Thibault Vanvincq, Julian, Basil , Raoul(Sebastian)

Illegal turn in front of 2 moto cops who just looked at me like I was a stupid tourist.

Remind me to fill in the blanks…

A Coruna

Oh dear. I’m losing track of this trip. So much is happening so fast, and I haven’t had a chance to keep up with it. A Coruna was great. I met an old guy at a place called “Friends of the Museums of Galicia”. We talked for a long time and he poured a fine glass of wine at the bar behind the stage.  The place is a little venue for concerts, lectures, shows, etc. Paco retired a few years ago from banking, and now he travels and keeps up with the arts. Nice guy.

While cruising the little alleys of the old town, I found a curio shop. The owner explained what all the stone structures are that I’d seen along the way. There are literally thousands of horreos in Galicia. They are actually storage silos for crops, and the stone stilts keep pests away. Originally, the top was capped with a carved rooster as a symbol of fertility, but Christians replaced them with crosses, which makes the horreos look like raised coffins, but there is nothing religious about them.

Wandering on, I passed a church that was emanating music. I looked inside and there was a group of perhaps 12 people, and it looked like they were auditioning for a man. The next person to sing was a guy who was probably 35 years old, and he started singing with a powerful tenor voice. It took a few moments to realize he was singing “On the Street Where You Live.” The words were in English, but it was obvious he doesn’t know how to speak English at all. Very strange.

That evening, I had dinner at Pablo’s, probably the nicest place in A Coruna. I had to wait till 9pm for them to open. That’s standard for Spain – if you get hungry at 6pm or 7, forget trying to eat at a restaurant. It’s bizarre that Spain is so regimented in its dining customs. Breakfast is only café and perhaps a bollo (pastry), if you’re lucky, but bars are open all the time if you want to smoke with a beer. At Pablo’s, I was the only person in the place the whole time, possibly because Spain was playing Portugal in the World Cup at the time. FWIW, the lobster croquettes and monkfish with crayfish and potatoes in a cream sauce were the second most expensive meal I’ve had on the trip (40E), but far from the 2^nd best meal. The homemade ice cream with a quince sauce and almond brittle was delicious, though.

Time to Catch Up

About that Mass – yes, the incense burner is massive, probably more than 50lbs of silver, and they do swing it almost to the ceiling of a very high cathedral. Impressive. And it’s filled with smoking frankincense. The ceremony was also impressive with lots of ritual, and the priest was a good orator, even though I understood almost nothing of what he said.

I’ve been badmouthing the Spanish and Portuguese coastline as too developed and too crowded. Well, I found the antidote. Galicia. The northwestern state of Spain is magnificent. Heck, all of northwestern Spain is magnificent, including Asturias and Cantabria. I zigzagged in and out of the fjords/sounds of Galicia and found wonderful places to spend more time. The coast is rugged and beautiful, with big stands of pine trees and ferns, interspersed with little hamlets of great old stonework. For a vacation spot, Muros ain’t too bad. It’s big enough for a little culture, but with very few tourists. And the beaches around the town are stunningly beautiful. If Muros is too crowded for you, just north of there is a little place called Ancoradoiro. It’s only a few buildings, but there are a couple of hotels and campgrounds, and one hotel owner told me the place has been written up in a surf magazine. OK. Further on, I was winding my way through some very pretty back roads when I came around a bend and saw a beach off in the far distance. I also saw white water peeling down the coast. Whoops! That’s a wave! I thought surely the road must go by it, but instead, the road took a turn up an inland valley. I found a little road that headed off towards the beach and took it. I felt like the early explorers of surf in the 50’s and 60’s when I rode through some farmer’s driveway, and an old woman gave me a WTF look, but I was stoked to be on the track of good surf. I haven’t had much luck with surf on this trip, seeing a lot of potential but not much quality. This could be it. I made a few more turns through pastures and fields. (BTW, Spanish cowshit stinks. Yeah, all cowshit stinks, but Spanish cowshit _really_ stinks. BAD! Maybe it’s revenge for all the bullfights, but it reeks.) Any way, I finally found my way to the beach, and of course, it’s a known surf spot. It had a really nice parking area with new toilets and water fountains and showers. I asked a couple of guys who were walking up to the beach and they said it gets really good there, but it was bad today. Harumpf. It was a bit windy and mushy, but it was still better than anything else I’d seen in Portugal or Spain, and the name of the place is Praia de Trabo.

A Great Meal!

Intoxicated, yes. I will not use that profanity that was posted a while back to describe my condition now. Intoxicated is a far better description. It has the air of captivation by beauty, by wonder and awe. And it only took 3 glasses with 3 different courses of food. It started with a white Entre Deux Mers that was very nice. Soft on the palate, but interesting, too. It went with a cheese salad. Little chunks of a variety of cheeses on a bed of lettuce with a dressing and spices. I have no idea what it all was, but it was delicious. Since I am in the city of Bordeaux, I had to drink a glass of the local specialty, so the 2nd course started with a glass of red Bordeaux wine. The entree was a bowl of salmon and potato chunks, drenched in young Gouda cheese, with some herbs and spices thrown in. Wow. Superb. Then the capper - a glass of cognac and desert. Desert was a creme similar to a creme brulee, but this wasn't burned. It came with a topping of whipped cream and a little glass of liquid caramel sauce on the side. Holy moly. I'm feeling soooooo good right now. Life definitely is better when the sustenance that gets you through the day is truly delicious.  I am so glad to be back in France. ;-)
Oh, by the way, the restaurant is named Baud & Millet. It specializes in great cheese dishes, and it's across the street from my hotel, so you don't have to worry about how I got back to my room without crashing. OTOH, the neighborhood is so dodgy, you have to ring a bell for them to let you in. (I say "them", but the  only person I saw was Olivia, the waitress/maitre'/busboy. She, btw, was born in Brittany, spent 10 years in Montreal, and studied food service before moving to Bordeaux.)