Going to the Pacific Coast
Friday morning, May 29, 2009, we rose early to get a start on the day before the heat set in. We almost succeeded and got side tracked by a relaxing breakfast at the Crossroads Cafe in Joshua Tree. After breakfast we head into Joshua Tree National Park and rode from the high desert to the low desert. Joshua Tree is a magical place and ought to be on any travel itineary. It is interesting to see the various rock formations and how all the pieces fall together.
We left Joshua tree to the south and caught the I-10 for what we thought would be a quick trip to the Pacific Coast Highway. Little did we know. We decided to miss most of the LA traffic by taking a northern route to the coast. We took the I-10 west to the 210 north to the I-15 north to Barstow. The trip into LA was marked by a mixture of clouds and smog, which was very evident leaving LA on the 210 and seeing the smog settled over the city as we climbed into the mountains. From Barstow we head west to Bakersfield on Route 58 which proved to be a long trip and one with a much nicer view then a ride through LA.
From Bakersfield, 109 miles from Barstow, we continued west on Rte 58 and realized we were not going to make Monterey and hoped for the Pacific Coast Highway as an alternative. We had no idea what awaited us as we left Buttonwillow west on Route 58 and it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable rides we had encountered.
Route 58 turned into a less traveled road and we encountered a sign stating the next service was 70 miles down the road about the miles we had left before we needed gas. We decided to give it a shot and spent the next 70 miles twisting and turning on switch backs, climbing mountains with no guard rails and going into turns to hot - it was great. We coasted down hill and hoped for the gas to last. In 70 miles we encountered a dozen cars - it was a very lonely road - the cow population was 100 times greater than the human population. The road was magnificent and in addition to the twisting turns there were long straight a-ways and majestic turns.
Route 58 dumped us onto the 101 after 75 miles and we quickly found a gas station. Route 58 needs to be add to any serious rides on the West Coast. We are spending the night in Paso Robles and will head for Highway 1 early in the morning.
Have a super day - safe riding!
ralph