Dumb-struck! Some of the meanest machines to tour on. Keep them coming, sir.

Wow, the trip has begun in true style and all its majesty.
Eagerly waiting for more.

All the best sir. I am glued to this thread now. The beautiful view of LA and LAX is making me nostalgic.
I did this 101 highway several times more than thirteen years back but in four wheelers. As a kid I was always fascinated by the leather jacket clad motorcyclists on loud bikes (Didn't know the bike names at that time ) in this route. Also Visit Santa Monica, San Louis Obispo, San Jose. Las Vegas will be in a different route. And the beauty of the desert road between LA and Las Vegas through San Barnadino country is something that I am sure you don't want to miss.

Beautiful

...let us know how the mighty Goldwing rides!

amazing ride ...there ...and beautiful pictures

This is going to be some thread and one amazing experience....
The bikes are to die for...
Thanks for sharing Anurag sir... would be eagerly waiting for the rest...

This is what I call a society where motorcycling is a matured activity! Simply brilliant. Spoilt for choices aren't we!

Thanks for sharing. Superb really!

@anurag, nice writeup and pics of the DREAM RIDE, awaiting for more.

Anurag Sir: Awesome rides you got sir..!! The place is simply superb..!!





I love the beach Could you pls. name the above beach..

Sirjee, when can you show us some of your Iceland Pics..

awesome stuff sir!!
glued on this thread 4 sure!!!

Day 3 - Santa Barbara to Solvang

Day 3 & 4 - Santa Barbara to Solvang

The California Road-trip was planned to be of 10 days approximately Including the days for arrival, acclimatization and the actual riding. I thank all my friends at xBhp for chipping in with interesting places to see during the trip and California has so much to offer that it is mind boggling to think that I can cover everything in this short span of time - The way things are going, I am sure that soon there will have to be another trip, but that is the subject of another blog which will cover my key learnings, for instance, The PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) winds down hugging the Pacific Coast of USA and goes on to Canada and even Alaska... it is one of the best highways anywhere and along it is such beauty that it takes your breath away, infact the bottom of your lungs simply drops out. However, this route has speed restrictions and so much to see that even covering 200 miles takes upto 9 hours or riding with brief stops only!! The Google Maps time and distance seems way off the mark.

We planned to start on the 8th March and finish on the 17th March inclusive of Traveling. The entire itinerary was designed in a way that we take it easy, ride and see the route to our heart's content and considering that this is one of the most scenic routes in the world, to also photograph the entire trip to the best of my limited ability. The idea had been to cover almost all major landmarks and also lap up as many smaller attractions that come our way, in reality, to really see it properly, 7-8 days or riding is simply not enough, you cover much lesser distance than text book planning and depending upon the riding company you have, you can get hopelessly bogged down.

We arrived in Santa Barbara the previous night and by the time we found a hotel to stay in, it was already past 10 PM. We were hungry and initially thought that at $140 per room, we were ripped off by the hotel. Santa Barbara Inn sounded as an Inn and we had initially gone there thinking that it being an Inn, it would be cheaper than the $220 that double tree wanted! Well, this was Santa Barbara, and California's rich and famous live here so how could the hotels be cheap / bad.



The rooms in the Inn were quite good and we consoled ourselves by agreeing that it was indeed worth it, We of-course could not find any thing to eat as this place had no room service so we just ate some tortilla chips, nuts and downed a few drinks and went to sleep. The lunch at Malibu Beach earlier day consisting of 1 cup of tea and a couple of chicken wings was what the body was going to get for the day. We slept beautifully and in the morning were ready for breakfast sharp at 8 AM. The breakfast was agian basic fare with a coffee, some muffins and jam and toast, nothing more. Sunny, Sanjay and I went for a stroll at the beach right opposite the hotel and then we were ready to roll again for what was to turn out to be a very eventful day.







We rode along the pacific coast highway from Santa Barbara towards Solvang, some 52 miles away and the ride was breathtaking. Solvang is in the heart of the California wine country and is located in the Santa Yenez Valley. Some of the most famous california wines come from this region apart from others like Napa Valley. We first hit a place called Lake Cachuma on the PCH. Here we took some pictures along the lake side with the bikes.







In a short while, many carloads of Chinese tourists with Camera's showed up here. Chinese tourists seem to be replacing the Japanese camera totting tourists everywhere these days! They wanted to sit on the bikes and soon it turned out that their trip to see the lake became just a bike photography trip. I clicked some pictures of the ladies with the bikes.





We then left the Lake Cachuma and double backed towards a place called Paradise road. Here there was a Cold Spring Tavern tucked away downhill in the middle of nowhere about a mile off the PCH.





It is a 120 year old tavern and nothing in the building has changed including the tasty food. We had a hearty lunch and after spending a couple of hours here.









we again headed back towards the PCH and our final destination - Solvang. We had to pass under a very old railroad bridge and I was compelled to take some pictures here







We had reached the exit for Solvang approximately 3/4 PM and there was still time so we took a detour towards the Los Padres National Forest... This road turned out to be a landmark in our trip. If you have reached this far in this post, you will find out more.. First some pictures here:

















This single road that heads miles into the mountains of California is where Neverland is, for the un-initiated, this is where Michael Jackson's ranch is. I was standing outside Neverland with my bike positioned for this picture. I had ridden off slightly faster then the rest for taking picture of the bikes as they arrive in front of Neverland.



This day was to turn out to be the biggest time-table buster in a few moments. I have seen many hollywood movies and as this post rolls, you will see why it was so much like a Hollywood movie. A Police Car drove in in the middle of this nowhere where I was and stopped besides me. The officer asked me if everything was OK ! I said yes. He drove off.. I had been waiting with my camera and bike positioned but the riders did not arrive for quite some time.. Fearing that they were in trouble with this Cop car, we being from India with Indian DL's, I packed up and rode back up in the mountain to see what the issue was.. As I moved at a steady pace, I saw a Helicopter hovering above me and taking passes over me!

Once I reached where fellow riders were, I saw that the cop car was indeed with my 5 friends and I noticed a bike down!! - Sanjiv had skidded over a sharp turn and I was told that he may have broken something! within 5 minutes, there was an Ambulance, A Fire Brigade in addition to the Cop Car and an additional backup cop car, all with lights flashing, 25 miles up hill on a single road in the mountain. They had arrived within 15 minutes of a call made to 911 about the emergency! Another 5 minutes and a tow truck with crane appeared! - No wonder America leads the world, they give so much value to human life and are so efficient! Hope our government sends our cops here for training.

Sanjiv was taken in the ambulance to the hospital and we headed for the hotel in Solvang via the Hospital. His trip was clearly over. A small misjudgement had become a disaster for him so far away from home in the third day of the trip. I have the pictures but respecting his privacy, am not posting them.

More to come shortly...

Thanks for treating us with this awesome photos
Please keep them coming

The beach is Malibu - It is very close to Los Angeles. As the PCH is along the coast, I will post quite a few beach pictures here as we go..

I am still gawking at the pictures! Wonderful stuff, sir. Now, I'll read the text. Thank you for sharing this experience with us.

What a tough team bro...!!!