Day 5 on the Bike 12/13/08
I got up early (yeah, guess I was still stuck on Central time) and had breakfast; consisting of some of the fruit I bought the previous night and, you guessed it, some Granola bars. Got my stuff packed up on the bike and took off.
I started off with a sweatshirt under my jacket, but it was very chilly, so pulled over to put the rain gear on before continuing. The plan was simple, go up the coast on route 1, cut inland around Santa Cruz, take some of the mountain roads to Half Moon Bay, and then go South again to find a camp site in one of the state parks in the area. I ended up making it only as far as Santa Cruz.. actually, a nowhere town named Pajaro.
First Ocean sighting... about 1780 miles into the bike portion of the trip... Yes, that surprised even me. Guess I took enough detours that the mileage added up to a bit more than the 1300 miles it was suppose to be from Crestone CO to Santa Maria CA.
Yes, it was very foggy and chilly. I kept my rain gear on almost all day.
Made a touristy stop at this spot where the Elephant seals were hanging out. You could hear them occasionally, and they would come to the surface of the water but they would dive back down right away, so didn't really get any good photos. I moved on. Also drove past the Hurst Castle, but it was overcrowded with people so I opted to not stop.
Click here for full image
It wasn't long before I found myself going up into the cliffs along the shore. The road along there is amazing, as are the views. At some points I was was literally in the clouds coming off the Ocean and other places I could see for quite a distance.
Unfortunately one of the things I saw while on this road was some some kid on a crotch-rocket that had wrapped himself around a guard rail. I came around a corner that had a small restaurant along the side of the road and the people in the parking lot were giving me the slow down signal. As I came around I saw the bike and kid up against the guard rail. He wasn't moving. The police stopped me and asked if I knew him, I indicated not and went on as the ambulance sped toward the scene. I didn't see a helmet anywhere.
I started my route inland, made it past Laguna Seca, and then in Pajaro it happened. 1967 miles from my start in Colorado, while stopped behind a pickup truck, waiting for a light to change, my trip was ended by this:
I've already covered all that.
What to do now. I got the bike towed to Santa Cruz BMW which was in Watsonville just a few miles away. The CHP on the scene said that Santa Cruz BMW services all their bikes. The tow truck driver was nice enough to drop me off at the Holiday in Express across the street from the dealer. After some negotiations I decided I would stay there, but I really didn't have many options. I had to stay there until Monday when the dealer opened and I could contact my insurance agent and decide what to do.
I got into a room and iced my hip since that was really the only spot that was obviously bruised. My tailbone was also tender but I didn't really have any problems sitting or walking. After icing the hip I went over to SC BMW and although they were closed I ended up running into a guy who worked there and had just stopped in to pick something up. He said they don't open until Tuesday but assured me that when they open they would look at my bike. I took some additional pictures of the bike and went back to the Hotel room to take a swim in the pool; figured it was a good way to see if anything else on me was hurting. I had the pool all to myself and I could swim freely with no pains, which was a good sign.
I got some advice from the hotel clerk about decent places to eat, had dinner, and went back to the hotel for a well deserved sleep. Unfortunately I didn't really sleep well... too much stuff rattling around in my head.
The hotel served a full complimentary breakfast at 6:00 which worked out well for me. After breakfast I basically spent the rest of the morning on the phone talking to the insurance company and various other people trying to figure out what I was going to do. Gradually I came to the conclusion that there was just no point in staying any longer. SC BMW wouldn't open until the next day, but even if the bike was repairable it would take days to get parts and then more days to do the repairs. In the mean time I would just be racking up more expenses. I considered flying but decided to rent a car and drive. I arranged with my daughter to come and get me in Denver at the rental car drop-off point. So, I got a cab to take me to the nearest car rental place that did national rentals, in Santa Cruz, and took off about noon California time.
I basically drove all day and night, taking a three hour rest at a rest stop, and got to Denver before noon the next day. My daughter picked me up in the afternoon and then we did the long drive to her place in Crestone... To add insult to injury we ran out of gas on the way because she didn't check to see if the car had gas in it, and I was napping in the passenger seat, too tired to even think about it. So, I sat on the side of the road while she and her boyfriend hitch hiked to the nearest gas station and back.
I dropped them of at home, I said my goodbye's to her and my other daughter and I started the drive home to Illinois; this was about 10:00 pm.
To add more insult to injury, I got pulled over by the police about 11:00 pm. Apparently I was spending too much time in the passing lane. Now, you have to understand. It's a twisting two lane road going through the mountains, it's dark, and I'm just sticking to the double yellow line making sure I'm staying on the road and away from the edges where a deer or something might jump out at me, and there was no one else out on the road... except apparently for the police... occasionally you get these passing lanes where you're suppose to move over to the right. Anyway, he pulled me over, asked me some questions, asked for all my information, went to his car. A few minutes later he came back, gave me his business card, gave me my documents back and wished me a safe trip. Whew... that would just be the perfect end to this week, get a ticket too... glad I didn't.
I pulled over at a rest stop about 1:00 am... slept for about five hours... and continued. I managed to make it all the way to Iowa before the tiredness set in and I had to take another one hour nap. That did the trick, and I drove the rest of the way, making it back home by 10:30 pm... Ended up driving over 2700 miles in 58 hours. But, I was home.
As the days passed I stayed in contact with SB BMW and my insurance company. The call came Monday from SC that they considered the bike totaled. They basically started estimating repairs for the major components and stopped when the total got above the value of the machine. Major parts damaged included Rear wheel, drive shaft, rear subframe, gas tank, one cylinder and exhaust pipe, front frame, front suspension, instrument cluster... well, you get the idea.
So, now it's over a week after the collision and I'm waiting for my insurance company to give me a settlement. Of course they will be suing the lady that hit me, and Of course I'm already looking for my next bike.
The last 100 miles of my drive back to IL I just kept playing Willie Nelson's song... it just seemed so appropriate (words slightly altered).
On the road again
Can't wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is riding with my family and friends.
I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again
Going places that I've never been
Seeing things that I may never see again.
I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway.
We're the best of friends,
insisting that the world keep turning our way.
And our way, is on the road again.
I can't wait to get on... the road... again
I was also glad that they occasionally had signs saying to "stay off the median"... good thing too... cause I kept thinking, I really want to drive my car in the ditch... or maybe that was in Nebraska... don't know... it all looks the same...
Looking at the damage, you were very lucky! Of course I don't really need to tell you that. Anyway, I hope you get back on a bike soon and can continue on your journey.
