CALIFORNIA JOURNALS 
Photography by Steve Wallstrom
Journals by James Mallory
February 3rd, 2003 - Santa Cruz, California
Yes we are on are way and in the warm weather already. I am sick today with a cold from all the northwest weather riding that we encountered getting down here as well as the lack of sleep from two nights ago. That's something worth writing about. As we entered California on Saturday afternoon we were greeted with a terribly dark cloud that stretched across the horizon like an iron curtain. "You ready for this" i asked Jim through the Autocom communication unit. "No" he flatly stated. All we saw was a wall where trees disappeared and unknown weather loomed. Suddenly we were in the midst of a snow storm and both of us stunned, we slowed down our speed drastically. Within two miles we emerged to the other end of the curtain of snow where sunshine awaited us. Relieved we rode on.
The next hang up we encountered had nothing to do with the weather but rather with the bike itself. "Hey, let's take this exit." Jim responded by quickly by changing lanes to make the off ramp and as i did likewise I realized something was up with my front brake. The front brake of a motorcycle provides a good majority of the braking power so without it you have to get creative. Using both my rear brake and down shifting saved me from a bad situation. As I signaled Jim over, I looked down to see my caliper hanging off my Galfer brake line. What had happened was that we forgot to lock tight the bolts that kept the caliper in and this allowed them to shake loose allowing the caliper to dangle as i was cruising down the highway. Luckily when we replaced the brake lines we threaded the line through a metal loop on the fork. If we hadn't then the caliper would have smashed to the ground going seventy plus on I-5 and that would not have been fun.
As we were evaluating what to do, a man drove up in a truck with a motorbike in back, and asked us if we needed any help. Turns out we did. Our replacement bolts were too long and lucky for us he had a hacksaw. The next thing I knew he was sawin' away and sanding down the edge. Turns he's a carpenter from Great Britain originally and he was working in the area that day. "Do you know of any good places to camp around here" i inquired. after naming off a few he warned us that it was going to be cold and if we wanted we were more than welcome to stay at his house in Sacramento-130 miles away. He looked like an honest man, had already helped us out, and wore a wedding ring, so he seemed legit. We hit the highway and once again had a place to stay. Praise God.
-JM
The next day (yesterday) we headed off to Santa Cruz where our good friends Lindsay and Ryan live. The ride was mainly highway, except for the last part which had a decent amount of twisties. Upon our arrival we hit the beach and knew that the cold weather was behind us for a while at least. In the next couple of days we'll be heading south, receiving some Jackets from First Gear, some pants from Joe Rocket and eventually go the Kawasaki headquarters in Irvine. I'm excited that God's provided a roof over our heads every night and look forward to braffin though Baja in the next week or so.
-SW
February 10th, 2003
Twisties, curves, winding roads. When it comes down to it, that is the essence of motorcycling. To skiers it's fresh powder, for surfers, a perfect wave. But it's a serpentine road that quickens the heart of any biker. It is difficult to imagine a road that more perfectly embodies this style than Highway 1 through the California coast. Rarely will you find a stretch of road that lies straight for more than 200 yards. You'd swear the engineers who built it rode Ducati's.
The uniqueness of Highway 1 lies not solely in the curves, but in its stunning location. Carved precipitously out of the hillside a hundred feet above the Pacific, its beauty is unforgiving for those gaze too long. 'Come on now focus, focus on the road' I repeat to myself. Fortunately the engineers understood this problem and created many pullouts for safer viewing. There is little traffic so we lean our KLR's back and forth through the hairpins hoping our exuberance doesn't bring an early end to our trip. For such a heavily ladden bike, the KLR performed surprisingly well.
For all who have yet to taste the forbidden fruit of motorcycling, perhaps an explanation is in order. Bikes operate on a completely different set of rules than their four wheeled counterparts. Turning, stopping, accelerating, etc. all require new skills.
In a straight line motorcycles are pretty ordinary, at least within the legal bounds of speed limits. Sure, my first bike, an 18 year old Honda cruiser could out accelerated an $80,000 Mercedes but that's a different story. Where a motorcycle really shines is when the roads start swinging.
Now the first thing that confounds every rider is steering, or counter steering to be precise. At any speed above 5 mph, you actually turn the front wheel in the opposite direction of your desired path. This is quite counter intuitive and takes a bit of adjusting. This odd quirk of physics works because by turning your wheel to the right your bike actually leans to the left. And this, my friend, is what turns a bike.
That is why motorcycling is so exhilarating and yet quite challenging. As proof I've witnessed safe, responsible, middle age men rip down the highway at triple digit speeds. The same people who would never do more than 70 in a car. There's just something about wrapping yourself around an engine with 2 wheels that reduces grown men into high school daredevils.
-JM
February 13, 2003
It's late, almost 11pm and Jim and I are staying with some friends parents in Temecula. There house is one of those postcardish ranch homes, with the wrap around deck, stone fireplace and two horses out back. The floors are all wood, in fact Brazilian Teak they told us, and their generosity has been more than just a cool place to stay. We need to head south before we change our minds and try to camp out here for the next month.
-SW |
