The Last Hurrah!! - A Pashnit Motorcycle Ride through California's Central Coast

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The Last Hurrah!!
A Pashnit Motorcycle Ride through California's Central Coast

The other day I found myself at lunch with a few of my friends. On one side of the table was a fella that was a Nuclear Astrophysist. Another was a music producer. There was also a cop, a musician, a physical therapist, a midwife, a laborer, a factory worker, a student, a pysch nurse, and a fella that worked in the motion picture industry.

All walks of life, all motorcyclists. That's Pashnit.

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For the last ride of the season, several riders joined our tour headed for a region of California known for its wide open spaces, very few people, and thrilling mountian vistas.

Ayumi enjoyed herself so much on the previous tour of Northern California, she quickly signed up for the next ride- that of Central Coastal California. Ayumi has spent the last few years in the United States and works as a OB/GYN Nurse in the Bay Area. Formerly, in Japan, she worked as a midwife for some years. Her GSXR1000 was only a few months old, and a rolling example of a marvel of modern engineering. For Ayumi, the bike just fit her well, and she cut another notch into her belt of various GSXR Suzuki's she's owned over the years.



Frank has ridden on 3 different Pashnit Tours this year. I think that's what you might call a very satisfied customer. Frank is a Financial Analyst, has done a track day or two, and came once more on the venerable Yamaha R1. A heartstopping georgeous machine, I spent another weekend using it as a photographic subject trying to get that perfect photo.


Photo by Bob

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Patrick was my rider on the Honda 954. I didn't have much intel on Patrick - only that he'd be there to meet us Friday morning. He was able to ride with us for the first two days, then had to boogie on back to the Bay Area due to some unforeseen circumstances.




Photo by Bob

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Bob originally contacted me about a story idea he had - seems Bob writes for City Bike Magazine and wanted to do a story about Pashnit Motorcycle Tours. Bob is even on the cover of the November 2005 issue of City Bike Magazine. So Bob was my Ride-Along-Journalist doing a story on the tour. Looking forward to the article in an upcoming issue of City Bike Magazine.

I would later learn that Bob's other life was that of Dr. Stokstad, PhD. Expertise: Nuclear Astrophysics, Neutrino Astrophysics, Astrophysical Data Evaluation. Oh yeah, that!



Bob is one of the lead scientists in the United States heading up the search for neutrinos and has been to Antarctica three times. Talking to Bob would go something like this, say Bob, so what was your day at work like?

"Construction is underway for a most unusual telescope, one whose light collecting “mirror” will be buried more than a mile beneath the South Pole ice cap and will look up through the Earth to the skies above the North Pole. Called IceCube, because its sensors will encompass a cubic kilometer of ice, this telescope is designed to observe neutrinos, subatomic particles that have no charge, very little mass, and traverse the Cosmos with ease. Serving as messengers from distant violent events, high-energy neutrinos could help solve one of the oldest mysteries in astrophysics – the origin of the cosmic rays"

Uh, thanks Bob!

Bob's Triumph Tiger Dual Sport

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Tim- your other tour guide, and sometimes known as The Other Tim rolled up in his glowing white suit. We had no trouble spotting him aboard his FJR.


Photo by Bob

Tour Guide Tim


Photo by Bob

And lastly, Yours Truly, the Pashnit One.


Photo by Bob

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After the usual safety brief, it was off to take in the redwood forest along the Pacific Ocean. If you are not familiar with San Francisco, it's actually surrounded in certain places by groves of massive redwood forests. The incredibly tall trees never cease to create a sense of wonderment!

The riders in Big Basin Redwoods State Park.



Tim's FJR -

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Ah the Mods, Gadgets & Gear - checking out Tim's wave rotors...



Patrick's Zero Gravity Double Bubble - incidently Patrick had the same exact mirrors that I have on the Busa.

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A quick sidenote: I was pulled aside the other day and asked if I would integrate some photo tips into my next long thread since this individual really enjoyed the pics- but really wanted to learn how to replicate the results. So come along with me as I also explain some simple pointers on how I got some of these shots, and what I saw through the lens. Btw, the camera is a Canon Powershot Pro1 (<---Photo) - a high end point-n-shoot. They run $570-700 retail. I got this one used off eBay for $450.

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Tim with Ayumi & Frank



The group in Big Basin Redwoods State Park taking in the massive coastal redwoods. The group was small at first - one rider was unable at the last minute to make the ride, and another would meet us in San Luis Obispo that night. The following day would also hold some surprises in the local riders that would show up for the ride.

Three of a Kind

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I spent considerable time attempting to capture the perfect magazine cover shot of the R1. So what you'll see is several versions of this same photo I took throughout the ride.



Photo Tip: This was attempt Number Two - and turned out to be a fantastic photograph using diffused light through the fog above to create an evenly lighted bike - no shadows. For this photo I zoomed the camera all the way out to 200mm (7x) and started walking backwards until the nose of the bike fit in the screen. When it fits, light it up, take a deep breath and press the shutter.

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After a quick ride down the coast to the beginnings of California's Big Sur... As we were waiting for lunch, I pulled out the laptop, which has a copy of the California Motorcycle Roads website on it, and previewed the rest of the day.



The eats at Rocky Point Restaurant



Me, I'm kind of a French Fries sort of guy...