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

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When we reached the oil town of Taft, Jeff was waiting for us. Jeff had ridden all the way up from LA just to spend a few hours with the group and to have lunch together. I have ridden with Jeff twice before on Pashnit Rides and it was a real pleasure to see you again Jeff!



A shot of Jeff's bike from a previous Pashnit Tour.

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Erik's ZZR-600 in Taft

Photo Tip: To get a rather simple shot like this, I'm going to zoom the lens of course, and get the camera as low as the axle, but I'll also walk left or right watching the pop-out screen. At some point the angle of the bike combined with the angle of sun will be just right and I can snap the pic. But the moving side to side is key because at a particular angle the bike will look its best! Note that the sun is up high to top right- it will also give me that glow that you see on the front. With the sun above, the right side of the bike is actually in the shadow. So I'll be sure and meter the camera off that shadow, otherwise the photo would be too dark (b/c the bright sun confuses the light meter).



Still can't keep my eyes of that triangular exhaust can on Ayumi's GSXR - just plain sexy!

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Time to ride Highway 33


Photo by Alan

As reached the range about to start climbing up to 5000 ft on Higway 33, two riders came up on us, a FJR & a GSXR. When they passed by, they turned right around and joined our group. Hmm, might be someone we know? Turns out it was Dale (Gixxerdale) and his brother in law Roger who had ridden up from the Simi Valley area. They fell right into formation and joined the ride.

Dale, aka Gixxerdale

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Roger



Frank

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Blake



Patrick aboard the Honda 954

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The ZZR & the GSXR1000. I have ridden with two different riders on ZZR600's this year and they are very clean, very sweet looking motorcycles!



Allan on the BMW R1100S

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Reaching the first viewpoint on Higway 33 looking north.



What the camera has a little difficulty capturing, and what's behind the riders was that fog bank in the distance. That's what we spent the morning inside along much of Highway 58. Seems it was socked in by the low mountain ranges and when we made south, we rode right out of it. Now up at 5000 ft, we actually got to look down on it!


Photo by Ayumi

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Riders near the summit on Hwy 33



A few miles later, we reached what is probably the most famous viewpoint along Highway 33- And has to be one of my all time favorite photos from this ride. Magazine cover stuff!

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Photo Tip: Camera position has a great deal to do with whether a photo turns out so-so, or makes your jaw drop. If you look at these two pics, they are the same exact moment in time, but very different in both look and feel. While this might be the obvious shot, the one above changes the whole feel of the shot. With a scene like this, you might take at least three- in three different positions- to the left, middle, or right of the rider with the background.

Also note the position of the bike in the photos. In the above pic the bike is very prominant and stands out. In the one below, the R1 blends more into the background giving much more emphasis to the road below.



Another quick example of camera position and zooming. This is the third photo (of three) that I'll quickly take. I've zoomed more in on Frank and he's holds the center position in the pic. One photo in the series will always stand out above the rest.

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The riders and their bikes - what a terrific variety of bikes we had collected.



If you are familiar with this particular region of California just north of Ventura, you'll recognize these shots. It's very much a favorite overlook for we motorcyclists. Btw, did I mention all that pavement down there is BRAND NEW!!!