Motorcycle diary of Joy Dutta

Saturday was a good fun day after a long while. Weekdays being stressful, I am reluctant to do two-day trips for now, so a short trip around sounded just right.

The agenda was simple: A hindu temple at Livermore, then Half moon bay and to top it off, watching chinese new years parade in the evening at SF. While Uddhav and Piyush tucked comfortably in Niloy’s recently acquired VW Passat, I took my trusty Concours. Being in a cage and not driving it means only one thing to me - sleep.

The temple at livermore had the unmistakable environment of a typical AP temple. The people, the dress and the chatter took me back for a few moments to my country. A hearty prasadam concluded the brief visit before we headed for half moon bay.

I-580 to I-680 to I-880 to I-280 to CA-92. Enough of superslabs and time for some adrenalin. Though 92 was nothing compared to what I tasted in the Ukiah trip two weekends back, it was very enjoyable. The farms, the smell of cowdung and the rural landscape on both sides of the serpentine road took away all the stress of the hectic week.

A short snack break at a subway at the junction of CA-1 and CA-92 at half moon bay later we halted at Venice beach after a short jaunt at a private seaside residential neighborhood. The houses must be worth millions, at least, by looking at the location and the horse trails by the sea.

Venice beach to me was the definition of paradise. At least as of now, till I can ride to Hawaii and Mauritus :D. Before the sea front, there was a shallow river on the sand bed and some young kids were practising to surf. We had to cross the cold water to get to the beach.

Pacific waters touched my feet for the first time. Sea was rough and advertised as dangerous with rip currents. So it was just a beach walk and photo session. Besides it was cold.

Our last leg to SF was smooth and fast on the I-280 till it became 19th avenue. Crawling traffic till Uddhav’s house reminded me of Calcutta and Bangalore. I am so spoilt by open roads that it kills my mood very easily in traffic. Anyways we met Uddhav’s apt mates Ketki and Killol who joined us for the evening fun.

We pampered ourselves with a classic indian vegeterian dinner at Chutneys restaurant on O’Farell. Simple items - Palak paneer and Butter Paneer with Tandoori naans and Mango lassi. The fear of impending rush to a restroom did chase me all along though nothing like that happened fortunately.

The crowd, the streets and the ambience was not very different from what I had seen in NY city. I had some expectations of capturing a few good shots but could not manage a good spot. Besides I left my 85/1.8 lens at home. So it had to be street shots after the parade.

The parade itself was complete with its share of dragons and drums. To top it off a huge chain of chinese crackers were lighted. The sound and the sulphur smell meant only one thing to me - Diwali at home.

The gang decided to walk to Ghirardelli square for its world famous ice creams to call it a day. And what a walk it was. It was more like climbing a mountain than a post-dinner street walk. At every intersection it was a view begging to be photographed. Streets going so steeply down, on a bicycle I am sure it will feel like a free fall.

I got the much needed exercise so I didnt complain much. Lure of Ghirardelli ice creams are a bit too much to ignore. Besides we teased Ketki the daylight out of her. In a mere one semester she started to look like her imaginery big sister and her dennis-the-menace lookalike pants with flying laces were fun to watch.

Return to Uddhav’s apt was not without a little drama. No Muni and no one would walk. We stopped a cab and did what is unthinkable in this country - stuffing 6 adults in that poor Ford, giving our good old Ambassadors a tough competition. Fortunately the cab dropped us safely, even with my constant fear of doors bursting open like a cork from a champaigne bottle!

It was time to say goodbye. I-280 just after SF at night is breathtaking near Milbrae. The view of the valley surrounding the SF airport looks just like from an airplane window after taking off. And those mesmerizing runway lights. I should stop on that stretch someday to soak in that view. Reaching home was like a blink of an eye, thanks to the good time we did on I-280 (much better than US-101) and I managed to stick to Niloy’s VW like a leach, with a constant distance for the 45 minutes of sustained 80mph cruise.

210 miles roundtrip. Not much but a little contribution to my goal of reaching 100k motorcycle miles in a few years.

Pics: Half moon bay, SF - Feb 06

This entry was posted on Monday, February 13th, 2006 at 5:08 am and is filed under misc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.