The Ride Free Tour Team will pick you up at the hotel early this morning and head right down the road to pick up your bike at the rental shop. After a full safety briefing, the group will saddle up and rumble through the streets of Los Angeles as we stretch towards the warm California desert. This great city will quickly fade from our side mirrors as we motor past the throngs of drivers stuck within the confines of their cars and SUV’s. They all wish they were one of us as they wonder to themselves where we are headed on our journey. One thing is for certain, they have no idea of the satisfaction you feel as the sun rises higher into the sky and a life changing adventure calls you from the distance. This is the day you have been waiting for. Smile and let it all soak in.
Our final destination today is Lone Pine, California; a tiny town nestled into the base of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the state of California. Los Angeles is a memory as you take in the perfect night air of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and the warm welcome of this unique town.
Day 3: Lone Pine to Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is, without a doubt, one of the most visually stunning natural wonders in North America. We will enter the Park from the west entrance and cross Tioga Pass at an elevation of almost 9,000 feet as we cruise along crystal clear mountain lakes and peaks that are hanging on to their last remnants of snow. The sun is warm and the air is fresh as Yosemite Valley and El Capitan still lie ahead. The sun climbs into the sky as we open to the endless green meadows of the valley floor. Lunch today is on a picnic bench under the shade of a giant Redwood. No cell phones, no rush hour, no worries. Today is about you and about this place.
Day 4: Yosemite to San Francisco, California
Today will take you and the Ride Free Family from the serenity of Yosemite to the cool and vibrant streets of San Francisco. We’ll ride through the Northern California countryside for a nice stretch before we drop down towards Sausalito on the Pacific Coast. Soon we’ll be perched on a high peak to gaze over The Golden Gate Bridge before riding across and into the heart of the San Francisco Bay and Ghirardelli Square for the first of our two night stay. From here everything that San Francisco and the surrounding area have to offer is at your fingertips. The Ride Free Tour Team has a few favorite spots we like to hit for dinner and some great blues and jazz music. We can’t wait to share this exciting city with you.
Day 5: San Francisco to Monterey, California
Today we turn our journey south and start the first of four days of riding on California’s Pacific Coast Highway 1, a long stretch of winding ocean side highway. Highway 1 is a motorcycle rider’s dream; pure and simple.
This day also offers one of the best lunch spots of the trip, Hollister, California. The Hollister motorcycle riot and subsequent movie, “The Wild Ones”, starring a young Marlon Brando, is considered by motorcycle historians to have catapulted the “outlaw biker” lifestyle into the public eye. We’ll step back in history as we settle in for lunch at Johnny’s Bar, a small pub in the center of Hollister that was the backdrop for one of the most famous motorcycle scenes in the history of Hollywood.
From Hollister, it is just a short hop down the hill past Carmel (the coastal city where Clint Eastwood was Mayor) and into Monterey Bay. Monterey’s Cannery Row and world famous aquarium have been favorite spots of the Ride Free family for years. You will love this quintessential California coastal town.
Day 6: Monterey to Cambria, California
The Ride Free Tour Team gets to sleep a little late this morning as we do not leave Monterey until 12:00pm. This gives you plenty of time to enjoy Cannery Row for some great food or tour the famous Monterey Aquarium. There is actually plenty of time for both if you like.
Now, get ready for an amazing day. Within the first few miles we will hug hair pin corners as we cruise the sea side cliffs that open to the Pacific Ocean. We will stop often to take in the scenery and many opportunities for breathtaking photos and video. Riding the California Coast is something that has to be experienced to fully appreciate the views. Today is not a view here and a view there. Today’s ride is a visual sensation from start to finish.
The group will make one last stop before settling in for the night in the small sea side town of Cambria. We’ll have the rare opportunity to get up close and personal with giant Elephant Seals in their natural habitat. The term “couch potato” takes on a whole new meaning when you see thirty of these giants lounging poolside on the beach. You’ll have to see it to believe it.
Day 7: Cambria to Ventura, California
We will get an early start this morning because we have a special treat planned for lunch today. After a short cruise along the coast we will turn inland for a stunning ride through the foothills of Santa Barbara before dropping back down and into one of the most beautiful cities in Southern California.
Lunch today is long and lazy. Oh, and it is on the famous Santa Barbara Pier! Heads will turn as the Ride Free group rumbles down the wooded planks of the pier to park our bikes 1/8 mile over the Pacific Ocean. We will be sure to leave plenty of time for souvenir shopping after our group lunch on a waterfront terrace. Most of the group usually leaves Santa Barbara Pier with a couple of bags of fresh hand pulled taffy and t-shirts for their kids and family back home.
After lunch we will shake the pier one last time as we leave Santa Barbara behind us for the laid back beachfront town of Ventura, California.
Day 8: Ventura to Los Angeles
We’ll get an early jump on the day and continue our journey along the Pacific Ocean as we point our bikes south towards Malibu Beach as we rumble past the long row of celebrity homes that line this world famous stretch of sand. Santa Monica Pier will be our last dash along the Pacific as we turn inland towards Los Angeles and the end our journey together. Lunch today is at the Ride Free Tour Team’s favorite L.A. eatery. We will have plenty of time to reflect on the experience we shared together and, most likely, will start planting the seeds for our next adventure together. You came into this trip as one of a group of riders from all over the world. You are leaving today as part of a family; the Ride Free family.