Last Day - Reno, NV to San Francisco, CA

Well today is the last day of the ride.  This morning I was up earlier than Connie!  Showered and ate breakfast before she even woke up - very unusual but I needed to be packed and ready to go as I am on my own today.  

I was able to say goodbye to everyone today and they sent me off with an arch over me.  So starting from the front left there is Ken, Gary, Lulu, Connie, Joyce and Patrick.  What a crew - missing was Kim who headed home yesterday.  Amazing group of people who have made me feel like I belong with them on this trip.  Connie is so fortunate to be able to ride with this group all the time.  I wish there was a group like this at home who enjoyed riding on extended rides.  

Was on the road by 8:00 am and decided that it was best to hit the major highway which was HWY 80 all the way from Reno to San Francisco.  Pretty quiet first thing but man when I hit Sacramento the traffic was heavy and at time became stop and go!  

Well while in California it is legal to split the lanes to keep the bike moving as it is so hard to stop and go on a bike.  But it can be hard to move through traffic when some of the cars needed a bit of encouragement to move over to let me through!  I revved the engine as I was trying to stay in first or second gear as I was splitting the lanes.  Fun but you do work up a sweat doing this as it is quite the workout and a little stressful making sure you don’t hit anyone.  Thankfully my rental bike and myself survived with no incidents.

Rental worked perfect the whole trip and I can guarantee you that my next bike will be a Road Glide - probably a Road Glide Special.  Loved the way the bike handled with a fixed fairing.  Pulled into Eagle Rider and Chad was very accommodating making sure bike was in good order as I unpacked and rearranged all my luggage into the bags I needed to transfer into to be able to be ready for the flight home tomorrow.  

I had decided to stay downtown this time as there was shopping around.  But man - all the name brands like Coach, Rolex, Nordstrom are a little out of my price range and I felt like a fish out of water as I walked around.  

Went back to the hotel had a shower and a bit of a nap before I went out for supper.  I decided to go to a great restaurant around the corner from the hotel - John’s Grill Steak and Seafood.  I thought I would have one last go of the Seafood Chowder - delicious!  

I sat at the bar as usually you get the locals or more entertainment of the people around you and I was not disappointed.  The two guys that sat on either side of me were very entertaining as they were bantering back and forth every once in awhile.  Needless to say I was greatly entertained.  I asked for a picture with one of them as he was priceless.    He is a retired postal worker and comes to the bar  once a month or so and the bartender doesn’t seem to mind either.  Thank you for making my night and I am really glad I didn’t ask for my food to go as it certainly was worth sitting in the restaurant.  

Tomorrow morning I fly out around 8:30 and have to be at the airport early.  So I am off to bed shortly so I can be up and make sure everything is packed and ready to go.  Looking forward to getting back to normal and not living out of a suitcase.  It will be great to see Paul and the boys as I miss them all.