Leg 1 - Novato, CA to Ojai, CA

Monday, May 5th was the first leg of the trip. I left Novato, CA at 7:40am and pulled into my daughter Allie's driveway in Ojai, CA at 3:40, exactly 8 hours and a total of 410 miles.

Ojai is about 20 miles southeast of Santa Barbara. The wind started picking up just after my first gas stop in King City, CA. The weather site had the wind speed at 12-17 mph with gusts to 25. I hadn't been in many cross winds since purchasing the Goldwing, but the bike handled it well. What was interesting was that the wind was unpredictable and came at different times from different directions. At times I had a tail wind. Other times a head wind, cross wind from the left or cross wind from the right. Weather is a primary factor in motorcycle travel and I have bookmarked a couple of very good weather sites.

 I have mapped out a total of 33 legs. Each leg covering a reasonable distance, which for me is about 350 miles. I will be staying in Ojai for a few days visiting with my younger daughter Allie and my granddaughter Kaiya. Then off to the first corner, San Ysidro, CA which is about 220 miles south east. Funny, but Reno Nevada is actually further west then San Diego.