Short Notice seafood run, Lunch at Phil's

[roydog007]

Last week I did a quick run to Julian for breakfast. This week I had a bit more time so I thought I'd grab lunch with Steve and his crew.

 

 

6:00 am at the Denny's with our trusty steeds

 

It was a pleasant ride up in the early morning air, Nice sunrise at our backs.

After a bit of a traffic snafu, an overturned tractor rig at 156 & the 1,

We rolled into Phil’s, 429 miles later at 2:00 pm

 

 

 

 

 

Roy --- John --- Steve --- Carl --- Don

Handsome bunch ain’t we ? , Chicks dig the rough biker types

 

We stuffed our faces, I had the blackened halibut, excellent !!! Then we headed down to Carmel to grab a coffee before we hit the road.

 

 

 

Steve & Don, two of the Knights of Phil’s picnic table

 

 

It was a bit crowded in town, due to a car show going on. Carl figured out which one he wants for Christmas.

 

 

 

After coffee we hit the road, back down hwy 1

 

 

We stopped at Ragged Point for a bit, John & Steve traded bikes till we got down to Cambria.

Steve said the 1200 GS is a far superior bike to his RT in every way

 

 

I got home about 1:30 am or so, 817 miles later.

 

 

 

 

Great ride with a great bunch, we’ll have to go baaaaaack again.

[GelStra]

Yeah, a ride with Steve is guaranteed to require flash for the 1st picture!

 

Ahhhh, run, kids! It's the Grey Caballeros!

Dang, guys, 817 miles!? I'd need a gluteus maximus transplant after that! Good on you! Glad you had your camera! That does it: I'm e-mailing you guys my Sept. schedule so you don't have the audacity to ride when I'm stuck at work.

[JB-BMW]

It was a great ride with a great group of folks. Steve again led us in his usual exemplary style.

 

Phil's reputation is well deserved. The scallops were great!

 

Carmel was packed with Lamborghinis. A couple were even packed on red carpets as not to sully their tires on common asphalt. Steve remarked that half the comestic surgeons and dentists in California were in town. They sure do good work!

 

The Grey Cabelleros (we'll get you for that Paul) were quite the sight strolling the streets in our ATGATT attire.

 

Highway 1 was beautiful as usual. It seemed though that there is another, more sinister, Internet forum out there. This forum caters to inept drivers of white minivans and SUVs. Apparently a notice went out that everyone one of them scheduled to meet in Carmel on Saturday and then head south on Highway 1 at 25 to 30 miles per hour (posted speed limit 55 MPH). They were also instructed to ignore each and every one of the clearly marked turnouts. As soon as we passed one, another would pull in front to lead their portion of the parade.

 

At Ragged Point, we pulled off to cool off. Steve asked if he could ride the mighty GS. Man those RTs are heavy!

 

The rest of the trip was uneventful. I too arrived home at 0130.

 

When do we go again?

[C_Williams]

I too arrived home at 0130 am. I never thought I would ride 825 miles for lunch, but the food like the company made it all worth while. I had the Sword fish with salsa which was superb, but next time I think I will try the Scallops like JB had.

The weather was cool in some sections of the ride, cool enough to plug in the electric vest, the lowest temperature I read was 62 degrees Fahrenheit but sure felt colder then that in some places, then again we were riding along the coastline..

With the remarks Steve was making about the 1200 GS, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we see Steve with a 1200 GS in the future.

Had a wonderful time. By the way great pictures Roy

[roydog007]

" The rest of the trip was uneventful ??? "

We stopped for pie and coffee on the way home at this Great little country diner.

It's one of the locals favorites, and the cook is an Ironbutt rider on a Road King.

I couldn't have any pie but it is made fresh there and it looked and smelled great.

I gotta stop in there for breakfast sometime, if I can remember where it was ?

 

Oh, you can see one of those mini vans in front of John in the picture of us on the road, they were everywhere

[keithb]

Great pics and great ride guys. That is what you call a full day. I wish I could have gone with you. Several of us went up to the Crest Sunday morning to see the GP race in the Czech Republic, breakfast, and some riding of course. OK STEVE, NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS. YOU SEALED YOUR FATE BY RIDING THE 1200 GS. I GUARANTEE YOU WILL START LOOKING FOR A GS OR RT NOW. GO WITH THE RT IT IS FASTER!! HE. HE.

[JB-BMW]

We stopped for pie and coffee on the way home at this Great little country diner.

It's one of the locals favorites, and the cook is an Ironbutt rider on a Road King.

I couldn't have any pie but it is made fresh there and it looked and smelled great.

I gotta stop in there for breakfast sometime, if I can remember where it was ?

 

It was in Los Alamos. Off Highway 135, on the north side of the road, next to a Chevron station. The waitress was friendly, the diner was supposed to be closed but she said we looked like nice guys. It was her second day as a waitress, filling in at the family business. So she hadn't developed that keen eye for late night trouble. Little did she know The Grey Cabelleros had just walked into the diner.

 

We piled Aerostichs, Carl and Roys matching Savanna jackets on a couple of empty chairs and enjoyed a good cup of coffee. The pie did look good. Breakfast ride anyone?

[GelStra]

GO WITH THE RT IT IS FASTER!! HE. HE.

Alright, Keith. That's 2!

[roydog007]

Carl and Roys matching Savanna jackets

 

You mean these ones ?

 

 

 

Theres just no accounting for good taste

[JB-BMW]

That's them. Can't see if the sheepskin is there though,

[AdventurePoser]

What everyone else said...an excellent road trip with some great riders.

 

And, some incredible food along the way, ranging from the Carmel Coffee and biscottis to the usual succulent fare at Phil's Fish Market. Just thinking about it makes me hungry again!

 

So, Don, Roy, John, and Carl, thanks for making this a memorable scoot!

 

Cheers,

Steve

 

ps-the "Grey Caballeros?" I like it, but probably not as much as Roy likes his sheepskin!

[roydog007]

Now that's just baaaaaad

 

[C_Williams]

Matching Sheepskins with tassels are on order for all!

[GelStra]

Serious question (believe it or not): John, I know you have an RD saddle. Was anyone running a stock saddle? I can't imagine 800+ on stock GS. Maybe the RT's better, but.....

[roydog007]

My RT is 100% stock, I'd like a russell for the long rides, send me a dollar

[RichM]

Up until I read this thread, I would brag about riding 110 miles to eat lunch. I am humbled.

[Joel]

800+ miles just for fish? Man ....

 

 

Thanks for sharing. The tale that is. Y'all can keep the fish.

[keithb]

Oh, so you saw the other post did you?

[AdventurePoser]

Up until I read this thread, I would brag about riding 110 miles to eat lunch. I am humbled.

 

Rich,

 

What's the name of the big BBQ place in Redding? Kinda touristy big restaurant, but the ribs are first rate!

 

Steve

[RichM]

Logans on Hiltop?

There is a new place on Cypress, maybe a year old but I do not know the name.

I know of a real good Thai restaurant close to Redding Medical Center.

And then there is Jack's Grill on California for the best USDA prime cuts.

 

I really don't get down there much, the heat keeps me up here in the mountains. We usually head in a northerly direction to shop and eat. No sales tax in Oregon.

 

Now if you want good ribs......you just come on by. I've been told many times, I should open a BBQ restaurant. I looked into it but figured about the only thing I was really interested in was coming in every night about 10PM and picking up the money.

[GelStra]

Hmmm. Ribs? Hmmmmmm.

Slabbing for slabs

 

Of course, knowing you as I do, there'll be some back roads thrown in that push the mileage up a BIT!

[roydog007]

Hmmm, Ribs

[JB-BMW]

Hmmm. Ribs? Hmmmmmm.

Slabbing for slabs

 

Of course, knowing you as I do, there'll be some back roads thrown in that push the mileage up a BIT!

623 Miles - doable for lunch, if we left really early. Flash definitely needed for the starting photo.

 

Thanks to Steve, I costed out the parts to put a R1200GSA tank on my GS. $1500!! Without labor! But I'd be able to keep up with the RTs.

[roydog007]

Pulling up 817 mile ride for lunch as a speech topic for Toastmasters this week :-)

[Dennis Andress]

 

 

 

 

Pulling up 817 mile ride for lunch as a speech topic for Toastmasters this week :-)

[JerryMather]

Up until I read this thread, I would brag about riding 110 miles to eat lunch. I am humbled.

 

It was a different time with a different type BMW riders back then in SoCal. This wasn't the only time we went up to Phil's for lunch.

 

We thought nothing about riding hundreds of miles for lunch. Steve was the King of " In Search of " rides that took members to far off places to locate their culinary delights, like Taco's near the Mexican border.

Good times

 

Thanks for reposting this one.

[roydog007]

Hi Dennis & Laney, Jerry and everyone else I haven't talked to for a while.

 

Hard to believe that ride was over 7 years ago. Feels like last week. I sold that RT long ago and picked up a 2005 GS1200 on the advice of Paul Mihalka. Great bike, though I haven't had much time to ride lately. I sure miss those rides and all of you folks. My son Alec is in college now staying ahead of him on the finances has been a bit of a chore. Hope to get out for a few short rides this summer somewhere..

[roydog007]

So here's the rough draft of the speech:

 

817 miles for lunch

 

It was Dark O’ thirty when I pulled my trusty steed into the Denny’s parking lot to meet up with the rest of the Gray Caballeros to embark on our epic journey for lunch.

The usual cast of characters soon pulled in Steve, a Junior High Vice Principal and the leader our quest was the first to arrive followed by Carl a Union electrician who worked at the San Onofre power plant, John who was an IT consultant and Don a retired businessman. After a quick check of our gear and some small talk we were soon on our way.

 

 

Traffic in the pre dawn hours was exceptionally light. I was cozy with many of the farkles a typical BMW motorcycle rider at the time adorned his bike with. Besides all the safety gear I had GPS, XM Radio, a 200.00 pair of in ear headphones and a heated jacket to keep me toasty. We usually would ride at a brisk pace this day being no exception. Cruising along in the wee morning hours we made it to Ventura just as the sun was coming up. The weather was beautiful and the sunlight was glistening off of the waves as we rolled on by. I noticed a group of pelicans flying in formation doing low altitude maneuvers just above the waves.

 

The rest of the ride up was blissful and before we knew it 429 miles into our journey we pulled into a marine industrial area, Moss Landing home of Phil’s Fish Market. It was now 2:00 pm. We still had trouble finding parking and there were about 20 people in line ahead of us. At Phil’s you walk up to the counter tell them what kind of fish you want and how you want it cooked and pick a couple of sides to go with it. I went with the blackened halibut, cole slaw and seasoned fries. They give you a number and you go out under the canopy and wait for someone to finish their meal so you can take over the picnic table. Dinner comes out on a turkey platter enough food for two on each plate but it’s too good not to finish it. An excellent meal with great company after a really nice ride.

 

After our meal it was time to hit the road with full bellys we climbed back on our iron horses for the journey back home. On the way back we stopped in Carmel for some coffee and to stretch our legs a bit. There was a high end luxury sports car show going on in town we must have looked like quite the motley crew strolling through town on our riding gear. It was starting to cool off now as we got underway I had to turn on my heated grips and my heated jacket as we rode down highway 1 across the Bixby bridge. The sun was going down now as we headed south into the night. Rolling into Ventura the moonlight was dancing off the waves in the cool ocean air, good for the soul.

 

I arrived home at 1:30 am 817 miles later, a wee bit tired but rejuvenated by this soulful quest. Of course no epic journey is complete until you tell the tale, the BMW riders are no different so as soon as I woke the next day coffee in hand I was at the computer uploading pictures as sharing our hero’s journey with all our friends on our website bmwsporttouring.com