Day 136 saw me riding from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara and for much of this part of the route, Highway 1 is inland from the ocean. This meant the chill from the sea mist was gone for much of the day and indeed, the temperature was unseasonably warm at around 80F for much of the day.
Near the town of Buellton I went to see an Ostrich and Emu farm. These are strange flightless birds but what really surprised me was their strength. For just a dollar, you could feed these birds and I was given a pan of pellets which you are meant to hold out to the birds. WHAM! They hit the pan so hold it is difficult to hold on! They have very powerful necks and the force they are capable of is quite something.
Imagine holding onto a pan with one hand, being careful to watch what these huge birds are doing, while trying to take a photo of them with a heavy-ish full sized digital camera – it isn’t easy! I managed to get a couple of reasonable shots....
Meet my friend Olly the Ostrich....
This is his closely related cousin, Eric the Emu....
I have to say, they ain’t the best looking creatures I have ever seen!
In certain parts of California I have passed huge fields growing crops of what I think is lettuce. Long raised beds covered in plastic are created about a foot high and then planted with seedlings.
The full-grown crop looks like this....
These is the lines and lines of raised beds covered in plastic....
These lines are just after planting....
I had heard that the town of Solvang was interesting as much of the architecture is based on what would be found in Denmark. The town of Solvang (which means sunny fields in Danish) was founded in 1911 by a group of Danes wanting to move away from the harsher northern winters in the USA.
A few scenes from Solvang....
But, the main reason I came to Solvang was to go to the Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum. The bikes are part of the private collection of Virgil Elings and are mainly centred around racing bikes, but there is a broad range of different types of bike contained in the museum.
This is a 1954 Norton Manx Shortstroke, which has an interesting history. One of only two of these bikes imported into New Zealand, it was owned and raced by Rod Coleman....
One of the best bikes ever made, this is a 1932 Brough Superior SS100, so called because even back in 1932, they were capable of 100mph. Lawrence of Arabia was killed riding one of these bikes....
Can an engine be beautiful? Of course it can!!! Just look at this Yale V-Twin....
The engine of a 1940 Crocker. I read at the museum that Crocker offered a full refund for any bike that was beaten by a stock Harley or Indian. No refunds were ever given....
My absolute favourite racing bike of all time, this is a 1952 MV, this being a 350cc. MV went on to win more world championships that any other make. When I was a boy, I used to go to watch bike racing at places like Brands Hatch and Silverstone. Giacomo Agostini was my idol, riding an MV Augusta. For the 5 years of 1968-1972 he won the world championship in both the 350 and 500cc classes....
A very rare 1950 Vincent TT Grey Flash....
1948 350cc Douglas Twin....
What a beautiful bike this 1924 Moto Guzzi C4V is. This is a racing bike with a very unusual single horizontal cylinder. The museum told me is was damaged when shipped from Italy – now restored, but can you imagine the anguish when they un-crated it and found the damaged....
Finally from the museum, a 1936 BMW R12....
A visit to the museum is very worthwhile. They are open every weekend, but they open during the week by appointment only.
Highway 154 between Santa Ynez and the outskirts of Santa Barbara is unremarkable. At one point the road crosses Kelly Creek which is no more than a small stream. The creek however runs through a canyon and there is a fantastic bridge which carries the road over the canyon. It is a shame that most people don’t realise what they are driving on. Luckily, I knew it was there and took the long way around to get these pictures....
If you like bridges, this is stunning. If your name is Helen, it is just another bridge!
Did a zebra get run over here, or is this road snake hell?....
Near the town of Buellton I went to see an Ostrich and Emu farm. These are strange flightless birds but what really surprised me was their strength. For just a dollar, you could feed these birds and I was given a pan of pellets which you are meant to hold out to the birds. WHAM! They hit the pan so hold it is difficult to hold on! They have very powerful necks and the force they are capable of is quite something.
Imagine holding onto a pan with one hand, being careful to watch what these huge birds are doing, while trying to take a photo of them with a heavy-ish full sized digital camera – it isn’t easy! I managed to get a couple of reasonable shots....
Meet my friend Olly the Ostrich....
This is his closely related cousin, Eric the Emu....
I have to say, they ain’t the best looking creatures I have ever seen!
In certain parts of California I have passed huge fields growing crops of what I think is lettuce. Long raised beds covered in plastic are created about a foot high and then planted with seedlings.
The full-grown crop looks like this....
These is the lines and lines of raised beds covered in plastic....
These lines are just after planting....
I had heard that the town of Solvang was interesting as much of the architecture is based on what would be found in Denmark. The town of Solvang (which means sunny fields in Danish) was founded in 1911 by a group of Danes wanting to move away from the harsher northern winters in the USA.
A few scenes from Solvang....
But, the main reason I came to Solvang was to go to the Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum. The bikes are part of the private collection of Virgil Elings and are mainly centred around racing bikes, but there is a broad range of different types of bike contained in the museum.
This is a 1954 Norton Manx Shortstroke, which has an interesting history. One of only two of these bikes imported into New Zealand, it was owned and raced by Rod Coleman....
One of the best bikes ever made, this is a 1932 Brough Superior SS100, so called because even back in 1932, they were capable of 100mph. Lawrence of Arabia was killed riding one of these bikes....
Can an engine be beautiful? Of course it can!!! Just look at this Yale V-Twin....
The engine of a 1940 Crocker. I read at the museum that Crocker offered a full refund for any bike that was beaten by a stock Harley or Indian. No refunds were ever given....
My absolute favourite racing bike of all time, this is a 1952 MV, this being a 350cc. MV went on to win more world championships that any other make. When I was a boy, I used to go to watch bike racing at places like Brands Hatch and Silverstone. Giacomo Agostini was my idol, riding an MV Augusta. For the 5 years of 1968-1972 he won the world championship in both the 350 and 500cc classes....
A very rare 1950 Vincent TT Grey Flash....
1948 350cc Douglas Twin....
What a beautiful bike this 1924 Moto Guzzi C4V is. This is a racing bike with a very unusual single horizontal cylinder. The museum told me is was damaged when shipped from Italy – now restored, but can you imagine the anguish when they un-crated it and found the damaged....
Finally from the museum, a 1936 BMW R12....
A visit to the museum is very worthwhile. They are open every weekend, but they open during the week by appointment only.
Highway 154 between Santa Ynez and the outskirts of Santa Barbara is unremarkable. At one point the road crosses Kelly Creek which is no more than a small stream. The creek however runs through a canyon and there is a fantastic bridge which carries the road over the canyon. It is a shame that most people don’t realise what they are driving on. Luckily, I knew it was there and took the long way around to get these pictures....
If you like bridges, this is stunning. If your name is Helen, it is just another bridge!
Did a zebra get run over here, or is this road snake hell?....
