The 20th+1 Anniversary Ride was our makeup ride after the pandemic scuttled most riders’ plans last year. While the pandemic was still ongoing this year, a number of riders made part or all of the ride. Many memories of Leland Sheppard, the PC800 Patriarch, were shared at his favorite haunts along the storied Pacific Coast Highway. Riders from as far away as Texas and the Midwest came to join the ride.
Unfortunately due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic, the US/Canada border was still shut so the Canadian contingent could not make it. Similarly, many others had to scrub due to the pandemic and how onerous it can be to travel right now. When the pandemic is over, we’ll do this ride again.
Above are some photos from Revill and Dean. Note the photo with *all* of the PCs is from the original Y2K ride and the photo of the four bikes I believe is in the same spot.
Above are a few photos from the group in the middle of Big Sur on some of the most sublime tarmac on the west coast.
If you have photos from the ride, please send them to me so that I can post them.
Dean William’s Ride Report:
Rolled back home into Springfield, Oregon on Saturday, after a full week on the road. Put just over 1,900 miles on the clock.
Attendance was light, but attendees were great. Aside from Douglas joining us from Monterey down through Big Sur, my 98 was the only PC on the ride, but each of the other riders were prior PC owners. Brother Kel from here in Springfield was on a (quiet) Harley Sportster, Bruce from Arizona was on a Can-Am Spyder, Revill from Austin was on his Africa Twin, and Charles from Minnesota was on a BMW GS.
On Monday, Bruce and Charles opted to skip the Mattole Road/Lost Coast stretch. Understandable, since it’s not for the faint of heart. Like a barroom brawl held in a phone booth. A PC is really not the appropriate tool for that road, but if you can ride the PC through there in “a sporting fashion”, you’ve done something remarkable. I had to do it, in memory of the dozen or so times I trailed Leland through there. Then, the run through the Avenue of the Giants had fresh pavement throughout, which was a treat. The stretch of Hwy 1 from Leggett to the coast never fails to bring grins to my face, and was a treat this year as well. On into Ft Bragg, and dinner at the Wharf where Leland always had us booked. For me, the feeling of Leland’s presence was particularly strong this day, that silly grin of his shining in my memory, plus his glass of milk at dinner with his margarita!
Tuesday was our run from Ft Bragg to Pacifica. Pretty uneventful, but nice weather and roads without a lot of traffic. The stretch of CA-1 from Stinson Beach down to the Marin Headlands above the Golden Gate was just as twisty and challenging as ever. The entry to the Marin Headlands overlook has changed since our last visit, and has become a one-way loop. We only got to see the lower 2/3rds of the Golden Gate, due to incoming fog, but it was worth the stop nonetheless. Charles and his GPS led us through SF, and down into Pacifica for the night at Nick’s Sea Breeze motel, which has neither improved or deteriorated in the 21 years I’ve been visiting there. Nick’s Restaurant was closed, so we had dinner at Moonrakers next door.
Wednesday, Bruce headed off towards Arizona and home. The remaining four had a pleasant ride down to Pescadero State Beach for our usual group photo. Only 4 bikes, and one PC, but I made sure we left a gap in the middle, sort of a “missing man formation”, for Leland. We continued south to Santa Cruz, and took Hwy 9 up to Felton, to the Cowboy Bar & Grill, owned by Jim Geary, a former PC’er and genuinely nice guy. Jim was not in that day, so we didn’t get to do a meet-and-greet with him, but the food and service were great, as usual, and Jim has REALLY spiffed up the place since he first bought it. It’s a really nice place to have a meal. After lunch, Kel and Charles, rode farther up 9, to Skyline, to LaHonda, then back down 84 to Hwy 1. Turns out that Alice’s Restaurant did not burn to the ground in last year’s fires, as we’d been led to believe. Revill and I ran back down to Santa Cruz, then down Hwy 1 to Marina/Monterey and rested up. He and I have some physical issues that Kel & Charles don’t, so a shorter day in the saddle was welcome. That evening, we all ran down to Cannery Row in Monterey, and had our dinner in the courtyard of the Salty Seal, which was Bullwackers back in the day, one of Leland’s favorites. Douglas met us there, and we went through a storage tote of “Leland Memorabilia”, and each of us snagged an item or two to remind us of the lovable curmudgeon.
Thursday, we launched south, and Douglas joined us just south of Carmel, and we rode through Big Sur. Traffic was both surprisingly light, and surprisingly cordial, with most drivers using the pullouts regularly to get out of the way of our motorcycling group. After a potty break, Douglas headed back north, and the rest of us continued down to the south. We stopped and visited our kinfolk, the elephant seals, near San Simeon, then had a nice lunch in Cambria. The afternoon took us on down through San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, and finally into Lompoc for the night. We had dinner at La Botte, as per Leland’s usual planning, but La Botte has bought a different building, across the street from their old location, but still provided a nice dinner for us.
Friday morning we had breakfast together, and said our farewells. Charles headed south through L.A. to San Clemente, and would wind his way home to Minnesota after that. Revill headed in the general direction of Bakersfield, intending to be Las Vegas bound to eventually make his way back to Tejas. Kel and I backtracked 75 miles north to Morro Bay, then took Hwy 41 Northeast through Atascadero to meet Interstate 5 in Kettleman City, headed for Williams, Callifornia for the night on our way back to Oregon. The only real moment of note for me that day was the poor possum who did his best to commit suicide by motorcycle coming out of a shaded corner just north of Atascadero. I missed him, but by millimeters, not feet.
Another 420 miles of Interstate north on Saturday brought us home.
All in all, I felt the ride was a fitting tribute to a fine man. We told lots of Leland stories along the way, at rest stops, photo ops, over meals, and in the evenings. Also recalled lots of stories of other PC’ers from days gone by, anecdotes, quotes, and fond remembrances. Remembered other PC’ers who are no longer with us as well. Bob Walton, Roy Coss, Bruce Mann, Pat Treiber, a list that is longer than it should be, and tugs at my heart. I wished more of “the old crew” could have attended, but we took what we had, and found happiness in it.
I’ve scratched my own personal itch now. I don’t feel any need to ride the Lost Coast again. I’ve spent the truly special times with memories of Leland that I needed to spend, to come to grips with the sad fact that I’ll never ride glued to his taillight again. Ever. And that’s okay, now. Memories are forever.
Dean Williams
Springfield, Oregon
1998 Honda Pacific Coast “Nata Harli” …in glorious yellow!
Attendee List:
Rider’s Name: Leland Sheppard
Your Email Address: N/A
Your City, State/Province or Country: Placerville, CA
Your Pacific Coast Model Year & Bike Name: 1994 Black Beauty
Will you bring a passenger:
Radio Equipment you will carry, if any:
Comments: With us in spirit always.
Rider’s Name: Dean Williams
Your Email Address: dwilli5342@aol.com
Your City, State/Province or Country: Springfield, OR
Your Pacific Coast Model Year & Bike Name: 1998 PC800 “Nata Harli”
Will you bring a passenger: No
Radio Equipment you will carry, if any:
Comments: Let’s hope that California and Oregon are not burning in September of 2021. There will be good memories made, but there will be a huge Leland-shaped hole in the middle of them. Looking forward to riding with old friends, and meeting new PC folk, and introducing them to Leland’s legacy.
Rider’s Name: Kel Williams
Your Email Address:
Your City, State/Province or Country: Springfield, OR
Your Pacific Coast Model Year & Bike Name: Harley Davidson
Will you bring a passenger: No
Radio Equipment you will carry, if any: Cell phone
Comments:
Rider’s Name: Bruce Pickett
Your Email Address: bp042-pc800@yahoo.com
Your City, State/Province or Country: Prescott, AZ
Your Pacific Coast Model Year & Bike Name: PC800-XL (2005 Honda GL1800)
Will you bring a passenger:
Radio Equipment you will carry, if any:
Comments:
Rider’s Name: Charles Holzerland
Your Email Address: Basstracker34@yahoo.com
Your City, State/Province or Country: Albertville, MN
Your Pacific Coast Model Year & Bike Name: 2016 BMW R1200GS. Sold my 1996 pc800 on 9/14/20.
Will you bring a passenger: No
Radio Equipment you will carry, if any: Cardo packtalk bold
Comments: Hoping I’m still allowed to show up. Sold my 1996 PC800 on 9/14/20 but would still love to make the trip. My 2016 R1200GS is still red like my pc800 was.
Rider’s Name: Revill Dunn
Your Email Address: actual.revill@gmail.com
Your City, State/Province or Country: Austin, TX
Your Pacific Coast Model Year & Bike Name: I will be on my Africa Twin, as my PC retired a decade ago. This will be my fifth or sixth ride.
Will you bring a passenger: No
Radio Equipment you will carry, if any: Cell phone
Comments: I will be attending all the dinners from Eureka to Lompoc. I will never ride through Los Angeles again.
Rider’s Name: Joe Laurance
Your Email Address: josephlaurance@charter.net
Your City, State/Province or Country: Winston, OR
Your Pacific Coast Model Year & Bike Name: 89 PC800 “Pacific Ghost”
Will you bring a passenger: No
Radio Equipment you will carry, if any: Senna 2.0 Helmet, Cell phone
Comments: With us in spirit. He passed away in a motorcycle accident before the ride.
Rider’s Name: Douglas Van Bossuyt
Your Email Address: douglas.vanbossuyt@gmail.com
Your City, State/Province or Country: Monterey, CA
Your Pacific Coast Model Year & Bike Name: 1989 “The TARDIS”
Will you bring a passenger: No
Radio Equipment you will carry, if any: Cell phone
Comments: Fingers crossed I can make it! My goal is to ride border to border on the PCH and other close-to-the-water highways.