We woke this morning to another beautiful day in Cambria – a light fog making it a little overcast, but otherwise not too cold.  We started later in the day to give the fog a chance to burn off, then hit the road again for a short stretch down to Hearst Castle.

Built by William Randolf Hearst, the Castle is an architectural marvel of grand proportions.  The pool area is famous as one of the locations for shooting of the Great Gatsby.  Unfortunately you cannot ride straight up to the building itself, so we contented ourselves with time at the visitor centre, and looking through telescopes at the Castle.

Then it was back on the bikes and another short ride down the road towards the start of Big Sur.  Our next stop was a beach occupied by a colony of Elephant Seals.  This is a wild stretch of coast, with no buildings – just a car park, beach and some of the largest marine mammals you will ever get this close to.  We spent some time taking pictures and watching the seals go about their day.

Back on the bikes we started into the beginning of Big Sur – twisty roads, 108 degree switchbacks and the first of many amazing views.  Our next stop was Ragged Point vista, where we took a group photo and had one final stretch before the biggest part of Big Sur – 50 miles of twists, switchbacks, cliffs and incredible views.

The group rode the next section beautifully – every bike perfectly positioned in one long line where we never lost sight of our lead or tail sweep.  Tourists parked along the road taking photos of the views quickly swung their cameras our way – the sight of Harleys riding one of America’s greatest scenic roads a rare treat.

After one and a half hours of exhilarating riding, we turned inland through Redwood forests to the little town of Ripplewood.  This is our fifth time riding along Big Sur, but our first since devastating fires in the area.  It was heartbreaking to see once green forested hills devastated and bare.

We enjoyed lunch and some time in the quirky local artists shops, before heading on our last stretch – the final short part of Big Sur and the ride into Monterey.  The fog remained high and overcast for much of our ride today, but on the last stretch we climbed up one cliff face through the fog itself.  Amazingly even with fog all around, it seems to lift over the road itself so we always had a clear view of where we were riding.

Coming into Monterey we had a good view of the bay, and before we knew it we were pulling into the driveway of our hotel.  An incredible days riding on one of the most incredible roads you will ever experience.

Three of our riders learnt to ride just a few months ago in order to join our adventure.  After so many days of riding, and riding Big Sur so beautifully, we can proudly say we have no new riders in our group – every one is experienced!

Tonight is a free night for the group, and most are making their way into Monterey for dinner at the famous wharf or Cannery Row.  Tomorrow we head further north into the deep Redwood forests past Santa Cruz – yet another change of scenery and stage on this amazing trip.