SoCal 3 - Desmo Silicon Valley and Alices Restaurant

Last year, I had a quite a bit of awesome route guidance from friends who had lived or ridden the West Coast, but none better than from someone I had not met yet named Patty, introduced to me by a local friend Sandro, who helps to run DESMO on the East Coast.

Selfie Photo Credit: Patty

Patty runs Ducati Silicon Valley, and had directed me toward Avenue of the Giants and California's Lost Coast, two of the most amazing rides I've ever done.

Patty and I had planned on meeting up the Friday after Dreamforce and potentially touring Ducati North America HQ in Cupertino, but after she generously picked me up from CalTrain in San Jose, said "...let's go riding instead."

And ride we did.

I try to be a generous rider, but I couldn't believe that this person who I'd chatted with quite a bit online (but never met in person) would offer me one of their motorcycles for the day.

Patty had a Hyperstrada, a Panigale 959 and a
796 Monster that I rode.

I was eager to test out my new Dainese Teren adventure suit, but it was hot when we left so I forgot that the liner contained the D-Dry (waterproof) element.

We met up with one of Patty's friend's John, but not a half an hour into the trip the skies opened up and it began to pour.

The roads looked amazing, but we were covered in dense fog, and by the time we got to Alice's restaurant, we were soaked.

Cold and wet, we got coffee just to warm our hands, and a motorcycle-themed lunch.

At around this time as well, Patty told me what she really thought about my route planning for the next couple of days. Yosemite is beautiful, but I would be pretty dumb to pick up a bike that afternoon and try to head over to the mountains, as there was already snow piling up in the mountains. Patty instead suggested she take me to pick up my rental bike, and that I stay over night in San Jose with her and her boyfriend Eric, and strategized a better route for the next couple of days;

As it was already November, I reluctantly agreed. Eric and Patty and I went out for BBQ, and then Eric pulled out his well-used GPS software to tell me where I should really be riding to get the best of Southern California.