Tom Bodett may leave the light on for you at Motel 6 but he's not much in tending the coffee pot. I learned if you arrive a little after 8:30 a.m. you find only spits and sputters in all three of the palm-pumping thermoses in the office. Not a good way to start the day.
I purposely delayed an early start, hoping the Sacramento commuter traffic would be finished when I passed through in about an hour. It was. Nevertheless, it's still not comfortable being in the middle of all those lanes on a motorcycle with lane-weaving traffic zipping all around you. I was glad when it was over.
The next challenge was negotiating the axle-breaking ruts of Stockton. A friend had warned of that area, having been there in recent months. He was right. I was counting on his also being right about "when" the rough spots ended, in the vicinity of Lathrop. He was right about that too. It was eventually smooth sailing for most of my day on Interstate 5. And a long day it was.
So as to bypass the big city traffic of Bakersfield in my turn east, I continued 18 miles on I-5 to Hwy 223, a two lane that bypasses Bakersfield on the south, through farms and dairies to the town of Arvin, beyond which is a pleasant country road over green hills, eleven miles of beauty and next to no traffic. I stopped over the crest of the hill and enjoyed the peace for a while before re-joining the eastbound herd on California Hwy 58 to Tehachapie, Mojave and Barstow.
My original plan was Barstow but I decided to call it quits early at a Motel 6 in Mojave. I hope Tom has the coffee on in the morning.
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| Green Hills East of Arvin, California |
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| Dunnigan to Mojave, 385 Miles |
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