Strangely enough, achieving a reservation at arguably the best restaurant in the world was not the most challenging aspect of our dinner at The French Laundry in Yountville, Napa Valley. The trickier problem was how to comply with the strict dress code of jackets, no jeans, no trainers or T-shirts while midway through our 2,000-mile Harley-Davidson trip around California. We had optimistically decided that unstructured linen jackets rolled into our saddle bags should do the trick. Well, let’s just say they were certainly unstructured by the time we got to Yountville.
Our annual motorbiking trips, normally to France or Spain, always involve a strong food and wine emphasis. Our modus operandi each day is: book a great restaurant for the evening, ride during the day along the most interesting secondary roads, stop for a simple lunch (no wine), ride on to our destination, find somewhere to stay in walking distance of the restaurant and then eat and drink without the worry of drinking and driving.
This trip was decided over dinner on New Year’s Eve; mellowed by several glasses of a fine 1982 pauillac, Tim, Colin and I agreed — and our partners sanctioned — the ultimate boy’s-own adventure, “The California Trip”. The plan was to fly to Los Angeles and spend ten days riding Highway 1 and visiting the wine areas of Napa and Sonoma. The trip was planned around reservations we made at The French Laundry and Alice Waters’s famous Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley. Easy Rider meets Sideways! Picking up the bikes in Los Angeles was no more complicated than renting a car, though you do need a full bike licence. Some big bike experience is also useful — we found some erratic driving from motorised caravans with boats or trucks hitched on to the back.
After collecting them, and nervously negotiating our first six-lane freeway, we were all guilty of some rather unnecessary blips of the throttle as the sense of freedom that we had been anticipating for the past five months became reality. Our trip was to take us in a big loop of the state, north up Highway 1 via Big Sur to San Francisco, north again around Napa and Sonoma before heading south along the Sierra Nevada and west through the deserts, Death Valley and Las Vegas. The road that would bring us back towards LA was one of the remaining sections of historic Route 66.
It was great biking country — good tarmac, little traffic, no speed cameras and a huge variety of roads, from gently meandering wine routes to challenging hill passes and desert roads. In ten days we clocked up 2,100 miles (3,400km). Napa and Sonoma, together with the lesser-known areas of Alexander Valley and Russian River, are easy wine regions to visit, with tastings at most vineyards. The more exclusive ones charge for the pleasure: we paid $25 (£13.60) to sample half a glass of the superb 2001 Opus One at the futuristic Opus One Winery and a further $15 (£8.15) at Silver Oak to taste what became one of the wines of the trip, their 2001 Alexander Valley cabernet.
Advertisement
There was more to the trip than drinking and eating. For me the two days of desert riding was where the sense of adventure was at its peak. Having ridden along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and attempted to cross into Death Valley via Yosemite (impassable after rock falls), we decided to enter the desert from the south. We had made reservations at Furnace Creek Ranch, having calculated our distance that day at about 350 miles. But by the time we reached Lake Isabella after 300 miles, it was obvious that we had underestimated the distance. With temperatures at more than 100F (38C), we decided to push on.
After climbing several thousand feet we rode over a ridge to see a huge valley of the most austere lunar landscape I have ever seen. The temperature had risen to around 115F.
Riding bikes in these conditions is a totally different experience from driving a car — the sights, sounds and smells are all amplified. This valley smelt like the hot stones in a sauna and the heat was so severe that breathing caused the inside of my nose to burn. We rode on for another three hours through desert salt-lake scenery before crossing into Death Valley. By the time we reached Furnace Creek we had covered 450 miles and had been riding for the best part of 12 hours, but it had been the experience of a lifetime.
And what of the food? In Chez Panisse, my halibut was a triumph, served with peas and dill butter, while Tim and Colin declared their quail and pork dishes delicious. The nine-course menu gourmand at The French Laundry included memorable dishes such as Thomas Keller’s signature macaroni cheese, which includes Maine lobster tail and parmesan. My favourite was truffled egg custard poached in an eggshell. Including a magnum of the delicious Gevrey-Chambertin, the bill for three came to a staggering $1,500 (£815), but then it’s not every day you eat in the best restaurant in the world.
Next year, when the bank balance has recovered, we’re already thinking of going bigger and better. Maybe by then the creases might have come out of the linen jackets.
Advertisement
NEED TO KNOW
Getting there: Virgin Atlantic (0870 5747747, www.virgin-atlantic.com) flies from Heathrow to Los Angeles and San Francisco from £466 return, and from Gatwick to Las Vegas from £521.
Harley rental: Robin Hutson and friends rented their Harleys from Eaglerider (001 310 536 6777, www.eaglerider.com). Rates from £450 a week.
Advertisement
Where to stay: Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort, Death Valley (760 786 2345, www.furnacecreekresort com). Rooms at the inn start at £138, and at the ranch at £73. The Big Sur Inn (831 667 2377, www.deetjens.com) is on Highway 1 at Big Sur. Rooms, £40-£105.
Eating and drinking: The French Laundry (707 944 2380, www.frenchlaundry.com). Chez Panisse (510 548 5525, www.chezpanisse.com), Berkeley. Opus One Winery (707 944 9442, www.opusonewinery.com). Silver Oak (800 273 8809, www.silveroak.com).
Page 2: best biking breaks around the world
()
Advertisement
RIDE AROUND THE WORLD
by Will Hide
India: Jewel in the Crown Holidays has routes through India on a Royal Enfield motorbike, for those with two years’ riding experience. Its two-week Himalayan trips include travelling over passes more than 13,100ft high near the Tibetan border. Its next tour is June 2007. Other tours are around Goa and Kerala. Cost from £1,849, including flights.
Details: 01293 533338, www.jewelholidays.com.
Advertisement
Sturgis, South Dakota: A town of 6,000 people, apart from seven days each August when the population swells by more than half a million as motorbikes turn up for the mother of all bike rallies. Plan well in advance and pick up a bike in Rapid City before taking scenic rides along the Black Hills back roads. Dates for 2007 are August 6-12.
Details: www.sturgismotor cyclerally.com and www.travelsd.com.
New Zealand: Motorcycles New Zealand offers BMW or Suzuki bikes from £30 a day and can organise guides to accompany you (from £100 a day). Ten days in some of the South Island’s spectacular scenery, covering 1,500 miles, cost from £2,300 for a rider and from £1,160 for a pillion passenger, including accommodation.
Details: 00 64 3 357 9197, www.motorcyclesnewzealand.co.nz.
Rome: Antonio Barbieri organises private tours on two Vespas — there’s a driver (and you) on one and a guide on the other — so you get to explore double the amount of places that you would see on foot. Emphasis is on seeing locations visited by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. The cost, including insurance, is £370.
Details: 00 39 329 8511043, www.conciergeinrome.com.