Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Beryl & Bob on Thursday morning, as we had to get back on the road again to continue our ride, & they had decided to stay in San Fran to recover a little longer, while their insurance company arranged upgraded flights to get them home in a bit more comfort than the standard economy seats. They came to see us off, & although they tried to be brave, we could see how low they were feeling. It was hard to leave them there, but we had no choice, all the hotels were booked & expecting us for the rest of the tour.

It's quite an achievement to get a group of 10 motorcycles & a large van out of a huge city like SF, through all the traffic & lights & junctions, without getting hopelessly split up, but we managed rather well, I smugly thought to myself. But I shouldn't have tempted fate, pride comes before a fall & all that. The clutch failed on one of the bikes on the oustskirts of the city, & there was nothing for it but John had to give his bike to the broken-down rider, & nurse the broken one slowly back to Eaglerider in San Francisco, while Steve took our spare sat-nav & confidently stepped into the breach to lead our riders inland, onward & away from the cold mists of SF, gratefully back into the hot sunshine to Alice's Restaurant.

It's no wonder Alice's was one of Steve McQueen's favourite haunts, he loved to ride his motorcycle on the twisty, hilly roads to get there, & the food is delicious, too!

We had lunch, bought souvenier t-shirts, soaked up the atmosphere & enjoyed the sunshine while waiting for word from John. He rang to say a replacement bike was being prepared, but would take a while yet, so while we carried on with the planned, scenic route, back towards the coast & on to Highway 1, he would take the motorway when the bike was ready, & meet us at our hotel in Monterey. The road back to the coast is fabulous for bikers, but a little more challenging for a large, high van with a 5 foot radio ariel on top due to overhanging trees, but I made it, & soon we joined the Pacific Coast Highway, with spectacular views to the ocean. When we arrived at Monterey, John was waiting, room keys at the ready & cool as a cucumber with his new Street Glide in the late afternoon sun.