Friday night I left work, stopped in SF to pack up some clothes, and rode 250 miles up to Fortuna, CA in order to ride highway 36 the next day. The ride through the dark of highway 101 was beautiful - there was a huge moon, the stars were all out, and my bike was running smoothly and flawlessly. Not many cars, and the road is fairly twisty and fun - twisty enough for night-time riding with stock headlights, at least! I had no idea where I was when I arrived at 11:30pm, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful view out of my hotel room. Keepin' tabs on the CHP, too :) 

Morning photo - spent the night in Fortuna, CA before heading out to ride the famous highway 36. 

A curve. One of many :) 

Scenic stop, West end of highway 36. 

The road follows the river on the right - just behind me it dives into massive redwood forest. 

36 follows the river for some time before climbing up into the mountains. Not sure which river this is - I crossed the Mad River a few times, and wanted to stop to take a photo of Wild-Mad Road, but I was going too fast and having far too much fun to stop... 

More. 

Sheer cliff on one side, the road in great condition, the scenery incredible, the corners just right. 

In the mountains, highway 36. 

Coming down out of the mountains - at the end of the straight there's a series of large radius 180 degree turns that bring you down the hillside. 

36 

Where that biker is disappearing into the distance, things get really fun! The hills start rolling, corners everywhere, great orchard-like scenery. 

My girl, highway 36. 

Near the Eastern portion of Highway 36 - some nice high speed runs through rolling terrain. 

Stopped for lunch at Etta's in Red Bluff - the postman was behind the bar making milkshakes, and regular customers have their mugs on the wall...