The next best perfect place

May 14, 2007 6:45 PM

Motorcyclist/CaliforniaCoast/MemorialFilter. Please help my find- or narrow down- the location of a strip of road that my friend loved so we can scatter her ashes.

On Sunday a friend was killed in a motorcycle accident in New York City. She is being cremated, and her former roommate and best friend is bringing her remains to California, where I live. We would like to scatter her ashes as close as possible to a certain place where she loved to ride during her years in the Bay Area.

She was young enough not to have made plans for her death, but was an avid motorcyclist and often spoke of a ride she loved to take from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. We remember her talking about going south on 1, and then going off on a side route up through the Santa Cruz Mountains and stopping off at an especially stunning spot somewhere along the way. Apparently there was some kind of quirky general store/restaurant establishment in the vicinity, and based on some web research, this makes me think it might be Alice's Restaurant (on Skyline) or maybe the San Gregorio General Store (off 85?). I hoped, however, that any South Bay/Santa Cruz MeFeites and/or cyclists might have an idea of where the place might be. I hoped there might be somewhere- a pullout, a vista point- that is popular with bikers in particular and which might ring a bell. If anyone happens to know who is "in charge" of the area, I would also greatly appreciate it, since we'd like to try to plant something there. And if you have any suggestions for biker bulletin boards that I should go to with this inquiry, that would help too. Right now I'm grasping at straws, so really anything that might narrow things down is helpful.

I know this isn't much to go on, and the area abounds with beautiful places where someone might have loved to stop and take in the splendor, but I would like to do my best to honor her memory, within the limitations of a sudden and unexpected death.

posted by foxy_hedgehog to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

My deepest condolences. I am so sorry for your loss. I will post your description on the motorcycle forum I belong to and see if anyone recognizes it. I'll check back tomorrow afternoon and post any responses I get.
posted by cocoagirl at 7:08 PM on May 14, 2007

well, i can think of two popular lookout spots near alice's - this one just north of skyline/84, and this one further south towards page mill. the second one is really beautiful, i used to stop there a lot - on a clear night you can see the transamerica building, the bay bridge, the AT-AT cranes at the port of oakland, the mount hamilton observatory - basically the whole bay area. it's really nice.

she might have also turned up tunitas creek road on the ocean side of the hill, which is a popular ride among cyclists of the leg and motor-powered variety alike. i can't remember any specific turnouts though.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 7:29 PM on May 14, 2007

Sounds a bit like the Whale City Cafe, Bar and Grill or maybe the Davenport Roadhouse in Davenport. Davenport's a beautiful coastal roadside stop popular with motorcyclists, a tiny town with a two room jailhouse, and is on Highway 1 right by the turnoff for Bonny Doon Road, which meanders through the mountains a bit before hitting Highway 9, which leads through Felton into Santa Cruz. 85 is a pretty urban freeway with no easy connection to 1. If you wanted to go sightseeing from SF to Santa Cruz, the 1->Bonny Doon Road->9 is stunning coastline followed by a plunge into the redwood forest.

I too love this area deeply, and am heartened by your devotion to your friend's memory. Drop an email if you'd like to have a meetup!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 7:43 PM on May 14, 2007

Thank you cocoa and sandwich and ambrosia- these are already, right out the gate, wonderfully helpful leads.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 7:52 PM on May 14, 2007

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. The places above sound like where we go to show visitors pretty views.

If you are going/are able to plant something, try to make it something native to the area. There are many organizations in the area that pull non-native plants and it would be a shame for something planted as a memorial to be yanked

Safe trip.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 8:09 PM on May 14, 2007

Hey bottle- do you know the names of those orgs?
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 8:46 PM on May 14, 2007

Foxy, here's the response I got from the BMW motorcycle forum. Hope it helps.

I'm very sorry for your friend, and for you and the others she has left behind.

THE biker hang out spot is, indeed, Alice's Restaurant, at the junction of CA-35 and CA-84. Unfortunately, there's no "especially stunning spot" right there. A couple miles south on CA-35 there IS a stunning pull out with a view over the southern half of SF bay, from San Jose to San Francisco and Oakland. On a clear day it's gorgeous.

There are many other stunning spots around the Santa Cruz mountains. With a few more hints, we might pin it down. Did anyone ever ride with her?

As a state highway, CalTrans would be "in charge" of the area: www.dot.ca.gov.
posted by cocoagirl at 2:30 AM on May 15, 2007

Windy Hill Preserve" is near Alice's and has a great view. It's run by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.

In California
posted by bottlebrushtree at 9:38 PM on May 15, 2007

In California local law my restrict the spreading of ashes, though state law allows it in the absence of a local law.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 9:39 PM on May 15, 2007