Nacimiento-Fergusson Road has been sitting in the back of my mind for a while now. After seeing it on Pashnit I knew it was just a matter of time. It was a matter of time before I’d get down there to ride it. Not if; when. I won’t say I’m one for goat trails, but this one had earned it.

The V-Strom and I are closing in on 25,000 miles together, which as milestones go felt like a reasonable occasion to finally point it south toward the Central Coast.

Springtime on Highway 1 in late March was something else. The coast was absolutely blanketed in wildflowers — both sides of the road, for miles. I didn’t take as many photos as I probably should have because I kept thinking the next spot would be better, which is a trap I fall into every time.

I stopped at Mills Beach for a few minutes, just south of where Nacimiento-Fergusson Road branches off from Highway 1. This was a quieter stretch of coast, not a lot of traffic . You could hear the water hundreds of feet below.

Anel got me a yellow mohawk for my helmet as a birthday gift, and I was getting a lot of looks all day because of it. (I’m choosing to believe they were looks of admiration.)

The turn off Highway 1 onto Nacimiento-Fergusson starts climbing immediately and it doesn’t relent: tight switchbacks, narrow pavement, the kind of road that athletically asks a lot of both you and the bike. I didn’t just like it. I LOVED it.

The “Slide Ahead” sign had, in fact, slid down the hill. I appreciated the commitment to accuracy.

Not sure which is the bigger tank!

Came back north through the valley and caught some yellow flowers outside Hollister that were doing their best to compete with the coast. They made a solid case.

Great day to be out. Nacimiento-Fergusson — worth the wait.

Route:

FIN