Early morning, Sunday March-16It’s a cold, grey and wet morning at London Heathrow’s Terminal 1, as I board my Boeing 747-400’s non-stop Flight #BA285 destined for California - 5,358 miles (8,623 km) away to the west.
11 hours later I’m reclaiming my baggage, and scurry across to the immigration queue to get that all-important 90-day visa passport. I reunite with Ellen - who, due to her different itinerary, arrived a little earlier on a United Airlines flight. Together we leave San Francisco International Airport’s main concourse and immediately we’re greeted by Vijay, our Honda ST1100-owning friend and host for the first few days of this, our second American adventure. 
Soon we are away from the artificial atmosphere of the concourse and out into the Californian fresh air. Moments later and we’re speeding south down US-101 in beautiful 18ºC (63ºF) wall-to-wall Springtime sunshine.Yunno, it doesn’t really matter where it is in the world, the first glimpse of a foreign land – which here, right now, is ‘home’ to over 300 million American citizens – every time, everything always looks different, sounds different, even smells different. Yep, no doubt about it after far too long a wait, nearly six-months in fact, it’s going to start all over again .. a brand new journey .. and I just can’t stop smiling .. :o)
I’M BACK IN THE USA!
At Vijay’s (and his wife Mo’s) place along Skyline Boulevard, just before bedtime, I check-up on my silver STeed. It’s still there, just where I left her, nearly six months ago.Monday, March-17
Vijay drives us to the local Wal-Mart store where I buy a pre-paid, 10 cents /minute, mobile-cell phone. With 300 minutes chucked into the deal, at USD $30 (GBP £15) and no contractual ‘tie-in’ commitment, this handy device has mathematically already paid for itself. What a bargain.
I also purchase some tyre puncture repair supplies, which I’ll be lucky not to need these over the next two months, and 10,000+ miles.
Then after a Dennys Diner early lunch (highly recommended) we take a ride around nearby Silicon Valley, which is home and the corporate headquarters of household hi-tec names such as ...
.. Intel ..
.. and Yahoo (Vijay is just in view at the bottom of picture) ..
.. and Google----------------------
on the way back home [to Vijay’s place] we drop into a local bike shop where I order my third bum-burn-saving Airhawk cushion, having forgotten to pack my last summer’s purchased one, from Colorado. Now is there anything else I may have left behind back in the UK? … well, probably there is; we’ll just need to wait-and-see.
Later that afternoon we decide to go for a ride and blow away the cobwebs. But pulling away the dust cover we realise that, alas, ‘twas not to happen, as the Silver STeed has clearly been host to some furry rodent visitors during the winter months and the little buggers have nibbled through some of the electrical wiring. Indeed, them hated mieces chewed some of the vital stuff to pieces.
Ho-hum .. mustn’t worry too much as it can all be fixed-up .. that is, if you know what you’re doing in this field ..
.. which I don’t!
BUT fortunately for me, fellow ST rider, Richard, one of Vijay & Mo’s evening dinner guests, is handy with a soldering iron, and after some discussion, laced with a few premium-strength beers ..
Furthermore, I am generously gifted a 12v compressor tyre pump from Vijay’s second ST-owning evening dinner guest, Don. Thanks again Don.
After some jokes+giggles we eventually get the engine up-and-operating (see running headlight), but unfortunately not without the aid of some jump leads attached to Richard’s powerful battery poles .. cuz sadly my little 12v battery is as dead as the proverbial Do-do! It has ceased to be .. it has bleedin’ snuffed it, mate! It’s a double ‘ho-hum’ tonight then. 
Nevertheless, we can sort all the rest of it out in the morning. Right now it’s ‘party time’, with fine Indian spicy fare and my new friends: Vijay & Mo, Richard & Arlene and Don & Joyce. Vijay and Richard hope to ride south with me, at least for the first few hundred miles of my long journey back towards the Atlantic seaboard.
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Tuesday, March-18
This morning, it should be time to ride into the local Honda dealership to get the bike serviced and fitted with a set of new Avon Storm tyres, which I ordered ‘on-line’ two weeks previously. But first Vijay needs to drive there to collect a new battery for me. Whilst he’s gone I remove the dud one.
Around an hour later he’s back; I fit the new power pack, but my first ride-out for the year is frustrated yet again .. cuz I discover that I’ve got a flat rear tyre!! No matter, with the benfit of V’s ‘Stop ‘n Go’ repair kit we plug the hole created by the little offending steel bolt and eventually get going by mid-morning.
Here’s a heads-up for all ‘Stop ‘n Go’ Doubting Thomases. The system works, and notwithstanding the previous day’s purchase of ‘gummy worms + cement-glue + T-handle plugging tools, my ‘Stop ‘n Go’ repair kit, which I brought with me all the way from the UK, will definitely be my first choice of puncture remedy from now on.
By 12-noon we arrive at ‘Honda-Suzuki of San Mateo’; we’re greeted and well received by the very efficient and friendly service manager, Carl, to whom I advise before handing over the ignition keys, “If you smell summin’ funny under the saddle area then don’t worry .. that’ll be the rat shit”“Okay .. Gotcha .. ??” Carl responded, with a smile .. and a puzzled frown!
And so we then catch one of the huge double-decker Cal-Trains from the nearby station into downtown San Francisco, then check into our pre-reserved motel room in Geary Street, San Fran. TIP: think twice before using this particular Motel6. Nomally any motel from this particular chain can be relied upon for good value. Not necessarily this particular Motel6 because:
(a) We immediately spotted a couple of abandoned drug-injecting syringes lying around on the veranda outside our bedroom window .. (b) The shower didn’t work that well,
(c) The high-speed wireless internet facility wasn’t really that high-speed; the connection just kept on dropping-out on a fairly regularly and almost predictable basis, and
(d) The whole place felt just a little too ‘grubby’ for our liking .. we didn’t even want to chance the free coffee on offer the following morning.
Anyway, we wander into ChinaTown and pass by some familiar-type venues along the way. For instance, the Dim Sum&Café, which, after closer inspection .. 
.. has Wonton Soup on special offer todaySo go eat yer heart out Mr Rob-from-Toronto! [private joke]
We walk some of the track driven by Steve McQueen in his 1968 film ‘Bullit’ ... 
.. recently voted the best movie car chase of all time
This is by far the steepest main street gradient I have ever walked UPTIP: If you ever decide to walk the same route, the I recommend you tackle Hyde Street from the south (going north). It’s downhill all the way .. which is a much better direction, especially if you go by Shanks's Pony!
[Notice Alcatraz Island in the background.]
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Wednesday, March-20
Around noon today we decide to return, again via the Cal-Train service, to San Mateo and collect the STeed from the local Honda workshop. 864 dollars poorer we’re riding back up to Skyline Boulevard and await the oncoming evening’s activities. Because tonight we finally meet-up with my far-away friends ..
.. Kiwi Mack, all the way over from Auckland, New Zealand .. and ..
.. our mutual American friend, David from Seattle WA. They’ve both ridden over a thousand, often atrociously wet miles during the last three days, mostly on twisty Hwy 1 and the 101, in order to meet us right here - just south of San Francisco’s Bay Area.With all intended incoming personnel now accounted for, tomorrow morning the journey ‘proper’ can, at last, begin.
