Still in Las Vegas .. and time for Seattle-based David to return home too .. well, I guess some of us DO need to work for a living .. and so shortly after breakfast Dave loads-up his bike - and we say our goodbyes.
David - as a great motorcyclist - and as our friend .. we salute you, from the bridge - I mean literally (remember .. ;o)
--------------------------
As Mack’s tyres (‘tires’ in US-speak) are starting to look more than a little ragged, we decide to head back west towards Los Angeles, California - San Bernardino to be precise, on the far eastern fringes of LA - where we know we can pick-up a set of suitable tyres and get them fitted, all at a sensible price. [Unfortunately Las Vegas prices are not that sensible! .. and in any case, there isn’t a tyre anywhere in town that’ll fit the connie.]
So by mid-morning Mack and I are on our way, heading south down I-15 (S) in a broad clockwise loop - and generally heading back towards the Pacific Ocean in a westerly direction.
Tonight’s stopover is the desert town of Ridgecrest, where Mack hopes/expects to meet-up with a fellow Kiwi-Biker, Andrew. Both of these fellas left Auckland, New Zealand, for completely different destinations in the USA on the very same day, three-and-a-half weeks ago.
On the way to Ridgecrest we take a break in the no-vowel-in-the-name township of Zzyzx, within the territory known as ‘Area 51’. A couple of locals pull-up alongside to buy some slices of pizza ..
.. and a week's supply of fresh jerky 
50 miles later and we turn off the Interstate and take a wander around the ghost town of Calico, formerly a silver mining community .. abandoned as such many years ago - and now remains just a trap, preserved in aspic for the tourist trade.Although you wouldn’t know it from the above picture, the wind is blowing at gale force; the next 50 miles, therefore, is nerve-rackingly ridden out through yet another blinding sandstorm. But we’re getting used to it!
By the evening we’re all tucked-up in our Ridgeway-based motel - and enjoy a splendid dinner with Andrew-the-Kiwi and his new American girlfriend, Tomie-Anna. So that’s Andrew’s motive for coming to America! .. now it all makes sense .. ;o)--------------------------
Monday, April-07
After breakfast - on our way out of Ridgeway - next stop: Chaparral Motorsports, San Bernardino.
.. Mack decides to pull into Ridgeway's local Honda-Suzuki motorcycle dealership/workshop to enquire about tyres. They have a set of Avons that’ll fit the Connie’s rims .. apparently - and at a very keen price too .. :o)
[We're all in the rear workshop] The rear fits snugly, but the front’s profile is just a little too high for the fender* .. Bugger!
(* translation from US-speak: [noun] a barrier that surrounds the wheels of a vehicle to block splashing water or mud)
Nevertheless the oh-so helpful and friendly staff at RMC (Ridgeway Motorcycle Company) track down an Avon Storm tyre, with a lower profile, in the city of Lancaster .. 85 miles to the south! BUT this is a shorter distance than the 120 miles to San Bernardino.
So I’m off and head south across the desert - for the very first time, completely on my own - to make the 170-mile round trip to Lancaster to collect the essential tyre. I have no complaints, as I know that Mack would do the same for me. I had forgotten, however, how good - and free - it is to enjoy just my own company, for a change. Just me, my motorcycle, the road long ahead .. and my own agenda .. 'tis bloody bliss .. :o)
By early-mid afternoon the tyre purchase is complete and I'm on my way back to Ridgecrest. I ride pass familiar names in unfamilar surrondings like 'Edwards Air Force Base'. I guess it makes a change from seeing signposts everyday providing directions to places like, 'Camborne' - 'St Dennis' - and 'Trerulefoot Roundabout' .. all over the world really ;o) 
Late afternoon in the middle of a desert; a hot wind's ablowin' .. and I'm transporting the precious tyre back up north. This is a hellofa place to get a puncture .. ?! and given the circumstances and the cargo I'm carrying, just what sort of paradox would that be? - But it doesn't happen today .. thank gawd .. :o)
--------------------------
Mack's new front tyre is fitted and balanced by 5:30pm. For my efforts he gifts me a brand new Camelbak hydration pack, for which I am extremely grateful - an item I needed, especially in this heat that we're currently enduring.
Then together we head back to Lancaster - and just before dusk check in at a so-so motel .
--------------------------
Tuesday, April-08
But as San Bernardino is more-or-less on our route, we decide to call in at Chaparral Motorsports in any case.
Taking-up a whole block, all to itself, Chaparral Motorsports is widely recognised as one of the largest motorcycle dealerships in the world.
.. I've never seen so many motorcycles under one roof before ..
.. thousands of 'em
.. including a new ST1300 - all shiny in its 2008 Candy Dark Red paint job. 
At USD $14,499 (GBP £7,332) it retails at only 63% of the cost of a new [£11,700] British Pan-European .. :o( 
Yep .. thousands of 'em 
.. plus every conceivable accessory you can think of .. er .. except the tie-down straps that I'm looking for .. and, um .. at least two items that Mack wants to acquire .... in this, one of the largest m-c stockists in the whole wide world!
So size really doesn't matter, after all then?
--------------------------
Onwards to San Diego, located right down in the far south-western corner of the USA, just north of the Mexican border.
That evening I try my first few samples of Sushi, prepared right in front of my eyes at the Sushi Bar next to our motel, The Islands Sushi & PuPu Bar [.. huh? WTF's a 'PuPu']
Well I dunno? .. give me a plate of cod n' chips, with mushy peas .. any day!--------------------------
Wednesday, April-09
A guided tour around the City
Whenever you're in a new city one of the best ways to familiarise yourself with, and get an overview of the surroundings is to go on a guided tour ..
.. which I did today with Old Town Trolley Tours. Embarkation point is outside the entrance to 'Old Town'
The 2-hour route covered most of the important areas that I wanted to visit - and the driver/courier was excellent. I shall return to the locations I want to see in more detail on the Pan tomorrow.Thursday, April-10
'Two-up' - with Mack as my pillion, we get about San Diego.
1. Pacific Beach at 80ºF [27ºC]
.. gotta luv itSan Diego Harbour
HMS Surprise. The ship used in the academy award winning film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, starring Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey.
“Unconditional Surrender”, a 25-foot WWII Commemorative Statue right in front of .. 
.. one of the most impressive pieces of military tackle I've ever seen, the aircraft carrier USS Midway
Inside the Hanger, No.2 deck. Bloody awesome.
After our self-guided tour of the Midway, we take a ride over ..
.. the 200-feet [61m] high; 11,288-feet [3,407m] long Coronado Bridge .. across San Diego Bay.Did I ever mention that I can't stand heights by the way?
From the shores of the elite island of Coronado - with its white sandy beaches, sidewalk cafés, and oceanfront mansions - on a clear day, you can easily make out Mexico, and the city of Tijuana. [just visible in the above pic's background]
Back into the City by early evening, and Balboa Park in particular.So much to see hereabouts, and take pictures .. BUT so little time.
Next time then.
--------------------------
Friday, April-11
The following morning we round-up our whistle-stop tour of San Diego with a visit to the City's world famous zoo.
.. and see Pandas; Gibbons (funky .. :o); a couple of Polar Bears, that were definitely having a good time; and hyenas; plus loads of other animals 'lounging' in captivity.
But as I leave the Zoo and slouch back to the bike before my departure from the City, right there .. in front of me, not 10 feet from the Pan, there's a squirrel going about his daily business, just as nature had intended. And I think to myself, 'Surely this is the way animals are meant to live .. wild-and-free' 
SUMMARY: San Diego - The second largest city in California and the eigth largest city in the USA, with an estimated population of 1.3m.It was never part of my agenda .. to spend time in San Diego, but the call of relatively inexpensive new tyres, for another rider's motorcycle, brought me to this far southwest corner of America. Otherwise, according to my original itinerary, I should have been in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at this time. Nevertheless, the unexpected and unplanned diversion to this Pacific-based city has turned out to be a good one - and I rank the City of San Diego way up there with the likes of Barcelona, Sydney and Vancouver as my all-time [modern] Metropolises to visit.
I recommend that you put San Diego on your list of 'must see' places to explore - I absolutely guarantee that you won't be disappointed .. :o)
