The San Francisco to Big Sur motorcycle trip was one of the most anticipated moments of the entire route, along with Highway 1’s most famous stretch. Except this time, one of the two didn’t go as planned.
San Francisco: Golden Gate, Alcatraz, and a Family Lunch
Of course we rode across the Golden Gate — though, to our disappointment, we couldn’t stop for the obligatory photo. Traffic and the day’s schedule didn’t allow for it.
We used the stop in the city to have lunch with JP and Nati’s son, who lives there. From where we were, through the haze and distance, we could make out Alcatraz in the background — not clearly, but we knew exactly what we were looking at.
Leaving San Francisco took a lot longer than getting in — surrounded by Teslas and Rivians on all sides, in traffic that shows no mercy. But those hours in the city were well worth it before heading south.
The Gremlin Myth
There’s a biker tradition passed down from generation to generation: gremlins, those mischievous spirits that sneak into any mechanical part of a motorcycle, are blamed for unexplained breakdowns — the kind that make no sense at all. The little bell hanging under the engine traps them inside with its own sound, then shakes them loose onto the road before they can cause any trouble.
And like any good myth, it comes with a rule: it only works if someone who cares about you gives it to you. Buying it for yourself, they say, breaks the spell completely. So if you’re planning to give one to a biker in the family, now you know — the bell isn’t bought, it’s gifted.
And of course, the other bike, the BMW, had its own bell too!
Big Sur: The Stop We’d Been Looking Forward to for Months, Now Closed
Big Sur is one of the most iconic stretches of the entire Highway 1, between San Francisco and LA, and had just reopened after years of reconstruction. Our route went right through there before turning east toward Yosemite. It was, without exaggeration, one of the stops we were most looking forward to on the whole trip.
The night before, JP dropped the bombshell: — Bad news. There’s a wildfire in Big Sur. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get through.
My first reaction was pure disbelief. How could we have planned an entire trip specifically to pass through there, only for it to fall through at the last minute? It felt like a bad joke. We decided to wait until the next morning to see what the news said.
And in the morning, JP confirmed what we’d already feared. The local sheriff, along with what in Spain we’d call civil protection, had just closed Highway 1 through Big Sur. There was no way around it.
Google Maps showed it clearly and suggested an alternate inland route — which, obviously, had nothing to do with the experience of hugging the coastline. We had no choice but to accept it and take the detour.
The next day it still wasn’t entirely clear whether the road had really been closed, but we decided to play it safe. We missed one of the trip’s big attractions — one of those things that, if we ever come back this way, we know we’ll have to leave for next time.
Catch It and Clean It, All in the Same Spot
In the afternoon we saw people fishing near our motel, and came across this table designed for cleaning fish before taking them home. A really good idea, and it worked with pressurized water. They’d thought of everything!
Later, on our way to dinner, we saw this beautiful sunset that I couldn’t stop photographing.
📍 Resources and recommendations
- If your route takes you through Big Sur in summer, check the road status right before you leave — the area is prone to wildfire closures, and Highway 1 can shut down with almost no warning.
- The Golden Gate Bridge deserves an unhurried stop with time for photos, not just driving through in city traffic.
- The gremlin bell tradition makes a nice gift (never buy one for yourself) for any biker — easily found in motorcycle accessory shops in the US.