Best Western and Harley-Davidson California FAM Tour

Oakland, Calif., Oct 10–14—Touring Highway 1 as its turns tighten along the Pacific Ocean, riding through the Coastal Mountains and Napa Valley; how much good fortune can one man stand? “You should come to California; it’ll change your life.” Those words, spoken by a friend one cold February night several years ago, kept echoing through my mind as the plane came in for a landing at San Francisco International. “You should come back to Youngstown, it’d change yours.” That had been my sarcastic response at the time, but I thought about his words more than once in the four years since. I was about to find out if he was right and if so, to what degree. The plan to tour Northern California on Harleys was all devised through the combined resources of Best Western Hotels and the Harley-Davidson Motor Company to familiarize a group of journalists with the corporate duo’s Ride Rewards partnership. At the end of the day, Ride Rewards is a perks program designed to put riders in Best Western hotel rooms.

My cell phone rang as I was waiting for my baggage. It was Laura Zilverberg from Allison & Partners, the PR firm handling the details of the tour. I knew then that we would be in good hands during the trip. After collecting me and several other journalists, Laura shuttled us to the nearby Best Western Plus Grosvenor for a chance to clean up before dinner at 1300 Fillmore in downtown San Francisco. Once we all arrived at the restaurant we enjoyed a delicious meal in a relaxing supper club atmosphere. We were introduced to a variety of people who were responsible for the great time that was to ensue, including H-D Motor Company staff members John Farris, director of Global Brand Alliances & Business Development, Mike Morgan, communications coordinator and Oakland H-D Principals Mike Genthner and Jess Bettencourt. We’d already met Ron Pohl, senior vice president of Brand Management and Member Services for Best Western International who would also serve as a damn good road captain for the tour. My corner of the table was anchored by Raul Artiga from Oakland Harley-Davidson, the dealership where our fleet of Harleys was rented. If you ride in the Bay Area, you would recognize Raul—he’s riding the Anniversary Edition Softail, with the brightest turn signal/stoplight combination on the planet! At night’s end we were chauffeured back to the Grosvenor under rainy skies, to dream of a brighter tomorrow.

The next morning, after breakfast at the Grosvenor, a feature now included in one form or another at every Best Western property, we were driven to Oakland Harley-Davidson. Being my first trip to the area, I couldn’t decide if it was incredibly foggy, misting lightly, or both. We took time for a quick tour of Oakland H-D and the requisite filling out of rental agreement paperwork. Mike Genthner led the way explaining the history of the dealership and its current services and showing us around. The dealership was previously located in Fremont and was known as Faultline Harley-Davidson/Buell. The recent move to their Hegenberger Road location in Oakland is a big commitment. The facility is as neat as a pin, well-stocked and most importantly, the staff is eager to please.

It wasn’t long before we hit the highway, heading due north to catch Highway 1 and a series of unending turns along the fogged-in Pacific. Our visibility was limited, but the road was outstanding. My first close-up view of the Pacific Ocean came at our first stop, Stinson Beach. While the others stretched, I took a few minutes to enjoy my first steps into the Pacific Ocean and take a couple timed images of the event—which for me was the adventure of a lifetime. In the distance a group had carted an upright piano and some photography equipment onto the beach, presumably for a photo shoot. Photographing pianos on the beach is exactly the way people from the East think Californians spend their days and sure enough, the first time we stopped, that’s exactly what was happening!

My Pacific Ocean baptism was soon behind me as we continued north along Highway 1 to Alfred Hitchcock’s small town of choice for the 1961 thriller The Birds, Bodega Bay. The area is just as photogenic today as it was back then. We enjoyed lunch at the Sandpiper, where I had the crab taco special and a light salad—delicious. After topping off the bikes we mounted up and continued north along Highway 1.

Too slow to lead, too fast to sweep

At some point north of Bodega Bay, I gradually lost sight of the lead pack. With all the twists and turns on Highway 1, you can see a group slipping away for a while, then, all at once, you’re on your own. I decided to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime jaunt at my own pace for a while. The ocean along the 60-mile stretch from Bodega Bay to Point Arena is mesmerizing. It’s much more foreboding and isolated than most of the East Coast shoreline. Most of the road—save for the most severe of turns—has no guardrail and the scenery is breathtaking. Elevation changes are frequent and cliffs are plentiful but as you get closer to Point Arena, the road flattens out. Weekday traffic was sparse, which made for an enjoyable ride north. Then self-doubt began to creep in. “What if I’ve missed a turn?” I thought. “Shouldn’t the back of the pack have caught me by now?” “Should I speed up or slow down?” I decided the best thing to do would be to pull over and call Laura in the sweep van so she would know I was fine. That would have been great except there was no cell service, so I decided to backtrack a bit and see if we crossed paths. About five miles later our paths crossed so I pulled a U-turn.

One thing about riding along the Pacific Ocean is that you can literally see the sun going down. Knowing there was still 90 minutes ahead of me before calling it a day and being in entirely unfamiliar surroundings, I stopped to fill up at Point Arena and tried calling Laura again. After letting her know I was fine, I felt free to relax on a great a stretch of two-lane blacktop called Mountain View Road that runs from Point Arena to Booneville. It’s about 30 miles of elevation changes and who knows how many turns, but aside from some uneven pavement due to utility work, the Dragon’s got nothing on Mountain View Road. I may have passed all of a half dozen cars in 30 miles! It was beautiful and I stopped to take some pictures of the scenery and one big redwood tree along the way. Deer and other animals are plentiful along the roadside on Highway 253, the final leg for the day from Boonville to Ukiah.

Just after dark I pulled into the Best Western Plus Orchard Inn on the edge of Ukiah. Before long we were whisked away to the Ukiah Brewing Company and treated to another delicious meal and several craft brews made on the premises. There was also a jam session featuring several musicians that had ties to the Brewery—either past or present. It was the perfect end to a great day of riding.

The next morning after enjoying breakfast at the hotel, we were on the road by 8:30 winding through some beautiful mountain roads on the way to the Best Western Premier Ivy Hotel Napa in Napa Valley. We were clearly in wine country now; my nose told me so! We even came across a grape spill or two along the way. It was harvest time in Napa Valley and giant tubs of grapes were being hauled away from the picturesque vineyards that lined the roads. We passed through places like Geyserville and Chalk Hill and stopped for lunch at Gott’s Roadside in St. Helena. In the shade of the Gott’s picnic area we enjoyed burgers and shakes as Ron Pohl took the opportunity to educate us on the new Best Western and the Ride Rewards Program.

Best Westerns are independently owned and operated and are ranked according to amenities. The most modest of theses are simply called Best Westerns, with the mid-grade Best Western Plus being the equivalent of a AAA three-diamond rating, and the top of the class being Best Western Premier which we would be staying at that night in Napa Valley.

Best Western is the only hotel chain to market directly to Harley-Davidson riders. Their Ride Rewards loyalty program includes special considerations, such as towels for drying off the morning dew (very helpful on our trip) and a cleaning station for washing your bike at the end of the day. Some other rider-friendly amenities can include bottled water, reserved parking and lip balm. Participation in the program for Best Western property owners is optional, but to date over 1,200 Best Westerns in the U.S. and Canada are identified as “rider-friendly.”

Registration for the Ride Rewards program is free. Online go to www.bwrider.com, or call 888.BW2BIKE. By joining online, Harley-Davidson riders automatically receive Gold Elite status, which includes 10-percent bonus points on every Best Western stay, the ability to purchase points for award redemption and other signature benefits. Once you register, you’ll earn 10 points for every dollar spent on rooms, or 250 airline miles for every qualified stay at more than 4,000 Best Westerns. The program is so popular that it’s grown 50 percent annually since its inception. John Farris added that The Motor Company’s Ride Planner website helps to map out a route including Best Westerns along the way, making it even more rider-friendly.

It was a short ride from Gott’s to the Best Western Premier in Napa. Raul from Oakland H-D rode up to take a ride with us, as it was his day off. The route, suggested by Raul, was the Silverado Trail, which circles the Napa Valley and provided plenty of gorgeous views of vineyards, mountains, gently winding roads and picturesque towns that the dot the valley.

By now I’d figured out the electronics of the Merlot Sunglo 2011 Heritage I was riding and was enjoying scrolling through the features as I rode. I could access trip mileage, miles until reserve, tach and overall mileage—all at the touch of a button. I can tell you this beats the old analog trip odometer on my ’95 Heritage, and the ride and vibrations were equally refined by comparison. The fuel injection was great, especially on the cool mornings, and though I didn’t use it much on this stretch of road, I grew to appreciate sixth gear too.

Dinner at Bottega in historic V Marketplace in Yountville could only be described in two words—the best. Under the guidance of acclaimed Chef Michael Chiarello, Emmy-winning host of the Food Network’s Easy Entertaining, everything was perfect from the salad straight through to dessert and every morsel will be remembered. We took full advantage of Nicole Espinoza’s (John Farris’ companion and a personal chef) knowledge when ordering and when sampling some not-so-familiar fare.

The next morning, due to a good night’s sleep in a bed big enough to have its own zip code, I was up early enough to see my first real California sunrise. Hot-air balloons filled with tourists dotted the early morning Napa skies. After a brief visit for directions from Douglass Harrison, our driver from the California Wine Tours transportation service the night before, I was off to capture some of the sights of the valley. The vintage trucks that are common on Route 128 between St. Helena and Napa, the 1846 Bale Grist Mill, and of course vineyards and mountains all provided perfect memories. The weather couldn’t have been better for riding either.

So, here’s the bottom line—you need to sign up for Best Western’s Ride Rewards program and give it a try. The rooms range from modest to mildly luxurious and they are catering to riders. There’s probably one where you’re going and you can plan your trip to ensure that by using their website.

And for what it’s worth, California has changed my life—even if it takes me another 50 years to make it back.