We leave Lone Pine, and head south on US Highway 395.

Immediately, we ride past Owens Lake, a mostly dry lake on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Unlike most dry lakes that have been dry for thousands of years, Owens held significant water until 1913, when much of the Owens River was diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct, causing the lake to dry up.

Essentially, Owens Lake dried up so that Los Angeles could have water. Water from the Owens Valley was used to fuel LA’s explosive growth. The story of that water diversion was told in the 1974 film, Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.

Owens Lake is so dry that, in 2013, it was named as the largest single source of dust pollution in the US.

About 60 miles south of Owens Lake, we head west on California Highway 178. We’ll stay on this highway for nearly 100 miles, until we roll into Bakersfield, one of Dave’s favorite cities in the world. It’s right up there on his pantheon of places, along with Montrose, Colorado.

The road winds over 5,280-foot Walker Pass, through the southern Sierra Nevadas. Walker Pass is a National Historic Landmark. It was charted as a route through the Sierras in 1834 by Joseph Rutherford Walker, a member of the Bonneville Expedition. The pass is the highest point on Highway 178.

It’s all downhill from Walker Pass.

In 90 minutes, we’ll be in Bakersfield, doing whatever people in Bakersfield do. 

For us, that means gassing up our bikes, and grabbing something to drink. We calling it fueling and cooling.

We’re in California, where gas prices border on ridiculous. Um, actually, they’ve long crossed the ridiculous threshold. Gas today is closer to $7 per gallon than $6. Yes, it’s premium, and my tank only holds six gallons, but still. The possibility of a $40 fill-up on a motorcycle is crazy.

California’s gas prices have traditionally been the highest in the US. It’s partly because of taxes as well as regulatory programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Together, they add about $1.27 to the cost of a gallon of gas, according to a calculation by the Western States Petroleum Association.

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The population of Bakersfield’s metro area is more than a half million. It’s a significant hub for both agriculture and energy production. Kern County is the most productive oil-producing county in California, and the fourth-most productive agricultural county in the US.

One of the best things to like about Bakersfield: it’s the birthplace of the country music genre known as the Bakersfield Sound. Buck Owens and Merle Haggard became two of the most successful artists of the original Bakersfield era while performing with the Buckaroos (Haggard) and the Strangers (Owens).

Bakersfield’s Harley-Davidson dealer is located on Merle Haggard Drive!

We leave Bakersfield behind, and are reminded of the region’s key resource: oil. We roll past the Midway-Sunset Oil Field, the largest in California, on our way to Maricopa. Kern County produces 66 percent of the oil in California, about 10 percent of the U.S. oil supply, and approximately 1 percent of the world’s total oil production. That works out to about 560,000 barrels of oil per day.

And, $7-a-gallon gas!

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Now on California Highway 166, nicknamed the Cuyama Highway, we roll through the towns of Cuyama and New Cuyama, two miles apart. Apparently, one is newer than the other. The name Cuyama comes from an Indian village named for the Chumash word, kuyam, meaning “clam” or “freshwater mollusk.”

After 77 miles on Highway 166, we arrive in Santa Maria, tonight’s destination.

Spanish for “St. Mary,” Santa Maria is notable for its wine industry and Santa Maria-style barbecue. This style of cooking was copyrighted by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce in 1978. A favorite is beef tri-tip, seasoned with black pepper, salt and garlic before grilling over coals of native coast live oak.

If we didn’t already have dinner on the brain, now we do. Time to park the bikes, and get serious about the rest of the day.

Turns out the hotel restaurant, Portabella Bar & Grill, has Santa Maria-style BBQ. Done!

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To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 93255 (the ZIP Code of Onyx, California – one of today’s route waypoints)

What’s your number?