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A Writers Tour
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Big Sur
Jeff Buchanan
05/01/2006
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Photography by Don Williams
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Both machines employ
6-speed transmissions, with the Honda getting the nod for succinctness. Gear
changes are effected with just a whisper of touch from the left foot to
seamlessly find the next gear. By comparison, the Triumph gearbox is just a tad
clunky, and finding neutral can be a little tough while at a standstill.
However, this is almost an extension of the visceral aspect of the Triumph, as
the transmission is perfectly syncopated with the raw feel of the motor in the
same way as the Honda’s elegant shifts complement the high-tech
powerplant.
 The Sprint ST stretches its legs. (Click image to enlarge)
Henry Miller (1891-1980), perhaps
best known for his controversial Tropic of Cancer, settled in Big Sur in 1944,
following his now-famous expatriate years in Paris (subject of the 1990 film
Henry & June). Inspired by the poetry of Robinson Jeffers, Miller visited
the Central Coast during his two-year American odyssey which became The
Air-Conditioned Nightmare, and decided to stay.
Though noted for his bohemian
spirit and an exuberant love of life, Miller was not without his share of
controversy. Tropic of Cancer set off a 30-year censorship debate. Penned in
1934, the semi-autobiographical novel was so sexually explicit that it was
banned in America until a landmark 1961 legal decision declared it not to be
obscene, and Miller thus helped usher in a dramatic change in
censorship.
While living in a rustic shack originally built to house convict
labor hired to gash Highway 1 out of the coastal cliffs, Miller wrote Stand
Still Like the Hummingbird, The Rosy Crucifixion, and Big Sur and the Oranges of
Hieronymus Bosch, among others. The current owners of Miller’s humble abode (he
left in 1962) grew understandably weary of the endless throng of admirers
wishing to look in on the writer’s digs and, regrettably, put an end to visits.
However, the Henry Miller Memorial Library is located nearby.
Tucked amid the
towering redwoods, the library is a kind of literary depot, a stopover point for
rare and hard to find copies of Miller’s many novels to flow through. Some of
the books are new, others are old and attractively battered with well-thumbed,
aged pages that carry the alluring scent of the past. Typical of Miller, the man
one biographer referred to as, “one of the most famous—and infamous—writers of
the 20th century,” each of the books have a colorful history that can be
recounted by the knowledgeable and friendly staff.
A mile up the road from
the Miller Library was our second destination and stop for the night, the
Ventana Inn & Spa, an oasis of relaxation and rustic exclusivity.
Appropriately enough, given the motorcycle/literary theme of our trip,
Ventana—Spanish for “window”—was the brainchild of film producer Lawrence
Spector of Easy Rider fame.
 Two great sport tourers outside the Henry Miller Memorial Library. Photograph by Jeff Buchanan. (Click image to enlarge)
Perched atop the mountains overlooking the
Pacific, Ventana Inn & Spa was built in 1975 and seems to be a million miles
away from everything, reinforcing the feeling of detachment from the rest of the
world so prevalent in Big Sur. From its original ten rooms, situated on 243
acres, Ventana has smartly and unobtrusively grown into 60 luxurious,
well-appointed private suites. All the usual spa services, as well as swimming,
hiking, horseback riding, yoga, massages, astrology readings, saunas, and hot
tubs are available to the guests—though simply doing nothing is what the hotel
was originally intended for, and perhaps what the tranquil environment of Big
Sur is best suited to. Ventana’s restaurant, Cielo, boasts “views to forever.”
Cielo translates from Spanish into “sky” or “heaven”; pair Ventana and Cielo and
the result is a “window to heaven.”
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