The Road Where Richard Fariña Died?
The following paragraph is from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Fariña
On April 30, 1966, two days after the publication of his book, Fariña attended a book-signing at a Carmel Valley Village bookstore, the Thunderbird. Later that day, while at a party to celebrate Mimi's 21st birthday, Fariña saw a guest with a motorcycle and hitched a ride up Carmel Valley Road east toward Cachagua. The bike crashed within a mile or so. According to Pynchon's preface to Been Down..., the police said the motorcycle must have been traveling at 90 miles per hour, even though "a prudent speed" would have been 30 miles per hour. He was thrown from the back of the bike and killed instantly.
This next paragraph is from:
http://www.richardandmimi.com/richard.html
As all the world knows, Richard and Mimi attended an autograph party on April 30, 1966, at Thunderbird Bookstore in Carmel Valley, then went to the home of Mimi's sister, Pauline, for a surprise party for Mimi's 21st birthday. At this party Pauline's friend, Willie Hinds, pulled up on a Harley. Hinds took Richard for a ride on the bike on the rolling hills of Carmel, and they wiped out, throwing Richard across two fences and into an embankment. Hinds survived; Richard was killed instantly.
Patricia's commentary:
In August 2007 I visited Carmel Valley and decided to see if I could find the place where Richard died. I set my odometer to zero as I left the town of Carmel Valley Village, heading east toward Cachagua. As I drove this mile, I looked for fences and walls that could possibly be the accident site. About 1 mile from town I saw a dangerous curve and it seemed to be the only logical place that this accident could have happened.
Also, I searched for the Thunderbird Bookstore. It's no longer there ... but remember visiting it several years ago.
