December GAR Report

Even though the day started out on the cold side, it was a great day for a ride. But because of the current cold snap we didn't take our original route through the Oakland/Berkeley Hills. We figured that black ice, snow, dirt & debris on the road would present an insurmountable challenge. So we went with our alternate route staying to more heavily traveled roads at lower elevations.

We began assembling at McGuire's in Walnut Creek and by the time we staged in the parking lot below the BART tracks we had 12 bikes. We made our way over to 680 and merged onto the southbound lanes. We followed 680 to Sycamore Valley Rd, turning east, and rode over to Crow Canyon Rd. It was a right turn onto Crow Canyon followed by a left onto Dougherty. Then we turned right onto Bollinger Canyon Rd and followed that all the way to the end where we made our scheduled stop at Las Trampas Regional Park.

After we took a few minutes to use the facilities and introduce ourselves we headed back down Bollinger Canyon Rd to Deerwood and over to San Ramon Valley Blvd. We turned north and rode through Danville. Our trek through Danville proved to be a bit of a challenge though. Due to the quick cycling of the signal lights our group got broken up. Then as the last part of the group worked its way through the traffic we had a near miss. Some large white sedan lurched out from a side street nearly colliding with the bike leading the trailing group. Fortunately the sound of squealing tires on pavement caused the sedan to stop and collision was averted. With some masterful riding the bike was able to recover from the skid and continue on safely. I'm guessing there were some pucker marks in the seat cushion though ;?)We finally connected with the rest of the group and made a left onto Hillgrade Ave, then ultimately over to Tice Valley Blvd. We followed Tice Valley over to Olympic Blvd and then on to Reliez Station Rd. This took us to St Mary's where we turned left, riding through Lafayette to Moraga. We turned right onto Rheem Blvd, riding up and over the hill into Orinda. From there it was a right turn onto Moraga Way and into the parking lot at the Europa Hofbrau. The parking lot at the Hofbrau was surprisingly crowded so we had to scatter to find suitable parking.



We made our way inside, ordered our lunches and enjoyed some great company. All too soon our lunch was over and we split up, heading for home.

If you opted to stay home in front of the fireplace instead of riding, you missed out. It was a great way to spend a day with friends as we head for the holidays.

Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year. Ride safe and we'll see you on a ride next year ...

November GAR Report - Farmington

The weather today was surprisingly mild for November with temperatures in the low to mid 60s and nothing but sunshine for our ride to Farmington.

We started gathering at the Devil Mountain shop at around 9:00 and were treated to coffee and breakfast goodies thanks to the crew at Devil Mtn. After our pre-ride brief we had 19 bikes lined up at the back driveway ready to ride. We got on Hwy 4 at Railroad and made our way east to the Hwy 4 bypass. The Hwy 4 bypass is now complete and we followed that onto Vasco Rd, down to Camino Diablo where we made a let turn towards Byron. We rode over to the Byron Hwy and turned south staying on Byron Hwy for about 9 miles before turning onto Bethany Rd. We zig-zagged our way over to Howard Rd which we followed all the way into French Camp for our scheduled stop at the 76 station.



After a short break we headed down French Camp Rd, turned left onto Jack Tone Rd, followed by a right turn onto Farmington Rd (Hwy 4) and over to Lagorio's Grill & Bar in Farmington.



We parked the bikes and headed for the grill in search of nourishment. The food here is good and not too expensive, but don't order the oysters! They're billed as "Eat at your own risk". Really ... on the back of their menu is a disclaimer to this effect and that if you choose to have the oysters you do so at your own risk. That being said, the rest of their food is good.

After eating we made our way back to the bikes and headed for home. We followed Hwy 4 back across the delta and home. Another great day spent riding, eating, and chatting with friends. I think I'll do it again tomorrow. Hope to see YOU there.

One last note. We would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to Larry Manzano's family. He will be missed.

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory Ride Report

Well, we did it again. We found some of the nicest people to go riding with. And on such a nice day too!

We started out at McGuire's, where we counted 33 bikes in the parking lot. It turned out that some of those bikes were not there for our ride, so we actually wound up with around 28 bikes. After our pre-ride briefing we staged in two groups on Pine St and then made our way through town, heading over to Civic, up to Oak Park, then zig zagged our way through Pleasant Hill emerging on Reliez Valley Rd. We followed Reliez, which turned into Alhambra Valley Rd, cut over to San Pablo Dam Rd at Castro Ranch Rd, and followed San Pablo down to Hwy 24. We jumped on 24 heading west and took the Fish Ranch Rd exit heading north. Then onto Grizzly Peak Blvd, Shasta Rd, Wildcat Canyon Rd, Central Park Dr and Euclid Ave down to Cedar St in Berkley. Somewhere around Shasta Rd we made an impromptu stop, but not till we'd taken a tour through a parking lot where we amazed a couple of unsuspecting tourists and their young child as we all turned around and headed back out. We eventually found an appropriate place to pull over for a couple of minutes to kill some time. Turns out we were making good time and would arrive in Berkley too early for the tour. After folks used the facilities, and we'd killed enough time, we continued on our way, descending the hill into Berkley and onto Cedar. We turned onto 6th and followed that for about a mile before turning onto Heinz Ave and into the parking lot at the chocolate factory.

Several of the riders stayed for the tour, some opted to eat at the cafe there, while others opted to find nourishment elsewhere.

It was a beautiful day with clear skies, temperatures in the mid seventies, and some fantastic people. The scenery looking out over the San Francisco Bay as we rode along the ridge line was spectacular. It was so clear that we could see a blimp over the Golden Gate Bridge. Another great day spent with friends. I hope to do it again real soon.

Schultz Museum Ride Report

Well, if you listened to the weather man and stayed home today you missed out on a great ride. There were 5 bikes that showed up to brave the storm, rain gear ready, and we didn't even get wet! The closest we came was a few sprinkles as we rode through the Sonoma area.

We departed McGuire's and headed north on 680, over the Benicia bridge, across 780 and onto I-80. We took the Hwy 37 exit off of 80 and then turned north onto Hwy 29 through Vallejo and American Canyon {Hi Al!} From there we turned west onto Hwy 12 then onto Napa Rd to cut the corner over to Broadway and up into Sonoma. So far the roads were relatively dry with a few areas of wet pavement and small puddles. Just enough to get the bike dirty so your friends would know that you went riding. We tuned left on Napa followed by a right onto the Sonoma Hwy up into Santa Rosa. When we got to Santa Rosa we turned off of the Sonoma Hwy onto Calistoga Rd followed by a left onto Montecito and a right onto Fountain Grove, which we followed all the way to Hwy 101. From there it was a short ride down 101 south to the Steele Ln exit and over to the museum. The traffic was light and the weather good for the entire trip with temps in the low to mid 60s under partly sunny skies.



It was warm enough in Santa Rosa that we peeled off some layers before heading inside the museum. We took our time going through the museum, reading the numerous comic strips on display and taking in some of the various displays. One of the items on display was a German WWII helmet the Schultz had brought back from the European Campaign. Yet another reminder of what others have done so that we all may enjoy our freedom.

Now it was time to eat. We made our way over to the cafe and ordered. The cafe was your typical arcade type cafe with hot dogs, nachos, fries, etc. on the menu. After what seemed like hours, we got our food. It was OK, but nothing worth going out of your way for.

After we ate we walked through the gift shop and checked out the wall, which was a huge mural with all the peanuts characters, and collected our free gift. Yes, we got a free gift, a small pin with a peanuts character on it. It turned out to be very appropriate too as it has Snoopy riding on a bike (ok, it's a bicycle, but we can pretend it's a motorcycle). We call them our ride pins ;?)

Then it was time to head for home. We rode down 101 to the Lakeville Hwy, to 37, 780, 680 and home. The weather was still cooperating for our ride home. The temps were in the upper 60s with partly cloudy skies.

A beautiful day for a ride, and another great day spent with friends.

Halloween Ride-n-Dine

Wow! What a great day to ride-n-eat.

It was a little on the chilly side when we started off in the parking lot at McGuire's this morning, watching to see who showed up in costume. We saw a fat old lady with a dog stuck in her butt crack, a grim reaper & his gruesome assistant, a dead couple, super girl, beer keg man with a dog humping his leg, a couple of punk rockers, a county prisoner, heidi the beer maid, a sailor, a cowgirl, and some others. It was great to see them ride in. There was even one bike that was decorated with tassels pumpkin and a skull.



After ohhhing and awwwwing over all the cool costumes we had the pre-ride brief and lined up under the BART tracks. There were 21 bikes in attendance as we pulled out of the parking lot and made our way through town on surface streets. We zig zagged over to Pleasant Hill Rd and up to Martinez on Alhambra Ave to find our way to Diane Harlan's house for our first stop. We had coffee, several different kinds of quiche (I had to let Diane know that real men don't eat quiche. But I had some anyway, just to make her feel better ;?)several different kinds of muffins, bagels, sausage, did I mention the coffee?, and way too much other food to finish. I almost had to take a siesta before joining the rest of the group on the second leg, but I managed to stay awake with another cup of coffee.



Once we'd gorged ourselves on all that great food, we saddled up and began our trek to Butch & Trinnie's. It had warmed up significantly by the time we were ready to leave and everyone was shedding layers to get comfortable. We rode through Martinez to hook up with Alhambra again, then to Bear Creek, to Camino Pablo. Along the way one of the sweeps was having a mechanical problem. Every time we stopped at the engine would die. The group pulled over and the problem was assessed. It was determined that the fuel tank had been overfilled, causing a problem with the evaporative cannister. The solution was to loosed the gas cap slightly to allow the tank to vent until the excess fuel in the cannister evaporated. This seemed to take care of the problem so we continued on to Moraga, over to St Mary's, to Tice Valley, to Danville Blvd, to Stone Valley, over to Tassajara. We made a short stop here so folks could get a drink and use the facilities, and then we were back under way. We rode down to Highland Rd and crossed along the foot of the hills to Vasco Rd where we turned north and into Brentwood/Antioch where we made a stop to purchase pumpkins for the pumpkin carving contest. We had a little trouble finding the Safeway store at first, but after touring one unsuspecting shopping center and not finding it, we made our way down the street to the 'Safeway' shopping center.



After everyone that wanted to purchased their pumpkins we rode the last few blocks over to Butch & Trinnie's in search of more food. When we went back to the patio area we were greeted to the welcome sight of Rocky, Melanie, Todd and Julie waiting for us to arrive. It was great to see them moving around so well. We were not disappointed with the food either. The theme here was Mexican food, beans, rice, burritos, quesadias, chips-n-salsa, and of course, some cold drinks. We ate and chatted for awhile and then voted on costumes and pumpkins. Once the votes were counted the big winners were, drum roll please, Mike & Kelly Gelbman for best costumes (appliance and cutting board (?) with severed heads) and Laurel Bart for best pumpkin (hamburger. yeah, you gotta see this one). These are too hard to describe accurately, so you'll have to check out the pics when they get posted.

Shortly after the voting we headed for home. It was another great day spent with friends.

October GAR - Schellville Grill

It was a beautiful day for a ride. There were 12 bikes as we pulled out of the parking lot under the BART tracks and headed north.

We rode up 680, over the Benicia bridge and took the Lake Herman Rd exit. We followed Lake Herman Rd over the hill into Vallejo. We turned right onto Columbus Pkwy and then merged onto I-80 east. We exited I-80 at Red Top Rd and made our way through Cordelia to the Chevron station on Central Way where we made our scheduled stop.

After a very brief stop (we wanted to beat another group to the restaurant in Schellville) we were back under way heading north on Wooden Valley Rd. We made a left turn onto Hwy 121 and followed that over the hill into Napa where we turned left onto the Silverado Trail. Our group got infiltrated by numerous cars at this point and we took a quick trip through a Shell station to regroup before continuing on our way. From there we turned onto Imola and made our way over to Hwy 29 headed south. Then it was a right turn onto Hwy 12 for the last few miles to the Schellville Grill. The weather for our entire trip was crystal clear with temperatures in the high 60's to low 70's, and no noticeable wind.



We managed to beat the other group (they actually never showed up. Guess they heard we were coming ;?) so we got seated right away. The food was good and prices were reasonable. Not a bad choice if you find yourself in the vicinity around mealtime.

After eating, most of the group headed back via 121, 29, 37, 80, 780 to 680 and home.
Another great day spent with friends.

Magoon's Saloon Ride Report

The parking lot at Devil Mtn was empty when we pulled in this morning at 7:00 AM. It made me wonder if I had the correct starting location, but then I spotted Daisy's truck and knew I was in the right place. Daisy had come in early, again, to open the place up so we would have coffee, snacks, and access to the restrooms before we departed. I can't thank the team at Devil Mtn enough for all that they do to support our rides. I hope they know that we really do appreciate all that they do.

It wasn't long before more bikes started arriving, and by the time we were ready to go there were 10 bikes in all. Just before the pre-ride brief Kelly informed me that my reputation was at stake on this ride because I had declared this route to have some of the best motorcycling roads in Northern California. Well, we'd know the outcome of this by lunch time, one way or the other. We jumped on Hwy 4 and made our way to the Antioch Bridge where we had a cage try to cut into the group at the last minute when he discovered he was in the FasTrack Only lane. One of the road captains convinced him that this wasn't the right thing to do, allowing the group to stay together at the toll plaza. Then it was up Hwy 160, through Isleton, followed by a turn onto Andrus Island Rd. We rode along the Georgiana Slough to the Walnut Grove Bridge, this time coming at it from the opposite direction, crossed the bridge, and took Walnut Grove Thornton Rd to the Chevron station in Thornton, our first scheduled stop.

After a short break we were on our way again, up to New Hope Rd and into Galt. We zig-zagged our way through Galt, crossed over Hwy 99, and made our way up to Hwy 104 which we followed all the way into Ione where we made our second scheduled stop. While taking our break here we noticed a yard sale across the street. A few of our riders walked over to see if there was anything of interest but came back empty handed. Whew! I thought we were going to have to find a way to cart all the booty back on the bikes ;?)



We departed Ione on Hwy 124, following that up to Hwy 16 and then joined Hwy 49 for a few miles. This took us into Plymouth where we turned right onto Shenandoah Rd. and headed up into the hills. We rode along Shanendoah, Mt Aukum and Sky Park Roads into Pollock Pines. These roads took us through some fantastic country, riding up and down hills, around sweeping turns, through vineyards, forests, and small towns, in and out of the shadows and past the Jenkinson Reservoir. As we rode along we could smell the pine trees and smoke from the chimneys of the houses along the road. We passed under Hwy 50 and made a left turn onto Pony Express Trail, riding the last mile to Magoon's Saloon. As we pulled into the parking lot we could smell the smoke from the BBQ that was out back. While parking the bikes we determined that my claim that these were some of the best motorcycling roads was indeed correct and my reputation was intact. What we couldn't decide on was what my reputation was, and whether it was good or bad. Oh well, that's a topic for another time and place.

So happens that the BBQ wasn't quite ready yet, but we were OK with waiting another 30 min. or so to eat. We sat around watching the NASCAR race and the football game till the food was ready. And it was worth the wait. We had BBQ'd ribs, tri-tip, chicken and hot sausage served with potato salad and beans for $15. A lot of food and it was good. If you find yourself traveling along Hwy 50 any Sunday you should make a lunch stop at Magoon's. You won't regret it.

We began splitting up for our ride home with one rider breaking off right away and half of the remaining riders turning off when we got to Ione. We took back roads out of Pollock Pines, working our way through the twisties on Snows Rd back to Hwy 49. This part of the return trip was as spectacular as the ride up. We joined Hwy 49 at Diamond Springs and followed that through El Dorado, Plymouth, Ione, and Flag City on our way home.

Another great day spent riding and mingling with friends.

Pescadero GAR Report

We had 5 bikes show up for our ride to the coast this morning. The day started off chilly and kind of gloomy with overcast skies.

We rode south on 680 and took Crow Canyon Rd to Castro Valley. We went through Hayward, across the San Mateo Bridge and merged onto 280 south. Then we took the Woodside Rd exit making our way to the Chevron station for our scheduled stop. After crossing over the bridge we started to see some sunlight peeking through the overcast. The sun would soon be shining bright, but it remained on the chilly side till we emerged from the tunnel on 24 heading home.

After a short break, and a discussion about the speed traps commonly seen on the other end of town, we continued on our way. We had seen a couple of different law enforcement vehicles while at the Chevron station so we rode at or below the posted limit all the way through town. Much to our surprise we did not see a speed trap. It must have been break time. We rode up Woodside Rd to La Honda toward Alice's. En route to Alice's we saw a tow truck with a sport bike suspended from the back coming down the hill. Someone was not having a good day.

We continued up the hill, past Alice's and down La Honda Rd on the other side. Then we turned left onto Pescadero Rd and followed that all the way into Pescadero.

The billed eatery, the Mercado & Taqueri, didn't meet our needs today so we opted to eat at the Deli in the Country Store. The food here was good and reasonably priced. A recommended stop any time you're in the area.

We finished lunch and made our way back to the bikes for the trip home. One bike split off from the group and headed south from Pescadero while the rest of us returned via Stage Rd, to La Honda Rd, to Skyline Blvd. Then Hwy 92 to 580, 13, 24, and home.

What a great day for a ride. Hope you had a chance to get out on two wheels ...

Elk Grove B.A.D. Ride Report

Today started off a little on the chilly side. It was in the upper 50s when we arrived at the Devil Mtn shop around 6:30. We were greeted there by Owen who had come in early to see us off on our ride. Thanks Owen!!

After having coffee and donuts we headed for Elk Grove with 32 bikes. We rode up Hwy 160 to Twin Cities Rd, over to Hwy 99 and up to Elk Grove from there. We parked the bikes and made our way up to the registration table to sign in. Then we were off to find the coffee and donuts.

When everyone had finished socializing we were off on the poker run. The first stop was at the dealership, so we got that stamp before we set out on our journey. The route to stop #2 took us back over to Hwy 160 and Walnut Grove. Instead of turning and crossing over the bridge leaving Walnut Grove, we continued straight on Walnut Grove Blvd, crossed I-5 and pulled into the Chevron station on Thornton Rd for stamp #2.

We found ourselves a little 'directionally challenged' when we departed stop #2. We turned north on Thornton Rd instead of heading east on Thornton Rd. Yes, I said that correctly. Thornton Rd makes a 90 degree turn at the intersection, and we went the wrong way. We rode a couple of miles north before we figured out where we had gone awry and, once we identified the need, we made a course correction to get back on track. As we rode back to the intersection to get on the intended route we passed a bunch of other riders that had done the same thing. They too turned around and fell in behind us to get back on course. From there we rode down to Pletier Rd, over to Hwy 88 and into Locke for stamp #3.



We departed the Chevron station in Locke and zig-zaged the back roads back into Elk Grove for our 4th stamp at the Chevron station on the corner of Grant Line Rd and Wilton Rd. From there it was a quick trip down Grant Line Rd and a right turn on Stockton to the dealership.

Once at the dealership we got our 5th stamp and receive the news that we did NOT have a winning card. Bummer! Oh well, we were off to get some food. They had tri-tip sandwiches, beans, chips and salad. That was what we needed to quiet the rumbling in our stomachs. Now we were ready for the bike games and raffle.

The bike games consisted of a slow ride while staying on a board, a ride where the passenger attempted to scoop up stuffed animals with a fishnet, and a ride where the passenger attempted to place tennis balls on the tops of some cones. Mt Diablo participants performed valiantly, but with the exception of the plank slow ride, won by Ron Stevens, we were denied a victory. I must add that Carrie K. did well on the plank ride too. Way to go Ron & Carrie!

It was now time to head for home. We reversed the route we had used to get to Elk Grove and rode along the river back home. Another great day spent riding with friends.

Breakfast Ride Report

Fifteen bikes showed up at the Devil Mountain shop early this morning in search of food. The temperature was in the low 70's when it was time to go and most of us were comfortable with sweatshirts or light jackets. We headed south on Loveridge Rd and zig-zaged our way through Pittsburg and Antioch emerging on Deer Valley Rd. Then we turned east on Marsh Creek Rd followed by a turn north on Walnut Blvd. From there we turned onto Concord Ave and, with a little detour due to a road closure, rode north on the Hwy 4 bypass. We exited the bypass at Laurel Rd and turned onto Neroly Rd taking that all the way to Main St in Oakley.

We merged onto Hwy 160 north, going up and over the Antioch bridge. As we rounded the curve approaching the bridge over Threemile Slough, just before Brannan Island State Park, we came up on some traffic. I originally thought the backup was due to the bridge being up, but as got closer we noted that the traffic was still moving, but slowly. When we made our way across the bridge we could see the flashing lights a half mile or so ahead. There was an ambulance with lights flashing headed back toward Antioch, but sadly they didn't seem to be in a hurry to get there. We were able to get around the accident by using the turn lane and continue on our way. As we passed by the accident scene we could not tell what had happened. There were a couple of cars pulled over and the road looked pretty 'messy', but no obvious collision.

From there we continued north on 160, but just a bit slower, and then turned east onto Hwy 12. About 2 miles down the road we turned south onto Jackson Slough Rd, taking that down to Brannan Island Rd, then following that the rest of the way to Korth's Pirate's Lair.



While it wasn't hot yet it had warmed up enough to make the sweatshirts uncomfortable, so everyone peeled them off before going inside. We were greeted with good food, good service, and reasonable prices. What more can a bunch of hungry HOGs ask for? We ate, chatted for a while and then it was time to head for home. As we usually do, the group broke up into smaller groups taking different routes home. Some back tracked down Brannan Island Rd the way we had come while others opted to continue up to Hwy 12 and home.

Another great day spent riding, eating and mingling with friends.

See you on Tuesday ...

Calaveras Big Trees Picnic Ride Report

Yep, this was another beautiful day for a ride. We had 11 bikes in the group as we departed the Devil Mtn shop in Pittsburg and headed east. We jumped on Hwy 4 and took the bypass down to Balfour. Just before we rejoined Hwy 4 in Brentwood one of the riders in our group dropped out, he was not feeling well and decided to pass on the rest of the ride. The remaining 10 bikes continued on Hwy 4 to Stockton and made our first scheduled stop at the Chevron station on Charter Way.

After our break, and peeling off a layer due to the rise in temperature, we continued through Stockton and on toward Farmington. As we rode across the valley on Hwy 4 I couldn't help but notice the tall corn in the fields along the side of the road. I was thinking that this is probably the same scenery our Milwaukee travelers are seeing on their trip across the plains.

When we reached the twisty, narrow stretch of Hwy 4 between Copperopolis and Angels Camp we had a sheriff's car come up from behind the group with lights flashing. There really wasn't any place for us to pull off the road so we just slowed and pulled as far to the right as possible, let him pass, and then continued on our way. We made a fuel stop in Angels Camp and the proceeded east on Hwy 4. As we rode toward Murphys we had another sheriff's car approach the group from behind and pass us. Wow, twice in one ride! We later discussed this and decided that he must have been in a hurry to get to the doughnut shop ;?)

We made a stop at the Deli in Arnold and bought sandwiches and drinks for our picnic lunch before continuing on to Big Trees Park. We arrived at the park, paid our $6 entrance fee and made our way to the parking lot. We didn't find any picnic tables but we made do with the benches at the theater.

After eating someone had the great idea of walking down to see the big trees. I won't mention her name, but her initials are Carrie. This was supposed to be a 'short' trail of approximately a quarter mile or so and a bunch of us took the bait. We wondered through a small grove that didn't really have any big trees and then found out we had to go down this other trail. So off we went, down this 'quarter mile' trail, which went on forever. We looked back and the people that originally came up with this idea were not with us. Hmmmmm ... But we forged ahead. I'm not sure exactly how long this trail is, but I'll bet it's a mile or more. It wasn't all bad though. We did get to see some awesome trees. Some of the trees were so tall we couldn't see the tops. Others were so huge that after they had fallen they were hollowed out and tourists go through the tunnels that they make. And still others that are still standing have arches cut through the trunks that tourists walk through as the make their way along the trails. Definitely worth the long walk.

When we got back to the parking lot we discovered that the others had already departed and just our 3 bikes remained. One bike opted to take an alternate route home so it was just the two of us returning on Hwy 4. We pulled over for a short break in Farmington and while we were standing there along the road here comes the rest of our group. Turns out they had made a 'refreshment' stop and we had passed them. They decided to get something to eat there, so it was just the two of us the rest of the way home.

This was a great ride. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cold, and traffic was relatively light.

See you on the next ride ...

Jamestown Train Ride Report

So, where were you on this day in history?

We were on our way to Jamestown to check out Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. There were 14 bikes as we departed the Walnut Creek shop. We rode over Ygnacio Valley to Concord and then via Marsh Creek Rd to Byron where we joined Hwy 4. The temperature was in the low 70's so most of us had either light jackets or sweatshirts on, and the skies were absolutely clear.

In case you were wondering, the construction on Marsh Creek Rd is complete, at least for now. The loose gravel has been completely removed from the roadway making the ride between Clayton and Deer Valley Rd quite pleasant.

There were some old cars in Clayton Park when we rode by. Evidently the beginning of a car show.

Hwy 4 between Discovery Bay and Stockton has not changed. It's still a rough ride no matter what you're riding. When we reached Stockton we pulled into the Valero station on the corner of Hwy 4 and S Fresno Ave. There was road construction in progress on S Fresno and we had to cross over a lane of gravel to get into the parking lot. Some of us fueled up here and some took this opportunity to remove a layer as it had warmed up a little on the way over. I chose to keep my sweatshirt on which I would regret later.

After our break we continued on down S Fresno Ave to the Hwy 4 crossover to Hwy 99 south. When we exited the Valero station we decided to exit the other side so the group wouldn't have to cross over the gravel section again. Much to our dismay we found that there was a huge puddle of water in this exit. Some of the riders decided to ride through it while others opted to circumvent it by exiting via the entrance. I was one that opted to circumvent the puddle as I have not yet installed pontoons on my sportster ;?)

We turned south onto Hwy 99 and picked up Hwy 4 again as we continued east. The farther we rode the warmer it got. I was beginning to regret my decision to keep my sweatshirt on when we reached Farmington. By the time we turned off Hwy 4 at Copperopolis on Obyrnes Ferry Rd it was officially HOT. Our ride down Obyrnes Ferry Rd was scenic and took us past Tulloch Reservoir where we could see numerous boats pulling skiers as they skipped across the water.

Our next turn put us on Hwy 108 heading east into Jamestown. We rode past Jamestown H-D and turned right onto 5th Ave at the north end of town and rode to Railtown. The parking lot was already full and we parked here and there wherever we could find space. As we were parking we heard the train whistle signaling the train's departure from the station.

We made our way into the station to find the ticket booth closed. Signs posted on the wall and the attendants informed us that the next train would depart in an hour. Bummer! Some of the group decided to take this opportunity to ride back into town and get lunch, then come back to catch the train. Others went on the round house tour to pass the time. I opted to forgo the train ride and headed for home.

My return route took me down Hwy 108, through French Camp, and then back onto Hwy 4 for the remainder of the ride.

Another fantastic day in the life of Mt Diablo H.O.G.

August GAR Report

August GAR Report;

Well, we had six bikes show up at the Devil Mountain shop for the August GAR to Suisun City. Not a bad showing considering that we have numerous members on the way to Milwaukee and had over 20 bikes leave early this morning for the Gold Rush Run.

Our group departed out the back of the parking lot onto Leland and followed that over to Bailey Rd. We rode over the hill to Concord and made our way via Concord Blvd, Farm Bureau Rd and Port Chicago to Hwy 4. We merged onto 680 north and proceeded across the Benicia bridge taking the Lake Herman Rd exit to our scheduled stop at the Jack In The Box/Gas station. The wind was gusting a bit when we crossed the bridge, but other than that the weather was perfect for a Saturday morning ride.

After a quick cup of coffee and a short break we were back on the road. We crossed over 680 and turned north onto Lopes Rd, following that all the way into Cordelia. Then we turned right onto Cordelia Rd and made our way east to Suisun City and Babs Delta Diner. Babs has good food, good size portions, great service and reasonable prices. What more can a hungry group of HOGs ask for ;?)

After eating we made our way back to the bikes and prepared for the ride home. We rode up Main St to Hwy 12; HEY! Where did the on-ramp for 12 East go? The only signs, and subsequent on-ramp, was for 12 West. We had to make a course correction (no, not a U-turn), ride back under 12 and turn left into what looked like a parking lot. This street took us to the on-ramp for 12 East and we were back on track. We took 12 back through Rio Vista and then 160 back into Antioch.

Great food, great ride and great company. How I love this chapter ...

Get Acquainted Ride to Waterloo

Overcast, cool and windy was the weather report from most riders arriving at the Pittsburg shop this morning. The May Get Acquainted Ride brought out the sweatshirts and winter gloves. But a strange thing happened while we waited to stage up: The sun came out and it began to warm up. After grabbing cookies and coffee generously provided by Devil Mountain staff, we staged our 11 bikes and made our way down Leland for our routine Railroad Avenue entrance onto Highway 4. Making our way over to the Antioch Bridge we took Highway 160 to the toll booth. We had a math genius this time and sped through the gate and out onto the span. That’s where we discovered how windy it had become this morning. Down on Highway 160, we bobbed and weaved over to Highway 12 and took a right turn on our way to Waterloo. Passing under I-5 we took a quick right and left into our “gas and get aquainted stop”. Then following a series of back roads expertly arranged by Darcy, we made our way to a great roadside restaurant and bar for lunch.

BBQ steak, ribs, burgers and club sandwiches with sides of pesto-pasta, spaghetti, potato salad or salad, were consumed in mass quantities. It must have been good since the place got pretty quiet for awhile. The proprietor was able to accommodate all of us in our own room and service was swift.

After lunch, most of us continued on into Stockton to the Weber Point Event Center to view the Vietnam War Memorial “Moving Wall”. A scale presentation of the War Memorial in Washington DC, it was a very powerful exhibit viewed by a lot of people. The names of over 58,000 service people were being read over the PA system while we were there. This is worth seeing if you have the opportunity.

We hit the road and took Highway 4 through the Delta back home. It was a great day with new and old faces. The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, and another fine ride was logged into the Chapter books.

See you all next time…

Capital City MC Poker Run Ride Report

On Saturday morning a small group of hardy soles met at the Pittsburg Dealership for the Capital City Motorcycle Club annual poker run. Coffee and pastries were waiting for us to enjoy. The folks at Pittsburg are very nice to the Chapter and they all deserve a great big round of thanks from all of us.

We departed the dealership with 11 bikes and headed for a route that took us on 160, Twin Cities, and I5. Our approach to the Capital Cities club house was on Riverside. We made a gas stop at a Valerio station at Riverside and Broadway which was a mistake for several reasons: (1) real bad restrooms, (2) credit cards didn’t work at the pumps, (3) attendant was overwhelmed. As it turned out, we could have walked to the club house which is a very nice facility with very clean restrooms.



At the club house we met up with 4 additional bikes representing the chapter that took a different route. After registering, some coffee and goodies to eat we gathered up and left for the poker run.

The first stop was in Woodland at Schoeder’s Motorsports. The route took us along the river using the Old River Road. It was a pretty route that kept us off the freeways.

After checking in and getting our envelops punched we took off for Dixon using I5 and Hwy 113 for the second stop. One of the bikes didn’t make the exit for 113 from I5 but caught up with us at the Dixon stop which was another Schoeder’s Motorsports.

The last two stops were in Rio Vista at the Chevron Station and at the Bates Elementary School in Courtland. When we arrived at the Chevron Station there was a group of classic cars were pulling in from the opposite direction. The left turn off 12 was a little difficult but everyone made it ok. We left the station and headed to the Ryer Island Ferry and then the Howard Landing Ferry. After the Howard Landing Ferry we ran into a long line of real old cars pocking along at about 30 mph. The group was able to pass all the cars and continue on our route to the final stop.

The Chapter won the "mileage" participation award and Elk Grove won the member participation award. Diane and I dropped off the award at Pittsburg on the way home. Alan F won the high hand in the poker run with queens over jacks for a full house.

On the way home we saw a lot of emergency equipment on the River Road between Walnut Grove and Islenton. We were on 160 across the delta. We could see a car turned over and a life flight helo on the road and traffic was blocked in both directions. Hopefully no motorcycles were involved. A few miles up the road we ran into a couple of fire trucks putting out a grass fire.

Other than these two events, just a nice ride home along the delta.

-- Alan Fitzgerald --

Ted's Excellent Adventure

aka The 3 Mountain Ride Report.

This ride was ... AWESOME!

We began assembling in the parking lot in Walnut Creek this morning at around 6:00 AM. It was a bit chilly, around 38 degrees, but we were all anxious to begin our trek to the three mountains. There were 18 bikes in attendance and we decided to break this up into two groups. We decided to stage on Pine St. today because of the issues we experienced yesterday, and this worked much better.

Mountain #1:

The first leg of our trip took us down Hwy 24 to San Pablo Dam Rd, then over to the San Rafael Bridge via 80, Cutting Blvd, and 580. As I mentioned earlier, it was a bit chilly, but not as cold as it was last year when we did this ride. Group one managed to stay together for the entire time. When we got to the toll plaza we had a bit of a delay while our leader gave the toll collector a brief math lesson. 4x8=32, not 40. Then we were off again, across the bridge and down Hwy 101. We took the Blithedale Ave exit and cut through Mill Valley on Miller Ave to Hwy 1. Then up the hill we went. The farther we rode up the hill, the cooler it got, even though the sun was shining bright. Once at the top we took a few minutes to rest and check out the fantastic views of the bay on one side of the GG Bridge and the ocean on the other. There were no clouds or fog obscuring our view allowing us to see the city, bridges, and the bay clearly.

Group two arrived a few minutes later and we chatted with them a little before it was time to depart on leg #2. Then it was back down the mountain we go and off to mountain #2.

Mountain #2:

We took Hwy 1 down to 101 and backtracked to 580, then back across the San Rafael Richmond Bridge. We stayed on 580 all the way to Dublin where we merged onto 680 toward San Jose, then exited 680 at Bernal Rd in Pleasanton for our next scheduled stop. Group one refueled our bikes and then waited for group two to arrive. We waited ... and waited ... and waited, till finally the phone rang. Turns out group two didn't know where we were scheduled to stop and they had continued on to San Jose before pulling over. So group one jumped on our bikes and headed south to San Jose.

We took the Alum Rock exit up to Mt Hamilton Rd and the observatory. As we rode up Alum Rock we passed the Shell station where group two was taking their break. We continued up the hill figuring they would meet us at the summit. Mt Hamilton Rd is still in pretty poor shape. There are a lot of irregularities and potholes, not to mention the debris and dirt in the corners. We managed to circumvent all of these hazards and make our way to the observatory parking lot at the top of the hill. As we took a short break at the observatory we saw group two coming up the hill. (Click on the picture below to zoom in and you can see group two ascending the hill.)



Then we saw them go around the corner. Then we heard the sound of their pipes fade into the distance. Hmmmm I wonder if they missed the turn to the observatory. As we were debating this point the sport bike that had come up the hill behind group two pulled into the parking lot. Yep, they had missed the turn. If they don't figure this out soon they won't be able to find a spot to turn around till they get to the bottom of the hill on the other side. We waited for a few minutes until we were certain that group two had passed us by and then we departed for mountain #3.

Mountain #3:

So back down the hill we went. Again, lots of debris and dirt in the turns on the way down the hill demanding our full attention. Our route down the hill took us back to Alum Rock but then we turned off on McKee Rd, taking that back to 680. We exited at Bernal Rd again and returned to the Shell station where we had stopped for lunch. We refueled and checked our phones for any messages from group two. Nope, no messages. So we were off again to our third and final mountain of the day. It was a relatively short ride from Pleasanton to Danville where we exited on Diablo Rd. We followed Diablo Rd to the gate, where we stopped to pay the park fee. We gave the ranger all the envelopes with our entrance fees, but he decided that he now needed to see all of our stubs that were on those envelopes. Some of us had removed the stub and pocketed them while others had left the stub attached to the envelope. Now we had to fumble about and find those stubs to gain entry to the park, which we finally did. We continued up Summit Rd to the top of Mt Diablo. As we progressed up the hill one of our group heard group two talking on the radio and they were not far behind us, just exiting 680. We reached the parking lot at the top and parked, waiting patiently for group two to arrive.



After parking, we made our way to the observation deck for our group picture and to take in the sights. So now we needed to find something to eat. Most of the group rode down the mountain to Rocko's in Walnut Creek and had dinner. We had a great time and lots of memories of a great day riding with friends.

Thanks, Ted. I can't wait till the next one ...

Napa Red Hen GAR Report

It was chilly this morning as we gathered at McGuire's in Walnut Creek. Not sure what the temp was, but it was 55 deg. in Antioch when I left. Brrrrrr .... What a change from last weekend. Any way, we greeted the others as they arrived and chatted till it was time to go.

We had 13 bikes make their way across Parkside and onto Jones Rd. to stage. As you've probably heard, the parking lot under the BART tracks where we used to stage has been closed, so we've been forced to find an alternative staging location. Staging on Jones Rd. worked, but even with our small group of 13 bikes it was tough finding a large enough space to stage the entire group. But we managed. We collected tolls and then were off on our journey.

We made a right onto Parkside and then again onto Buena Vista. We turned left onto Geary then merged onto Taylor headed toward Lafayette. Then it was a right turn onto Reliez Valley Rd, which skirts along the Briones Regional Park, all the way to Martinez where we turned onto Alhambra. From there we took Franklin Canyon Rd where we started seeing some bicyclists. The farther we went on Franklin Canyon, the more bicyclists we saw. Turns out they were having some sort of event and Franklin Canyon was part of their route. We rode past their checkpoint up to the intersection of Cummings Skyway, where we turned right and most of them turned left. We had one bicycle turn right with us and merge into the group. Guess they really wanted to be on a Harley instead of a bicycle. The group eventually got past the bicycle and we continued on our way. As we rode down Cummings Skyway we could feel the wind starting to pick up. Nothing really strong, but a definite change. We merged onto I-80 and rode across the Carquinez Bridge and up to the toll plaza. The traffic was pretty heavy for a Saturday, which was reinforced by the long lines at the toll plaza. We patiently waited to pay our tolls, then were off again. This toll collector evidently has dealt with groups of motorcycles in the past as he had a 'cheat sheet' to assist with his calculations. I advised him that we had 13 bikes and he looked this up on his cheat sheet and said "$52.00". No muss, no fuss, and off we went. Traffic was heavy, but moving, as we rode past 780. That changed as we approached the Marine World exit. Traffic slowed to a stop, then crept along till we got past the off ramp and we were back up to speed. We took the American Canyon Rd exit and followed that over to Hwy 29 which took us the rest of the way to the Red Hen Cantina.



As we rode up to the restaurant I noted that the parking lot was nearly empty and thought "Oh no. They're closed!", but it was just early and there were only a couple of customers. We parked and then went in search of food, which we found plenty of. We ate, talked, and then it was time to go. Some split off and took various alternate routes home while 9 of us took 29, to 37, to 80, to 780, to 680, to 4. The wind had really picked up now and we had to work to keep from making undesired lane changes in some areas. Our ride home was uneventful, but we did get a reminder of what can happen if we let our concentration lapse. As we rode over the hill on Hwy 4 past Willow Pass Rd the traffic in front of us came to an abrupt halt. We were just a few car lengths back from what turned out to be a motorcycle accident. As we rode past we saw the rider sitting on the shoulder of the freeway holding his ankle and his motorcycle, a Harley Bagger, was about 150 feet farther down. The motorcycle had apparently flipped several times as it was badly mangled and debris, along with the contents of his saddle bags, was strewn along the roadway. There was another motorcycle (maybe his riding partner) pulled over and he was running back to see how his friend was doing. There were also a couple of cages pulled over, presumably to lend assistance. It was good to see that the rider didn't appear to be hurt too bad. The rest of our ride home was a little slower and a little more cautious. When I arrived at the house I checked on the status of the accident. All they had on it was that "A rider 'fell off' his motorcycle." Pretty descriptive eh?

I'll see you tomorrow.

Ride safe ...

Daffodil Hill Ride Report

Wow, what a fantastic day for riding. The weather was the best yet this year with temps over 90 degrees and sunshine all day long.

We started out this morning with 40 bikes in the parking lot at Devil Mountain, with everyone wearing light jackets or sweatshirts. We jumped onto Hwy 4, took the bypass to Balfour Rd, and then back onto Hwy 4 all the way across the delta into Stockton. We stopped for a break at the Chevron station there on Charter way. The temperature was already climbing and we were peeling off some layers to get comfortable.

After our short break we continued down Charter way to Wilson, then onto Hwy 4 again heading east. We merged onto Hwy 99 heading north and took the next exit, which put us on Hwy 26 eastbound to Valley Springs. We had a bit of confusion here, and instead of taking Paloma over to Pardee Dam Rd we found ourselves on Hwy 12. Not to worry though. We made a course correction onto eastbound 26 a few miles down the road. Our ride through the valley presented us with the bright colors of spring. The hillsides were still green from the rain earlier in the season, but you could see the brown spots beginning to grow in numerous locations. There were also some nice green trees speckling the hillsides. We managed to find Paloma Rd and turned there, but as we got a few miles down the road we discovered that this course was just taking us back into Valley Springs, so we made another course correction. We went back to Hwy 26 and then joined Hwy 49 coming into Jackson from the southeast. We made a right onto Hwy 88 and took that up to Pine Grove where we turned onto Pine Grove Volcano Rd. Well, almost. In the words of our immortal leader "was I supposed to turn there? Damn!". So we made another course correction and completed the last leg of our journey to the 'hill'.



We arrived at Daffodil Hill and eased into the dirt parking lot. It was hot and there wasn't enough shade to go around so some of us wound up parking in the sun, but we did all get parking spots. We walked across the road to view the daffodils and also found some bees. Bummer! And guess what, I DIDN'T get stung. Is that a miracle or what? I'm sure they'll get me later though as there is lots of time remaining in our riding season. We walked the paths through the field and took lots of pictures of the daffodils. On the way back to the bikes I heard that this was the last day for viewing. We made it just in time.



At this point we were all getting pretty hungry so the topic turned to food. There was some food available at Daffodil Hill, but this didn't appeal to us. We opted instead to ride back into Jackson to find nourishment and started down the hill. A few of us were going to try a place called Teresa's while others talked about some buffets they had seen along the road coming in. We made a quick stop at Volcano for some pictures and got separated from the others then made our way to Teresa's only to find that it was open for dinner only, and that didn't happen till 2:00 PM. Since it was only 12:25 we opted not to wait and headed down the street to Mel & Faye's only to find the rest of the group already there. We didn't get to sit with the rest of the group, but we did have air conditioning :?)

After lunch we all headed for home in different groups. Our route took us down 88 to Collier/Peltier Rd and into Flag City where we made a short stop at BK for sodas. Then we rode Hwy 12 to 160 and home.

It was warm, the company was fantastic, and the ride took us on yet another precious outing with friends. See you all next weekend ...

LOH - Solvang Ride Report

What a GREAT trip. We showed up at McGuire's in Walnut Creek early Saturday morning in anticipation of the upcoming ride. Pam brought a bunch of breakfast goodies and some orange juice to get things started and we gladly helped to take these off her hands. We did the pre-ride brief and then the 19 bikes departed for Solvang right at 7:00 AM.

We jumped on 680 south and settled in for the first leg of our trip. It was a little nippy and everyone was bundled up against the chill. When we crossed over the Sunol Grade and descended into the Silicon Valley the temperature dropped a few more degrees, reminding us yet again how chilly it was. As we rounded the southern end of the 680/280 loop we merged onto 101 south and continued on our way. We arrived at our first stop at the Chevron station on 10th St. in Gilroy and everyone took this opportunity to eat some of the power and granola bars that Pam was handing out. Then it was time to saddle up and continue on our way. We made our way back to 101 and rode south, easing our way through the early morning traffic. While riding south past Salinas we noted the cloud cover over the valley. Over the hills to the east it was overcast and gloomy. In the center of the valley, where we were, there was a strip of sunshine. Then over the hills to the west there was a layer of white fluffy clouds hugging the tops of the hill. Some said it appeared as if there was snow on the peaks, but to me it looked like a warm fluffy blanket laying over the hills to keep them warm. Insert your Freudian analogy here, there must be one.

Our second stop was in King City and this was also our breakfast stop. We refueled and then made our way into the restaurant (Denny's) looking for food and coffee. We had arrived here ahead of schedule, which turned out to be a good thing because they needed the extra time to serve us all. As it was, we had a few people just getting their food when the rest of us were paying our checks. We hung out for a few minutes until everyone was finished and ready to go, then re-joined 101 south. So far, so good.




We continued south bound on 101 to our third scheduled stop in San Luis Obispo. This is where we had to ad lib a bit. We exited 101 at the Hwy 1 offramp as planned, but then we noted that the gas station was closed. Not just closed as in 'out to lunch' closed, but out of business closed. But we had 2 alternate re-fueling points planned, so we continued on to the first alternate. Imagine our surprise when this station didn't even exist. No sign of a gas station along this stretch of road at all, so after a brief consultation with the master planner we made our obligatory U-Turn and headed for the second alternate. Now if we were surprised at not finding the first alternate, our next discovery would have to be classified as unbelievable. This station too was out of business! That's three for three! We decided to continue into town knowing we would eventually find a station that was open. We did find a Shell station on Mission that was open and we made this our re-fueling stop. The fuel in this part of the state is really expensive. Premium was going for $4.17/Gal, unless you pulled up to the Full Service pumps where it was $4.59/Gal. OUCH!



With freshly filled tanks we rode down the street and re-joined 101 south. From there is was a short sixty something miles to our hotel, Peasoup Andersen's in Buellton. We checked into the hotel and then headed for the vintage motorcycle museum in Solvang, a short three mile ride down Hwy 246. On the way to Solvang we spotted Alan & Diane. We knew they were going to be meeting us here, but we didn't expect to find them along the road. We continued to the museum and paid our $5.00. I can honestly say that this is worth the price of admission as there are many bikes that bring back memories. I found myself saying 'Hey! I had one like that!' several times. Then it dawned on me that it was a weird feeling seeing motorcycles that you had when you were younger in a museum. Now I feel old :?( Oh well, a great exhibit nonetheless.

Then it was back to the hotel. We lounged around the pool till we couldn't take the wind and cold any longer. It was still in the sixties but the wind had picked up even more, making it downright cold. We kept playing revolving chairs with people moving into the sun as the shade crept over us. Then we discovered that the door to the gazebo was open so we all gathered inside where it was warmer and out of the wind. We even found the controls for the fireplace and had the heat on, relaxing in comfort till it was time to prepare for the evening meal.

Pam had arranged for us to eat at Pea Soup Andersen's on the other side of the parking lot, so it was a short walk to dinner. We had our meals then it was time for the games. Pam had given us a list of things to watch for on our trip down to Solvang and now it was time to see how alert we were. There were prizes awarded to those that got the right answers. The debates on what the 'correct' answer was were hilarious and had everyone laughing, and some blushing. Then it was time to head back to our rooms to rest up for the ride home.

In the morning we had coffee and the continental breakfast and decided who was taking which route home. Some were heading straight home while others were taking various scenic routes.

Our group of nine bikes took Hwy 246 to the coast and then turned north on Hwy 1 to Pismo Beach where we stopped for lunch. After lunch we merged onto 101 and slabbed it the rest of the way home, fighting the wind the entire way.

Now it's time to start thinking about the next LOH ride. Great job, Pam!! Thank you!

Vernal Equinox Ride Report

Well, I think we took participation on this one, but I didn't hear the final results. We had over 80 members sign in at Vallejo, which will be tough to beat. But I'm getting ahead of myself here, so let me start over.

A few of the Antioch chapter members met early this morning at Starbucks to properly prepare for the day's ride. We then headed over to Walnut Creek to meet up with the others. As usual, bikes began to accumulate slowly, but by the time we briefed we had 63 bikes. We split up into three groups so the groups would be smaller and easier to maneuver through traffic, then headed north on 680. As we passed through Pleasant Hill and Concord we found that the CHP had a speed trap set up to catch the early morning speeders. Luckily we had slowed down enough by then so we weren't selected to be one of their 'customers' this morning. Group one pulled into the toll plaza and was in the process of paying when the other two groups of 20 bikes pulled into the plaza. It was a great sight to see the look on the faces of the people in the cages as the three groups of bikes pulled up. After paying our tolls we veered to the left as we crossed the bridge and followed 780 into Vallejo. With a right turn onto Sonoma Blvd we arrived at the dealer and pulled into the parking lot across the street. We must have arrived earlier this year than in the past as the parking lot was almost empty when we pulled in and we had no problem finding a place to park.

We went across the street and got in line to register and found some of our chapter members already there. They live in the north bay and had gone directly to Vallejo instead of riding to WC and then back across the bridge. The event staff was definitely not prepared for large groups to show up all at once so it took a few minutes to get registered, but we got through it. Then it was off to find coffee and donuts. While we were doing this we kept checking back to see how many chapter members had signed in. The last count I heard was over 80, but I don't have the final numbers. This should be enough to take the trophy...



After we had our fill of coffee and donuts we headed back to the bikes and got ready for the ride over the hill to Winters. When everyone was ready the group of around 50 bikes headed over to Wilson Ave and turned north to join Hwy 37. Wilson Ave has been closed for construction for a long time, and now it's open but far from completed. There were lots of uneven areas in the pavement, manholes protruding 3 or 4 inches above the surface of the street, and probably 15 stop signs in this short 1.5 mile leg. But at least the street is open.

We merged onto Hwy 37 heading west and soon had numerous cages throughout the group. We continued around the north end of the bay and turned north on Hwy 121 past the Sears Point Raceway. We could feel the wind gusting a little as we rode through this area, and it was a bit chilly even though the sun was shining. From 121 we turned east on Hwy 12 and headed back to Hwy 29. With a little zig-zag we turned onto Imola, then pulled into the Chevron station for a short break. This short break turned into a long brake because the facilities were limited and it took a while for the line to die down. Then we were back on the road. We continued down Imola to the Silverado Trail and then onto Hwy 128 past the south end of Lake Berryessa. The road was in pretty good shape but there were several areas where rocks and dirt had fallen out onto the roadway. And the lake presented us with a fantastic view as we rode by, but it sure looked cold.

Then we descended into the valley and rode into Winters. As we rode into the west end of town we noted that there was a sheriff's car lying in wait behind a clump of trees. Very sneaky. We didn't have to worry though as we were doing the speed limit and continued into town and found places to park. Then it was off in search of food. As we walked past the cafe we usually eat at (can't remember the name of it. Cody's?) we noted that it wasn't very busy, so we decided to eat there again. We found most of our group had already staked out tables and were in the process of ordering food, so we joined them.

After lunch we took a quick stroll down Main St to see what was going on. Other than the lines at each of the poker walk checkpoints there didn't seem to be much there. A couple of small booths and the band, but that was about it. So we made our way back to the bikes and headed for home. We took the direct route home, down 505 to Vacaville and over to Hwy 12, through Rio Vista and home.

It was a beautiful day for riding, and another great day spent with friends. Even though it never warmed up much ...

See you on the next ride.

Rocky Decides Ride Report

Well, as you can guess, it was a little damp this morning as we rode over to Walnut Creek. Not a heavy rain, mostly just sprinkles, but enough to be a PITA. Now I gotta clean the bike again!

As we stood there waiting for others to arrive we noted that we were only seeing road captains showing up for the ride. Hmmmmm, this might be a very small group. Finally we had a non-road captain show up, completing our group of 7 bikes.

After our pre-ride we departed McGuire's on Parkside, made a right on Broadway, followed by a left onto Ygnacio Valley Blvd. We stayed on Ygnacio all the way through Walnut Creek, Concord, past Clayton, and over Kirker Pass into Pittsburg. Then a right onto Buchannan followed by a left onto Loveridge and to the Devil Mountain shop. A whopping 14.9 miles with the only notable event being the sprinkles we encountered as we rode through Concord. This wasn't even enough to get the road wet though and the rest of the ride was under cool, but dry, conditions.

As we arrived at the Devil Mountain shop we could see that the garage sale was in full swing. There were quite a few bikes in the parking lot and lots of people going through the discounted merchandise arranged neatly inside fenced in areas. There were four separate areas; office furniture, motorcycle parts, leathers/gloves/boots/belts, and lastly motorcycle apparel - T-shirts/sweatshirts/tank tops, etc. Some of these areas were occupied by some seedy looking characters, like in this photo.



All of these areas were busy, but the busiest by far was the motorcycle apparel. They were having to restrict the number of people allowed in the area to prevent it from becoming overcrowded and only letting new arrivals in after someone had left the area. Lots of good deals to be had, and the shop was even discounting their bikes $2,000 for the event today. If you missed this one you missed out on a fun day.

Don't forget, tomorrow is our ride to Vallejo for their Vernal Equinox ride. Hope to see you ALL in Walnut Creek for our 8:00 AM departure. It's supposed to be a really nice day.

Bruce's Delta Ride Report

And yet another fantastic riding day.

It was nice this morning as we began assembling in the Devil Mountain parking lot. The group was a little sparse at first and we were thinking that we would have a small group with it being Easter and all. But the others began to trickle in around 9:30 and before you know it we had 18 bikes ready to ride the delta roads.

We departed the parking lot on Leland and turned right onto Harbor St. This was followed by another right onto California Ave after we crossed over Hwy 4 and then turned left onto Loveridge Rd. We turned right onto the Pittsburg Antioch Hwy, which turns into 10th St, and with a little zig-zag onto Wilbur we rode through town merging onto Hwy 160 just before the toll plaza for the Antioch bridge. After paying the toll we crossed the bridge and turned right onto Sherman Island Levee Rd and followed that along the San Joaquin River back to Hwy 160 at Brannan Island. We rode past Brannan Island State Recreational Area and turned onto Brannan Island Rd. This road is actually closed about a half mile in, so we crossed over Sevenmile Slough onto Twitchell Island Rd and followed that past the closed section of road to Jackson Slough Rd, where we crossed back over the slough and rejoined Brannan Island Rd. This continues around the bend of the San Joaquin River and turns north along the west bank of the Mokelumne River taking us to Hwy 12. We turned west on Hwy 12 and then
veered right almost immediately onto Terminous Rd, which took us into Isleton and to our scheduled stop.

After using the facilities and chatting for a few minutes we were ready to continue. We headed north on Hwy 160 to Tyler Island Bridge Rd and followed that up to Racetrack Rd, where we turned left. We made a brief stop on Racetrack Rd at JR's memorial site to pay our respects before continuing on to Walnut Grove.



We crossed over the bridge here and rejoined Hwy 160 heading south to Hwy 220, where we turned right. Hwy 220 took us over to Steamboat Slough and the first of two ferries. We had a few bikes wave off here as they had to get back for family commitments. That left us with 14 bikes, which were easily stacked onto the waiting ferry. After getting across the slough we followed Ryer Rd around the north end of the island to Hwy 84 and the second ferry. As we road down 84 we passed a boat that was flying the Jolly Roger. Arrrgh! And then as we approached the ferry landing we were joined by another motorcycle group with 10 or 12 bikes from Sacramento. We were all able to get on the ferry and across the slough to River Rd. which we followed to the Chevron station in Rio Vista, the destination for our ride. Some refueled and then we discussed where we
would eat lunch. The majority vote was for Foster's so the group went there. Some of us opted out of Foster's and went elsewhere in search of nourishment. We ate at Shelby's there on the main drag in Rio Vista. The food is OK and the service was good.

As we were gearing up after lunch, Steve & Vicki Guderian pulled into the parking lot in their cage. They were on the way to visit family when they saw us and stopped to say hello. A pleasant surprise.

Then it was back down Hwy 160 to Antioch. Another fine day spent with friends ...