Wow, 53 bikes showed up for this ride. What a GREAT turnout!
The weather was forecast to be sunny and in the mid sixties, though it was still chilly when we arrived at the Devil Mountain shop. As folks were arriving Weldo showed up with coffee and donuts. Then, a few minutes later, Rocky and Melanie showed up with more donuts. And since this was an early departure we didn't expect the shop to be open, but then Jim shows up with still more donuts! At least we had lots of folks show up to help us eat all those donuts.
Then it was time to hit the road so we split up into two groups and headed east. Group two went down Loveridge to Buchanan and made our way through town to Hwy 4 while group one jumped on the freeway. As group two waited at a signal light approaching the Hwy 4 bypass, group one turned in front of us. The light changed on queue allowing us to proceed as one large group of 53 bikes. Remarkably we were able to stay together most of the way down Balfour before group two began to get separated at the lights. Oh well, it looked cool while it lasted.
From there is was Hwy 4 out of Brentwood, past Byron, and across the delta on the levee roads. As we crossed the delta we rode through several miles of fog. Then we rode out of the fog and into Stockton for our scheduled stop at the Chevron station. We took this opportunity to use the facilities and chat a bit before getting back under way.
We continued down Charter Way to Maraposa and onto Hwy 99, exiting at Hwy 120. We followed 120 all the way to Oakdale where we turned onto 108, taking that all the way into Jamestown. The ride over was pleasant with plenty of sunshine, except for the few miles of fog along Hwy 4.
Everyone registered for the Polar Bear ride and then discussed who was going where. Some departed for other destinations, some decided to go on the Polar Bear Ride, and others of us decided to do our own ride to the destination (ie.. "to where the food was"). The end point for the ride was in La Grange, so off we went back down Hwy 108 to Hwy 49. The original plan was to follow 49 to 132, but as we rode into Chinese Camp we saw this sign that said "La Grange, 18 Miles", so we turned. This was Red Hills Rd, which took us through the back streets of Chinese Camp and through some very scenic countryside. The road was not too bad, though we found ourselves frequently dodging potholes. Along the way we crossed two creeks with several inches of water flowing over our wheels. Got snorkels? Eventually we made it to La Grange Rd which took us to, of all places, La Grange.
We found The Saloon and made our way inside for food and conversation. Upon entering we found some of our brethren had already arrived. We said our hellos and sallied forth in search of food. The food wasn't bad, and after getting ours we found a table in the sun. As we were finishing up more of our group showed up. Now it was time for us to head for home.
We departed La Grange on Hwy 132 (Yosemite Blvd.) and made our way to Waterford, where we turned northwest toward Oakdale. As we rode along 132 we had to slow down to avoid colliding head on with a cage passing on a double yellow. What's with these impatient cages?!?!? From Oakdale we followed 120 to Escalon where I waved goodbye to the group and turned toward Farmington. From there it was Hwy 4 the rest of the way home.
Wow! What a great day. Some nice riding, nice weather, and nice folks. Let's do it again tomorrow.
