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.
