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 ...