Well, it was the last weekend in April and an excellent opportunity to ride. The Outlaws, Repo’s, Boots and Snake jumped on the bikes and headed out Highway 4 to the foothills. We met early at Starbucks for coffee. It was sunny and already beginning to get warm. I warned Boots that this ride was going to be a long one. As a prospect, he asked how best to prepare for such a venture. Always the helpful soul, I suggested soaking his hind quarters (not my actual wording) in a tub of salt water to “toughen things up”. The visual cracked me up… He suggested perhaps a hemorrhoid cushion… Being unfamiliar with that, but getting the general idea, I suggested he just tough it out. Boots compromised and brought the gel cover from his mountain bike. I am happy to report that while the day was long, he held up just fine. I’m sure he was sitting on the gel pad to keep in from blowing away as we rode…
It is hard to beat spring in the foothills of California. The late season rains we have been getting have kept all the hills a beautiful green long beyond what is normal this time of the year. For you non-Californians, our hills turn “Golden” (brown to everyone outside the state) beginning in April/May and remain that way until the October rains make them green again. Our ride took us through the delta which I’m happy to report was not as windy as it can normally get. We crossed over I-5 in Stockton and gradually entered the foothills, specifically Calaveras County, made famous by Mark Twain in his book “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. For those of you who are products of the California School system, oh never mind, I’m sure you have not read it…. Anyway, we went through Angels Camp, up to Arnold where we had lunch. I normally like to write about where we eat as a guide for others, so here goes… The Round Table Pizza restaurant in Arnold was clean and seemed to be a big favorite of the locals or more accurately, a favorite of the BIG locals. We had the “All you can Eat” buffet which included pizza, of course, a well stocked salad bar, drink and these bread sticks with cinnamon and icing…all for just under $9. We sat at a round booth with me on the inside. Not wanting bother my dining partners, although they offered, I limited my consumption to one round, which was best anyway.
We headed back after lunch enjoying the winding roads, limited traffic and warm weather. Halfway back the lucky ones with bags stripped off some leather. The rest of us enjoyed the warm flow of sweat down the back and into the…oh, you get the picture. I suspect we may be saying good bye to the heavy leather coats for another summer…
See you on the road.
