Ode to my fellow Mild Hogs

Okay, I'm not planning to get sentimental, but as I was riding today with Outlaw and Repo Man, I was thinking how nice it is to have them to ride with. The weather today was pretty darn nice. Because of the inland temperatures (around 100!) we elected to head to the coast where it is cooler. That is one of the wonders of Northern California. If you don't like the weather, drive 20 miles and you can be in something totally different. We met Jersey for coffee. It was great to see him. I honestly miss riding with him. Now that he is retired he does not have much time to ride.... I did not realize that's how it worked... He had to "pull" an engine or something... It is in the back of a pick up, so that is more like lifting than pulling, but perhaps it is just semantics.... Any way, he was too "busy" to ride. We headed west and snaked our way to Marin and ended up on Lucas Valley Road.... This a beautiful road that winds through the hills of Marin County and eventually dumps you in the little town of Nicasio. As described in Wilkipedia...

Nicasio

The town center has a post office (zip code 94946), a general store, a tiny real estate office, St. Mary’s Church (established in 1867), a baseball field located in the town square, Rancho Nicasio, which is a bar/restaurant/live music establishment, a Druid's Hall, as well as a number of private homes. The town was founded in the early 19th century to support local agricultural, timber, and fishing activities. The town once boasted the twenty-two room Hotel Nicasio, which opened in 1867 but burned down in December 1940. Just north of town on Nicasio Valley Road is a beautiful red-painted one-room schoolhouse that opened in 1871. The building is currently a listed historical landmark.


Did you catch that, a Druid's hall. You just have to love Marin. We also ended up driving past the Luke Skywalker Ranch, estate of George Lucas. While I could not see the estate, I can tell you that the fence surrounding it is pretty darn nice...


The Dog Days of Tomales.....


From Nicasio we continued west Past Point Reyes and along the Tomales Bay eventually stopping in the tiny town of Tomales where we enjoyed a coffee at the local cafe. No Starbucks in Tomales, or any brand name for that matter. It was obviously dog day in Tomales as everyone had their pooches in tow. After coffee'ing up, we headed east towards Bodega where it gradually became hotter and hotter. For those unfamiliar with Bodega, that is where the "school" scene from The Birds was filmed. The school still stands and is a popular stopping place for visitors. We did not stop as it appeared crowded and we have been there many times. Really, once is quite enough... From there we headed over the hills into Napa Valley and eventually Lake Berryessa and then home as it progressively got hotter.


Outlaw and Repo Man


Okay, back to the title of this Blog...Ode to my fellow Mild Hogs.... I want to recognize the great guys I get to ride with regularly. Outlaw is always the leader, whether he wants to or not. He sets the course, the speed and the stops. He is conscious of all the riders in the group from the first to last and seldom strands anyone at a light. He is also unbelievable at spotting cops. He can see them a mile away, in the bushes or sitting on ramps. It's not that we are doing anything illegal, but sometimes we may exceed the speed limit ever so slightly. I often wonder if outlaw is smuggling automatic weapons in his bags, the way he is on the lookout. He is also on the lookout for all kinds of hazards that may effect the other riders in the group. He lets us know if there is traffic backing up that may require a stop, or debris in the road. He is the perfect leader of the pack. Thanks for taking the lead!

Repo Man regularly brings up the rear...okay, no snickering... He willingly rides last in the pack. This is by far the toughest spot because you are always catching the last of a changing light, or perhaps not. You get to change lanes or pass when the gap is quickly closing or already gone. This role has few benefits, one of them being able to witness the bone head moves of your fellow riders... For the record I was looking at that electric motorcycle and did not see the raised manhole. Besides, I only grazed it! I did see you shaking your head Mister Judgemental.... Thanks Repo Man for patiently fulfilling this tough and thankless position in the pack.

There, I better quit before I start getting all sentimental and mushy over my friends, after all we will be sharing a room in Sturgis....right Jer?

See you on the road!

Sturgis Preview...For the ladies...

Well, I understand that many blogs attract controversy, but never did I imagine my Strugis Preview would elicit such strong emotions among...the ladies (said with a bit of a sleezy tone if you know what I mean...) I guess I can understand their beef as I am a sensitive male myself. For example, sometimes I can't decide what to wear...black t-shirt, or gray t-shirt. I even cry at movies...when the popcorn runs out. Like many of ...the ladies, I also worry if my butt looks big in my jeans, but I know better than to ask! Okay, you get the point...

So in deference to...the ladies, I give you THE MEN OF STURGIS!

Easy girls, I'm just getting warmed up!

Those Walmart jeans seem to be the Apache brand. When you least expect it, they creep up on you and wipe you out.... No disrespect to our native American brothers...

This is Repo Man trying to make himself look bigger....Don't ask me... It looks like it worked!

I know what you are thinking...yes, we made a lot of stops...but check out those guns!

Jersey gets 'his' twisted in a pain threshold contest with a local....He took it like a man, not... Screamed "mommy" like a little girl....

A self portrait by Outlaw....He can't smile because of all the bugs in his teeth....

The one tat I can show you ladies....


Jersey relaxing after enjoying too much of the nightlife in Sturgis....

The quintessential male in Sturgis! (California High School graduates, please refer to your dictionary...book with definitions...oh never mind!

I hope...the ladies enjoyed 'their preview' and the chance to laugh along with us, at us. We really aren't as bad as you might imagine or the pictures might depict us. We are always perfect gentlemen when we ride...

Well, most of the time.....

See you on the road....

Sturgis Preview 2010

Fellow bike enthusiasts.

Well, it has been a couple of years since the Mild Hogs have been in Sturgis and we are long overdue. I can already feel the call of the open road, the camaraderie of other riders, the freedom that only two wheels can offer. Outlaw, Repo Man (RM) and Snake are hitching up the chaps and heading cross country. There is nothing like the open road in Outlaw's new pick up with the bikes in tow! In Sturgis they sell patches that say "I rode mine". I keep looking for the "I towed mine" patch. No luck so far... RM is shipping his bike since we only have a 2 bike trailer. It is actually a pretty good deal. They pick up your bike at your house and drop it at the HD shop in Sturgis. No fuss, no muss...

Hey Jersey! You were supposed to watch my bike.

This year we are meeting up with our Mild Hog brothers for a ride and then barbecue. There will be members from Michigan, Wisconsin, Australia and of course Northern California. There may be others, but not certain at this time. It will be great to finally meet Paul and the guys from Michigan. We have been in touch via email since forming our club and it will be nice to put faces with the email addresses. Who knows, maybe we will make plans with the Aussie's to join them for a ride in their country one day. If you are a product of the California school system, Australia is the only country that covers an entire continent...Australia! Because of Australia's isolation it has many animals that are not native any where else such as kangaroos and koalas.

Beer anyone?

The sites are some of the most spectacular in U.S.. Mt. Rushmore, Custer National Park, Badlands, and Crazy Horse. Wild buffalo, deer and antelope are everywhere. If you are very careful, you may even see some wild ass. I can remember the day Repo Man actually pet a little wild ass....I believe I have that picture somewhere....

Repo Man handling some wild ass in S.D.

Other shots of S.D.

Well, that's is for now.
See you on the road...to Sturgis. I'll be the one sipping a coke and eating beef jerky. Wave as you go by....

Santa Cruz Run

Okay, I have no idea how my grandson's picture got in here... He is sure cute, isn't he?

As I sit here sipping an adult beverage, I do not even know where to begin... It is the Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend. Important to set the scene for the events yet to unfold... Today's run was not well attended. Boots, Outlaw and Snake were the only ones interested in a run today. We met at Starbucks as usual. The weather was warm, but not too warm. It was the perfect day for a coastal run. I can still remember the last time we went, probably the coldest I've been in a long time. Today was promising. Boots brought a new (to him) bike. 2000 BMW Roadster. A real beauty... We decided it was okay for him to retire his Sporster in favor of this road weapon. We even helped with some wording for his ad... "I'm sorry I have to sell this Sporster, it is too f'ing fast to even be considered street legal...." or, "must sell before I kill myself"...or my favorite...."this bike is a babe magnet, wife says it has to go". We figure with any of those lines, someone is certain to buy it...

Anyway, back to the ride... We took 680 to 580 and the San Mateo Bridge (92) eventually leading to Skyline Drive. What a gorgeous day. The Crystal reservoir was full, the sky was clear and the roads were open... We took the Skyline Drive to Alice's Restaurant. This is a local biker (cruiser, sport and even bicycle) hangout. Alice’s Restaurant (where, apparently, you really can get just about anything you want) was purchased in 2002 by locals James and Andy Kerr. Alice’s was built around 1900 as a general store and was converted to a restaurant in the 1940s. It became Alice’s Restaurant in 1961, named for owner Alice Taylor. It has open family seating, so you never know who you might get to know over coffee and eggs, or a burger if you like. We chowed down there, admired all the bikes, mostly our own and then fully stuffed headed off to Santa Cruz.

The ride to Santa Cruz was curvy, and uneventful. We passed through Santa Cruz without stopping, if you don't count having to wait for Boots when he missed a light. We of course stripped our leathers before Santa Cruz as it was hot as blazes. Once through SC, we were on the coast highway. It became very cold. As my T-shirt ruffled in the wind against my frigid chest, I longed for my leather jacket... You must understand, no Mild Hog will ever be the first to reach for a jacket even if it results in serious nipple chaff.... Eventually we decided to pull off "for a picture". oh well, what the heck, might as well throw on the jacket...

We eventually found our way to Half Moon Bay. As we sat at light, a Honda and Yamaha pulled up directly next to Outlaw and Snake. These are the kind of bikes that look like HD's sort of, but aren't... Well, the light changed, Outlaw and the lead faux HD jump on it! I prefer to keep a cooler head in these types of situations, particularly considering my last ticket... Well, my guy jumped on it as well, so I had to respond. I am happy to report that it is HD 2, Faux bikes 0. We kicked their butts. The brand is saved!

We eventually found ourselves in San Francisco... What a mistake that was. Holiday traffic everywhere. Even with the shortcuts that Outlaw had, we found ourselves in Golden Gate Park in horrendous bumper to bumper traffic. It was time to split lanes. You cannot imagine how narrow the lanes are without cramming 700 pounds of motorcycle in between. I may have aged 10 years in the hour we dogged cars, buses, trucks and trailers. After a rather narrow escape I asked Boots how close it was. He said I had at least a quarter inch to spare on each handle bar grip...I thought it might be closer, but I shut my eyes at the last minute.

We made it through without a scratch if Outlaw clicking mirrors with one car does not count... We did lose Boots, so if you read this note, please phone home...I know you are not in prison as stated on your text...at least I think so...

The ride was a little over 250 miles and is certainly one to remember. Happy Memorial Day!

See you on the road.

Mt. Hamilton - Rewind

Saturday, May 15th started as an overcast day in our part of the Bay Area. Instead of heading to the coast for fish & chips as previously planned, we switched gears and decided to make the Mt. Hamilton run in reverse. This decision was to seek the sun, but also to get some pictures since we failed our followers on the last run. On this run we had the Repo Team, Outlaws and Snake. Boots could not make the ride, something about spending the weekend in "Paradise". Well, I know "Paradise", and I doubt Boots could be there for more than a few minutes, let alone the weekend... I'm assuming he was talking about "Business Time", but perhaps he meant something else....

On the way we stopped at the Livermore HD shop to shop and take a break. Out of Livermore we took Mines Rd. The road all the way up to Mt. Hamilton is strewn with bicyclists enjoying the scenery of the road right in front of the tire (picture heads hanging and tongues hanging out as they make the ascent). The road up to and down from Mt. Hamilton is full of tight turns that require your full attention. I did manage to miss a snake in the road, this time... I could not help but notice a couple of things as we rode. 1.) We always managed to meet up with other cars, motorcycles or bikes in sharp turns, never straight parts of the road. A couple of times I thought Outlaw might bump helmets of other cyclists. 2.) Rock slides, gravel, pine cones only occur in turns. I'm not sure why this is the case, but it is...

At the top of Mt. Hamilton we stopped at the James Lick Observatory, named for the inventor of the Popsicle...

From the official web site.... The observatory was constructed between 1876 and 1887, from a bequest from James Lick. In 1887 Lick's body was buried under the future site of the telescope, with a brass tablet bearing the inscription, "Here lies the body of James Lick".
Before construction could begin, a road to the site had to be built. All of the construction materials had to be brought to the site by horse and mule-drawn wagons, which could not negotiate a steep grade. To keep the grade below 6.5%, the road had to take a very winding and sinuous path, which the modern-day road (SR 130) still follows. Tradition maintains that this road has exactly 365 turns. (This is approximately correct, although uncertainty as to what should count as a turn makes precise verification impossible). Even those who do not normally suffer from motion-sickness find the road challenging.

While we were at the observatory, we were joined by an antique Porche club on an outing. I felt a bit sorry for them as they were not on motorcycles and I know why they had to buy a Porche to make up for certain inadequacies....

We rode down into San Jose and enjoyed lunch at the Fire Eaters. Both Outlaw and Repo man enjoyed the wings with the Inferno sauce. I had the Nuclear sauce, a step up from my previous choice, sauce for little girls.... Afterwards we scooted home on the freeways having had enough turns for one day....

See you on the road.

Yosemite Weekend Adventure

A number of the NorCal MildHogs and their lady companions spent the weekend in Yosemite Valley enjoying riding and all the scenery this lush valley has to offer. The valley was formed millions of years ago when massive glaciers flowed carving the sheer cliffs that can be seen today. It is actually a bit more complicated than that, but this is not a geology lesson and you may be a product of the California School System in which case it is more important to know how to put a condom on a banana… I do have to mention that the first visitors to the valley were Native Americans of various tribes, the most recent being the Miwok that called the Yosemite Valley, Ahwahnee which means “place of gaping mouth” which is exactly what you do when you first see the valley. That is also the name of the Lodge where we had  Sunday brunch and also describes the look on our faces when we first saw the beautiful buffet, but more on that later.

The ride up was relatively uneventful. The Snakes, Outlaws, and Repo Team were accompanied by non-members Hollywood and Hello Kitty…don’t ask…. One of the wives took the SUV so “the others did not have to carry their gear all that way on the bikes.” It worked out well as she was able to look out for us on the road. We had a Civic with one of those big exhaust pipes come flying up on our rear end and then jerked around the rear bike only to cram the next bike in line. Unbeknown to us, our support crew got pissed and called 911 with the license number. Next thing we know, a CHP comes blasting up on us with his lights flashing and siren blaring. We were going 70 in 55 mph zone and assumed we were nailed, and me already on the most wanted list. Most of us pulled over to let the cruiser by, but one of our group did not budge and even appeared to speed up. We all assumed it was due to Hollywood’s rather questionable immigration status. Eventually even he let the cop go by. Later up the road the CHP had the Civic driver pulled over and was issuing a citation. Makes me smile just thinking of it.
We arrived at the hotel, the Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal. The lodge is right along the Merced River which this time of year is churning and flowing due to all the snow melt. Each room has a balcony with a view of the river. The lodge is only a few miles from the entrance to the park. We stowed our gear and rode through the park. The nice thing about visiting the park several times during different hours is that the scenery changes with the changes in lighting. There were not a lot of flowers in bloom due to the late winter snow which occurred as late as that week at higher elevations. We did see California Poppies and purple spider lupine. All of the waterfalls were gushing from the late melt. In addition to the normal waterfalls you see every year; I believe there were others that are not typical. We also saw 15 deer, not 14…and one bear. You can spot the bears easily in Yosemite as they are accompanied by several rangers to keep idiot tourists from becoming part of the ecosystem. That night some of us ate at the lodge restaurant, which was quite nice and reasonably priced. I do not recommend their pizza restaurant from a previous visit…

The next morning we ate a wonderful breakfast buffet at the Ahwahnee Lodge. The lodge opened in 1927 and is considered one of America’s most distinctive hotels with its huge cathedral ceilings, enormous stone hearths and richly colored American Indian rugs. If you are attending breakfast at the lodge, I do recommend reservations as it is one of the more popular places to eat in the area. In addition to an extensive breakfast fare, they had White Gulf shrimp (pre-BP), salmon, pasta, salads of every type and even cheese blintz with berry topping. It is somewhat expensive, but worth the experience and view. After we ate we walked around the hotel and enjoyed the views and took many pictures.

The ride home was fantastic. If you have not been to the Yosemite Valley, you need to add it to your bucket list and be sure to do it on a Harley.
See you on the road….

Calaveras County Run

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.