Jerry Macauley

July 30, 1953 - June 29, 2012

Repo Man

 We are all saddened by the sudden passing of our dear friend, bother and co-founding member of the NorCal Mild Hogs, Jerry Macauley.  While this has been a few rough weeks for everyone who knew and loved Jerry, we can take comfort in knowing without a doubt that he is in heaven and waiting for the first opportunity when we can all ride together again.

Jerry went by many names, Jerry, Jerald, Dad, Grandpa, Scout, Tail Gate and Repo Man.  But we will remember him as our friend, riding buddy and moral compass for the club, and heaven only knows we needed the last one.

Jerry was an enthusiastic rider, always ready for the next trip.  On our last outing, Jerry asked if we would be wearing our colors.  I told him we were laying low due to some squabbles with the Angels and therefore not wearing our colors that day.  Jerry just said okay, not knowing if I was joking or not, which of course I was.  That was just like Jerry, easy going, easy to get along with.

We've reflected over the past several weeks on all the good times we had together, especially on our trips to Sturgis.  We thought it might be nice to share some photos of Jerry from our past trips.

Jerry at Custer National Park

 Jerry loved the great outdoors. He was an avid fisherman and hunter.  He could spot an antelope a mile away, and boy did he ever spot them on our trip across Wyoming.  One after one, after one he would point them out until Jersey snapped "Okay!, We get it!".  Jerry and I had an ongoing debate about a particular animal we spotted under a tree, I still say it was an elk.  That was how our rides would go, constant joking, teasing and laughter.  One of my favorite recollections of Jerry was when we were putting together our "Know your Mild Hog" quiz on our last trip.  When asked who you would like to take to Sturgis, Jerry blurted out, "John Wayne".  Kirk said Halle Bary, I said Angeline Jolie.  After hearing our proposed riding partners, Jerry quickly wanted to change his decision.  We of course would not let him...  We all laughed, including Jerry at the thought of us with chicks on the back of our bikes, and Jerry with a cowboy on his.  Regardless, I know John Wayne would have had fun with Jerry.

One talent that Jerry had that did not get as much credit as it deserved was Jerry's skill at "Air Drums".  A good song would come on the radio and Jerry would pick up his air sticks and play along.  He was amazing, never missing a beat.  I personally watched him play along at several concerts including the Eagles. He was the best!

Jerry in the Badlands

On our trip to the Badlands, Jerry led the way.  He did not often lead, so it was a treat for all of us.  Jerry almost always rode last.  "So those who are last now will be first then, and those are first will be last". There was a great deal of comfort having Jerry guarding the back of the pack.  He provided early warning of bogey's coming up from behind, he would block traffic so we could all move over a lane, but best of all, he quietly watched the rest of us make our occasional bone head moves without a word.  On one particular occasion I was looking at an electric motorcycle on the side of the road when I hit a raised manhole cover straight on.  I looked back only to see Jerry smiling.  Yep, he saw it all happen from his vantage point.  Only once can I remember Jerry getting caught off guard.  We were in Sturgis of course when a Bandito (not the Frito Lay kind) came screaming up on the shoulder of the road passing us all on the right, scaring the crap out of us with his stupid, reckless riding.  I remember we were all going to go after him, but Kirk's bike was low on gas so we called it off...  Lucky for him.

Jerry enjoying a cool one

Jerry loved riding, a road trip, music, the outdoors, but especially his family and especially his wife and best friend, Doni.  Jerry loved having Doni on the back of his motorcycle sharing the open road and all the adventures life had to offer.

Doni and Jerry in Las Vegas

Tres Amigos and co-founder of the NorCal Mild Hogs

Needless to say, we will all miss Jerry and will think about him each time we ride.  The NorCal Mild Hogs will forever have a missing piece.

See you on the Road, Jer.  Rest in Peace until we ride again.

Newest Mild Hog Arrives!

Denise, Born April 23, 2012, 6:50 AM, 6 lb. 11 oz.
The NorCal Mild Hogs welcomes its newest member!  She already has proud Grandpa Kirk wrapped around her tiny finger.

She is also sporting the latest in HD baby attire.

Congratulations, Kirk and Patty, Kelli and Todd!

Big Foot and other mythical creatures

I know what you are thinking...what are the Mild Hogs up to now?  Well, it was a balmy day in January and perfect for a ride. It had been several weeks since we rode and we were getting claustrophobic and antsy to ride.  The girls were busy with more important things like clothes shopping so Kirk and I decided to hit the road and visit our ailing friend Jerry.  I know it is hard to imagine Mild Hogs being compassionate enough to check on one of our own, but we are not entirely about brawling, drinking and womanizing...  Actually, we are not about any of that, except perhaps the drinking, when not driving.  Any way, Jerry has had a nasty bout of bronchitis, so we thought we would meet him at the Brentwood Starbucks (club house #2) and see how he was doing before we rode to the Eagles Nest in Lodi.

Rare photo of Big Foot

This is where the Big Foot comes in...

Equally rare, Jerry!

It has been so long since we had seen Jerry, we were beginning to wonder if he truly existed, or if he was actually some mythical creature like Big Foot or the Abominable Snow Man.  Well , we can tell you that he does exist, although he is still somewhat under the weather.  We wanted to know if he was up to a ride, but said something about coughing up a lung and riding a motorcycle being incompatible.  Any way, it was great to see Jerry, catch up on everything he has been doing and discuss the Sturgis trip this summer.  Jerry is mapping out the drive since he is retired with too much time on his hands.  After catching up and some coffee, it was off to the Eagle Nest in Lodi.  The Eagles Nest is the HD store in Lodi.  It is large, well stocked with bikes and has a sitting area with coffee, cushy seating and a tv.  Sort of a man cave away from home.  We browsed the store, checked out the latest bikes and ended up buying rain suits for the Sturgis trip.  While we generally do not ride in the rain, there will be no avoiding the afternoon showers that are common during the summer in South Dakota and Wyoming.  The ride home was uneventful, thank goodness and unfortunately mostly into the sun.  

It was great to be out on the bikes, even for a short ride.  It will be nice when the weather warms up and we have the girls on the back again.

See you on the road.

Healdsburg Ride

It was a spectacular fall day in Northern California, one of those days with sunshine, but cool enough for chaps.  As we left, the sun was shining, but we faced thick fog as we crossed the Benicia bridge.  It was the first long ride on the new bike.  As the damp fog surrounded us on the bridge, I suddenly felt  my butt getting warm...  It was not my imagination, Julie had cranked up the heat on the seats, one of the features of the new bike I had forgotten about, but obviously she had not.  As we got closer to Kirk's place, the fog broke and the sunshine gradually warmed us up.

After meeting up with Kirk and Patty, we headed up to Healdsburg, crossing 37 and turning up Lakeville Highway to Petaluma.  then up 101 to Windsor where we ate lunch at the Downtown Grill.  It is a nice little place with outdoor seating and a 50's era interior with lots of unique signs, Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Dean posters and various other entertaining decorations.  The menu is basic Americana, our kind of place.  We've also had breakfast there, but I believe they stop serving it at 11:00.  The service was good, the food was good and the company was great.  Next to the ride itself, it is always wonderful to catch up with old friends over good food.  It had been a few days since we had seen each other so naturally there was a lot of catching up to do.

Downtown Grill - Windsor

Windsor is a quaint town that looks like it was either entirely remodeled as all the main buildings are similar in design, or it was all built new in the past few years.  I honestly don't have enough interest to look it up, but enjoyed the visit.  Just as a note, there is a candy store that has all the old candy we had as kids such as the flat wide strips of taffy, the paper with the candy dots and many candy bars that are no longer available in regular stores.  I have to wonder if they are really old candy bars, unlikely, or just reproductions done on a smaller scale to meet a niche market.

Just one view of the Francis Ford Coppula Winery 

After lunch we rode to the Francis Ford Coppula winery off of Independence Ave.  It is a beautiful winery and the grounds are exquisite (please note that I will not be using that term ever again, but thought it was appropriate).  We stopped and walked around.  There is large swimming pool that can be used by visitors to the winery for a fee.  We all decided that we would ride up there next summer, enjoy some time lounging around the pool, sipping wine and then ride back.  I got my Speedo out just to make sure it is ready to go...  There was also a tee-pee on the property.  I have no idea why it was there or what purpose it served, but perhaps it was to recognized the contributions of the Native Americans to our country.  After all, they were living in tents when Europeans who sailed across the ocean in wooden ships discovered this fine land.  They were also using sticks dragged by horses to carry materials, rather than the clunky wheel that the Europeans had used for hundreds of years.  Come to think of it, I don't know why the tee-pee was there, but it was...

Dave mugging for the camera

On the way out of the winery, we stopped to take some glamour shots of our bikes...  Hard to beat the setting and we thought the fall colors would go well with our paint, so here they are....

Dave and Julie's Bike

Kirk and Patty's Bike

After visiting the winery, we road the back roads of Healdsburg following the same route that Dave and Julie ran during a recent half marathon.  The ride was beautiful with the grape leaves having turned orange and red and the smell of remaining grapes fermenting on the vine.   Fall is a great time in wine country, particularly on a motorcycle.  The ride home was almost as nice since we cut over the hills to Calistoga and took the Silverado Trail through the Napa Valley.  After a quick stop at Kirk and Patty's it was back over the bridge and a quick ride home.

A great day in all.  See you on the road.

Kirk and Patty Wedding

The Happy Couple

September 10, 2011 - It was a wonderful weekend with friends and family, lots of friends and family...more than we could imagine.  It may have been the beautiful setting, the scrumptious food, or the free booze, but was most likely the wedding of two wonderful and loved members of our Mildhog family getting married.  Kirk and Patty, The Outlaws, finally tied the knot.  As in typical Outlaw style, the wedding was a gigantic party beginning with the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, into the wedding and finally the reception.  

"OK, Kirk, first you slip your arm around her..."

The wedding went off without a hitch, unless of course you count Patty getting hitched....  There were some tense moments, late arrivals for the photo shoot, should the groomsmen place their hand in front or to the side, the first dance, the old man's toast...  

Without a doubt, it was a wonderful celebration of two friends who eventually fell in love.  

The Wedding Party, well, not the "party", we cannot show those pictures!

All the best on a long, loving life together.  We love you!

More photos....

Before....

After...

They clean up nice...John, Dad, Kirk

Steve and Joe left Danny at the hotel....he arrived just in time.

The wedding cake

Kirk's dad took the opportunity to hawk t-shirts featuring his image.  $20 per shirt.  If you are interested, let Patty know.

August - Run to Santa Cruz

Today's run to Santa Cruz was particularly special, not because it was perfect weather for riding, and not because we were headed to the coast.  It was a special run because Jersey was back in the pack.  It has been sometime since all the NorCal Mild Hogs were together for a run.  Since Jersey retired, he is too busy to ride.  I know what you are thinking...  I cannot explain it, but I was happy to see him.  It was as if no time had passed since we had seen him.  He immediately began to release sarcasm at each and everyone of us, without missing a beat.

Jersey - Did not get the memo on GTL...

As always, every ride starts with a stop at Starbucks, and this ride was not different.  It was beautiful weather and a great chance to catch up on everyones travels and the latest news on the upcoming wedding between Outlaw and Miss Outlaw.  2 weeks and counting down!

The Happy Couple!

With the niceties behind us, we were on our way towards the coast.  As we rumbled down the freeway at 75  MPH, a squirrel came bounding across the right hand lanes into our lane.  Now I like animals, but there was no way I was going to make a move to avoid the impending impact between bike and beast.  For a split second, I pictured my name changing from Snake to Squirrel, or worse, Nutsy...  Somehow, the squirrel made it across without so much as a scratch, only to find himself on the BART tracks that run between the east and west bound lanes of the freeway.  As we rode, I pictured him dodging 4 lanes of traffic, only to touch the third rail on the BART tracks and getting fried to a crisp and perhaps rendering the transit system inoperative for several hours...  I know, I should be focusing on the road.

As we approached Skyline Drive, we could make out a blanket of thick fog covering the ridge.  It looked like it did not extend very far south, so we decided to keep going and in fact we were right.  After a short ride in the damp fog, we emerged into the daylight and the bluest sky you could imagine.  It was going to be a great ride.  As always, the cyclists also discovered the fog did not go very far along Skyline and were out in force.  At one point, there was a gal rider...is that insensitive...ok, chick cyclist sharing our lane as we worked through some "S" curves.  Not wanting to scare her as she seemed somewhat shaky, Outlaw waited patiently just behind her as she worked her way down the hill, only to have a bicyclist pass between him and the gal on the bicycle.  This was a very uncool move by the bicyclist, not to mention very dangerous for all involved.  Once we were all able to pass the chick, it was on to the rude rider.  I knew it was not going to matter how tight the turns might be, he was going to be passed, preferably in a turn, and he was.

We soon arrived at Alice's restaurant.  I am not going into the details about Alice's because I have covered the restaurant in other blogs.  If you missed it, go back and read all about it.  At Alice's we all snuggled onto a picnic table and enjoyed the sun, each others company and a great meal.  Soon we were on our way to Santa Cruz.

Alice's Restaurant

The ride to SC was relatively uneventful as we attacked one "S" curve after another.  There were a couple of funny incidents...there always are.  At one point, Outlaw made a rather immediate left turn.  Everyone in the pack had time response except Snake and Snakes Girl who were right behind him.  We ended up taking a detour into a shopping center, exiting right in front of the pack who had gotten stuck at a light.  I could see from Repo Man's face that he had no idea where we had come from.   At another point in the ride we were separated by traffic and lights.  I knew that the folks out front would wait at some appropriate spot until we got caught up.  What I did not realize is that it would be a sidewalk. I guess those ramps aren't just for the handicapped.... as I watched Outlaw and Jersey run down the sidewalk and down the ramp, eventually merging into traffic.

After a stop in Half Moon Baby for gas, rest rooms and a coffee, we were on our way home.  It was a wonderful ride, one that will not be forgotten soon.  See you at the wedding!  I know everyone will be there!  Everyone...

Coffee at Starbuck, of course!

Gott's Run in Napa

Mild Hogs at Gott's in Napa

It has been some time since the Mild Hogs have ridden as a club.  We've all done our own thing, or gone out in smaller groups (I know, it is difficult to get much smaller), but on Saturday, we were at full strength.  Today was a special run.  Not only were we all together, but Outlaw was riding his new Street Glide.  I thought I would take several pictures of it since there have been previous complaints that only my bike makes it into the blog...

Kirk's new ride!!!

After meeting at Outlaw's, and soon to be Mrs. Outlaw's place, we headed up the highway to Vacaville, home of the Iron Steed HD shop.  The Iron Horse was having a barbecue for it's Hog members, but not being members, we did not participate.  They seemed to have a low turnout.

We probably spent about 30 minutes at the shop looking at bikes and using the facilities. They also have a popcorn machine in the lobby if you are into that kind of stuff.  After taking care of business, we were quickly on our way.  With Outlaw in the lead, Snake quickly behind and Repo Man guarding the rear, we headed west towards Lake Berryessa.  As we approached our typical route, there were detour signs indicating the road was closed.  Not having a clue as the names of the roads we typically ride, we took an alternate route and found ourselves at the "end of the road".  Turning around, Snake took the lead and quickly took us down a dead end street...   After practicing another u-turn in the middle of the road, we went back to our original route and found it was open all the time.  Oh, well, it does not really matter as long as we are riding.

Speaking of riding, there were lots of bicyclists riding on the same roads.  This is often the case as both bikes and motorcycles like roads that are out of the way and not frequented by cars.  I'd like to report that unlike previous rides, the bicyclists rode the shoulders and did not block the road.  I guess they must have read my blog where I threatened to put my boot up the rear of the next one I catch hogging the road.

Eventually we passed the lake and stopped at a small store to buy some refreshments and take a short break.  It was nice sitting outside chairs under a large shady tree to catch up on what all the Mhogs have been up to.  Jerry and Doni had just gotten home from an epic road trip involving 4400 miles, several states and I suspect many Subway sandwiches.  Kirk and Patty discussed the wedding plans, while Dave and Julie discussed the last concert they attended.  While it is fun riding, it can be difficult to chat.  These brief interludes give everyone a chance to catch up and get reacquainted.

Off again, we headed to downtown Napa and the restaurant formerly known as Taylor's, now Gott's.  I  know I have written about Taylor's before so I will not spend too much time on it.  I will tell you that only the name has changed.  It still offers a variety of gourmet sandwiches and salads in a casual setting.  It is also interesting to see the variety of people who eat there.  Some are all dressed up coming from some fancy, smancy wine tasting, while others were causal, yet very attractive in their riding apparel.  As always, the food was great and the company even better.

After leaving Gott's we headed south and eventually peeled off to our own destinations.  It was great getting back on the road with our friends.  We all look forward to doing it again.

See you on the road.

P.S.  One more picture of Outlaw's new bike...