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 (I
still don’t know how Aussie Rob manages his action shots… we’re
wondering if he has an extra arm or two)
We met at the Fremont Starbucks for coffee – Tyler, Audrey, Todd, and Wendy, and had three surprise attendees – CC (who said she had to beg, borrow, and steal to get the day for herself instead of getting ready for the family vacation – and it was well worth the price she had to pay) and Real (who’s been traveling extensively but finally alighted in the state long enough to ride with us for a bit), and the Mad Brit, Bob (who managed to finagle a few hours away from home and work to put on the (s)miles on the bike). Aussie Rob had sent a message that he would hook up with us on the road once up in Calistoga. We headed off down 880 and made the stop in Oakland as mentioned (after a little bit of confusion as to how to actually get to the darn place) on the Evite (CC: “And why are we stopping here?” Tyler: “Because I said we would.”) but there were no takers so we continued on our merry way toward the wine country. It was overcast and quite cool (NOTE TO SELF: always pack the electric liner) but we made our way into Napa and Rob found his way to the gas station we were at after we figured out that I missed the 121 turnoff to get onto Silverado Trail. At that point, Brit Bob had to head for parts west with a few return roads calling his name, as well as a bit of work-related reality thrown in for good measure. We bid him a fond adieu, checked our maps, and geared up. From there, we detoured a bit to get to our original route since part of one of roads was closed and we had to make a zigzag around the area to get to the other side (NOTE TO SELF: An Aussie with GPS is a good thing to have around) and finally found our way to Mt. Veeder Rd. Holy smokes, these roads were so awesome… well paved, great twists and leans, and beautiful stretches of canopied trees and dappled sunlight streaming through. The sun broke out just as we reached the backroads, as if the motorcycle gods were smiling down upon us. We rode along Dry Creek Rd., Trinity Rd., Warm Springs Rd, Bennett Valley Rd, Hwy 12, Calistoga Rd, Petrified Forest Rd, and finally coming to rest in the sleepy town of Calistoga (I have the route saved so if anyone is interested, let me know and I’ll share with you). We chose the Calistoga Inn for our lunch stop and the food was delicious. If you’re ever there, definitely stop in and try the calamari or the Vietnamese banana salad (or something like that) or the Big Fat Tomato Sandwich (and they were!)… everyone scarfed and was fully sated. We shared stories of our “real” lives and basked in the relaxation of the outdoor setting and good friends. Once we located CC in her power nap mode, it was hard to pull ourselves away from the relaxation of the moment but we found the strength and headed for the bikes. Real peeled off at this point to head for home and dinner with his daughter (what a good dad!!) so we reluctantly let him go. After lunch, we decided to forego the original route and head out Hwy. 29 to Lake Berryessa. There is a section just outside of Calistoga on Hwy. 29 that is a BLAST!! Great sweepers, one after the other, that just make the adrenaline pump and your heart race from the excitement of leaning left and right and left and right, and getting into the rhythm of the ride. After the previous day’s safety training seminar, we all were feeling our oats and pushing our limits… let’s just say my pegs have a lot of new scrape marks in testing the limits of bike and rider! It felt GREAT!! Wendy’s bike was in the shop so she borrowed a friend’s 250 for this trip – I have never seen anyone ride a 250 the way this girl did. She was right up on the tail of the Beemer boys as if it were a sport bike. We continued along Butts Canyon Rd, Pope Valley Cross Rd., Pope Canyon Rd., and Berryessa Knoxville Rd. which runs along the rim of the lake. We pulled off just after crossing a bridge and watched the vacationers on the lake. When Todd saw some guy jump off the bridge into the water far below, he got a gleam in his eye and we almost had to physically restrain him from following the guy down. We finally found a public parking area next to the lake and parked the bikes for a rest stop. The temperature had climbed a good deal since the early morning and we were quite warm. The lake looked very tempting and there were several takers that decided to take the plunge – literally! (NOTE TO SELF: Always pack a pair of shorts on the bike for impromptu lake dipping because I think there will more of this happening in the rides to come!). Tyler, Rob, Wendy, and Todd did their best aquatic impressions and splashed around the lake and made a general spectacle of themselves while CC and Audrey were a bit more conservative and just sat on the side of the lake and laughed at us. After a bit, the waterlogged quartet dragged themselves onto the rocks to sun and dry off a bit and Tyler tried to figure out how she would get home in sopping wet jeans which turned out to be to not wear them (NOTE TO SELF: The suede on the inside of leather pants is really soft on bare skin… wheeeee! J). We left the lake and traveled along to Capell Valley Rd., Monticello Rd., Wooden Valley Rd., and finally onto Suisun Valley Rd. – great roads except for those pesky motor homes and boat-towing trucks that slowed down our pace a few times, making a final pit stop for gas and adjust the layers of clothing as it was cooling off. We all stood around and tried to make the day last just a little longer, finding any topic we could to prolong the inevitable (including the realization that both Todd and Rob, who had been given bells for their bikes, had scraped the bell off the bike in their travels – ride hard much, boys??), reluctant to point the bikes for home and end such an amazing day. Finally, we split off for our respective abodes, filled with the spirit of the day – the roads, the views, the food, but most of all the friendship and camaraderie. Quotable Quotes “I’m dangling.” “Hey, Rob, why didn’t you bring the sunshine?”
Peace,
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