NCTRF_2011

13 August 2011 - Mother Lode Ride

2011-08-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

13 August 2011 - Mother Lode Ride
Northern California

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Stan leads a Mother Lode Ride. But more importantly his wife JoAnn prepares a great pre-ride brunch. Lots of good stuff.
A 1985 Moto Guzzi California

Lots of bikes today

Some brunch items that managed to get left over

Pdub is trying to get the left overs to take home :-)

Stan getting ready to Ride

But we still are waiting for Tom

Last one up though is me. photo by JoAnn

Ready. photo by JoAnn

Stan added this photo of the rattle snake that he killed last week in his patio

We ride around Hogan Reservoir then over toward San Andreas to Copperopolis.
Our first rest stop after riding Pool Station Road is in the new section of Copperopolis at the Shell Station

From Copperopolis we ride Obyrne's Ferry Road to Hwy 108 to Columbia where we pick up Jess and Eric.
Eric, Jess at the left

Taking a break

A minor problem a broken clutch cable on the Goose

Jess' tricked out Bonneville

Leaving Columbia headed to lunch in Murphys

Heading out

Leaving town

The Tuolumne River

Pdub hot dogging

Downtown Murphys is crowded with tourists but somehow our arrival is timed as two cars leave us with space to park right in front of Firewood where we will be having lunch.

Entrance to Firewood

The menu

You order and pay first at the counter

Wood fired brick oven for the pizzas

A lot of riders skip lunch

We are at a table in the loft

The mushroom, bacon, Swiss cheeseburger

Shrimp pizza

Pepperoni and sausage pizza

Oops. Pdub says it's hot

Me sitting in the sun

Jack and Ron hook up for the Ride in Murphys

I am really tired so I head back to Stockton. There is still half of the Ride to go.

Here is what happened after I left folks. Written by Stan our intrepid Ride Leader:

Don,

You missed some of the additional excitement.

We stopped for gas in San Andreas and Jesse departed, Mark and Diana decided to head for Lake Comanche to do some boating, and I'm not sure who all was with us and left from there.

With members joining and leaving by the time we got to Mokelumne Hill it was down to Paul, Tom, Al, Joel and myself.

Paul decided to head for home, so 4 of us turned onto Hwy 26.

About 12 miles into that part of the ride Joel developed a flat tire. By now it was around 3:30, so I headed for home to get my truck and trailer and Al headed for Jackson to see if he could find an inner tube and Tom stayed with Joel to keep him company. Al was unsuccessful, so we loaded the bike up and headed for my place. Al and Joel spent the night at my place and since no place that we knew of that sold motorcycle tubes was open today Joel left his Kawi in my garage and headed home on my Valkyrie. He'll be back with a tube next weekend.

JoAnn took a couple of pictures at our place and I added the picture of the rattlesnake that I told you we killed on the patio last Wednesday, just to let you know what you missed.

Overall it seemed like a fun ride, even with the mechanical problems. With members joining and leaving, some having lunch, while others opted to wander around or check out the hotel bar, I was never sure just how many we had with us, so hopefully no one is still wandering around in the foothills wondering where we went.

Stan

Hmm. It was a good Ride but it is a good thing I left the Ride when I did or else I might still be riding in the foothills. :-)

Again, thank JoAnn for a great breakfast. This club really eats good. :-)

~end
.

16 July 2011 - Dinucci's

2011-07-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

16 July 2011 - Dinucci's
Valley Ford, CA

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Today we are meeting at the Jelly Belly Factory for a Ride out to Valley Ford and Dinucci's for lunch. Then over to Bodega Bay an a ride up the coast to the Russian River. From there we head back home over Hwy 116 to Hwy 12.
KC surprises us by showing up for the Ride. He had just suffered a heart attack only 10 days ago.

Stan, Dave {a new member}, Jazzhound from VROC and Frank a guest.

At 1009 one minute before KSU there were just 8 bikes ready to leave. Five more bikes arrived in that last minute. Which made for a very ugly start to the Ride. Please be at the start well before KSU.

We get to the gas stop and break at Petaluma. We had guests that were not aware of this only gas stop. That messed up the timing something awful.
Cranky joins up at Petaluma as well as three others including WWW or dub 3

We actually split into two groups thinking that the restaurant may not be able to handle the 17 of us on the Ride.
Here at Dinucci's is KC's group who took off first from Petaluma

Then as I approach Dinucci's with the second group I notice that the parking lot has nothing but our bikes in it so I pull off into the parking lot. Sonoma Joe goes in to check and see if the place can handle the 17 of us.

Here's Nite Lite one of my trusted sweep riders who happens to live in Petaluma

A couple of Contra Costa riders and we also had a third, a long time member from Pittsburg going back to 2003 who made his first Ride with us, but headed back home after reaching the restaurant.

Bigg Twin on the right

Some photos from lunch.

And the Menu

The food was good. A lot of Fish and Chips, Ground Sirloin and Oysters. Cranky had the Soup and Salad, KC had the Raviolis and I had the Eggplant Parmigiana.
Fish and Chips

A bunch of Ground Sirloin

After lunch I changed the Ride deciding to skip Coleman Valley Road and heading along Hwy 1 to Bodega Bay and then riding the River Road Hwy 116 all the way back to Santa Rosa.

A few of the Riders left after Lunch but there were still 14 bikes that made it to the western out skirts of Santa Rosa. At that time just five of us continued down Hwy 12 through the Valley of the Moon and back home.

It was getting warm after the low 60 temps of the early part of the Ride so at Oakmont just east of Santa Rosa we stopped to shed some clothes.
I think that Jess is smiling because of where one rider is relieving himself.

~end
.

18 June 2011 - Sierra Ride

2011-06-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

18 June 2011 - Sierra Ride
Northern California

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Photos and text by Ride leader Jim G.

I want to thank everyone who was able to make this a enjoyable first lead for me. If it wasn't for this diverse weather we've had I'm sure the original date would have yielded more attendance. Not that today was not enough for a first timer :-).

The day started nicely, beautiful blue skies and six Trumps and a Ducati to top it all off. Here is a photo from the County Store.

We set sail just a few minutes after our target time but there was no rush in today's agenda. The roads were smooth sailing up to Deb's Frosty in Diamond Springs. A big thank you to Jack M. (who wasn't able to attend due to some unavoidable obligations) for the suggestions on our route. Old Sacramento road was as beautiful as a country side road can be, freshly paved and smooth as a baby's skin. We landed at Deb's with some kind of an appetite, which was good considering we were not planning to eat again until after 2:00PM. Here are a few pics from that stop.

Dave and Karen enjoying a little soft serve together

Jess and Les taking in the goodies from Deb’s

Wayne and Ginny contemplating just how they are going to devour this plate

Here are Martin and Sherry who are all smiles

So the motley crew (minus Martin and Sherry, who had other travels planed for their first day of vacation, don’t blame ya a bit) heads out with taste buds and tummy’s happy. Next stop is a little spot in Coloma, none other than the James Marshall monument / gravesite. Hwy 49 was nice the entire time except for a small section riding through Placerville (AKA Hangtown). Here are some photos from this stop.

Karen and Les lead the way to the monument, fully engaged in white water rafting experiences they both had in common. Dave and Jess right behind them.

Back side of the monument. The group in the background are looking over the scenic valley.

Scenic valley overlook. It was spectacular in person. Wayne, Ginny and I could not help but fantasizing about a huge zip line taking us over to the beautiful white house across the valley.

Here is the front side of the monument.

At this point we say goodbye to a few more bikes and riders. Les, Wayne, and Ginny all leave the group in Pilot Hill, for the beautiful Salmon Falls road and onto their other destinations. That leaves Jess, Dave and his wife Karen, and myself to journey the scenic decent to the Y of the American river on Highway 49.

From there we head East bound up to Forrest Hill and ride the back roads from there all the way into Lincoln. Turns out another nice section of tarmac Jack M. suggested called Mount Vernon Road and Wise road were very nice on the eyes. After riding into Lincoln a stop was had at the local Mc Donald’s for some bladders that needed emptying. Jess, feeling the terrible symptoms of a stomach flu coming on, decides he better not chance it any longer and decides to ride straight home. No sooner, Dave and Sherry realize the time has slipped and they both have some important packing to do for a trip early the next morning.

So we all part ways, I cruise on home to a lovely wife who made up a nice picnic style BBQ lunch. I explained to her what had happened to our guests and she said what will we do with this food to ourselves? I smiled and said big daddy loves burgers for leftovers any day, mmmmmmm!

Thank you Wayne and Ginny for riding tail gunner position for most of the ride, Dave and Karen for the remainder. Les, it was nice to see you back with the group. Martin and Sherry, always a pleasure to have you guys along. Jess, I am glad you made it home okay, my wife and I were very concerned for you. Thanks for the memories friends.

May God bless you all and keep you guys safe.

Jim & Christi

~end
.

21 May 2011 - Knoxville

2011-05-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

21 May 2011 - Berryessa-Knoxville Road
Lake Berryessa, CA

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Here is a link to Cranky's Blog about today's Ride

We had to change the beginning of the Ride Route today to avoid Pleasants Valley Road, since the road was closed to traffic for a Half Marathon.

I only had one U-Turn on roads that I had only seen on a map in getting to Winters from due south.
The old guys bikes are the first to arrive

Stan's Bonne America, my F650GS, Phil's Nomad, Reese's (a first-timer) tricked out Thruxton and Jim and Christy's Trophy. Martin has not yet arrived. {What happened to Jess - the route was changed to have lunch at Buster's}

We arrive at the Corners a couple of minutes early despite a KSU of 0936 (six minutes late).
Sonoma Joe and Cranky are waiting for us as they live closer to the Corners than they do to Dixon

The Restaurant and General Store are OPEN. As is my wont I asked a couple having breakfast how the food was. They found it excellent. The one down side is the menu prices are Napa Valley prices and not Central Valley prices.

Sonoma Joe, Phil and Cranky

Photo by Jim G

We had to avoid a bicycle event on the road until we passed Pope Valley Road. So it was pretty slow going.

Then after we pass Pope Canyon Road a couple of miles I decided to shot some photos from my bike. Unfortunately I took off my right glove with my teeth. So I stopped the Ride to put the camera around my neck and have a bare LEFT hand. {hard to use the right hand for the camera and the throttle at the same time}

The following photos are taken "blind" over my left shoulder while riding. {of course they are cropped - no way I am that good a "shot" :-) }

Instead of "staging" the water crossing today. I had Stan ride second and hold up the Group until I cleared the water and was set up to take the following seven photos.
Stan

Jim and Christy

Reese

Sonoma Joe

Phil can't miss his lights

Martin

Cranky who rides a very good Sweep

After the water crossing it is still a few miles before we get to Morgan Valley Road. So these are more photos of Berryessa-Knoxville Road.
Looking ahead versus behind

Another forward photo

We finally reach the closed Home Stake Gold Mine entrance.

It is between here and just 4 or 5 miles from Lower Lake that we have an incident. Sonoma Joe had just changed his chain and the "clip" on the master link probably fell off.

Photo by Cranky

Here is what Sonoma Joe emailed at 5:40 PM:

thanks again for the use of your cell phone. truck arrived at 3:15
i'm home now looking at my bent rear sprocket.
the ride was great till that point.
thanks for puttin it on

joe

Jim and Christy headed north since Christy is a vegetarian and Buster's is not for vegetarians. Here is what Jim emailed:

Thanks for the "only one U-turn" ride Don, I was great minus Joe's chain & early departure. Speaking of departures, Christi & I went up to Clearlake Oaks for a nice avocado burger & house salad. Then we ventured Hwy 20 until hitting 16 South, man oh man did we encounter bikes after bikes! All the way into Brooks. That's a lot of ground to cover with pedals!
Any how, my first fill up yielded 37.9 MPG, which is a record riding two up! Must have a lot to do with our average speed of travel for the 139 miles I had put on my tank by fill up in Lower Clearlake. I'm thinking I may have even bettered that coming home as we again had slower than normal travel speeds from all those bikers, I clocked another 137 miles home and still have more than a 1/4 tank left, unbelievable!

A first - NO FOOD photos....
Back of the parking lot at Busters

Buster's

We ride Silverado Trail then through Napa to Hwy 12. Cranky leaves us as we reach the I-680 exit. And the remaining four of us head east bound on Hwy 12 to the Popeye's Chicken in Suisun City for a needed pit stop. Then head on home along Hwy 12 to various destinations.

Phil phoned me when he got home around 6:30 PM. He took our route had lunch at Busters around 3:30 and then home.

~end
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23 Apr 2011 - Sausage Feed Ride

2011-04-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

23 Apr 2011 - Sausage Feed Ride
Galt, CA

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Leaving north Galt at 0930, to the Sausage Feed in Stockton.
At the start point Photo by John K

Another from the starting point. Photo by Wayne S.

Jess, Stan and Ted .. Photo by Bill B

You can see the Galt Raley's gas station .. Photo by Bill B

Approximate Ride Route:

View Larger Map

A stop to visit with an old buddy of Stan's who is now incapacitated.
Stop in Ione Photo by iPhone

Another shot of Ione .. Photo by Bill B

The last Rest Stop in Copperopolis. photo by Jess
Stan's Bonne America. Stan had to leave the Ride after this stop.

A couple of old-timers in Copperopolis .. Photo by Bill B

Photo by Jess
The rest of the bikes. Nine Trumps and a Duck.

Some photos of the Sausage Feed Table just as the Riders arrived outside my home.
I forgot to take photos of the Baked Beans with diced Jalepeños in the crock pot in the kitchen.
The full table with fruit salad, green salad, bread and rice. Fruit salad was brought by Les and Peggy.

Four types of smoked sausages from Lockeford Sausage

Two types of chicken sausages, rice and a Farmer's Loaf and an Italian Twist bread from Genova Bakery

About 1:20 PM the Ride arrives. Stan who was the Ride co-leader had to help out a friend and left the Ride at the last Rest Stop and missed the Sausage Feed. There were nine Triumphs and a Ducati on the Ride.
Eight Triumphs, two Vulcans and a Ducati. Martin arrives later on the ninth Triumph

A quick check of the bikes.
Photo by Jess

That is Ginny's white Ducati Monster.
Photo by Jess

Now it is time to start to eat.
Peggy with Les and Jess in the back

Jess and Bill hidden

Wayne, Ginny and KC

Photo by KC
Don and Bill

Photo by KC
The Group

Photo by KC
Phil, Sherry and Jess hidden

Photo by KC
Wayne, Don, Martin and Jim

Photo by KC
John, Peggy, Les and the back of Sonja's head

After eating the cookies from Kandi's Pies and Pastries for dessert it was time to sit around and shoot the breeze.
Standing to let the food settle

Sonja, Bill, John and Peggy

Martin, Sherry and Jim seated. KC and Ted standing.

The bikes Photo by KC

A group photo before leaving.
KC and Phil on Vulcans as well as Les and Peggy on Les' Speed Triple came straight to the Feed

From the other end

Now it is getting time to saddle up and head home.
A big group

We had two lady Riders today, Ginny on her Duc Monster and Sonja on her Trump Street Triple.
Wayne, Ginny and Sonja

Putting on the riding gear

Starting to take off in ones and twos

We had two VROCers, KC and Phil. But Phil is also a charter member of this NorCal Triumph Riders and Friends Group. Back in the day Phil rode a Triumph Daytona. Now he rides a Vulcan Nomad. Then KC also has his Goldwing back home in San Jose.
KC and his Kawasaki Mean Streak

KC and Martin and Sherry are the last to take off.

The Riders:
Stan K......................Bonne America
Bill B........................Speed Triple
Sonja K....................Street Triple
Jim and Christi G.....Trophy
Martin and Sherry....Thunderbird
Ginny K....................Ducati Monster
Wayne S...................Speed Triple
Ted H.........................Bonne T100
Jess H.......................Sprint
John K.......................Bonne America

Straight to Sausage Feed:
KC M...........................Mean Streak {from San Jose}
Phil T............................Nomad
Les and Peggy S.........Speed Triple
Don..............................I live here my bikes never left the garage

~end .

12 March 2011 - Planning Meeting

2011-03-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

12 March 2011 - Planning Meeting
Good Friends Chinese Buffet, Valley Springs, CA

Today is the NorCal Triumph Riders and Friends Annual Planning Meeting. We are meeting in Valley Springs, CA at 11:30 AM. But I get restless and leave home at 10:00 AM for the 35 mile trip. So I decide to take the scenic route. And I take a few photos along the way.
Workers pruning cherry trees north of Linden, CA.

In the USA, most cherries grow in Washington, California, Oregon and Northern Michigan.

I am really on a back road at the edge of San Joaquin County when I see a worker pruning some wine grape vines.
A vineyard next to Johnson Road

I still get to Good Friends a bit early. Jim and his wife Christy are already there.
Stan, Jim and Jess

Mike pulls up on his Rocket III. So far 4 Triumphs and and my Moto Guzzi.
Rocket, Bonne America, MG, Sprint and Trophy

I was too busy eating to take any food photos today. These pics are from the meeting.
Jim, Christy and Mike

Jess, Stan and Martin - Martin has a 2010 Thunderbird - So 5 Triumphs today

Martin's Thunderbird

We did plan out the dates and venues for our Group's Rides this year. We only plan a Monthly Ride for the six months from April through September.

After the meeting I wanted to check out the Volcano Union Inn located in Volcano, CA. I was planning on riding Hwy 26 all the way around to West Point and end up in Pioneer which is one terminus of Hwy 26.

So I am leading Jim and Christy and Mike up Hwy 26 to where it intersects with Hwy 49. They are headed to Jackson and then home to the Sacramento area.

But I check my watch (on the bike) when I get to Hwy 49 and decide I do not have the time so I head west on Hwy 49 and leave the others in Jackson as I head to Volcano via Pine Grove.

My first stop after getting off my bike.
One of the two unisex restrooms at the Union Inn

The new owners, Mark and Tracey Berkner have really fixed the place up nicely and have even renovated the upstairs four rooms which are rented out on weekends. Mark and Tracey Berkner used to own and run the St George Hotel in Volcano, but sold it and traveled the world for a couple of years.

Upon their return to the workaday world they opened a restaurant in Plymouth called Taste. Mark also heads up the Culinary Arts Department at San Joaquin Delta College. He is in large part responsible for that school's great restaurant the Student Chef, which is the best bargain around for good food.
A real shuffle board table

This is one room

Another view of the room above the doorway at the upper left leads to the bar area

I decided to photograph their menu.
Inside pages of their menu

They are only open 22 hours each week. Their hours are at the bottom of this photo.
Outside pages of their menu

This is another room shot from the bar which also has tables

These are the tables in the bar area

The bar where you can see the doorway to the first room beyond the blond

They also have a pretty good size dining patio.
I am having my Sarsaparilla outside

One view of the outdoor patio

This view of the patio was taken from the building looking toward the street

The entrance

Plaque describing the origins of the building

A view from across the street

Another view with my Guzzi in the photo

After my sarsaparilla I head on back home.

~end
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15 Jan 2011 - Polar Bear Ride

2011-01-15T17:53:00.000-08:00

15 Jan 2011 - Polar Bear Ride
Flag City, CA

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Today is a combined NCTRF and NorCal VROC Polar Bear Ride (PBR).

Link to Cranky's Ride Report of the PBR

We are meeting at the McDonald's at Flag City which is at the intersection of I-5 And California Hwy12. We will be criss crossing the Altamont via the old Lincoln Highway and then Corral Hollow Road with a lunch stop at Shorter's BBQ Pit in Tracy. Then another leg of the Ride takes us to the Ghiradelli Factory Outlet in Lathrop, CA and the end of the PBR.
An eclectic group of bikes meets at the McDonalds in Flag City. We will have 8 bikes and 11 people at the start of the Ride and will pick up two more bikes and riders in Livermore.

Waiting for the KSU of 1030 AM.
V-Strom, Nomad and Gold Wing. The two Harleys are not part of our group.

Photo by KC
There is a Triumph Trophy, a Suzuki sport bike, a Valkyrie and a Harley also plus my BMW

Our first rest break is at the Valero Station on Hwy 4 just west of Stockton.
Photo by KC

Then we have an unscheduled stop at the Mountain House Road House because the fog instead of lifting was getting thicker.

Here I am in my relatively new Revit jacket.
Photo by KC

Here is KC's wife Lyn getting a bottle of water.
Photo by KC

We wait about 15 minutes and then continue our Ride.

It still looks a bit foggy, but in less than a mile the sun is out and the temps rise about 10°

Our stop at the Livermore McD's is also to pick up Cranky and Roy.
Cranky and his Nomad. Roy and his Harley.

No road pictures today since I kept my gloves on and heated grips set on high.
So here we are in Tracy parking a block away from Shorter's BBQ Pit.
Cranky, Roy and KC park across the street from Shorters

Roy was going to peel off and head back home, but he remembered Shorter's from a previous Ride so continued on and was the first to eat. Then he was off for home.
Half the people were still ordering while Roy was eating :-)

Here is my Tri-Tip sandwich with the BBQ sauce on the side.

Photo by KC

Patiently waiting for our food

I was suppose to call from Livermore with the number of people but I forgot so they had to scramble and set us up.

Sidewalk outside of Shorter's

Lyn snacks on a banana while waiting for her BBQ Chicken

Cranky only ate half of his Pulled Pork Sandwich

Phil's Tri-Tip dinner with two sides

Corn bread and spicy spaghetti

Pdub about to bite on a rib

The BBQ Chicken

Look at the size of the Tri-Tip Sandwich

A few more of pictures by KC of Shorters.

After lunch we take some farm roads to the Ghiradelli Factory Outlet in Lathrop.

The entrance is at the corner of the building.

Lots of good stuff at fabulous discounts.

Here is my two pounds of chocolate squares. The cost is $8.50 a pound, but Seniors over 55 get an additional 10% discount. My cost was $15.30 for two pounds.

AND what is a NorCal PBR without someone having Ice Cream.
Rocky Road. All the ice cream is at a 20% discount of their retail stores. And the Hot Fudge Sundaes have a special price of $5.00.

~end
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