jeffyjeff

Back in the day (2012) all of us had VFRs. For various reasons, most of us have moved on. Here are four inmates L- R. Brian F, Ed Nelson (VFRD handle ECN) (RIP), tjclyde, and Crazybro.

We did it! and judging by the text messages on my phone, I am not the only one who takes great pleasure in the comradery of fellow riders. Bravo! and thanks for coming out all. The ride started off great, but not without incident. We met in San Rafael as scheduled, and picked up St. Stephen at Pt. Reyes Station (pretty much on time). I remember tjclyde giving us his smartphone weather report “Eureka 40% chance of rain by 3:00 PM, Cloverdale, 10% by noon”. Sounded like a safe bet to me. We started North on the PCH, I was in the lead. Came up over a rise and encountered some road kill in the oncoming lane. 3 turkey vultures were feasting on the animal. They scattered on our approach, but one flew right into my path. I ducked down, but struck the bird right on the crown of my helmet; ~60 mph. WHAM! the impact left me a little dizzy. My neck and shoulders are still a little sore from the impact; fortunately, I was wearing a hoodie under my jacket, and the rolled up hood helped limit the blow from the big bird. We pulled over so I could inspect my helmet for damage, then discovered the wayward bird emptied its bowels all over my tank. Wiped up and continued, this time with RC1237V in the lead on his Tenere 700. The weather started misting up a little bit. Rounded a tight left hander to find the Tenere on its side in a ditch. Fortunately, the sturdy Yamaha weathered the spill with minimal damage and RC1237V’s riding gear came through about as well as could be expected. Two incidents in the first hour; ooh, this is not our norm. We continued North. Through Bodega Bay the precipitation got progressively substantial. By the time we got to the curves North of Jenner, it was like riding through a car wash. My vision was significantly impaired; water was dripping down the inside of my face shield, water on my eyeglasses, water on the outside. My gloves have a wiper on the left index finger, and it was getting constant use until the glove became saturated. I’m not exaggerating, that was a dangerous section of road to be riding through in those conditions. We got to Stewards Point and pulled over, all soaked to the bone like wet dogs. Even tjclyde, who had pulled over to don his raingear, had more water inside than out. We decided to abort the ride from there, taking Skaggs Springs Road to just outside Healdsburg, where we split up. Tjclyde and I gassed up and had a great lunch at Adel’s in Healdsburg and then continued down 101 together until he split at CA37 just north of San Rafael. All in all, I don’t think a single person regrets the experience. It was good to see everyone again, and meet Mason, RC1237’s buddy. Looking forward to a ride in the Sierra’s again. Except for a little soreness from the bird strike, I feel pretty good after a 9-hour, 282 mile day. Thanks all. Rubber side down. Jeff J.

Text messages sent to your cell phones. Even tried to get Brian to change his mind, but he's chillin in Salt Lake City. In: jeffyjeff tjclyde St. Stephen RC1237V RC 1237's mystery friend Fog likely on the coast, dress warm for a chilly start. Bring your cameras, better yet, GoPro if you have one. Glad to be getting back together. See you all on Saturday. Jeff J.

I'm down with the alternate route. Any good places to stop for lunch?

One week to go and nobody has dropped out yet. That's a good sign. I'll probably test/PM everyone along about Thursday or Friday just to confirm. Looking forward to seeing everyone. Have a good week.

He better bring his turkey repellant. Last time he almost got nailed by a wayward bird..

I spoke with Bayarearider today. He won't be joining us; he sold he seventh gen DCT and has been mountain bike (bicycle) riding of late. I'm bummed. jlpvfr has not responded, but to my recollection, he lives out in Nevada. I hope the fires are not affecting him at all. On a more positive note, Tirso confirmed to me that the Starbucks on Northgate is still there, so it looks like that is still a good meet-up point. Two weeks to go, still time to add riders (or for Brian F, Tristan, or Crazybro to change their minds.) In jeffyjeff tjclyde St, Stephen RC1237V

Great! You and Jim can speed ahead while the Road King and I grind off hard parts in the curves.

OK, let's try this again, this time without the cheesy Blues Brothers reference. I've texted the regulars and got a couple of bites. Would probably get more participation if we rode the Sierras, but the fire situation pretty much puts the kibosh on that idea. We meet at Starbucks, 260 Northgate Drive, San Rafael 94903 Saturday, September 18, 2021 (I'll have to do a reconnaissance ride to make sure it's still there). We'll ride over to Pt. Reyes Station and up the Pacific Coast Hwy. Lunch in Elk, and back down CA128 to Cloverdale. We top off the ride at the world famous Hamburger Ranch; those up for more fun can continue on CA128 to Calistoga and Winters. I checked the road conditions with Caltrans, and looks like the road is clear, slight delay near Winters if we elect to extend the ride that far. Kickstands up at 8:00 AM. If we hit the road early, maybe we can avoid some traffic on Hwy 1 and perhaps stretch the ride out on the back end. Hope you can make it. Jeff J. In jeffyjeff tjclyde RC1237V (tentatively) St. Stephen Out Brian F Crazybro tc339

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