BrianF

*Borat voice* Very nice!!!

First NorCal ride! Whose 500 is that?

Ah yes the good ol days when some of the NorCal VFRD guys actually had VFRs

It is! I did a trackday there on the 7th - when it had about 500 miles on it. You've never felt terror like turn 1 on that baby - but the brakes are really good. Based on my features, you'd think I live at Monitor haha They're a safeguard - careful observers will note that I once had a black set of V35s on the 7th. The left latch broke after a tipover, I fixed it (I thought), and the bag eventually fell off and was hit by a Volvo (not joking). Both the latches on my [used] silver set seemed suspect - so on went the bungees. And eventually off went the bike!

Don't forget Mountain View BBQ in Walker! Great brisket to fill you up after a trip over Sonora Pass on the way to Monitor.

Agreed. I would actually count this section of CA89 as one of my favorite roads on earth. Scenic, never crowded, great (and clean) pavement, and long enough to get tired but not actually crash. I've literally ridden it 20 times in one day.

Yes sir.

Haha I wish. 12 Doublewood.

Yeah I carry a tripod - a lightweight (but full size) one with a ball head. Anything longer than about 1/10 sec. requires it, especially on a non-IS lens like this one (Rokinon 14mm). As far as DoF and focus, I set focus on the front fender reflector while I shine a flashlight on it (10x zoomed on live-view to make sure it's perfect). The super wide angle of the 14mm plus the long exposure time help get some additional depth - though if you look closely the stars and sky are pretty muddy. Clarity and sharpening in Lightroom prop them up a bit. I have a couple more from this same trip that I'll post when I get around to doing the ride report. Glad everyone's enjoying this one!

No sir. Edited in Lightroom yeah, but a single exposure with my headlamp to light the foreground. No tricks. Thanks. 30 second exposure, yes. 14mm, f/2.8, ISO 6400. Super, super dark night on Big Sur at new moon. Zero natural foreground light.

Thanks Dutchy. Just like with motorbikes it's "what a time to be alive..."