Thursday, July 17, 2008

Marie's New Motorcycle












She did it! She bought a brand new XL1200L Sportster. She added a stage one kit, heated grips, a taillight/stoplight kit and a windshield. The Sportster Low has chrome cases and a black engine, it shines like a little gem.

At first she thought she would get an 883 but everyone she talked to said she would soon outgrow it. She rode the 1200 at the dealer a few times and decided that the 1200 was for her.
I am really proud of her, she took a rider training class, got her license, rode the borrowed Honda Rebel while she shopped for her own bike. She rode a lot of different models and then she bought the bike she wanted.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Sunday Drivers


I met with my Sunday Ride friends at Sam's in San Rafael for breakfast. After breakfast we took Lucas Valley Rd. to Pt Reyes Station and then out Sir Francis Drake Blvd to the Pt. Reyes Light House. This is earthquake country, the San Andreas Fault cuts off the Pt. Reyes Peninsula from the rest of North America. The Pt. Reyes Peninsula land mass is moving on its own tectonic plate, steadily north and west, so we figured we better ride out there before it got too far away.

Within sight of the light house parking lot, a small sand dune had blown across the road. My friend Lance was first in line and rode across. The sand has good cushioning properties and that's a good thing because when the rear tire of Lance's bike tried to catch up with the front tire, Lance landed softly in the sand. I would have photos but my first impulse was to run up and help Lance get his bike up. I do have a photo of the sand dune, but no one would lay down in the sand to pose for me.
The weather was very good, which is unusual. Usually there is fog and cold. The photo shows what locals call the Fog Line. On the east side of the fog line it is warm and nice, on the west cold and wet. The land and the ocean play tug o' war for property rights.

My friends all live in Marin County so they took Sir Francis Drake Blvd., while I took the Petaluma/Pt. Reyes Rd. home to sunny Sonoma.


Right on the San Andreas Fault, the road was a little rough.