Hatt's San Quentin Toy Run 2010

Ho Ho Ho, its December, time to go on Hatt’s San Quentin Toy Run and visit Santa Claus. Santa is there and some of his helpers, we have presents for the good girls and boys.  The weather outside is frightful but it’s still delightful. 

First stop is Pier 15 in San Rafael, a new starting place but a good one. Pier 15 is on the Bay, tide is high, but tis the season for high tides. It’s a little rainy but tis the season for rainy, it’s freaking December isn’t it.

Next stop is San Quentin Village where we drop off the toys for the kids. We’ve all brought some toys but there are a couple of extra pickups trucks full of toys too, everyone grabs a few extra toys to put under the tree. I feel good that Hatt and his people have come up with so much for the kids and I know that this is going to be one of the best SQ Toy runs ever.

We then ride to San Geronimo Valley Golf Course, a brilliant choice, the back bar windows look onto some beautiful forest scenery.

Then on to the Rancho Nicasio Bar and Restaurant another good choice. This year we  bypass Pt. Reyes Station, with the filthy Western Bar and old, whiny, town bitches.

Our last stop is Los Guitaros Restaurant in Novato.  The food was delicious.  Really good.  Great choice for a last stop, Bret.  Much better than in years past.  I also had some good luck.  I won the low hand of the poker run.  This was the best San Quentin Toy Run yet.

More on the Stampede

     Twenty six people started the 2010 Stampede.  These are the finishing times as near as I can tell.  Wess said, "There's a ton of stories surrounding most of these people and the ride. I've been riding motorcycles for over 40 years and without exception, these are the most dedicated motorcycle people I have ever met. Most I've known for a few years through the Smoke Out West, but until I rode up in North Carolina I really didn't get it. Now I do."
     I've read a few of the stories but for the most part this race is unknown, run by anonymous people who do it for reasons that are kept to themselves.


1st      Charlie The Nomad                                  50:00
2         Mr. Miyagi                                               53:03
3         Buck Blankenbaker (aka – Sharkboy)         66:00
4         Medusa Mike                                           68:44
5         Grampaw
6         Jim Snell                                                75:03
7         Wes Keysor                                            76:23
8         Eric Barnett                                            77:32
9         Nick Robinson                                         77:53
10       Andrew Jaramillo                                     78:54
11       Mack                                                      83:39
12       F. Bomb                                                  89:20
13       Dan Coen                                                90:30
14       Jason (The Canuck)                                 99:26
15       Friesz                                                    100:53
16       John Dollar                                            102:03
17       Fred (Quang tri)                                     107:25
18       El Butche                                              141:48
19-26 DNF

The Stampede

     The Stampede is a cross country race for choppers. The rules are simple: rigid frames (no rear suspension), no windshields, no fairings, no hard saddlebags, no rubber mounted engines, no chase vehicles.  I've been fascinated since I first heard about the Stampede a couple of years ago.
     Wes lives in Tuscon, Arizona but I usually run into him at the Laughlin River Run and this year at Sturgis.  When I learned he did the Stampede this year and finished 7th, I wanted to know more.       
     Wes' time for the 3050 miles from Santa Monica, California to Rockingham, North Carolina was 76 hours and 23 minutes.  Wes sent me the photos and comments below.

Santa Monica Pier @ 0600 - F-Bomb & Friend. F-Bombs girl friend, Lori, was killed last year during the race. She was hit by a semi in AZ. Shes remembered as the Queen of the Stampede.





Santa Monica Pier @ 0600 - Miyagi. Finished 2nd.

 


Santa Monica Pier - Booze Fighter Mack - Riding a strutted Sportster with questionable license and registration. Finished 11.




Santa Monica Pier @ 0600.




Santa Monica Pier @ 0600 - Sharkboy, Snell, Wes.




Santa Monica Pier @ 0600




Hotel in Santa Monica. Two days before the race the courtyard of this little motel in old Santa Monica was taken over. The manager finally went ape-shit. I negotiated a peace arrangement and we moved the bikes to a lot behind the motel. This was a good example of life-style clash. Keep in mind these guys were doing repairs to their bikes, everyone, with the exception of Snell, had ridden between 400 and 3000 miles just to get to the start.




Leaving for Santa Monica, Tucson @ 0300.




North Carolina, 3048 miles later. 

Another California Bun Burner Gold

     I checked the list of Iron Butt Association Cerified Rides and they had finally updated the list, http://www.ironbutt.com/rides/RidesLogin.cfm .  I was surprised to find that someone else had completed a 1500 mile in 24 hour ride completely within California.

     Brook Rice completed his Bun Burner Gold on June 26.  With a little research, I was able to contact him.  He sent me the link for his ride report.   http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=ltf9311pcdi8dbvurthc33iit6&topic=54362.0

He also sent these photos of himself on his Ducati Multistrada 1100s.

Chilly Billy Memorial Run

This was the 5th annual Chilly Billy Poker Run.  I've got to say that it was a lot of fun.  The Rip City Riders Motorcycle Club sponsored the event raising money for Hospice by the Bay. 

The Poker run started at the local Harley dealer in Cotati, California.  The weather was overcast and cool, I was really surprised when I looked out and it was raining.  It rained for about 15 minutes, stopped and didn't rain again.  By afternoon the weather was clear and hot.

One of the stops on the poker run was at Pt.Reyes Station in Marin County. 

Last year the run ended up at Penngrove City Park.  This year the run ended up at the Petaluma Fairgrounds.  Several hundred bikes showed up, as well as custom cars and vendors.  The Raffle bike was a 2011 Street Glide, in denim black.  I sure would have liked to win that bike. 



There were a lot of cool bikes, not all Harley's.

In search of the bar

I would say that Rip City Riders hit a home run this year.  The food was good, there were plenty of vendors, the car and bike shows had really nice machinery, add in a large turnout of really nice people and I would say I'm already looking forward to the 6th annual CB run next year.



Gordon's XLCR's

     A few weeks ago I met an old friend at Penngrove Motorcycle Company.  I hadn't seen Gordon in quite a few years.  We're at a custom motorcycle shop so we're not there for groceries.  Turns out that Gordon has been working on a pair of XLCR's.  The one on the left is a 1978 model and the one on the right is a '77
      
     The XLCR is the coolest sportster ever made.  They were only made in 1977 and 1978 (nine were made in 1979 count that year if you wish).  They couldn't compete with the Japanese sport bikes of the same era, and those were the ....ah....aah.....hum, well there's the point, the XLCR was a classic the day it was built and has stood the test of time.

Gordon told me that he is selling the '77 and it is on ebay right now.  Gordon maybe you don't need two XLCR's, but then again they aren't making any new ones.   
 

1977


  

1978



Honda 305 Scrambler

     I spotted Peter's CL77 in the parking lot just off Virgina St., in Reno.  The Honda CL77 was called the 305 Scrambler.  These bikes were built from 1965 to 1968.  The 305's had a muffler that both pipes went into, everyone I knew took off the muffler. 

     These bikes, and the earlier 250, the CL72 (1962-1965), with their up swept exhausts, really started the dirt bike craze.  I remember that a lot of high school girls had burn marks on their legs from those exhausts pipes.

Nice Bike Peter

Street Vibrations 2010

This Year

This year Street Vibrations was a disappointment.  There was really nothing happening that you couldn't do on a regular weekday for half the price.  Virgina Street was blocked off but most vendors stayed away, if you wanted to walk down the middle of the street you were welcome to do so, whoo hoo.  Yet the Reno hotels jacked up their rates as did the bars.  So attention Reno, next year go ahead and jack your hotel prices, charge ten bucks for a beer if you want to, because I won't be there.

Last year

Notice any difference between this year's photo and last year's photo?

More Unfortunate Names

Please not, a "Cup-a-Joe,"

Did You Ever Have the Feelin' You Was Being Watched?

...Seems everywhere I look I see a camera looking at me.  I know that there is no expectation of privacy in a public place, but who told who that it was OK to put up cameras and watch us.
...What I mean is, did the State Legislature tell Cal Trans to put up cameras?  Did the Highway Patrol have them put up?  FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, NSA, NASA, who? 
...I know that there was no ballot measure asking citizens if they wanted to be watched every moment of their lives.

Cheap technoglogy is putting cameras in the few places the Government missed.








This camera is on the ceiling of the Bucket o' Blood Saloon in Virgina City, Nevada.

 This one's next to the bra at Thompson's Corner, Suisun.City, California.

Now I think I'm getting paranoid.

Unfortunate Names

     I remember a wine that had an unfortunate name.  It was called "Windbreak."  It was reported to be a very good wine but sold poorly, probably due to the name. 
     Riding in the Sonoma Valley I saw another candidate.  Cepage, makes one wonder just where it seeped from.

The Bike Obelisk

     I rode into Santa Rosa to take a look at the Bike Obelisk.  A new public art work that had just been installed.  I've got to say I  think I like it.                       

     The articles I read about it were quick to point out that no good bicycles were used in the construction of the obelisk.  We in the San Francisco Bay area have some particularly obnoxious bicyclists, so my opinion of a good bicycle and a no good bicycle may be quite different.

 



The Loneliest Road in America

Hwy 50, the loneliest road in America. I love it, not much traffic and while not as dramatic as Southern Utah, the vistas are still grand.

We left Grand Junction headed west and for Ely, about 500 miles, a long day in the saddle.

We pulled into Elk Flat campground after dark and set up camp by moonlight.

The next day we had another 500 mile day, but arrived home happy after a great trip.