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.

Not Rockies, Rocks

West of Grand Junction lies Utah and some of the most incredible country that exists. The weather really warms, but the beauty will take your breath away. The rock formations change by the mile. I just don't have words to describe the beauty. You could take a movie of this ride and any frame would make a great photograph.

The Grand Junction HD Economic Stimulus Plan

Doesn't look like much of a stimulus plan does it?

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Here's the story, my front tire was starting to show some serious wear. The tire was not new at the start of our trip and nearly three weeks of riding two up with all our gear on windy mountain roads had seriously worn the tire. The next Harley Davidson shop would be in Reno, 700 or more miles away, and through some harsh landscape as well. So I went to Grand Junction Harley Davidson.
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Things were not smooth from the start. I run Dunlop 402 PT tires, the parts guy was not sure if he could sell me one because the police use them. After he determined that it was not a crime to buy a tire in Colorado, he told me to be sure to arrive early at the service department as it was first come first served. I said, "I'm here now can't you put me on the list." He said, "That's service, this is parts, Come back tomorrow."
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The next day I'm there at dawn, when they open I'm there. When I come back to pick up the bike, the Service Rep that I had been dealing with sees me and slips away. I suddenly get nervous thinking maybe I'm about to get hit. I've seen The Godfather so I know.

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The new Service Rep is a tall serious looking guy, who frowns a lot, he was the hit man. He said, "We've had a problem with your bike, have you repainted the fairing?" "It must have had a stone chip." "After all the bike has 67K miles." He said some paint came off the fairing while they were washing it and it is all my fault. He offers me $15 off the price of the tire to compensate me and to allow me to paint the bike and maybe have dinner at the Ritz. Really.

Turns out the guy who washed the bike, used a pressure washer and blew the paint off the fairing. I finally talked to the owner and I settled for far less than I should have, oh well, stupid me.

So that's the economic stimulus plan. I stay at a hotel and get a tire in Colorado, have paint work done in California, spread money around, stimulate the economy, everybody, wins sort of.

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Oh yea, one more thing.

Why would a Harley Davidson Dealer even own a pressure washer?

Our Last Day in the Rockies

After our night in the tent during the storm, we dried and packed our stuff and headed over Slumgullion Pass and on to Lake City. We continued north bound on Hwy 149 then west on Hwy 50 till we caught Hwy 92.

Hwy 92 goes along the east side of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We rolled on and on, I didn't want to ever stop. Beautiful views good road meandering through the Colorado High Country.

When we got to Delta, Colorado, we decided we hadn't had enough high mountain country, so we headed into the Grand Mesa National Forrest.

Hwy 65 drops off the mesa into the canyon along Plateau Creek. The road winds like a snake along the floor of the canyon. We hit Hwy 70 and Plateau Creek hit the Colorado River. We rode along the Colorado River to Grand Junction Colorado. Our time in the Rocky Mountains was over.

The Nights Storm

When we got into Lake City, we saw that the nights storm kicked some butt.