Greetings from the Bay Area Chapter of the Ride Motorcycle Club. It has been and exciting May here with several bike related items to relate to you. On April 28 Sprocket and I rode to Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma County to attend the annual Vintage Motorcycle Days 2001. We took 101 north to 37 and then to the raceway. When you were here, we passed by the track on the way to the wine country. There were several companies represented including Honda, Indian, Harley-Davidson and Triumph. I took several photo's of old restored bikes. Beautiful Indians and HD's. There were also several races of the older bikes throughout the day. A small crowd however. On May 12, my friend Eric who lives a few doors away on my street invited me to go on the Harley Owners Group (HOG) run to Chico. This was organized through the Vallejo chapter of which Eric is a member. We have become good friends of late. We left Richmond at 6:30 am after gassing up, and met the other riders in Vallejo. At 7am a group of 9 riders left Vallejo heading east on I-80 and proceeded to Vacaville where we added 3 more riders. Then on to I-505 north to I-5 and then to hwy. 32 east to Chico. We rode in at about 10:30. After registering and receiving the run pins/t-shirts/and raffle tickets, we headed on the poker run. The run took us east to hwy. 70 the Feather River canyon road and then back through the valley up to Black Butte Lake where we had dinner b-b-q and drinks. There were probably 400 bikes represented at this run. Great fun. Great people. Nice weather also. I got back about 8 PM. Eric stayed to spend the night up near Paradise, so I rode back with a friend of his who lives north of Vallejo. Then I took a 5 day trip to Oregon beginning on Sunday May 20. Eric offered to care for my cat while I was away. That would make this the first time I traveled since moving to Richmond. All the other vacations I took were spent at home fixing/painting etc. This was a much needed time away from home. I left Richmond crossing the Richmond Bridge at 5:30am. I rode north on hwy. 101 to the cutoff of hwy. 128 at Cloverdale. It was foggy the entire way so far, and quite chilly. Once on 128, the weather got better. There were no cars on the road so it really was a solo ride. A newly paved road made the ride all the more pleasurable. Stopped for gas and a coffee in Booonville, and then on to hwy. 1 north to hwy. 101 at Leggett. This is all redwood forest through this area all the way to Oregon. Stopped for lunch in Eureka, and then north on 101 to Gold Beach, Oregon. Got into town about 4:30, picked up my ticket for the Mail Boat ride I was going to take the next morning. Checked into my hotel, and relaxed. A shower and dinner, and I was ready for bed. Monday May 21, I met the boat at the mouth of the Rogue River for my 104 mile round trip up the river. This is a trip well worth your time. Great time, saw a bear, deer, bald eagles, osprey, various bird species, and turtles. The weather was warm, so the spray from the boat up the rapids was welcome. Quite a few fishermen also trying to catch salmon. Two fishermen did catch one each. A lunch on the return made it complete. Got back about 3:30. Then back on the bike up to Winchester Bay where I spent the night. Cute little town off the beaten path. Tuesday May 22 (happy birthday to me) I head north to Florence heading east on hwy. 126 through Eugene and up the Mckenzie River and Valley. Pretty country. I had hoped to take the old Oregon hwy. 242, but it had not opened yet after the winter. So I continued up 126 to 20 down to Bend where I had hotel reservations, and checked in. I took a ride down 97 to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument and visited a large obsidian flow. All the other access roads to the top of the crater were still closed (another bummer). Back to the hotel, took a shower, had cocktails, and then treated myself to a wonderful birthday dinner. Back to the hotel, and sleep. Wednesday May 23. A slight hangover, and bad bowels. Had breakfast at the hotel, and headed south on 97 to 138. I had checked with the State Police the day before regarding the road 372 around Mt. Batchelor and south, but was told it was not open. When I got to 138, another road closure told me I could not access Crater Lake from the north. So, I had to take 138 to 230 and then to 62. I was low on gas at Union Creek, and I knew there were no services at Crater Lake, so I gassed up in Prospect. Then back up 62 to the lake. The rim road was still closed also, so I just saw the lake from the south entrance. 20 years ago I had seen the lake, so it was not the first time I was visiting. Then back down 62 to Medford where I had reservations to spend the night. It was 93 degrees, very hot, and I was tired. I ate in my room, laid down to take a nap at 4:30, and woke at 3:30am. I got up, and decided to get an early start. Thursday May 24, I left Medford at 4:30 and took I-5 south to I-505 and got home at 10:30am. It was nice to get home to a cooler climate. Before I left, I bought a new set of highway pegs, so I could stretch my legs out. I also bought a "throttle rocker" which allows one to not always grip the throttle. I tried to find a cruise control of some kind, but couldn't find any. Sometimes bikes can get a locking screw mechanism, but nothing for the Aero. I will keep looking, though. I need a new seat, too. This one is not comfortable for long trips. Pete is taking me out for my birthday dinner tonight, so I am looking forward to that. Hope all is well, ride safely, and let me know if you have business in California.
Forgot to let you know the total number of miles for this trip was 1501. The most miles traveled in a single day was 452 from Richmond to Gold Beach.

Kemosabe