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Twenty Years on Two Wheels
Today is a special day for me. Twenty years ago today I walked into Richmond Honda to check out a 1984 Kawasaki GPZ550. Within an hour I was heading outside with my new purchase ready to take on the world. Despite my parent’s misgivings I have survived to see another day…several others in fact. Today I celebrate twenty years of great adventures, scary mishaps, incredible friendships and over 340,000 miles of riding.
To truly celebrate such an occasion I thought a long ride was appropriate. So with no particular destination in mind I saddled up the Blackbird and hit the road. I originally intended to get an early start but instead ended up doing some chores around the house and eventually left around 11am.
For some reason I decided to point the beast inland and head out to Walnut Creek. I then veered off toward Antioch and Highway 160. As I rolled along the road I began to link up this ride to many I’d taken in the past. Almost in another lifetime I recall being married. My ex-wife was living in Walnut Creek when we first started dating. Quite often I found myself riding back and forth from Berkeley to Walnut Creek along Highway 24. Later it was an even longer ride out to her parents place in Antioch. Hmm, interesting memory.
As I topped the Antioch Bridge and took in the sweeping view of the delta I recalled the rides I took with my buddy Tony back when we both owned Ninja 600’s. We would cruise on up to Twitchell Island to spend some time on my parent’s houseboat. It was great fun to wind our way through the delta along the levee roads.
Once again I find myself winding my way up deeper into the delta on the levee roads. At Isleton I take a tangential road out into the middle of nowhere just to enjoy the scenery and to get off the beaten path a bit. Though the sky is overcast and gray I’m having a blast wicking the XX up to triple digit speeds and then back down into the basement for the tricky little decreasing radius corners. My riding skills have definitely improved since those bad old days on the Kawasaki’s!
I double back to Rio Vista, stop for fuel and then motor on out Montezuma Road. A real flood of memories fills my head as I cruise out past the incredibly green hills. Here and there the Spring lambs bounce around the fields as I fly by. Somewhere back in the early 90’s I entered my first endurance rally. The Cal 24 Hour Rally took me on these roads and many more. Many of my favorite roads were discovered as I built up major calluses on my butt while riding those rallies. This was one of them. In the Spring the hills are rich in fresh grass and the lambs everywhere. Unfortunately progress has invaded and now there are giant windmills on the hilltops and housing developments spreading out from what were once the city limits of Rio Vista.
Since I’m on the Blackbird I decide to follow 113 up to Dixon and then Davis. This straight line road is perfect for airing out the big bike. I watch as the speedo climbs way past the center mark and well into triple digit numbers. I never tire of the acceleration; it gives me goose bumps every time I do this!
I cross Davis and head out past Winters towards Lake Berryessa. Skirting the lake I think back to the many rides I’ve had with my friend Greg up here. We used to get together on Monday’s so we could play on Wooden Valley, 121 and 128. Lower Chiles will forever remain on my top 10 of local roads. Today I skip it though deciding to take Berryessa/Knoxville road and the Pope Valley. It’s all about big sweepers today. Whoo hoo!
For the past few miles I’d been considering following Highway 128 all the way out to the coast. As I rolled into Calistoga I decided instead to veer off and take the Petrified Forest Road. Though 128 ranks way up on the list of favorites I do like to mix things up a bit. It’s been ages since I rode this way and I figured today I would stray from my usual routes.
I soon found myself peeling off on Porter Creek Road which in turn lead me to Mark West Springs. Now for sure I was heading to the coast. River Road was a favorite of mine way back when I had my second bike, the Ninja 600. I had a girlfriend whose parents lived up here. That was in fact tied to one of the craziest stunts I’d ever pulled off. On 4th of July 1986 I found myself leaving Guerneville in the late afternoon. I was supposed to be joining some friends up on Grizzly Peak to watch fireworks and I was running way late. Along the way home some guy in a black and white Mustang wanted me to stop and sign an autograph. I chose to ignore him and go away. It took me 17 miles but I finally lost him. Yikes! Young and dumb was I.
When I reached the end of River Road I turned north for a quick run up to Jenner. I wanted to take a gander at the mouth of the river and see the ocean from up on the bluff. If I had more time I would have gone up to Meyers Grade but unfortunately daylight was burning so I turned south.
Highway 1 holds so many memories for me it’s impossible to commit them all to paper or .html as the case may be. The Sunday Morning Ride, The Cal 24 Hour Rally, The Wednesday night ride, Steve Mitoma and the Performance and Design shop rides, Willow Creek Road (pavement ends 500’) and my GSX-R1100. The flood of memories as I ride this road is almost too much!
I turn inland at Bodega Bay to enjoy Bay Road, my favorite bypass. Back on Highway 1 I head into Valley Ford where once again I take a bypass out toward Dillon Beach before rejoining Highway 1 in Tomales. By now the odometer is indicating well over 200 miles since I left the house this morning and my stomach is reaching the really, really empty point. For the first time in all these years of riding Highway 1 I stop for a meal at Tony’s in Marshall. I’ve always wanted to stop here but for some reason I’ve never been able to have a meal here. Today is the day.
I watch the sun drop lower toward the horizon as I chow down on fresh cracked crab. How fresh? This guy was wiggling in the bottom of a basket as I pulled into the parking lot. Now he’s steaming on my plate. Yeah, that fresh!
After diner I air out the Double X as I head on down the coast. For a while I have to rein it in because I’m catching up to a local Sheriff who’s actually doing a pretty good job driving the twisties. He pulls off at Millerton and I zoom off toward Point Reyes Station. I soon find myself in the groove riding Highway 1 as I’ve done so many times before. It’s almost second nature at this point. Graveyard straight, Five Brooks, Dogtown, 13 turns, the lagoon. I stop briefly at the bottom of Mt. Tamalpais to shoot a couple pictures of the sinking sun before making a hard and fast run up to the top.
I reach a decent turnout up near the top of the mountain just in time to catch the last rays of the day. The Farallon Islands stand out in the near distance while the sun plays hide and seek behind some clouds out on the horizon. In a matter of minutes the large disk slowly settles down into and behind the ocean leaving me little in the way of twilight.
I finish up my day’s ride by zooming back down the Panoramic Highway into Mill Valley and then onto the freeway home. I pull into the driveway as the clock shows 7pm. Eight hours, 350+ miles and an incredible day of riding. What more could you ask for as a celebration of twenty years of riding?
Thanks to the many folks who’ve shared the ride…Greg, Tony, Steve, Wendy, Lisa, Heather, Jeff, Peter, Kari, Paula, Ray, Wade, Erik, Evan, Ernie, Henrik, Albert, Michael, Elliot, Edward, Lisa, Chuck, Heidi, Tanis, Sarah, Carolyn, Russ, Mike, Wendy, Morris, Elise, Paul, Tom, Will, Doug, Gretchen, Denise, Gary, Kathy, Byran, John, Marc, Peter, Doug, Earl, Melinda, Marla, Steve, Marcus, Tanya, Tony, Steven, Chuck, Doc, Harry, and probably a host of others who I can’t recall at this particular moment.
Here’s to another twenty great years!
Craig |