Santa Cruz mountains with Eds78 and TomMLC

[Guest]

Finally my first group ride! I've been told I'm a bit anal so if I report too many boring things I apologize!

On Sunday Eds78 and TomMLC met at my house near HWY 17 and Hamilton and I talked them into letting me lead the way for my first "group ride".

We got on HWY 17 heading South and got off again after just about five miles at Black Road, and then took old San Jose/Santa Cruz up to Mountain Charlie Road. Old SJ/SC road is a bit tight, mostly 2nd and 3rd gear (30 MPH posted) but I really like this ride. It's just minutes from my house (in the flat valley) and then I feel like I'm deep in the redwoods. We followed this to Summit road where we turned right (north).

Then where Summit meets Black Road again we took a left and continued to Boulder Creek. It's mostly downhill into the Big Basin and posted speed limit is 35 MPH. This stretch is a bit faster with some tricky corners. In Boulder Creek when we came to HWY 9 we made a right and went North to Skyline, aka HWY 35.

I had designed this route to beat the traffic, mid-day on a Sunday, and I think it worked out pretty well. It's fun blasting uphill in the twisties when there is no one in front of you. A couple times I thought I was going too fast but I looked back and Eds78 was right with me with Tom not too far behind. I know I sometimes ride like I wish I was in MotoGP - I've got sport bike in my veins!

Just past Page Mill Road on HWY 35 there is a scenic view/rest area and we got a bicyclist to take this picture.



Tom had never stopped at Alice's restaurant in Woodside so that was our target. However, when we arrived we were there a bit early for lunch and I wanted to ride some more first so I talked them into taking HWY 35 to the 92 to meet the surf in Half Moon Bay, and then head back on HWY 84 back to Alice's. I forgot to time it but I think it took use less than the 90 minutes I had estimated to do this loop, even with lots of traffic on HWY 92.

The weather was perfect, by the way, but a bit cool on the coast doing 75 MPH.

We followed HWY 1 south to HWY 84 to "La Honda", after a brief stop and San Gregorio State Beach. I snapped a picture of Tom waiting for me.



Oops. I forgot: We left Eds78 at the gas station in Woodside, when he decided he wanted to head home.

HWY 84 again was a nice ride. Although Tom said his hand hurts from uphill twisties. Sadly for him it's really my favorite type of ride on my big 1100 and that is why I picked the routes I did. Next time we'll do more flat, Tom!

We arrived back at Alice's and had a nice meal. Don't shoot me for ordering the "Harley" burger. It just sounded good, with bacon and sausage, I just had to try it. It was way too big, but of course I ate it all. And I think I can still taste the garlic fries. Here is a shot of Tom just before we rode off.



Another memory lapse: Since my starter clutch appears to be dying fast, I warned the guys if they let me ride with them we might have to push start my bike! Well, the only time I needed help was in front of my house. I pushed it twice and then two more times with Tom and Ed pushing we got her fired up. She had been sitting all day so she needed some good luvin'/pushin'. The rest of the day I either parked facing downhill or the starter clutch decided to be nice. I was glad not to ruin the day for anyone. Having a bad R/R for months taught me how to ride without a starter so no biggie.

All and all a nice day. Total time was about 4.5 hours, including lunch. I think we did about 120 miles. I'd do it again in a hearbeat!

Take care,
-Bob

[Tom MLC]

Finally my first group ride!

On Sunday Eds78 and TomMLC met at my house near HWY 17 and Hamilton and I talked them into letting me lead the way for my first "group ride".

I had designed this route to beat the traffic, mid-day on a Sunday, and I think it worked out pretty well. It's fun blasting uphill in the twisties when there is no one in front of you. A couple times I thought I was going too fast but I looked back and Eds78 was right with me with Tom not too far behind. I know I sometimes ride like I wish I was in MotoGP - I've got sport bike in my veins!

Just past Page Mill Road on HWY 35 there is a scenic view/rest area and we got a bicyclist to take this picture.

Tom had never stopped at Alice's restaurant in Woodside so that was our target. However, when we arrived we were there a bit early for lunch and I wanted to ride some more first so I talked them into taking HWY 35 to the 92 to meet the surf in Half Moon Bay, and then head back on HWY 84 back to Alice's. I forgot to time it but I think it took use less than the 90 minutes I had estimated to do this loop, even with lots of traffic on HWY 92.

The weather was perfect, by the way, but a bit cool on the coast doing 75 MPH.

We followed HWY 1 south to HWY 84 to "La Honda", after a brief stop and San Gregorio State Beach. I snapped a picture of Tom waiting for me.

HWY 84 again was a nice ride. Although Tom said his hand hurts from uphill twisties. Sadly for him it's really my favorite type of ride on my big 1100 and that is why I picked the routes I did. Next time we'll do more flat, Tom!

We arrived back at Alice's and had a nice meal. Don't shoot me for ordering the "Harley" burger. It just sounded good, with bacon and sausage, I just had to try it. It was way too big, but of course I ate it all. And I think I can still taste the garlic fries. Here is a shot of Tom just before we rode off.

All and all a nice day. Total time was about 4.5 hours, including lunch. I think we did about 120 miles. I'd do it again in a hearbeat!

Take care,
-Bob

Well it's always more fun to ride with fellow GS'ers. I'm glad to have met these two guys recently, and almost simultaneously. I always new there were GS enthusiasts lurking in the area.

Bob (littleroot) led the way. Talk about the road less traveled! I have lived and riden around here for 30+ and never put rubber on some of these roads. Nice going Bob!

And I alway thought of Alice's Restaurant as a Harley hangout. I got that one wrong. Ther were hundreds of bikes there. Every make & model you could name. That's where I spotted a chick on a blue '81 GS750 or 1100. I'm gonna hunt her down. She'll be on the forum soon. You'll see.

Uhh, BTW, about that "Tom not far behind" stuff. Well I was just enjoying the scenery. Hey, Bob forgot to mention, we saw Llamas! No schmidt!

Ed, I hope you get that rear tire fixed soon. Bob, we gotta fix your starter clutch asap.

Here's a few pics I took. Two comments. It's a sure bet Ed's bike is running lean. Gotta help him with intake o-rings. And that second-hand smoke in the backround is what we lovingly call "The Bay Area" (cough, cough). Gotta love it!

[Sandy]

Sounds like you had a great ride. I sure love the roads in and around that area. That picture of Alice's sure brings back memories from about 20 years ago when we were on a ride to Santa Cruz to visit a buddy. There's a couple of squids probably still talking about the pair of crazy canucks the passed them on 84 at about 100mph on the outside of left hander. Yeah, it was pretty stupid thing to do, but they earned it. Long story, Tom, remind me at the rally to tell you about it. It gets better after few beer.

[littleroot]

[QUOTE=Tom MLC;1056836]And that second-hand smoke in the backround is what we lovingly call "The Bay Area" (cough, cough). Gotta love it!

Ah go easy on our fair cities. It was a pretty clear day considering the heat. You could see the SF skyline, and it's the first time I've ever seen it from that spot.