Ride, Saturday November 15th

O.K. Guys. here's what we have:

Tom (Antioch) says he's in for sure. Bonnie (Concord) says she is in. Gene (Milpitas) says he's in. Scott (Tracy) says maybe, depending on location.
Robert (Concord) says he was thinking of a ride down to Big Basin State Park, back up along the coast and over the Golden Gate Bridge.

The weather is supposed to be unseasonably warm and for once, that doesn't mean "too hot for comfort". It means in the 70's and this is November! (But no, Ashton Kucher won't be joining us.)

I'm thinking Robert's idea is a good one. We can head south out of a central Contra Costa County meet point down to Big Basin State Park. We can pick Scott and Gene up along the way to shorten their initial "ride to the meet point" and loop down through the beautiful redwoods of Santa Cruz County via 680, Crow Canyon Road, the San Mateo Bridge, . We can come back up on SR1 cutting through SF and cross the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin. Then, loop around, over the San Rafael Bridge to San Pablo Dam Road and back into Central Contra Costa and head off from there.

Here is why I see this as workable: We can pick up members or drop them off at points along the way as we are looping. Three of us can start (and end) in Central CC County. We can pick Scott up on 580. Gene might want to meet us in the vicinity of Hayward or Foster City. We will be coming around near other member's locations if they would wish to join.

Robert was the one that was thinking about this, so I don't want to step on his plans here. Robert, you are free to lead this if you would like, or at least to point out the side roads and other POIs you want on it.

Everyone get point your browsers to Yahoo maps, take a look at where Big Basin is and let me know what you think. I'll check back this afternoon or this evening and we'll take it from there. To make this easier, I'm going to copy this post to a new topic so respond HERE please.

I have some other ideas if this is not what the group would like to see.

P.S. The ride through Napa and Solano Counties yesterday was awesome. No cars, interesting two lanes and lots of trees hanging over the road while traversing rural countryside. The Bay Area has so many "unknown" and out of the way spots!

The route I was planning.....680 to Mission to 880 to 85 up to Saratoga Blvd/Hwy 9 [I take this route because I'm cheap and it saves the bridge toll] to 236 thru Big Basin which goes back to 9 down to Santa Cruz for lunch. [The Red Restaurant and Bar in the old Sana Cruz Hotel has been recommended. I have never been there but the menu looks reasonable. Or I also pack a lunch, the cheap thing again, and eat at the ocean along by Lighthouse State Beach]. Then back Hwy1 past the Cliff House over the Golden Gate and home.

Total is about 200 miles from Concord, give or take some.

I have never been a ride leader so I am not sure I want to assume that responsibility. What if I screw up??? Plus, we will not be on the scooter as my leg is still a little sore and the big motorcycle is more comfortable. I was planning on leaving Concord about 8:30 or so.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

Robert

Robert:

"Cheap" is not the appropriate term. Frugal is more appropriate. Ask me how I know that?

The leader only leads the way. And, checks to be sure everyone is behind them once in a while. Screwing up is actually difficult to do, especially if you are familiar with the route.

And, you have to keep the speed down to where everyone is comfortable which I don't mind. Just yesterday, I was lasered on 680 by a friendly CHP officer. For a moment after I saw him aiming his laser at me like a rifle, I was sweating because I had just pulled to an inside lane to pass a truck that was going too slow for my taste. I was moving pretty darn good. But alas, he didn't seem interested in me and I made it a point to keep my speed down to the limit for the rest of the day as penance and payment for my having not gotten a ticket.

Now, the last person - the tail gunner - well that is a different story. Ideally, the leader signals for lane changes and upcoming turns early. Everyone else, following in staggered formation at 4 sec intervals (2 between each bike, 4 between bikes on the same side of the lane) sees this and anticipates the change. The tail gunner then makes the move first, blocking upcoming traffic so everyone else can move over simultaneously. Even when this doesn't work, we all manage to get back together in due time. I think you held this position on the Ride for Kids route down 680 with us.

I am going to go and try and map the route that you have proposed for all to see. But, I am unclear on what your return route is after crossing the GG Bridge? Do you head on up to 37 Blackpoint and around the North Bay and back? Or, do you take the "short route" hit the San Rafael Bridge and come back over that way?

Here is what I came up with. It's a pretty long route. I'm getting 230 miles and 5 and a half hours travel time.

http://tiny.cc/Tt3qG

You have to ignore a couple of minor issues. For instance, I am not going through Cutting Blvd in Richmond - not if my life depended on it. I just can't get it to get off the map. (I'm not that good at these Google maps.)

Ditto for the loop in 85N in Saratoga that I can't get rid of and the weird way out of the restaurant in Santa Cruz over to hwy 1 either.

As to the return after the GG I take the Richmond San Rafael bridge then Richmond Parkway to 80 to 4 and home.

If this route is too long, an option might be to take 17 to Mt Herman Rd over to Felton then up 9 to 236 thru Big Basin then Skyline Blvd to 92 across the San Mateo bridge and home. Could stop at Alice's for lunch however with the good weather there will probably be 1000 motorcycles there.

I hope it's not too late to join in on this ride. Maybe I can come up and meet everyone in Saratoga. There's a Starbucks at 14410 Big Basin Way where Saratoga Ave joins Hwy 9. It's on the left-hand side of the street. (Point A on the image below.) I'll flag everyone down as you approach the intersection.

Sorry I've been so quiet lately. I've been short on time since I moved and haven't wanted to commit to any rides, but this one's reaching too far south for me to pass up. The ride through Big Basin sounds nice!

Kevin
Salinas, CA

Hey folks, I'd like to go BUT I have my 1st "Ride for Kids" meeting in Manteca at 9:00 a.m. Have an enjoyable and SAFE ride--I wish I was going with you!

Robert:

I'm not opposed to the length or time but didn't know what others might think. Much of it initially is freeway, which moves quickly. And, even at 5.5 hours plus 1.5 hours for lunch and rest stops, if we leave Concord at 8:30 as you have suggested, we'd be back by 3:30 which is plenty of time to beat sunset for those who don't like to ride at night. Even if we dawdle some, I believe that most folks can make it home by 5:00 PM.

Based on past comments, I was assuming that others may prefer a shorter time. I only posted the remark to elicit comments. We can adjust based on what others have to say.

You know, although I'd much rather ride the route that has been proposed, I'm wondering if any of us want to join CaptJohn? A few of us have attended the Ride for Kids programs. And, we have kicked around the idea of providing group support for next year's Ride for Kids in Fairfield. I'm telling you, it only takes one time seeing the kids who have/are benefiting from the program to convince you of its value.

Of course, CaptJohn hasn't asked us to join him at the meeting and maybe our presence is not of value in this particular endeavor. I'm sure he'll respond to this post and let us know. If he doesn't need our help/support, that would put us right back on the proposed trip to Big Basin/Santa Cruz and the GG Bridge. I doubt that anyone objects to that.

Will some other folks please weigh in here? What would you like to do. I feel like I'm talking to myself.

Tom H wrote:...I'm wondering if any of us want to join CaptJohn? A few of us have attended the Ride for Kids programs. And, we have kicked around the idea of providing group support for next year's Ride for Kids in Fairfield. I'm telling you, it only takes one time seeing the kids who have/are benefiting from the program to convince you of its value.

Of course, CaptJohn hasn't asked us to join him at the meeting and maybe our presence is not of value in this particular endeavor. I'm sure he'll respond to this post and let us know ...

You are all always warmly invited to participate on the "Ride for Kids" Task Force, and anyone that would like to be on that Task Force are invited to join me at the meeting on this Saturday, the 15th. The meeting is being held at "David & Sylvia's Restuarant", 1020 North Main Street, Manteca, CA 95336 (Back Entrance from Parking Lot). The task force leaders, for next years "Northern California" event, just returned from the "Task Force Leaders" Conference, and are going to spread the information they learned at the Redondo Beach meeting.

If you'd like to become a member of the "Ride for Kids" Task Force, you can attend this meeting OR you can email Jon Carlson, the Northern California "Ride for Kids" Coordinator, at jonswng@att.net OR you can call Jon at (925) 998-1111. Believe me they need all the help they can get. Along those lines, they need volunteers to work the "Ride for Kids" both at next months International Motorcycle Show in San Mateo. If you'd like to receive free admission to the event and work the booth for a four (4) hour shift, contact Jon. Task Force work begins in ernest after the first of the year.

Now (with all the above being said) if I were you, I'd take the ride to Santa Cruz If you'd like to join me at the Task Force meeting, send me a PM.

Sorry guys I have to work on the 15th.

Mike

Tom, I guess when you moved this discussion to the new area I no longer got any of these messages. I am all for sticking with the plan of going on the ride with Robert. It does not matter to me who leads it, or which way we will come back.
So, let me know what the group decides, route, and time and I will confirm.
Thanks,

Sounds like Bonnie and I will leave from Longs in Walnut Creek at @ 8:30, [be flexible as I have to drop off the dog at my daughters and I will have Karole with me!!] pick up Kevin in Saratoga and have a good rest of the day. Tom?? Jeff?? Scott?? Gene?? Others??

Robert,
I will wait patiently at Longs in WC @ 8:30. Don't worry if you are running a little late. I won't leave without you. If you need to reach me, my cell phone is 686-2424.

I really wanted to make this ride, but I just got notice of a board meeting on Saturday at 10:30 that I need to be at ( since I'm the secretary of the club ).

Drat!

It should be a beautiful ride, enjoy yourselves and ride safe!

Kevin,

We will meet you at Starbucks about 9:30ish. Looks like it will not be a very big group. Probably couldn't even call it a group. More like a gro.

Robert

Rob & Bonnie & Kevin:

Scott is elsewhere engaged tomorrow.

John has his Ride for Kids meeting.

Jeff never weighed in for this one.

Mike has to work.

I just called Gene and left a message on his cell to find out if he is still planning to ride with us and, if so, where we should plan on picking him up along the way.

I don't recall anyone else expressing an interest but, as always, we'd be happy to have them along. They can meet us at Long's to start or let us know where they'll catch up to us.

Do you still want to hit the restaurant in Santa Cruz or would like to brown bag it at the lighthouse? I could go either way. Maybe we should let Bonnie be the deciding factor. :-)

Bonnie, IIRC, you have a GPS so you could put in the route I laid out and provided a link to based on what Rob described and the meet point for Kevin. But change the Richmond route to Rob's suggestion if you would. I was trying to get us over to San Pablo Dam Road and back to 24 that way. He said above that he hits the San Rafael Bridge to 80 to 4 which certainly works for you and I since we both use 4 to get home. I'll see if I can Google map it again and post a link.

Otherwise, I'll see you all tomorrow morning at Long's in WC 8:30 AM.

If you find email as disfunctional as I do for setting up a ride and want to converse further, call me on my cell phone @ (925) 550-7602 most any time.

O.K.

I succesfully laid out the route in Google Maps! Yeah!

Then, I created this tiny URL which seems to work:

http://tinyurl.com/5m3wun

But, since I failed to log into Google maps first, it appears that I cannot save my map to my files. Booooooo.

So, I've posted the link here. And, I sent it as an email from Google to Bonnie and Gene, but I didn't have regular email addresses for Rob or Kevin, just PMs. And, I can't put PMs from our BAMR site over to the mail function at Google.

It's all so frustrating. But alas, I thin anyone on this forum can view our planned route with the link above and elect to participate based on that.

Right now, Rob, Bonnie and I are meeting at Long's in WC on Tice Valley Blvd 11/15 @ 08:30.

We will ride to Saratoga to pick up Kevin at the Starbucks indicated on the map at about 09:30.

Then, we head over to Big Basin Redwoods State Park and on down to Santa Cruz where we can dine at the Red Restaurant or eat over at the Lighthouse Field State Beach (we can decide in the morning if you would like).

From there, we head up hwy 1 all the way through SF and across the GG Bridge.

Traveling up 101 North, we'll catch the San Rafael/Richmond Bridge across to I80, head north the SR4 and proceed east back to Concord.

From the SR4/I680 junction we can all head off to our ultimate destinations - home.

Sounds like a winner. The Red Restaurant looks good, or depending on the time and how hungry we are, there is a place called Gazo's about 20 miles out of Santa Cruz on Hwy 1 that is motorcycle friendly and has gas. It is mentioned on the Pashnit web site. Karole will probably want to eat at a restaurant.

See you in the morning. Should be an absolutely perfect day.

Robert

OK! My opinion re the Lighthouse~ I hate the road into the place. Last time we had a very narrow area to turn around and I avoid gravel as much as I avoid rain. I will be riding the X9 and it isn't as easy to handle as the Burgman at very low speeds.
Lunch? Depending on the time of day and when people are hungry for lunch will probably be the deciding factor. If possible, I would like to stop at Whale Tail City in Davenport either for lunch or coffee. David took us there and the food is great, as is their bakery.
Also, I agree with Rob about Alice's, considering the weather, it will be packed. If not, we can always stop.
I am really looking forward to the ride tomorrow.
See y'all then,

Gene will be joining us at the Starbucks in Saratoga along with Kevin.

Tom H wrote:

[. . .] Right now, Rob, Bonnie and I are meeting at Long's in WC on Tice Valley Blvd 11/15 @ 08:30.

We will ride to Saratoga to pick up Kevin at the Starbucks indicated on the map at about 09:30. [. . .]

It sounds like Gene and I will be waiting to meet up with the three of you around 9:30AM at the Starbucks in Saratoga (14410 Big Basin Way). I don't mind where we eat for lunch. I have cell numbers for Tom and Bonnie. Mine's 1-209-918-2587.

Should be fun.

Kevin
Salinas, CA

Bonnie, Robert:

In my post yesterday, I said the Long's on Tice Valley Blvd in WC. But, I was thinking of the Long's on South California Blvd,where we have met before. My map from yesterday reflects the wrong one as well. I am sending this to let you know, same time, same place, as always.

I will call Bonnie to confirm this morning, but I don't have a phone number to call Robert.

I guess we can work it out.

Here is a link to a corrected map. I fixed the Long's location. I took out Lighthouse Field State Beach. I fixed the route through Richmond to use Richmond Parkway.

http://tinyurl.com/56c4wo

What a great ride and a great day. Those of you that didn't go missed out. Weather was fabulous. Company was wonderful. The redwoods were beautiful. We had to cut out early as we had an engagement to return to this evening, but still had a great time.

Thanks to those that came along.

Robert

Yes, today's ride was great. The windy road through the giant redwoods in Big Basin Park was the highlight of the ride.

We'll have to give thought to making Santa Cruz a destination trip next year. It seems like there's lots to do and see in that town.

Kevin
Salinas, CA

Let me second Robert and Kevin's review of the ride. The weather was perfect for riding. I had never been on the road to Big Basin and it was well worth the twists and turns. When Tom and I got to the Hwy 92 turn-off in the way home, the traffic was backed up on Hwy 1 so we opted to take the path of least resistance. Definitely a trip the group should keep in mind for next year.