So I was originally planning to ride a bit yesterday, then join up with the
Oyster Ride. Unfortunately, fate would intervene. I managed to make it across the bridge to meet up with Spidey, DATV, Michael Moore, and others at Tam Junction. But when I got there I realized that I had left my pack...and my wallet...sitting on my garage floor. No license, no cash, no credit cards...that meant no ride. Ouch. After bumming $5 from Spidey for the bridge toll home (thanks Warren!) then discovering that the cash toll is now 6$ (lucky I had some change), I realized that Saturday was
not the day to ride. So I called my buddy Alfonso and told him to show up at my house on Sunday, bright and early, for some pre-ride caffeinated goodness.
Dawn broke this morning, and I was ready to go. Up at 7:30, into the shower, and then Alfonso showed up for his fix. A decent breakfast and 2 cappuccinos later, we were heading north, for the best winter riding roads known to human kind. We avoided Panoramic highway (thanks MMoore!) and headed out past Muir Woods to the coast. It was a brilliant day...sun, fairly warm, but with an odd offshore breeze blowing along the ridgelines. I had decided early on to take it easy, as I haven't been on a proper ride in more than 2 months, and this was sort of a shakedown cruise for DESMO Q, with her new fabricated-by-Joe tailchop kit. We took it easy into Stinson, got into 29 turns, and I lit the candle a bit. It was nice to burn it after a long absence, but I was definitely rusty. I managed to hit 2 false neutrals coming up the side of Tam, but kept it on the road. And there were plenty of wet spots in the trees, so I tried not to hang off much, and kept the speed down. That also allowed Alfonso to keep up...at least until we came to the tight stuff.
Very few cars to pass from Stinson to Olema/Pt Reyes Station, where we stopped for a bathroom break and to get some pastries. A lady came by with two huge Macaws. I snapped a phone picture of them, and she asked me if I'd like to have a picture of me with them. Of course! I don't mind giant green talking birds on my shoulder...
The one on my arm took a liking to the leather on my jacket and started trying to eat it. Luckily, her owner pulled her off before she could induce her own road rash...I've done enough of that myself with this jacket, thank you! As we were about to leave Pt Reyes Station, a CHP motorcycle cop rode by, obviously northbound on 1...our play would have to be seriously curtailed. Damn. Oh well, I had promised to slow down today anyway.
Off we went, into the great curves north of the Station. I tooled through them a bit, did some great 2nd and 3rd gear wheelies on the straights, and led the way until the trees came up again. Then we slowed it down, figuring the cop was somewhere around there. We got past Marshall without incident, got back into the trees, and then came the racetrack...
Those of you who ride with me know how I get on those
of Highway 1 before Tomales-Petaluma Rd... It's usually triple digits, knees down, and I'll see you at the end where we stop. But today that section of road was wet, I was rusty, and there was the prospect of cops just behind the bend. So I kept a very sane pace...only to be suddenly passed at close range and high speed by two guys on 1098's. Then several more guys passed...on GSXRs, 848's, Hondas...I figured I had run into the Sunday Morning crowd, but most of these guys were underequipped (wearing jeans, no less)...and none of them were on tards. A few of them made questionable passes on me, wandered into the oncoming lane, and nearly hit several oncoming motorcyclists...who managed to flip them off. I pulled right, slowed it way down, and waited for the squid squad to pass. I was tempted to light the fuse, repass them all, and show them what-for on my favorite stretch of road, but my better judgement kicked in. Fackin idiots.
I pulled up at Tomales-Petaluma Rd, watch the squids continue north, and waited for Alfonso. He wanted to try my Monster, and I figured Tomales-Petaluma would provide the perfect place for him to get a feel for an overpowered S4R with a short clutch lever, GP shift, and temperamental throttle. I jumped on his M750 and we were off. We got stuck behind several trailers, and the newfound power must have gotten to Alfonso's head. He started passing in places he'd never pass on his bike. We rounded the bend near Twin Bridge Rd, and he was stuck behind an RV. I came around the corner just in time to see him gunning it, getting into the left lane, and blasting up a rather infamous hill...three things ran through my mind:
1) Alfonso's going waaaaay too fast for a blind crest...
2) Oh crap, it's
THAT blind crest...the one that dog-legs right after the crest....the same one where Desmostro and umpteen others crashed...
and
3) The sign we put up to warn people of the impending turn is
GONE!
Alfonso disappeared over the crest of the hill...I kicked it down a gear, gunned it, and came over the hill just in time to see Alfonso skirt the edge of the shoulder with my rear tire....the
left shoulder. No oncoming traffic, no nightmare of twisted Ducati parts mixed with mangled Italian guy parts, no ambulances, no additional statistics. I breathed a sigh of relief, hit the gas hard, got past Alfonso, and slowed him down a bit then got him to pull over. He was nervous and excited...too close a call on someone else's bike, in what is arguably the worst turn in Northern CA. Needless to say, we switched back
Chileno was fun, if a bit wet. We ran up Wilson Hill and stopped for a bit at the top:
What a gorgeous day...
We ran down to Nicasio, up over Lucas Valley (also wet in a lot of places), and out to 101. Alfonso had told me about a pizzeria in Larkspur that he had fallen in love with. I've always been partial to Pizza Antica, but was willing to give this place a try.
Pizzeria Picco is, simply put, amazing. We had two margheritas...one with cow's milk mozzarella, and the other with real mozzarella di buffalo. Absolutely amazing, and better than Antica any day. Cheaper too! Alfonso insisted that we have ice cream...a vanilla soft serve with sea salt and Da Vero extra virgin olive oil...which caramelizes when it hits the cold of the ice cream. Absolutely stunning...
Guys, I think we found a potential new home for Marin Bike Night. This place has some outdoor seating, built-in heaters, bike parking on the street, and some of the best pizza I've ever had. I still had a food buzz as we weaved through the 101 traffic to the Golden Gate toll plaza. Such a kick-ass day!
