Mark in Hollister

The infamous Pete Roper will be meeting with some folks in the SOMA district around 6:30 tonight at Rickenbackers which is on 2nd near Mission. So come on out and have a and BS.

Probably not as I couldn't even manage to get a headcount of all who made it. I think it was 13. Seriously, I am amazed at how many people came from 200 miles away just to have lunch and BS with other Guzzisti. I guess I better get off my lazy ass and make it to a Monthly breakfast in Winters one of these days. I don't know about an official rally, but I made a suggestion on wildguzzi that we do a bi-annual lunch there in the spring and fall. To avoid the hot indian summer and other (Nevada and San Diego) rallys, the first sunday in November was suggested. That would be the 6th. Whaddya all think? P.S. Glad you made it back to Steve's OK. That was one bald-ass tire you had there and I'm sure it was worse by the time you got to Steve's. He's a good guy and a looooong time Guzzisti.

Glad you can make it, Lex. I think there are 2-3 people coming up from SoCal as well. I'm expecting at least 4 riding down from Hollister so should be a decent turnout. See-ya Sunday

There are two places I would reccomend. The first is the cozy cup cafe. You'll be coming into Hollister on San Felipe Rd (off 156), which will turn into San Benito St when you get into town. At 4th st. ( the main intersection) turn right and it will be halfway up the block on your right just before the car dealership. Hal and I ate there once so he probably remembers how to get there. The second place is the Country Rose. I haven't actually dined there, but everyone keeps telling me how good it is. Follow the same directions but keep on going past the cozy cup for 2-3 blocks and it will be on the right. It's kind of in a residential area. What time do you expect to get to Hollister? I wasn't planning on having breakfast but may change my mind.

We've already invited people on the socal guzzi board and posted on the wildguzzi site. I thought there was a central cal guzzi board but couldn't find it. We had planned on lunch at the Parkfield Cafe at noon. I suspect we'll get there around 11:30 and have a few minutes to look around and bs. Hope to see you there.

Won't bother me. I don't know about the rest of the crew, though. Looks to be mild weather. Weather.com says a high of 75 on Sunday. Thats unheard of for this time of year.

That Sucks Dave. As a Field Service Manager in a former life, I can feel your pain. Sometimes you gotta go no matter what. Not to worry. The riding season is just getting started. Since you'll miss this one, I nominate you to organize the next ride up in the hills somewhere as soon as you get back.

Well this is one of those runs where you have no idea how many will show up. I am guessing 3-5 riding out of Hollister and 2-4 coming up from the South. But who knows. Anyhow, I think an 8:45 departure from Hollister will work. Meet at the Starbucks (Mapquest link here) next to the Nob Hill Grocery store on Airline Hwy (25) just south of Nash Rd. I suggest you get gas first at Safeway next door or Chevron at the intersection of Nash and Airline. There is no gas for 100 miles once we leave. People can ride at their own pace and we will regroup at the end of 25 (or whenever we feel like it) and leave there around 10:00. From there, 40 miles on Peachtree/Indian Valley into San Miguel for gas and then the last 23 miles to Parkfield. Not sure what people want to do after lunch. I know most people will have come a long way and may just want to blast home on the freeway. We'll work that out over lunch.

Some Bay Area and Norcal folks are planning to ride down to Parkfield on Sunday June 12th. It occurred to me that it would make a good place for a lunch with Central Coasters and maybe some from LA. About the same distance from there to San Fran as it is to Burbank. Nice roads headed in every direction and an interesting spot to meet. The ride in from San Miguel is great and I hear the road coming in off Hwy 46 is nice as well. We expect to arrive there between 11:30 and have lunch around noon. If you plan on coming, post and let me know. If it turns out to be a large group, I'll call ahead and see about reserving tables. This post also duplicated on socal guzzi site.

I think you'll need to leave saturday if you're going this way. Better to just head over Pacheco Pass and meet in Hollister. Alternatively, we could set a meeting spot enroute. I'm thinking we should have a few meeting spots. One could be in Hollister, One at the end of 25 (Junction 198) and another in San Miguel. That would give us slow guys a chance to catch up and provide a place for people coming from other areas to join in. If we left Hollister at 8:15 to 8:30, that should allow us to depart from the 25/198 junction by 9:45. From there it's 40 miles to San Miguel. Get gas and depart at 11 AM. We'd probably get to Parkfield around 11:30 or a bit after. I think these are pretty conservative times. Maybe too much wait time. Not bad though unless it's really hot, which I would expect in the morning. I'll throw some posts up on the other sites and see what kind of interest we have.

I thought so too so I looked them up on the web. Two of the original 3 members are dead but not from Drugs. One had an unusual chronic illness that he suffered with for many years and I can't recall about the other one. One of them lived in Carmel Valley. Oddly enough they have been playing on/off for years. Man, I can still recall what that record sounded like on my first good stereo. It was groundbreaking stuff at the time.

I heard on a music forum that Blue Cheer was going to play there. Another reason for ear protection.

I'd be happy to organize another visit to Parkfield. What might be fun is to meet some of the central coast Guzzisti there for lunch. San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara should be doable and maybe even some of the LA guys. How's Sunday June 12th sound? Too soon? We should pick a date and then we can post on the socal and central cal sites. If you wana go, what is your preference on the non-pavement section? It's not everyone's cup of tea and there are other alternatives for getting back to the Bay Area.

Jumped on the bike Monday around 8 AM with the only thought being to go south on 25. There are a number of options one has in terms of other roads and loops back to Hollister and I figured I'd sort it out as I went along. Today I had more time than usual so I thought I'd go somewhere I hadn't been yet; Parkfield, Ca. The Earthquake Capital of the world. Population 18. What a great destination. First you get the joy of 65 miles on Hwy 25, then 40 on Peachtree/Indian Valley Rd. to get to San Miguel. I can count on one hand the number of cars I saw in that 100+ miles, but the number of curves is staggering. Got gas in San Miguel and made a brief stop at the historic mission to snap a picture. Now I had to backtrack a few miles on Indian Valley to get to Vineyard Canyon Rd that leads to Parkfield. What a great road this is. Mostly big sweeping curves that allow you to take in the great views of this lovely area. The pavement is exceptional considering how few people use it. In the 23 miles to Parkfield I saw several bikes, but not a single car. Just before you enter town, this sign remids you that you are on the San Andreas fault. Parkfield is quite a town for having only 18 residents. A hotel and large restaurant serve food to tourists and the many USGS scientists who are there to study seismic activity. I was about 45 minutes early for the opening of the restaurant, so wandered about, took some pictures, and chatted briefly with some other motorcyclists before heading out. The Restaurant An unusual fountain at the Inn. An old grain silo...I think. Now it was time for another decision. The only way out of Parkfield other than the way I came has an unpaved stretch of road. I don't know anyone who has gone that way and didn't know what it was like. All I knew was that it came out on 198 headed to Coalinga and I thought that would make a good place to get some lunch and allow me take another great road back to Hollister. The road was one lane and paved for the first 7-8 miles or so and then I saw the sign that said pavement ends, and another that said not passable in wet weather. The gravel/dirt looked pretty smooth, so I figured I'd check it out. What I found out is that Californias, while being great road bikes, are not good dual sports. The BT-45's are particularly bad for non-pavement. I kept it about 20MPH most of the way until it started to climb and got slower from there. Going uphill, the road was about wide enough for a pickup and thats it. Very tight curves made it hard to enjoy the view so I stopped for this photo-op. After I reached the summit, the road quality worsened and it was was quite steep going down the first mile or two. This was ranch country and far enough out there that they don't bother with fences so you need to share the road with cattle who like to lay down in your path. This was one ranch entrance I thought was particularly interesting. A few miles past this spot I came to a cattle guard with pavement on the other side. There were a dozen cows laying in front of the cattle gaurd and I practically had to nudge one with the front wheel before they would get up and move. Stupid Cows. The unpaved section ended up being 8.5 miles but took a fair amount of time. From there it was a nice ride into Coalinga where I ate and then took Las Gatos / Coalinga Rd back to 25 and Hollister, which is about 95 miles. The whole trip was about 260 miles and not one on a freeway. Other than when I was in one of the 3 towns, I probably didn't see more than a dozen cars. Fun Ride.

My first AZ rally was great. Good roads, scenery, and great hosts. Here are a few pics. My camping neighbors. Dang it was cold Friday night! View from the rocks above the campground View of Lake Watson from the dining gazebo.

Mike, I'm planning to go this year, but may be going to LA earlier in the week before heading to Prescott. Not sure about that yet. I have the whole week off work, so there are lots of options. I think Hal in San Jose is also planning to go.

A can't miss is Buddy Guy's Legends. BB king also has a club on the near S. side, but I can't recall the name of it. You can expect to see excellent performers in these popular spots. It's been a while since I've been back but the last time I was there, you could pay a single cover and hop among the smaller clubs in the Lincoln Park area on the North side. Some of these clubs are very small and don't have big-name acts, but all good bands and the atmosphere is usually very lively. I have heard that the west side has less touristy blues clubs these days, but I haven't been to any. club listing Hopefully someone who still lives there can provide some more details. Chicago is a great city. If you like art, check out the art institute. The Museum of Science and Industry is also a must if you like that sort of thing. And don't forget to sample some deep dish pizza.

I was really looking forward to this one, but unfortunately I'll be returning from Kuai the Saturday of the rally. I thought of jumping on the bike the minute I got home, but figured the wife would frown on it. Hope to make the LA rally in the summer though. Has a date been set for that one yet?

I am planning to make up some Guzzi T-shirts. Link here for details. T-shirt thread

My original thought was to go south out of Hollister and just take whatever side roads off 25 that caught my eye. Then I figured, I really need to explore some new roads. Decided to head North, take some backroads up to San Jose and work my way up to Palo Alto. From there take Page Mill Rd. to Alpine Rd. to Pescadero Rd. to the Coast Hwy 1. I left around 9:30 as the temp hit 45. I don't have great gear for cold weather, but figured the sun was shining briight and it would soon be getting much warmer. No such luck. About 8 miles from home, I hit heavy fog and the temp dropped to 40. With the fog condensing on me, I got freakin cold pretty quick. About 20 miles from home the fog lifted, but I was chilled enough at that point I needed to take a short break and thaw out. The back road up to San Jose was nice, but occasional mud in some blind turns kept me from keeping the pace I had intended. At least by now it was 50 degrees and that was comfortable. Page Mill is a great road, but lots of cars and bicycles take the fun out of it. I'll bet its wonderful on a work day. Alpine is pretty much a 1st gear ride, with lots of switchbacks, no center line, almost entirely in the shade (wet), and plenty of debris on the roadway. Slow but very scenic. Pescadero Rd from Alpine all the way to 1 is fantastic. Most of the road is well paved with lots of variety in the turns. Later it gets deep into the Redwoods and quite spectacular. Once I hit 1, it was 30 miles into Santa Cruz where I got lunch and headed home. About 200 miles altogether. A bit chilly, but great fun.

It's kinda hard to get a good ride in before noon these days especially when we're a 100 miles away from each other. Next time, I'll leave more notice. I just noticed you got a Tuono. When did that happen?

I was thinking about waiting till the sun warmed things up a little. Got any ideas on a place to ride where we could meet somewhere in the middle? Calaveras rd maybe? If you wanna meet somewhere off 680, I could probably be there by 10:30. The riding is great down this way, but it's a long way for you.

Yeah, I know its short notice, but I had plans and they fell through and the wife says go ahead...and it's dry...and I haven't been riding much the last month...and I just gotta go somewhere. If someone has an idea, let me know. Otherwise, I guess I'll just go get lost somewhere.

Don't know about Austin, but you're not that far from MPH in Houston.

A few more pics from the dam ride. No giant pancake pics though... October ride 04