Sunday, 28 May 2006
Last fall some members requested more rides to the north bay. With yellow pages and phone in hand Gregory and Dan came up with the Golden Egg Omelet House in Novato. Dan liked the menu he found on-line. A bold move, that: recommending a restaurant to which they’d never been.
Gregory, in breakfast club tradition, lead the ride to the restaurant he’d recommended. In an auspicious start to the ride Gregory blew a red light then stopped at a green light when it became obvious the rest of us weren’t going to follow him in his errant ways.
Shift lever repair
The next event was Julie pulling off to the side of the road on Junipera Serra when she discovered that her shift lever wasn’t where it was supposed to be as she tried to downshift for 19th Ave. Gregory helped redeem himself for the red light shenanigans by fixing Julie’s shifter. The stop also let Carl of the sometimes slipping clutch catch up with the group.
Breakfast was great. The group approved of the restaurant choice; it’ll stay on the list.
After breakfast people split up to go in various, sometimes overlapping, directions. I rode through some of the residential/ranching areas of Novato before hitting Novato Blvd out to Pt Reyes-Petaluma road for a quick jog to a road Dan had mentioned: Hicks Valley Rd. On Hicks Valley Rd I found the other Dan pushing his bike – he’s having either battery of alternator problems. The bike died when it hit idle speed and there wasn’t enough juice to get it going. I gave him a push and then he followed me out to the coast where we found Dan and Lorraine, Carl, and Dave getting gas.
Broken Bike Dan filled up at the gas station after disconnecting head lights to minimize current needs for the trip home. I gave him another push to get him started. He headed home taking a direct route.
The 4 remaining bikes headed south on SR 1 until the Fairfax-Bolinas road. Dan and Lorraine, Dave, and Carl took Ridgecrest Blvd at the Y a few miles up where some of the following pictures (from Dan) were taken.
I stayed on Fairfax-Bolinas road which – surprise, surprise – took me into Fairfax after passing Alpine Lake. In Fairfax I picked up Sir Francis Drake, taking it to 101, across the Golden Gate Bridge, and home.
The dam and Alpine Lake
Alpine Lake
Looking toward Fairfax and the bay
A delightful ride. Not too hot, not too cold. Lots and lots of twisties. And best of all, some roads I’d never been on (or hadn’t been on in such a long time I didn’t remember having been on them).