Nice ride today

[fret not]

To fix a flat in a tubeless tire you need to carry a tube.  Otherwise it is nearly impossible to seat the bead of the tubless tire.  Not so hard with a tube. 

[fret not]

And yet another nice ride yesterday!  Four of us left the Denny's Diner in Newcastle about 10:00 am and wandered north through the foothills and angled down toward the valley floor and crossed the dam at the Camp Far West reservoir and rode on up to Marysville and across the Sacramento River, through Yuba City and west on Highway 20 for a few miles to the turnoff for Sutter.  Sutter is a small town that seems lost in the 1950s, and is nestled near the south eastern foot of the Sutter buttes.  We have done this ride before but had not measured the distance around the Buttes, so this time we did and found it's 42 miles to go from Sutter, around the Buttes, and back to Sutter.  Fortunately there is a pretty good Mexican grill (restaurant and bar) where we filled up with a nice meal and a Mexican beer. 

To return home we took Highway 20 toward Grass Valley which is mainly flat and straight on the valley floor but begins to rise and fall as it winds up into the foothills.  It is a pretty nice road now, but 30 years ago and before it was a narrow and rough road with frequent tight turns up in the hills, so it is much improved and a joy to ride if there is no traffic in the way.  All in all it was a very pleasant way to spend a few hours on a beautiful sunny day.  It was raining two days ago and will again tonight, so we were fortunate to catch the break in the weather.

[fret not]

Well, Friday!  We again had breakfast at the Coloma Club in Coloma.  Coloma is famous for being the spot where Johan Sutter had a water powered lumber mill operated by John Marshall, and it was John Marshall that found gold right there in the river.  This started the gold rush of 1849.  It is mostly a state park now, but just north out of 'town' just across the river is where the Coloma Club  and a few other businesses are situated.  Again we took the Marshall grade up to Georgetown and on east to Icehouse Rd. and back down Hwy. 50 to Placerville where we went on some back roads that lead back to Coloma and the Coloma Club for an afternoon refreshment.  Three of us this day, which to my mind is about the best number for a group ride.  Two works very well also.  Two KLR 650s and a Ducati Panigale this time.

Going over the same route might seem like a boring activity but the road changes through the seasons and depending on the level of activity of the loggers.  I think it's rather like practicing yoga, where you do the same exercises or poses every time and like my friend, Rick, says, "it like a mental enema" and clears out your mind.  Rick was in the Army in Viet Nam back when that was happening and has a significant dose of PTSD, so these rides are very welcome therapy for him especially but for me too.

[fret not]

Chilly beginning to the day at 9:00am.  Frozen bird bath and animal water pans as I started my KLR650 to let it warm up.  But when I put it in gear the engine went dark.  After a few attempts to get on my way and each time the gear lever is engaged the engine dies.  I had read about the side stand safety lock outs on many bikes and made a little 'jumper' to eliminate the safety switch, and things looked up from there.  Into gear and on my way in the frosty morning.  My finger tips got pretty cold by the time I was going up the American River Canyon section of Hwy 49 on my way to meet up with my friends, Rick and Joe at the Coloma Club, our frequent meeting place.  After a leisurely breakfast and warm up time we set off toward Pilot Hill and the Salmon Falls road.  On through ElDorado Hills and Latrobe and up through Plymouth where we got on Hwy 49 headed north.  Rick is familiar with that area so he led us through Shingle Springs and back to the Coloma Club for some refreshment about 1:30.

After breakfast our ride was quite enjoyable, as the day had warmed up some and was no longer biting like an ice pick.  It was a very good day.

[Rikugun]

Sometimes the plunger on those safety switches get sluggish - especially in cooler weather.

[fret not]

Yeah, I think some WD-40 should be in order.  Old dirty chain goo can drip on that mechanism and dry up, so now I am armed with the knowledge to deal with the problem.

[motoracer8]

 I was out for alittle ride today after coffee with a friend at the Peet's in Eldorado hills. Salmon Falls road over to 49, then down into the Auburn Canyon to Auburn. Then to Loomis and some back roads home. Only about 60 miles, but the sun was out and the road was callin. Not on my Vision today, I was on a 68 BSA 441 Shooting Star. Nope, I didn't have to call the sag wagon.  That old BSA really enjoys the back roads.

[fret not]

Nice use of the day, Ken.  I'm envious as I spent the morning with a chain saw and a big old oak tree that blew down a couple years ago.  I saw it  when it was freshly down a couple years ago and meant to get up the hill to it to cut it up for firewood, but other things just seem to take priority as we go through our days and months.  I did get up to check it out a few months after it came down, and found a stripped carcass of a deer on the ground between the two large trunks (we have mountain lions around here).  Two years later the bones are still mostly there but scattered around now.  My saw just barely gets through the lower part of the trunk (saw has 16" bar).  The wood is dry mostly, and the bugs have made their appearance, though not as much as I had feared.  Around here oak doesn'r last very long  once it's juices stop flowing, as the bugs move in and bring fungus with them.  It's the fungus that really destroys the wood and makes it all punky.  You can't drive to where the tree is, so I cut rounds off and let them roll down the hill, where I have to find them and round them up to where i can drive my lawn tractor/mower and trailer to pick them up and move them to where they get split and stacked.  It's a lot of physical work but I'm too cheap to get a pellet stove, and we have twenty acres of woods to supply us with firewood.  It's nice that the poison oak hasn't leaved out yet.

[fret not]

First ride in several months for me.  4 bikes today, 2 KLR 650s, V-Strom 650, and a Ducati Panigale.  We took the "regular" ride again, Coloma Club, up and over the Marshall Rd through Georgetown and on east to the Icehouse Rd.  The roads are pretty clear currently, with only a few places where there is dirt on the pavement.  You have to keep your eyes open because trucks or equipment may appear just about anywhere moving logs.  Today the weekend campers were getting an early start finding a place to camp or put a boat in water.  It was a little warm today but up in the high country it seems to always be nice in hot weather.  Our route only goes up to a bit over 4,000ft (1300M) but there are places along the way that seem to be on the top of the world.  Temperature rise is noticeable as we descend altitude.  It was a good day.

[fret not]

Heading out again on Thursday, Oct. 15 to the Coloma Club again.  We will meet there about 9:00 and have breakfast before we take off for the ride.  I have a container of water and a air pump(hopefully not needed) and extra gloves in my bag.  We usually have a water stop after a few hours, then either head back to the Coloma Club or home, depending on the time of day.  My dog is used to being fed around 2:00 - 3:00pm, so I aim to be home by that time, definitely before dark.  Night vision on a motorcycle is less than good for me, so I head home in the early afternoon time. 

[fret not]

What a wonderful day!  Dry, sunny, not hot, and not many vehicles on the roads.  Today we spent a few hours wandering through the foothills as the countryside takes on the Fall colors.  There are a lot of roads in the foothills and most of them are nicely paved, though there are some rough roads and also some dirt/rocky roads if you know where to look.  Home by 3:00, and no damage done.

[fret not]

Just thinking about our annual Geezer Ride (mid Oct.) and having uneasy thoughts about the regular route as some of it is currently within the Caldor Fire perimeter.  Hopefully the fire will be out before long.  We need rain before I will go on that route, as the fire equipment will have tracked significant dirt and debris on the road.  A good rain can wash the roadway clean but after a burn the rain can also wash mud across the pavement or cause slumps as banks and roads can collapse.  Burnt areas don't hold the water very well so most of it runs off causing erosion and carrying the soil downhill. 

[briandneville]

Reading over some old posts on this thread make me lament the fact that I live in a city where those sorts of roads are non-existent.  My last three outings on the V have been spent largely waiting for traffic, road construction, red lights, and draw bridges.  In the heat, watching the temp gauge creep up, never to a point where it was alarming but my gas gauge was creeping down and had to use reserve yesterday.  Anyway hope to get out onto a country road this fall, despite having to ride 25 miles just to get to one!

[fret not]

Brian, I empathize with you, as I have lived in urban settings in the past, but have been here in the foothills since '80.  I much prefer the 'out of town' setting, however, our usual meeting place for beginning a ride is 30+ miles from here.  I am not complaining, as the ride to get there is mostly out in the open countryside, and scenic. 

I am chipping away bit by bit at getting my XZ functional and on the road.  It is still a way off but getting closer.  The journey continues.

[fret not]

Aiming for our annual Geezer Ride on Friday.  Not sure where we will go this time, will figure it out over breakfast, and it will be a good day.

[fret not]

Yep.  Another nice ride for the geezer crew.  Four of us this time.  Again we met at the Coloma Club for breakfast, then went north on HWY 49 to the bottom of the canyon at the confluence of the North Fork and Middle Fork of the American River, turned right, and up the old road to Foresthill.  We followed the road through the small town of Foresthill and on up the ridge to Robinson Flat campground where we turned around and rode back to Foresthill.  There are places along that road that seem to be "on top of the world", with views that cause one to ponder.  The Sierra mountains are a magnificent area to experience, especially on a motorcycle.  I have been on that road many times and it usually seems to have something  new to offer, and always helps with the appreciation of how grand Nature is.  Clear skies and clean roads made a very enjoyable outing today.

[fret not]

Another Geezer Ride today going familiar places but not our usual longer ride this time as there have been some forest fires in this region and at least one is still burning.  So we had a leisurely breakfast at the Coloma Club again after which we rode up to Georgetown and visited an art gallery where my brother had seen some leather sculpture previously.  It was interesting and the town was quiet.  Normally we would have gone east on the Wentworth Springs Rd. and over to Icehouse Rd., but the recent fires have left debris and dirt on the road as fire crews moved equipment in and out again, and now the continued logging to salvage what they can from the remains of the burned areas.  The roads will be in better shape after a few rains unless we get so much that it causes other problems like slumps and mud flows.  So we just split up and went our separate ways home from Georgetown.  The weather was a bit cool but not at all cold, but it will be cold before long, as summer has slipped away again.  We can try again next year.  It is time to brush out my chimney pipe before having the first fire of the new season.  Also have to finish filling the wood shed so I will have dry wood when the storms arrive.