BluepoofBikes Motorcycle Adventures

Pics from the Pacific Rally

Can you call it a "rally" if only three people attended? Either way, I had a great time last weekend in and around Yosemite with Jodie and Kathleen.

All pics are here, and here are my favorites:

A "berry" fun ride

Saturday was our monthly Wind Dancers start-at-Starbucks-go-wherever-we-feel-like ride.

We had a nice small group: myself, Jenny, Prue, and a new member named Charlotte. We decided to head vaguely southeast and hit some backroads before winding up at a wonderful berry farm in Watsonville.

After some boring and trafficked city streets in San Jose, we wound up on Shannon Road, a nice small back road right off of Los Gatos Blvd in, well, Los Gatos. It started out residential and became twistier and tighter as we approached Hicks Road. One optimistic family was hauling a huge moving trailer around the corners, causing a brief moment of distress when they encountered a horse trailer truck coming the other direction. Fortunately everyone got through without falling into the roadside creek.

We hopped on Hicks Road for a brief time, where we then met up with Camden Road and headed towards New Almaden.

From Camden, we turned right onto Harry then immediately left onto McKean, and took McKean (which turns into Uvas Road) past the Calero, Chesbro, and Uvas Reservoirs.

Anyone doubting that the Bay Area is having a pretty severe water shortage this summer should drive past these reservoirs. Normally, Uvas Reservoir is full of sparkling blue water, even in July, but here's what it looked like on Saturday:

At Watsonville Road, we turned right and then left onto Day Road. We passed quite a few farms on our way into Gilroy -- bright green against the dry brown hills. The air smelled strongly of garlic and spinach.

We stopped briefly at the Gilroy Visitors Bureau on Monterey Street to pick up a farm map. This awesome map lists all of the major produce ranches and when certain fruits and vegetables are in season. Definitely a keeper!

From Monterey Street, we went east on Leavesley Road towards the hills. There's a great loop that goes like: Leavesley -- Roop Road -- Gilroy Hot Springs Road -- Cañada Road -- Ferguson Road -- back to Leavesley. It was a wonderful loop amongst both wide-open ranchlands and shaded ferny glades.

Heading inland on Leavesley:

A farmer was breaking in a horse at the barn up ahead:

Glades along Cañada Road:

Back in downtown Gilroy, we stopped for gas and a snack. I got photos of my compatriots:

Jenny:

Charlotte:

Me:

Prue (with the cherished farm map):

Jenny unfortunately had to take off from here, so we waved goodbye as she pulled onto northbound Highway 101. Prue, Charlotte, and I continued onto west Hwy 152, also known near Gilroy as Hecker Pass Road.

It was nicely -- and surprisingly -- lightly trafficked, which made for a fun ascent and an even better descent down into Watsonville. We'd been pretty warm over in Gilroy and it cooled off significantly as we crested Mt Madonna. No more dry barren hills; Mt Madonna is pine and eucalyptus all the way.

To get to Gizdich Ranch from westbound 152, you turn left onto Carlton and then left onto Peckham. We rode along a teensy one-way access road to the ranch, surrounded by apple trees.

The highlight of Gizdich Ranch this time of year is the berry pie. Prue and I had olallieberry slices and Charlotte had blackberry. Warm, squishy, and tasty! I also picked up a pint of raspberries and a pint of blackberries to bring home. Thank goodness for tailbags!

Gizdich Ranch:

After pie, it was time to head home. We continued back to Hwy 152, which meets up with Highway 1. We took the freeway into Soquel, where we exited onto Soquel-San Jose Road and headed north to the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains. From Summit Road, we went west to Hwy 17 and north back into the valley.

All together, the ride was about 140 miles and was a great local ride!

Turkey Trot

This morning was the Women in the Wind, Faultline Chapter, Turkey Trot. They invited our Wind Dancers club to tag along and help donate some turkey and dried goods to the Santa Clara County Second Harvest Food Bank.

The GS all turkeyed up:

I rode from my house to Laura's, where I met Yolanda and Minky. My ass was completely frozen by the time I got there, since I was practically sitting on a turkey. Kathleen later said it took her five years of doing Turkey Trots before she figured out how to properly bungee a frozen bird to her pillion seat.

Laura, Minky, Yolanda:

Brrr!

We four then rode to a Starbucks in San Jose (more frozen ass), where we gathered with about 15 more bikes. We mingled for a bit and met some of the Women in the Wind ladies, schmoozed, I showed off the GS, etc.

Around 11am, we all hopped into formation and rode down to Second Harvest. There was a videographer taping all of us women riding into the lot, turkeys strapped to our bikes and big smiles on our faces. All together, we donated over 400 pounds of food for the needy.

It was great to meet some new people, see some old friends, and give something back to the community. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Wind Dancers End of the Month Putt

Today was the Wind Dancers End of the Month Putt, a monthly ride with a set meeting time/place but no agenda or route -- whoever shows up decides where to go.

This morning, it was just Diana, Kathleen, and I, and we did a ~120-mile loop around the East Bay, hitting Old Calaveras, Calaveras, Palomares, Niles Canyon, and winding up in Sunol for lunch at the Sunol Coffee Shop and Cafe.

After the ride, I came home and did the 4000 mile service on the Z (at 4585 miles, not too far off). 4k miles already! Time flies. :)

Annual holiday/awards party

Yesterday was the Wind Dancers' annual holiday and awards party. I believe there were ten of us there, and it was a lot of fun.

The high-mileage contest was close for 2005 -- I came in 2nd place by only 613 miles! Doh! The woman who came in 1st place, Elizabeth, is a retired teacher and touring dynamo, however, so I really don't think I even had a chance. *laughs*

But I got this nifty plaque!

I'm continuing to look foward to being an integral member of the club this year. Maybe it's because I know I'm not doing any solo multi-week trips in 2006, but I feel myself drawn to group events more than I have for the past couple of years -- maybe not necessarily group riding, but more mutual destinations and hanging out with like-minded people.

We've already got eleven fun-sounding day rides in the works for the Wind Dancers in 2006, plus our annual weekend rally (and maybe a couple of overnight trips tossed in, too).

Lots of fun rides, fun girlfriends to ride with, and a new bike...life is good. :)

Wind Dancers officers for 2006...

Because apparently we have too much free time, Steph and I signed up to be co-directors for the Wind Dancers this year.

Tonight was our first officers' meeting, held at one of the gals' homes. Genia was a marvelous host, and we nine poor saps gossiped about bikes for a couple of hours while chowing on pizza, chocolates, and wine. I think I'm going to like being on this team. ;)

I'm really encouraged about this year for the Wind Dancers -- we already have some great ideas for rides. It seems as though quite a few other people are making 2006 the Year of the Three Day Weekend Trips (as opposed to the multi-week trip), which fits my plans perfectly. I think a few three day weekends will really be great for bringing the club together, as well as introducing new riders to some of California's greatest roads (well, OK, and providing good blog material for me ;) ).