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Andrzej
Sightings
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I had to pinch myself to remind myself that
I, in fact, wasn't dreaming! Met up with Will, Gary (Cap'n Chaos) and
others at Calzones Friday night down here in San Fransisco. Ended up attending
an opening screening of the short film "The Organist" which
was very funny and attracted a rather "interesting" mix of San
Fran's hip crowd...not sure of what they thought of the three of us pullin
up on Big Twins...but it did add to the atmosphere, as did some of the
silicon-enhanced cleavage (is this why this
place is called Silicon Valley???? ;-) ).
Saturday, met Will and John at Dudley Perkins
and then proceeded down 35 for a gorgeous ride on the winding roads. I
must admit that I was a bit nervous slinging the Heritage Softail around
some of those bends (not used to a bike that big ya know!)...but loved
it nonetheless. Stopped at Alice's for coffee and Skinny's in Santa Cruz
for lunch. Continuing down #1 to Big Sur the coastal scenery was spectacular,
as was dinner overlooking the ocean surf.
Recipe for a good day:
2 quarts Sunshine
1 California Coast
3 Big Twins
2 new 'net friends
Special thanks to Will and John for their hospitality
and their services as "tourguides"!
Sunday I ventured out on my own...left Berkeley
at about 9:00am and scooted out to Yosemite....crossed the Tioga Pass
to Bridgeport for a late lunch. Again, the sunshine gods smiled on this
Canadian, and the mountain views were awesome. Came back down 108 across
the Sonora pass...what a road! 26 degree grades, switchbacks and gravel
in the centre of the lane...sure coulda' used the 1200 Sporty instead
of the Big Hog Heritage on those roads...quite a hairy ride...and damned
cold too...all of the
mountain streams were frozen up there. 500 miles and 12.5 hours later
I pulled back into Berkeley, exhausted and cold but with the biggest grin
on my fact than you can imagine.
I think I've just had a religious experience....the
Harley Gods are smiling on me! Oh...just heard from the lady friend that
back home we got 5" of snow the other day....guess once I head back,
the riding season is over....small recompense is that the dogsleds will
come out!
Hoping to do the LA Love Ride next weekend
and still have to make it out to Napa and do the north coast route from
San Fran. Stay tuned for more California Dreamin' from the Canuck in San
Fran!
Anyway, today is a sad day...have to swap the
Heritage Softail (getting to like the monster Hog)..for a Sporty. Damn!
Wish I coulda had more notice on the reservation and didn't have to do
this...oh well...any Harley is better than no ride at all! Just gonna
make for a hell of a trip to LA for the Love Ride this weekend. Girl &
boys: can YOU spell "vibra-ass"??
Well.....according to Wild Willy, Northern
California is not considered part of LaLa Land....but then again, I'm
just a Crazy Canuck lost in California, so what do I know?
Since I've been in the San Fransisco area,
I've noticed a few things about this place. For entertainment, people
go to see a movie where a guy sends his lady friend a large caucasian
penis (and to think that I believed that size only came in black!) to
show his romantic nature. You're afraid to hit on the lovely ladies in
town since they might just have some of those extra romantic parts and
their chests would make Intel jealous. The mayoral candidates were all
unique in that the one thing they had in
common was their love for white women. Spelling is rather different here
in that chaos is spelled with an "X" or maybe that is just a
chaotic version of a signature? You're not allowed to have good Cuban
stogies, and yet coming across the Bay Bridge all you can smell is marijuana.
Taking a walk on the "wild side" and strolling on a dead whale
is acceptable but carving your initials in the blubber is considered passe.
Boom-Boom is not the sound of an earthquake but the name of a maitre'd
who demures
about riding pillion on a Hog since it might convince her to give up her
vibrator (maybe someone should send her something romantic?). Where else
can you find beer that is wicked and women that aren't (or aren't even
women for that matter). Guys have to slap on a patch to get it up, and
I can't help but wonder if that is a Fog Hog patch they might be slappin'
onto their butts?
Now, I suppose if you say this ain't LaLa Land,
I'll just have to take your word for it, being the naive and innocent
furriner from Canada that I am. Yer not pullin' ma' leg now, are y'all?
PS. Retraction? Is that a form of birth control
in San Fransisco?
PPS. See you all at the Love ride in real LaLa
Land (not to be confused with "virtual" LaLa Land!!
WTFPIC, (With tongue firmly planted in cheek)
This weekend I took the 883 from SF down to
LA for the Love Ride. The Fog Hoggers that I cruised down with thought
it very amusing to run at 80-85
mph (hitting 90 at times). Not a lot of fun on a stock 883 sporty...the
vibes sure do get to your ass (especially with a stock seat as wel l).
Correction...it
WAS a lot of fun, despite the vibes, but I couldn't help but pine for
the Herit age Softail...would have felt so much better on the butt. However,
I did
manage to keep up to their speedy pace. In fact, led the pack for a half
hour as we approached the Grapevine. Figured, if I had to feel the vibes,
I might as well do it right, so led on at 90! I admit it
freely, somtimes the male ego takes over! Might have toned that down if
I had known that the earlier group had picked up a heap of speeding tickets
that morning, but we must have been lucky and missed that experience.
Coming up the Grapvine, into a bit of a headwind and up the winding hills,
the
poor Sporty would not go better than 75...cranked wide open but that was
all she wrote. Finished out the night in a sleazy bar, watching some of
the
crowd make fools of themselves. The beer tasted like nectar after the
8 hour trip.
Saturday was spent cruising around LA with
Will, who ended up playing the part of tour-guide, since this Canuck has
never been in LA before.
Visited the local HD dealers (de rigeur for Harley bikers, I believe),
saw Venice beach and ended up at Hermoza (sp?) beach at an excellent brew
pub
called, Brewski's (not that I would be prejudiced, mind you, since I like
brew pubs, especially ones with Polish-sounding names ) followed by a
gut-busting dinner at an "all-you-can-eat" sushi bar that Will
knew of. On
the way back we drove through Beverly Hills (I was "so" disappointed
I didn't see Jed Clampet's place! ;-) ) and down Rodeo Drive. Kind of
wished I
had a bike with some straight pipes as we cruised down past a big soiree..would
have turned more heads than we did. Seems we gave a few sweet
young things a thrill as we pulled up on the bikes... they decided to
be "daring" and told us that they wanted us to "do"
them...and then sped off in
their cage. (Reminds me a bit of some of the "daring" posts
I've been seeing here lately ;-( ). Then off down Sunset Boulevard ending
up at the
Thunder Road Cafe. What a place! Custom bikes with loud pipes everywhere.
Were I like some of the readers here, my cojones would have shrivelled
up and fallen off on the spot...pulling in on an 883 Sportster, and as
it was, it was a rather humbling experience. But hell...it's a Harley,
it's got two
wheels....and the place was just great! The roar of the bikes...the broads
and the beer...so I sat and watched the action go by and admired all of
the
bikes as they pulled in and out constantly. Two restored Indians came
in at one point...what a great sight, as we don't see too many of these
back in
Canada. Figured, what the hell, might as well act the part of an "outlaw"
biker, so pulled out a Montechristo #4 and lit up. Now THAT was a good
smoke in a super atmosphere. But, inquiring minds want to know, does smoking
a Cuban cigar in LA class me as an "illegal alien"? Packed it
in at
midnight as Sunday would be an early start.
Sunday we were up at 5:00am. Fortunately, the
Snore Brigade had toned down the volume level and a good night's sleep
was had by all. We hit the
road at 6:00am and headed down to Glendale Harley for the Love Ride registration.
We ended up in the second block, pretty near the front. I've never
seen a collection of bikes that large in one place before....Chrome sparkling
in the morning sun as far as the eye could see. Played the part of a dumb
tourist from Canada and had my pic taken with the Bud girls, would have
preferred it if I could have taken a bit more than that though! Admired
the bikes and shot the shit till around 11:00 when we were ready to
start. The sound of the engines firing up in the distance and rolling
closer towards us was marvelous. Truely the sound of rolling thunder!
Was a bit
apprehensive about manouvering through the crowd (as I haven't been riding
for that long), but all went smoothly. Even dared to go bare, and did
the
ride in a t-shirt, minus my customary leather jacket. But it was a black
"t" from my local dealer in Canada, so I guess I fit in. ;-)
Along the ride the crowds were great,packing
the starting area and all along the route, covering the bridges and waving
at the endless stream of bikes
pouring past. I was kicking myself for not taking the camera out, but
during a slow spot (damned cages kept getting in the way), I managed to
wrest it
from my fanny pack and wrapped the strap around my wrist. Sure hope some
of the shots I took along the route turn out, not an easy task, taking
pics
on a moving bike on route 5! The 50 mile run was a hoot, warm sunshine,
crowds, bikes and the wind in your face. Parking at the lake was an experience:
the heat was opressive on the pavement and my left
wrist was getting quite sore from all the clutch work. If some of you
recall, I had fractured my wrist late in September, and lots of clutch
work tends to
aggravate it. Made it through the crush and actually managed to find some
of the Fog Hoggers in short order. Quite a lucky circumstance, give thecrowd
of 20,000 that were at the event. All the parking lots
looked like seas of chrome and leather. I managed to end up down at the
foot of the bandstand when Los Lobos did La Bamba and Cinnamon Girl, two
of my favorite pieces. Drinking beer, kicking back and people watching
was the order of the day. Funny how the RUB's, 1%'ers, RiceRiders,
Wannabes and all of the rest all had such a great time together at the
event...maybe there is hope after all. I swear, having some background
in
physics, that I cannot figure out how some of the "ladies" managed
to stay upright. Many of them would make Intel jealous! But the eyeballs
did get
a serious workout that day. Too soon it was time to take my leave of everyone,
as they were staying down and I had to get back to work. Leaving a
5:00pm, I made my solitary way back to Berkeley, cruising at a rather
more leisurely rate of 75mph. Six hours later, sunburned, exhausted and
with a
numb ass, I rolled back into my bed & breakfast inn. Put a log on
the fire, soaked in the tub and savoured the memories and images of a
super
weekend in LA.
Incidentally, this year the Love Ride raised
$1.15m for Muscular Dystrophy.
Next weekend...off up the north coast to Mendocino
and down through Napa!
Saturday morning, I scooted across the Bay
Bridge in the fog to meet John at Mel's Diner on Geary street. When I
arrived, he was just finishing up breakfast with his daughter and grand-daughter
so I settled in for a mug of Java. After a bit, his daughter left and
as we were finishing our coffees, a CYT (cute young thing) came in with
a couple of guys and sat in the booth next to us. As she slid into her
seat, she swivelled, rested both of her boobs on the booth divider and
gave John a wide smile, before turning back. Betcha rice-rocket riders
don't get that kind of treatment!
We took off shortly after (she had left her
shirt on, else we might have been tempted to stay) out across the Golden
Gate bridge, gassed up and headed up Rt #1. The road past Stinson Beach
was great...nice curves, but unfortunately there wasn't much view due
to the fog and way too many cages blocking the road. Once clear of there
we stopped at the Western Bar for some refreshment. The bartender was
quite taken aback by our question as to when everyone else from the Pumpkin
Run would be rolling in. We
still haven't figured out whether we were two weeks late or 50 weeks early!
Back on the road, the sun was starting to play peekaboo with the air getting
a bit warmer and the scenery a little bit more visible. We were on our
way up to Mendocino to visit John Stafford (who was looking forward to
sampling some contraband Cuban cigars I had brought with me for the occasion).
Stopped near the park on top of the San Andreas fault (yeah...I know...it's
all my fault :-) ) but couldn't cruise through since everything was closed
due to the government strike. Funny place, this US of A...the most powerful
nation on earth and the govenment goes on strike...what's even more telling
is that most people haven't noticed anything or maybe a slight improvement
in service!
Continuing on, we were having a great ride,
even though John would speed up a bit much on his big ElectraGlide. Coming
into Bodega, he decided to pull into the gas station for a pit stop. Unfortunately
a car pulled into the station a bit ahead of him and did a u-turn to come
back out onto the highway. All I saw was John's rear tire fishtail two
or three times and then his bike turned sideways and went down in front
of me. Powerbraking, I lost sight of him behind the big Hog, but knew
he was not far from
the curb and was hoping that he hadn't hit his head on it (even with the
helmet, he'ld gone down pretty hard). With relief, I saw him get up, hobbling
a bit and holding his elbow, but at least he was walking! The scrape marks
on his jacket were a premonition of the damage that had been done. The
Electra lay there, leaking oil from the primary casing vent holes. After
making sure that John was OK for the moment, another fellow helped me
to right his bike and I parked it for him. A few minutes later,
paramedics arrived along with the fire department. Seems that a good samaritan
that was following me had seen the spill and called them to the scene.
They iced John's elbow, but suggested that we get to a hospital for x-rays,
as it looked broken to them. Knowing that the inevitable shock reaction
would start to set in, I dragged John across the street to have lunch
at the Tides restaurant first, so that he could recover his mental equilibirum.
After a good bite, he decided he'ld try to ride his scoot to Sevastopol
where the hospital was. Wincing, he took off with me leading for a change,
and no complaints about the slower speed. The ride was excruciating for
him, especially the slow speed manoevers, but we made it the 15 or so
miles to the hospital in one piece. They rayed his elbow and sure enough,
the break was pretty severe, precluding any more riding by John. Again
we were in luck as a friend of his, Don, lived not too far north, so we
called him to seek his assistance with his car.
The bike was banged up pretty bad. The hat
box, left saddle bag and front fairing were badly shattered, the engine
guards were bent and the side spotlights badly beat up. Since the bike
was still rideable, we decided that I would take it back to Don's where
John could park it in a secure garage. On the drive up, I noticed that
the handlebars seemed bent as well. Guess Dudley's are going to have a
bit more work to do while John's arm heals up. Now I know why John always
lost me in the twisties...that bike of his rides itself! So smooth, no
vibration and the fairing blocked all of the wind. Nice ride!
After parking John's bike, Don drove us both
back to Sevastopol where I picked up the Sporty and we convoyed back down
to San Fransisco. An uneventful ride. As we approached the toll booth
on the Golden Gate bridge, I realized that my wallet was buried inside
my leather jacket, so I pulled up beside the car and asked John if he
could pay the attendant, and hence save some time fumbling for my wallet.
They misunderstood what I meant, and only gave the attendant $2...thinking
I already had a dollar out.....so I still had to stop and fish out another
buck! Thanks guys!
We had John's elbow checked at his own hospital,
and then headed off to Liverpool Lil's for dinner as it was getting quite
late. The meal was fantastic, with lots of jokes about one-handed bikers.
John was in good spirits, and hadn't even popped any of the pain killers
yet. After that, we went down to Mitchell Bro's on O'Farrell...interesting
place (if a bit pricey....the lap dancers are MUCH more reasonable back
home!). Amazing what those ladies were doing to each other and with such
a collection of "toys". I suppose the sight of so much nubile
flesh helped to dull the pain....at least in the elbow! After the night's
entertainment, we caught a last brew at John's place before bidding him
good luck and good night.
Getting up Sunday morning was a bit difficult....maybe
had something to do with not getting in till 2:00am? But I managed to
drag my carcass out of bed and into the shower at 7:30am, and on the road
in the fog by 8. I was hoping that John had given me good directions as
to where I might find the Fog Hoggers in Westborough, 'cause I figured
I might as well join them on the San Mateo Toys for Tots run, not having
enough time to make the round trip to Mendocino. Sure enough, John's instructions
were
impeccable, and I located everyone at the Denny's where I was told they'ld
be. Even managed to find a teddy bear for the ride, and pinned him with
my last Maple Leaf pin. (Put it through the teddy's tongue since I gather
than many Californian's are into that body piercing stuff! ). The toy
run went well, with many surprised at my showing up. Poor Fog Hoggers...they
just can't get rid of this crazy Canuck! The ride was a blast, followed
by a run down to the Canyon restaurant. Great burgers and good
company. And finally, the sun came out making it a beautiful afternoon.
We cruised down past Alice's Restaurant and out to Apple Jack's for a
pint and a puff on a good cigar. The ride was gorgeous and the company
excellent. Heading back, I could tell that the three weeks on the bike
had improved my riding substantially, since I could now keep up with the
rest of the pack (the suicide riders) on the tight twisties. In fact,
I even managed to pass Fast Eddie....and wasn't the last in the pack,
much to his dismay. Kind of rough getting passed by a "mere"
883 Sporty! ;-)
We headed back into town and stopped at Ronnies for a brew while the guys
took a wrench to Chucks softail. Much drilling, cursing, twisting and
wrenching later, his scoot sported a shiny new S&S Air cleaner to
match his new carb...but for a while there, Chuck was looking in dismay
at the guys ripping up his scoot. Now if only he had of gotten a new starter
instead, we wouldn't have had to push start him for the 50th time! The
gang then headed back into the city for some drinks at Calzone's....again
doing the vibra-butt routine at 85-90mph trying to keep up with the boys.
Dinner at Basta Pasta was super, with jokes and cameraderie all around,
till at last it was time to say my final farewells and head home.
It was a crystal clear night, so I turned off
at Treasure Island to take a few photos of the San Fransisco skyline at
night. Magnificent view! Though the 3 tour buses of Japanese tourists
were rather taken aback by the black leather-clad biker on a Harley that
slipped in between their buses! Guess I should have mugged one of them
so that they could have told the folks back home that they had seen the
"real" US of A! Back over the bridge into Berkeley, I figured
it was only 8:00pm, and so went up onto Grizzly Peak for the drive along
the ridge. Again a spectacular view of SF, the bay and Berkeley with twinkling
lights everywhere. Nice little twisty road that! Ended the night with
a half-bottle of Chardonnay watching Start Trek, and wondering how John
was hanging in.
Earlier today, I left the office mid-morning,
and for my last ride, did Grizzly Peak again from one end to the other.
Lovely ride in the daytime as well, though the bay was a bit misty and
I couldn't see San Fransisco. The warm sunshine on the ridge felt wonderful
on my leather jacket as I threw the Sporty through the curves one last
time, then down and over the Bay Bridge back into the city. Dropped the
bike off at the rental agency with much sadness, as this will be the last
of my riding until the spring (over a foot of snow back home). But still....the
memories are wonderful...made some great new friends and this business
trip felt more like a holiday than work! Lots of late hours this week
before I catch my redeye flight back to Toronto this Friday.
Many thanks to everyone who helped make my
stay in the Bay area such a wonderful visit. The Fog Hoggers were so hospitable
and welcomed me like a member. And especially, Will (Barry) and John,
who went so far out of their way to orient me, show me the sights and
to play "tour-guide" riding with me all over California. To
everyone, my sincere thanks and gratitude!
With any luck, I'll be back next summer on
a new '96 Wide Glide! If any of you are in the Toronto area, be sure to
look me up!
Though I must admit that I enjoyed my trip
to San Francisco and LaLa Land (of which exploits I have already written
enough), it is good to be back home. There's no place like home.....there's
no place like home (as I tap my heels together).
It was great to finally see my two Huskies,
Pagan and Pepper after almost a whole month away. Poor things were in
the kennel the whole time, but seemed no worse for wear. Pepper jumped
up, paws on my chest, and gave me a great big wet husky kiss hello when
I picked them up late Saturday.
Even though I was still pretty tired and jet-lagged
from the redeye flight (hard to get a good sleep on a plane), I still
made it to my local Huronia Hog chapter Christmas party that night (how's
that for dedicated). One cute young thing dressed up with her SO as Santa
and the Mrs. Never saw Santa pull something that big from under the red
coat and then proceed to "do" Mrs. Claus from the rear before!
Guess you Californian's don't have exclusive rights to craziness (though
you DO come CLOSE!) Good party, though a bit quiet.
Sunday I went to the range and shot our local
club's IPSC match...great to get out and make some noise...what with the
broken wrist in late September and my trip south, I think I've fired my
.45 once in almost 3 months. There's more to life than bike's ya know...like:
shooting, women, huskies, women, snow, women, parties, women...oh well....you
get the idea! ;-)
Later that night I rigged Pagan and Pepper
in their harnesses, hitched on the Redline racing sled and a headlamp
and went off for a bit of night dogsledding in the snow. First time out
this year for us. I had to put the Harley further back in the garage to
make room for the sleds near the door....sigh! Poor little bike looked
so forlorn back there. Still have to do the winterizing sometime soon....maybe
this weekend.
Today was back to work...the drive back home
was brutal....freezing rain till almost back in Barrie (1 hr north of
Toronto). But to compensate, there is heaps of snow around my house. The
trees are all iced with white, and the first tracks in the fresh snow
tonight were made by Pagan, Pepper (the Husky Davidsons!) and I as we
went for our nightly stroll in the snowstorm. Heaven! I do like the white
stuff. As the song goes, it's starting to look a lot like Christmas!
As I type this, nearing midnight, the fire
is crackling merrily, casting an orange glow across the room. The huskies
are curled up at my feet and the raunchy sounds of the HD Road Songs CD
blare through the speakers as the snowflakes pike up even more outside.
Fun in the sun is good for a holiday, but it
is good to get home!
May all your Christmases be white with lots
of Harley goodies under the tree!
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All text and images Copyright © 1998-1999 Andrzej Jan Taramina.
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Last modified on
October 24, 2001
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