Gathering of the Clans 2012

[Tyler]

While Beemerdons and entourage are fecking around in Europe, back up to Eureka I went... kind of the same thing... but in California ... third time up in that area in the past two months or so but this time for the Gathering of the Clans. Left work early on Thursday and blasted up to Sebastopol to visit with friends, Audrey and Clint...

It was rather foggy coming through SF...

But once we got into Marin, the skies cleared and we took Hwy 1 north... summer seems to have barely started and there are already signs of fall??

Tomales Bay...

Butterflies at play... or work... or both...

Tons of wildflowers out this weekend...

Coming up to one of my very favorite sections of 1 outside of Tomales...

We arrived early in Sebastopol, even though the pokey cages did their best to keep us at bay... Audrey has a fantastic garden in the back with vegetables, herbs, and a few chickens running around to boot....

I never knew that artichokes flowered if you left them alone long enough!

Pretty in pink...

Live chicken...

Shadow chicken...

They have a cute kitty named Wedgie (when they found him, he was wedged in between the wood logs outside)... Wedgie took a little while but has become quite social with visitors...

After one of the best burgers I've eaten in a long time, we soaked in the hot tub under the night sky...

Ducky says hi!

 

[Tyler]

We got up early the next morning, enjoyed a little breakfast, coffee, and chit chat before Erin and I hit the road... along 116 into Guerneville for a gas stop...

That town is wild!!

Then off for more fun on Hwy 1 although it was a bit of a frustrating day... I had hoped that since it was a weekday, there would be less traffic and we would not be as hampered by lookie-loos, trucks, mini-vans, etc. When the road is open like that, it is heaven... today would only have moments of it... we ended up pulling off and waiting for the 15-mph-but-I-refuse-to-pull-over induhviduals to get ahead of us aways and then we would play catch up... rinse, repeat... we had decided to stick close to the coast for the cool temps and we were not disappointed... although by the time we reached Leggett, it was a 40-degree temperature change in the last 22 miles from the coast!!

Erin waiting patiently after Jenner...

The last 22 miles of Hwy 1 from the coast to Leggett are legendary... and for good reason... I remember the first time I rode this section many years ago and I had my first true Zen moment... where everything clicked... the bike, the rider, and the road... oh, that road! Curves that had to be engineered by someone who understood what they were creating and for who... I had never taken the time to stop and get photos because it was just too much fun but this day, I sent Erin on her merry way (it was her first time on this stretch of road) and I took my time, riding some of the sections quickly but stopping to capture a few of the twists and turns... moto bliss!

 

[Tyler]

Now it was time for a tourist stop or two... first thing - photo opp in the drive thru tree at 1 and 101... ta da!!

Erin tried to duplicate the "ta da" move but did it a little differently... (oh and before anyone gives me any crap about posting this photo, I wasn't gonna take one at all cause most folks would prefer not to have photo evidence of this kind... but Erin MADE me take the photo and just kept laughing about it... she is a good sport!)

There we go... much better!

Then a quick stop to meet Bigfoot and a few of his assorted friends, who I must say were all a little wooden.

Breast feeding in public?!? The debate continues...

Pretty much how I feel on Monday mornings...

From there, we hightailed it to Eureka where we met FWFE and his lovely bride Dee, Sam and his son Aaron, and the Bugnatr's (finally!) for dinner at Cullen Inn...

We also got to meet the somewhat infamous Brandi whom Eddie speaks of quite highly... and rightly so!

 

[Tyler]

After a fantastic meal, we skedaddled to the Red Lion where we found the meet-and-greet in full swing...

Terri has mad ninja-photo-posing skills... her hubby, Rob, not so much...

Terri also gets the award for best hair...

Your host for next month's RTE in La Pine... such a friendly gent!

Michele/fjrchik and Jeff/FJRGuy

The Buggers... no wait, the Bugnatrs!!

I have a bucket list for places I want to go and people I want to meet... this lady was on the short list of folks I wanted to meet... and we did!

Dave/Highlander and Diane showing Rog some high-tech foolery...

Sexay!!!

Photo bomb by a complete stranger!!

FJRob

Joe/MCML and his buddy, Mark...

Sam/Nightshine and son, Aaron, who is becoming a regular at these events... awesome to see father/son sharing life and experiences together!

Pool sharks..

You're number one too, Richard!!

Modelin' our new hats, yo...

And with that, it was off to get some shut eye and rest up for the next day's adventure...

 

[Tyler]

We started with breakfast at the Samoa Cookhouse...

Shootin' some chit...

Sputnik... or Borg bike... you will be assimilated!

Dilapidated house nearby...

Lovely ladies...

And then we were off for a fun-filled day of local sights and backroads, courtesy of Eddie/FWFE... I missed this tour the last time so it was a real treat this time around!

Beautiful glasswork...

Fabulous (just for OM) Victorians...

Doug and Gayle...

Hi Trent!

You're Number One too, Don!

Off to visit the ocean bluffs... I have no idea what roads we rode as I was just following Eddie... maybe he can fill everyone in!

 

[Tyler]

A few action shots... Erin on her Viffer...

Crazy man on Wabs...

FJRay on his... FJR!!

Bikes at rest...

Boys at rest...

And our imitation of attending a 7th grade dance...

Looking south toward the coast...

Gayle gave the Spyder a sit...

Doug could barely stay on...

Dan/Big-D, Bill/djbill (giving me his "I'm too sexy for my helmet" look), and Trent/2006FJR...

Coupla tools...

I love the ocean...

Reflections...

Long way down...

Floral splendor...

Off to Ferndale where we spent a good amount of time soaking in the local culture, sights, and some food too...

I love the way the colors from the stained glass reflected on the curtains...

This man is a bike whore...

This man is a sucker for a furry face...

Cool tree...

Buddha with a boo-boo...

So which is which?? Dan fixes his steely blue stare on the camera and says, "I ain't no girlie-girl!!"

More little treasures on the backroads of Eureka... had no idea there were so many fun ones tucked away in them thar hills! Deep into the redwoods...

Into the bright sunshine...

 

[Tyler]

And then lunch in Trinidad...

Punk pelican...

Punk...

Under the boardwalk, down by the sea...

She sells seashells by the seashore... and some starfish for good measure...

How to turn a frown upside down... he had fallen down moments before and shed some tears... we changed that right quick!

Lots of smiles all around...

Lots of boats out there...

I saw the light... house...

Now I've ridden my Spyder about 12K miles in the past 10 months or so to the Southwest, Baja, and Canada... in that time I've maybe seen a handful of these beasties out on the road... when we arrived back at the Red Lion, there were about 10 pulling in... I had forgotten they were having a Spyders in the Redwoods event starting the next Monday... supposed to be 130+ of them descending upon Eureka... these things were blinged out to the max and I kinda felt like their poor relation who lives in the trailer park... mine was filthy from riding and not washing or waxing... lol

And to be honest, I don't like spiders (the arachnid kind!)...

His and hers RTs... complete with trailers for "long" trips (10 days) and about $100K invested between them... and you thought your farkles were expensive!

Another full filled night in the bar at the Red Lion but this time I left my camera in the room and just enjoyed the company of my friends... although I did get one camera phone shot of Doug trying to best the big guy... didn't work too well... can you say tippie toes?? He ain't called BIG-D for nuthin!

 

[Tyler]

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast (gotta say that the food at the Red Lion is pretty good!), we hit the road choosing to fly down 101 most of the way... but first, a detour along Avenue of the Giants which was just glorious (not fabulous) as the fog started to clear and the dappled sunlight danced on the pavement in front of us... a full field of purple and white right off the side of the freeway started our detour off nicely...

Erin started growing things out of her helmet... she really should wash that thing occassionally...

Towering redwoods...

Curvy roads...

River reflections...

Rider reflecting...

From there, it was a fairly uneventful, and quite pleasant, romp down 101 which, for a major highway is pretty groovy (just for RenoJohn if he's looking)... was expecting it to be hot but it only got up to about 86 which was just fine with me... given the last time I got to Petaluma and the traffic was horrid, we detoured through the wine country along 12 and then found a couple of little gem backroads to traverse...

One of my favorite wines...

Crops headed for full splendor...

Soon they'll look like this...

Tried to find Bennett Valley but missed it so we caught Warm Springs Rd. through the sleepy little town of Glen Ellen... stopped at the Sonoma Developmental Center...

Continued along 12/121...

Then zipped home on traffic-free 680... will have to find a few more variations of that route for future use!

Thanks again to Richard for putting it together so we could all enjoy a great weekend together with fun roads, great people, and new memories to add to the books!

FIN

 

[dcarver]

WooHoo nice T! Now I see why you get off the bike for foot ops.

 

[Bustanut joker]

Wow Ty....Some simply stunning pictures you have here.

 

[Erin]

Fantastic Ride Report as always amazing photos as well! It is always a pleasure to ride with you and having you show me the roads! You can't tell but laughing my head off in those pictures. Leave it to me to drop the bike IN the tree!

 

[FarWestFastEddie]

Tyler,

WoW! Great ride report! and your pictures are top notch! Dee says you have some lovely pictures!v

Our Saturday Ride goes as follows, you can edit them in,

Hookton Rd to Table Bluff on the South Spit,

the north of Arcata was West End Rd to Blue Lake.

then up Fieldbrook rd to Trinidad and the Light house, Lunch was at Seascape restaurant.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Great RR and pics T.

Thanks for sharing the adventure with us working stiffs!

--G

 

[Old Michael]

Una bella colección de fotos, la señorita Tyler.

 

[marcusorelius]

Una bella colección de fotos, la señorita Tyler.

Yhea, what he said! What did he say?

 

[MEM]

Beautiful, Tyler, as usual

Thanks for the dahlia shot. One of my favorite flowers. My gram had a bed full of them (too much work for me!)

 

[ahchiu]

Great RR and pictures Tyler

 

[rogdeb]

:clapping: :clapping: :clapping: You outdid yourself Ty --- great RR and pics

 

[TomInPA]

Wow, you don't disappoint Tyler. If you hadn't been there, it wouldn't have happened. :clapping:

You might want to keep your distance on those fall colors (poison oak)