James Burleigh
Well-known member
To help Hycle with a much-needed respite from the Livermore International Doggie Display Show of Champion Canine Beasts and Their Running Masters, where his wife was showing their Brown Alsatian Squirrel-Biter Terrier, famous for climbing telephone poles after squirrels (I'm pretty sure that's what he said the creature was, but this stuff is complicated)--anyway, to help him break away from all the fur and dagger looks from fellow competitors, not to mention from his his wife, who thinks he ought to show more interest in the family business....
But I digress-- To aid Hycle in fleeing from the dogs nipping at his heels and peeing on his AlpineStars, we got together in Danville at 11:30 yesterday morning for a little jaunt along the East Bay hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay, with a lunch destination in Berkeley, home to the greatest university on the face of the planet (but alas, not the greatest football team, which was No. 1 in the country for one brief, fleeting quarter last weekend). go bears....
It had rained pretty good the night before, so we knew we had to take it easy along our planned route of Redwood Road out of Castro Valley, to Skyline, to Grizzly Peak, where we would stop at the Wall to take in the vistas and chat with fellow motorcyclists.
We headed on up the 2-mile-long congested, traffic-signaled part of Crow Canyon Road till we came to the final signal just beyond which the two lanes merge into one and you're officially into the twisty, rural bits--motorcycle stuff. I was leading, and as we approached that signal, I motioned for Hycle to follow me to the front of the line and in between the five cars stopped at the light. I'd ridden with him before and knew he's be cool with this move [right, Hycle?]. So he came in behind me. Before even making that move, I'd noted whether there were any high-performance cars sitting on the front row of the grid; there weren't.
So when the light changed, we shot on out of there like a couple of Brown Alsation Squirrel-Biter Terriers after a squirrel. The roads were in good shape, meaning dry and leaf-free. So we moved along briskly but sanely. I took pleasure more in working on form, in trying to hit the right lines rather than in trying to hit them fast, while keeping my eyes up and looking way through the turns.
At one point on Skyline, just before Chabot Observatory, we hit a rapidly decreasing-radius uphill turn (call it a U-turn) that ellicited a "F**k!" and served as a dramatic reminder that my cornering skills are badly in need of fine-tuning (as well as evidence that my scheduled Keith Code California SuperBike class at Infineon in December is a good idea--and how come none of you ******* fellow FJR Forum Friends has signed up to join me???!!! It's only $450! ).
We did descend at one point into a wonderful stretch of Redwood Road that was thick with, uh, redwoods :glare: , and so densely shaded that the road was dark with rain and wet leaves and mud from the night before. So we reduced our speed accordingly, which was good because we were able to easily avoid the large dog wondering around the middle of the road. As we continued past the peripatetic canine, I kept glancing in my rear-view mirror to see if Hycle was planning to turn around and rescue the beast. I guess he doesn't love dogs after all, not non-Alsatian Squirrel Biters anyway.... We pressed on, rolling on more throttle as we ascended into the light toward Skyline.
I think we only had to overtake slow-moving cars a couple of time in such a way that Forum scolders would not approve and so we'll leave it at that. But I was mindful of sight lines and Hycle's ability to also make the move safely behind me.
We also ran into some Bicycle Nazis Who Think They Own the $%#@*! Road, but we managed not to hit any thankfully. And surprisingly no BNs gesticulated a "Slow Down You Crazy F**king Motorcyclists Don't You Know You Killed One of Us Up Here Last Year?!" And maybe they were right about that, but we were taking it slow and passing them with great caution, seriously.
My biggest concern related to the BNs was cars in the on-coming lane crossing into our path while passing BNs on their right. Earlier in the ride, while deep in the murky muddy shade, we came upon some cars ahead of us. And it horrified me to see the car just in front of me suddenly swerve deep into the opposite (on-coming) lane in the middle of a tight left-hand curve to get around a bicyclist on our right, so that any rider coming opposite would have sh*t himself, and possibly crashed. [Deep breath.... Calm yourself.]
On Skyline and Grizzly, running due north, we could look to our left and see breath-taking views of the Bay Area, with Oakland below us and San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance across the bay. This was the benefit of last night's rain: infinite visibility. But we kept our eyes on the road, knowing we could stop and take in the views once at the Wall (at least I was hoping Hycle was thinking the same).
As we approached the Wall we saw that there were three other bikes there: an R-6, Ducati (see photo), and a Triumph Speed Triple (photo). We pulled in an stowed our helmets and gloves, then had a look around. The Wall had been painted black with huge white letters memorializing a recently deceased rider much liked. There was a bouquet of flowers there also (photo).
We hailed the three full-leathers clad riders sitting on the Wall, and approached them. As we got closer we realized they were talking about, of course, bridal showers and baby clothes. :no: I sat on the Wall and joined the conversation, explaining how to rebuild an FJR engine without using any tools. But Hycle couldn't sit still, crawling all around taking pictures with his too-big camera, crossing the street and climbing the hill to get, I guess, better shots. I was worried he was going to get T-boned by one of the crazy f**king motorcyclists running the twisties past the Wall (photo).
Well, Hycle didn't get T-boned, and the other riders gained some important mechanical tips before Hycle and I suited back up and dropped on into Berkeley for lunch on Telegraph Avenue at Raleigh's. We met my son, Albert Burleigh, in the back garden patio, where he was watching the Cal-UCLA game (there would be tears before bedtime ).
As soon as we got there, Hycle spotted--you won't believe this--an actual live Alsatian Squirrel-Biter Terrier sitting at the feet of a fellownut-job dog lover. So wearing his baseball cap with picture of a squirrel-biter on the front, he wandered over to chat squirrel-biters and stuff, while Albert and I sat at a table. Hycle finally came back, and over lunch Hycle explained to us why people run with their dogs at dog shows and why certain dog bones have to be longer than others. It didn't make any sense, so Albert and I could only nod and smile and feel sorry for him and the pitiful rag of a man his wife has driven him to....
Anyway, the service at Raleigh's was slow but the food was good. Hycle and Albert had the burrito; I had the fajitas (this report is deteriorating.... ).
After lunch I led Hycle down Telegraph to Hwy 24, which he caught eastward to return to the Land of Canine Confusion, while I headed into San Francisco to pick up a couple of things at the office (my, uh, wallet for one :huh: ). It was weird riding my normal commute at a time when the freeways were wide open and I could.... Well, let's leave that alone [plead the 5th].
A beautiful day for riding! Sunny and warm and dry! Thanks, Hycle, for suggesting this ride and hanging with me and having lunch with Little Albert. I look forward to riding with you again. Video and photos follow.
Although this video is not from yesterday, it is the exact route we took and shows the views.
JB and Hycle at The Wall, Berkeley, CA, Proving that Motorcycles Give Instant Sex Appeal to ANYONE
Another Shot of The Sexy Boys (note flowers to fallen rider)
Triumph Speed Triple
Ducati
Hycle Wandering Around
Crazy F**king Motorcyclist! :yahoo:
But I digress-- To aid Hycle in fleeing from the dogs nipping at his heels and peeing on his AlpineStars, we got together in Danville at 11:30 yesterday morning for a little jaunt along the East Bay hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay, with a lunch destination in Berkeley, home to the greatest university on the face of the planet (but alas, not the greatest football team, which was No. 1 in the country for one brief, fleeting quarter last weekend). go bears....
It had rained pretty good the night before, so we knew we had to take it easy along our planned route of Redwood Road out of Castro Valley, to Skyline, to Grizzly Peak, where we would stop at the Wall to take in the vistas and chat with fellow motorcyclists.
We headed on up the 2-mile-long congested, traffic-signaled part of Crow Canyon Road till we came to the final signal just beyond which the two lanes merge into one and you're officially into the twisty, rural bits--motorcycle stuff. I was leading, and as we approached that signal, I motioned for Hycle to follow me to the front of the line and in between the five cars stopped at the light. I'd ridden with him before and knew he's be cool with this move [right, Hycle?]. So he came in behind me. Before even making that move, I'd noted whether there were any high-performance cars sitting on the front row of the grid; there weren't.
So when the light changed, we shot on out of there like a couple of Brown Alsation Squirrel-Biter Terriers after a squirrel. The roads were in good shape, meaning dry and leaf-free. So we moved along briskly but sanely. I took pleasure more in working on form, in trying to hit the right lines rather than in trying to hit them fast, while keeping my eyes up and looking way through the turns.
At one point on Skyline, just before Chabot Observatory, we hit a rapidly decreasing-radius uphill turn (call it a U-turn) that ellicited a "F**k!"
and served as a dramatic reminder that my cornering skills are badly in need of fine-tuning (as well as evidence that my scheduled Keith Code California SuperBike class at Infineon in December is a good idea--and how come none of you has signed up to join me???!!! It's only $450! ).We did descend at one point into a wonderful stretch of Redwood Road that was thick with, uh, redwoods :glare: , and so densely shaded that the road was dark with rain and wet leaves and mud from the night before. So we reduced our speed accordingly, which was good because we were able to easily avoid the large dog wondering around the middle of the road. As we continued past the peripatetic canine, I kept glancing in my rear-view mirror to see if Hycle was planning to turn around and rescue the beast. I guess he doesn't love dogs after all, not non-Alsatian Squirrel Biters anyway.... We pressed on, rolling on more throttle as we ascended into the light toward Skyline.
I think we only had to overtake slow-moving cars a couple of time in such a way that Forum scolders would not approve and so we'll leave it at that. But I was mindful of sight lines and Hycle's ability to also make the move safely behind me.
We also ran into some Bicycle Nazis Who Think They Own the $%#@*! Road, but we managed not to hit any thankfully. And surprisingly no BNs gesticulated a "Slow Down You Crazy F**king Motorcyclists Don't You Know You Killed One of Us Up Here Last Year?!" And maybe they were right about that, but we were taking it slow and passing them with great caution, seriously.
My biggest concern related to the BNs was cars in the on-coming lane crossing into our path while passing BNs on their right. Earlier in the ride, while deep in the murky muddy shade, we came upon some cars ahead of us. And it horrified me to see the car just in front of me suddenly swerve deep into the opposite (on-coming) lane in the middle of a tight left-hand curve to get around a bicyclist on our right, so that any rider coming opposite would have sh*t himself, and possibly crashed. [Deep breath.... Calm yourself.]
On Skyline and Grizzly, running due north, we could look to our left and see breath-taking views of the Bay Area, with Oakland below us and San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance across the bay. This was the benefit of last night's rain: infinite visibility. But we kept our eyes on the road, knowing we could stop and take in the views once at the Wall (at least I was hoping Hycle was thinking the same).
As we approached the Wall we saw that there were three other bikes there: an R-6, Ducati (see photo), and a Triumph Speed Triple (photo). We pulled in an stowed our helmets and gloves, then had a look around. The Wall had been painted black with huge white letters memorializing a recently deceased rider much liked. There was a bouquet of flowers there also (photo).
We hailed the three full-leathers clad riders sitting on the Wall, and approached them. As we got closer we realized they were talking about, of course, bridal showers and baby clothes. :no: I sat on the Wall and joined the conversation, explaining how to rebuild an FJR engine without using any tools. But Hycle couldn't sit still, crawling all around taking pictures with his too-big camera, crossing the street and climbing the hill to get, I guess, better shots. I was worried he was going to get T-boned by one of the crazy f**king motorcyclists running the twisties past the Wall (photo).
Well, Hycle didn't get T-boned, and the other riders gained some important mechanical tips before Hycle and I suited back up and dropped on into Berkeley for lunch on Telegraph Avenue at Raleigh's. We met my son, Albert Burleigh, in the back garden patio, where he was watching the Cal-UCLA game (there would be tears before bedtime
).As soon as we got there, Hycle spotted--you won't believe this--an actual live Alsatian Squirrel-Biter Terrier sitting at the feet of a fellow
Anyway, the service at Raleigh's was slow but the food was good. Hycle and Albert had the burrito; I had the fajitas (this report is deteriorating....
).After lunch I led Hycle down Telegraph to Hwy 24, which he caught eastward to return to the Land of Canine Confusion, while I headed into San Francisco to pick up a couple of things at the office (my, uh, wallet for one :huh: ). It was weird riding my normal commute at a time when the freeways were wide open and I could.... Well, let's leave that alone [plead the 5th].
A beautiful day for riding! Sunny and warm and dry! Thanks, Hycle, for suggesting this ride and hanging with me and having lunch with Little Albert. I look forward to riding with you again. Video and photos follow.
Although this video is not from yesterday, it is the exact route we took and shows the views.
JB and Hycle at The Wall, Berkeley, CA, Proving that Motorcycles Give Instant Sex Appeal to ANYONE
Another Shot of The Sexy Boys (note flowers to fallen rider)
Triumph Speed Triple
Ducati
Hycle Wandering Around
Crazy F**king Motorcyclist! :yahoo:
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