James Burleigh
Well-known member
Friday night I couldn't find anyone to commit to playing motorcycles Saturday (this) morning, so I figured I'd just head out by myself. I hadn't been riding much on weekends because I've had so much to do, preparing for job interviews and my Thursday night class at UC Berkeley Extension, Essentials of Business.
But I was ready for a weekend day off, so I figured I'd go to this place in Oakland I read about in CityBike magazine, a San Francisco motorcycle magazine whose slogan is Ride Hard, Take Chances. The place is called GodSpeed, and promised all-you-can-eat waffles and bacon Saturday mornings 10 AM to 3 PM. Their website looked cool, with a great video from Speed Channel's Superbikes program. Check it out here. And this morning my neighbor who rebuilds Harleys said the place was great and I should check it out. I figured I go there for lunch, then cross into San Francisco and take some pictures to post on the forum.
So I rode out there and pulled up to the place. But it looked closed. And there was a For Sale sign on the building. WTF??? :blink:
There was one lube bay open, so I parked and wandered in. A guy was in there, the only living sole in sight, working on a Harley up on a rack. I hailed him and asked if they were serving waffles and bacon?
"No. Last week was the last week."
"What's up with the for sale sign on the building."
"Just like it says. The place is for sale. We're moving to New Mexico?"
I gave him my "New-f**king-Mexico perplexed look, then asked, "Are you going to New Mexico?"
He screwed up his face and said, "I don't know. I mean, New Mexico? Bay Area?"
I nodded my understanding and said, "Well, if you love desert scenery...."
"Yeah," he said, with a distant look of ennui.
"Well, good luck to you" I said as I headed back to my bike, really disappointed about those all-you-could-eat waffles. A few minutes later as I gassed up my bike I wondered what to do next. I needed lunch. Should I find another place here in Oakland, or go into the City for food?
Finally I called Kim up in Hercules at California Sport Touring, my buddy whom I'd bought my FJR from back in '06. He answered the phone, and I asked him if he'd had lunch yet. Nope. Wanna get lunch at that local greasy spoon? Yep. Okay, see you in 30.
By 12:30 Kim and I were talking about local lunch options. The he suddenly said, "Hey, wanna go to Clear Lake for lunch?"
Yikes. That changed the whole dynamic. Now were were in negotiations about, not a quick local lunch, but about an afternoon motorcycle ride. Well, to go to Clear Lake would would get me home practically after dark, and Fang was expecting me home to start our weekend evening drinking by 5 or 6.
So I suggested Calistoga instead, a great little town in the wine country. We settled on that, and in 15 minutes we were on the road.
Wow! What a great ride we had on a great day for riding in a beautiful location. :yahoo: Later over lunch I described the day as "serendipitous," which is when you find something you needed that you weren't looking for. I needed this ride. Here are the pics:
GodSpeed, all buttoned up for sale (notice they also did tattoos):
California Sport Touring:
Kim leads the ride to Calistoga on his black ST1300 up the Silverado Trail through Napa County:
Pics of the Wine Country:
Calistoga:
Lunch at Sarafornia in downtown Calistoga:
Kim went next door to the artsy shop to get some nice earrings and a necklace for his wife's birthday tomorrow. Here's a picture from the shop (you can run, but you can't hide from OM :huh: ):
This picture is for HYCLE and Terrie: a few-months-old Bernese Mountain Dog, aka Alsatian Squirrel Biter:
The bikes:
But I was ready for a weekend day off, so I figured I'd go to this place in Oakland I read about in CityBike magazine, a San Francisco motorcycle magazine whose slogan is Ride Hard, Take Chances. The place is called GodSpeed, and promised all-you-can-eat waffles and bacon Saturday mornings 10 AM to 3 PM. Their website looked cool, with a great video from Speed Channel's Superbikes program. Check it out here. And this morning my neighbor who rebuilds Harleys said the place was great and I should check it out. I figured I go there for lunch, then cross into San Francisco and take some pictures to post on the forum.
So I rode out there and pulled up to the place. But it looked closed. And there was a For Sale sign on the building. WTF??? :blink:
There was one lube bay open, so I parked and wandered in. A guy was in there, the only living sole in sight, working on a Harley up on a rack. I hailed him and asked if they were serving waffles and bacon?
"No. Last week was the last week."
"What's up with the for sale sign on the building."
"Just like it says. The place is for sale. We're moving to New Mexico?"
I gave him my "New-f**king-Mexico perplexed look, then asked, "Are you going to New Mexico?"
He screwed up his face and said, "I don't know. I mean, New Mexico? Bay Area?"
I nodded my understanding and said, "Well, if you love desert scenery...."
"Yeah," he said, with a distant look of ennui.
"Well, good luck to you" I said as I headed back to my bike, really disappointed about those all-you-could-eat waffles. A few minutes later as I gassed up my bike I wondered what to do next. I needed lunch. Should I find another place here in Oakland, or go into the City for food?
Finally I called Kim up in Hercules at California Sport Touring, my buddy whom I'd bought my FJR from back in '06. He answered the phone, and I asked him if he'd had lunch yet. Nope. Wanna get lunch at that local greasy spoon? Yep. Okay, see you in 30.
By 12:30 Kim and I were talking about local lunch options. The he suddenly said, "Hey, wanna go to Clear Lake for lunch?"
Yikes. That changed the whole dynamic. Now were were in negotiations about, not a quick local lunch, but about an afternoon motorcycle ride. Well, to go to Clear Lake would would get me home practically after dark, and Fang was expecting me home to start our weekend evening drinking by 5 or 6.
So I suggested Calistoga instead, a great little town in the wine country. We settled on that, and in 15 minutes we were on the road.
Wow! What a great ride we had on a great day for riding in a beautiful location. :yahoo: Later over lunch I described the day as "serendipitous," which is when you find something you needed that you weren't looking for. I needed this ride. Here are the pics:
GodSpeed, all buttoned up for sale (notice they also did tattoos):
California Sport Touring:
Kim leads the ride to Calistoga on his black ST1300 up the Silverado Trail through Napa County:
Pics of the Wine Country:
Calistoga:
Lunch at Sarafornia in downtown Calistoga:
Kim went next door to the artsy shop to get some nice earrings and a necklace for his wife's birthday tomorrow. Here's a picture from the shop (you can run, but you can't hide from OM :huh: ):
This picture is for HYCLE and Terrie: a few-months-old Bernese Mountain Dog, aka Alsatian Squirrel Biter:
The bikes:
Last edited by a moderator:
