beendad
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Joined: 4/3/2007
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Rich and I started planning this trip in the beginning of the year, around February of 2008. It was a struggle at first to come up with a departure date that would suit both of our work schedules, but we finally arrived at May 12-16. This turned out to be the perfect time of the year to take a trip of this magnitude, as the weather was better than either of us could have possibly imagined, kids were still in school and hotels were still offering off season rates. We paid an average of $4.10 per gallon for premium gas and around $100.00 per night for hotel rooms.
The adventure began at about 10:45 am on Monday, May 12th. I rode to Rich’s house in Salida, CA, where we took a couple of pictures to document the official start of our second trip together in as many years. Almost immediately we encountered a large brush fire in Ripon on Hwy 99. Traffic was backed up for miles and the sky was a wall of black and gray smoke. We split lanes as much as we could, but it still took us over 30 minutes to get through the 5 mile stretch of Hwy 99 that was on fire. After passing through the smoke, we stopped in Manteca, CA to fuel up. We decided at this point to take I-5 straight on up instead of chancing more problems on Hwy 99. It was smooth sailing all the way up I-5 to Williams, CA, about 130 miles. We stopped in Williams to fuel up the bikes and I grabbed a quick sandwich from Subway. The wind had been an annoying factor all the way up I-5 and it was no different sitting outside the Subway trying to hold on to my napkins and wolf down my sandwich at the same time.
So we left Williams and the I-5, heading west on 20 towards Clear Lake. The wind immediately died down and the ride became very enjoyable. Hwy 20 is a beautiful winding road that goes through the north west portion of the Sacramento Valley and into the hills that surround Clear Lake. We encountered a little bit of road work as we got closer to the lake, having to wait twice for a single lane to open. When we finally pulled into Lake County, we were awed, both by the beauty of the lake and the town that surrounds it. Clear Lake, while not seemingly so clear, is massive! We only traveled through Upper Lake, and this took over an hour. We stopped at a spot along the way to take some pictures and met an elderly gentleman and his little dog. He was clearly interested in our bikes, and told us that he rode as well, a Suzuki Marauder if I remember right. For an 81 year old, he seemed pretty spry and on the ball. Wouldn’t leave us alone though, so we had to say goodbye and got back on our way.
Our next stop was at a gas station in Willits, CA where we met Michael. He was a fellow rider who was on his way, in his pickup, to a prison where he spent time spreading the good word of the bible to the inmates. He told us that he had just been down in our neck of the woods on a ride the previous weekend. He was clearly one of the “riding for Jesus” types, but was a good guy none the less. He gave us some quick directions on the best way to get to Fort Bragg, CA and off we went, up Hwy 101 for a small stretch before catching Hwy 20 west for the second time. At this point in the ride, the scenery was really starting to take a turn towards majestic. The trees were getting taller, the air cleaner and our minds clearer. Our new buddy Mike had been right behind us all the way up 101 and on 20 as well, when I suddenly noticed that he had somehow fallen behind a Mendocino County Police car, which was right on Rich’s tail like white on rice. After a few miles of our stinky new tail, I found a turn off and exited with Rich in tow. The Police officer shot us a glance, but kept moving. We waited a few minutes before getting back on the Hwy. Just a few miles further and we came across a rest area, which offered us a chance to unwind and take in the scenery for a few minutes. At this stop, we both marveled at how quiet everything was out there, the onl
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Beendad's 2008 trip details - 
