Well, we started out from San Jose Triumph about 9:30 am Sunday morning with a few of us; Jean Luc, Brian, Maya, Carolyn, Roy and myself (Jim) with my daughter Amanda to ride with us. It was a little overcast and cool but not uncomfortably so. Roy had been having some back problems and wasn’t going on the ride, but wanted to come down to the shop to see everybody, say “HI” and give us his support for the day. So he rode a few miles with us and peeled off to go home and rest is back. “Roy, get it in shape for next month. We all hope you feel better soon, hang in there”.

Our first stop was in San Carlos to pick up one of our north county members, Graham and a few of his friends. Ben who rides a Suzuki but has been on numerous rides with us and has become a good friend of the RAT Pack. (I wonder how long it would take him to notice if we slid a Triumph sticker on side of his GSX 1000. Also Don who’s been with us before and his wife Rene came along on his Bonneville and Carl on his 75 Trident (very nice) “What, no oil?” Onward and up-ward we went to make a stop at Hattar Motors in San Raphael.

Unfortunately we had a small incident on 19th Street before we went over the bridge. Never underestimate the subtle nuances of city riding in a group. No personal injuries other than some very sad faces and broken hearts as we looked at two beautiful black Triumphs now in need of some new cosmetic work.  Could have been worse and I really want to commend the two riders for their civility and mutual concern for each other, as no tempers got in the way of the day.  That’s why they call them accidents. With a few tools and some bungee cords we were back on the road. Over the bridge to the scenic view for another quick stop. We managed to corner a spot in the parking lot and bunched up nice and tight. The cage drivers either appreciated us for not taking up the parking spaces or hated us for being able to find a spot so easily. Fortunately no B&W cycles saw us there. (You know the kind with the nice blue lights!) Then on to Hattar Motors…

By this time it was warming up some and quite comfortable. We were treated well by Valerie of Hattar who offered us coffee and a nice tour of their shop. It’s good to make new friends.  On the road again we made it up to Lunch at a nice little restaurant in the town before Point Reyes for some good food and camaraderie. 

By this time it was late afternoon and starting to cool off again. But we had one more stop to drop off some lemons at Maya’s father’s house in the City. We all were invited into their home and it was warm and friendly. Of course we took every seat in the house and they graciously found one for each of us. I’m sure his neighbors wondered what was going on as we again monopolized every square foot of her dads driveway, sidewalk and parking spot within reach. Not too hard to do in the hills of San Francisco. “Thanks Dad! We’ll be back for that lemonade!” (when it warms up) We could have stayed there longer but the sun was setting and the cool air was upon us. And we still had a ways to go. I figured the wind chill at the end of the trip to be about 20 degrees below zero.

By the time most had peeled off it was Maya, myself and Amanda left. By the time we got home, Amanda let me know in no uncertain terms that the Bonneville America’s shocks were on her list of things that needed improvement!  We finally made it home at about 6:40 pm and had enough riding for the day and were now in need of some warm drinks and standing over the heater registers to thaw out. But it was still a great day. Good friends, good food and good roads. What more could we ask for? (Besides about another 20 degrees…).

See you next month, ride safe!

Jim Warner

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