2000 XR400R and TTR 125 February 4, 2016

I have been looking for a dirt bike for myself and also one for my son. I found a nice 2000 XR400R in great condition and well cared for. I also found a nice 2002 TTR 125 in great condition for my son since he has started to show interest in riding. Picked up both bikes Thursday February 4, 2016. I took the XR out to an open lot for a quick ride Saturday and the thing is a beast and is going to be fun. I also took my son to the same lot Saturday so that he could try out his TTR for the first time. He has never been on a bike before so we started with clutch control and within an hour he was doing figure eights and shifting gears with a big smile on his face. He had a great time and I am glad he took to it so easily. We will practice a few more times at the lot to let him get more feel for the bike before going to an OHV park with the RV.

Finally a Day Without Rain Ride January 24, 2016

We finally had a day without rain and it was nice and sunny so I had to go for a quick ride after spending the day with the family. Went out Bear Creek Road to Orinda and hopped on the 24 Freeway and looped back home via the 680 to the 4.

BMW Motorcycle Club of Northern California Ride January 10, 2016

I decided to do a ride today with the BMW Motorcycle Club of Northern California. We met up for breakfast at Dean's Cafe in Downtown Pleasanton. There were about eleven of us riding today. After breakfast we had a short rider's meeting. Next we headed over to Mines Road to the Junction Restaurant. What a ride. Nobody was holding back and was a very fast ride with wet conditions. It was raining off and on and the tight twisty road was wet. Glad I did not go down. We stopped at the Junction to regroup before heading up to Mt. Hamilton from Mines Road. Was pretty nice with chunks of ice on the side of the road up at the top. From here we headed down the other side to San Jose. Very nice start to the new year.

Short Ride Around Town the Day After Christmas December 26, 2015

I decided to take a short ride the day after Christmas. I did not have any plans so I went around the San Pablo and Briones Reservoirs to Highway 24 which led me to Highway 680. I decided to stop and take a picture of John Muir's old house in Martinez along the way. There was quite a bit of frost on the back roads. The temperature was around 40 but lots of sunshine.

Mount Tamalpais Ride December 5, 2015

I have ridden two of the three high peaks in the San Francisco Bay Area - Mt. Diablo and Mt. Hamilton - so I needed to get to the third high peak Mt. Tamalpais which sits at an elevation of 2,572 feet. It was a little cold out but once rolling everything felt fine out. This is a great ride and you can see the San Francisco Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and Muir Woods. You might think you are up in the Sierras the way things look riding up to the summit.

Mt. Diablo Ride November 28, 2015

I took a ride up to the summit of Mt. Diablo which is at an elevation of 3,849 feet. The road climbs fast and has a lot of tight turns making it a fun ride.  It is almost December but still nice riding weather so I was surprised to see only one or two other motorcycles out.

Pacific Coast Highway Ride from Stinson Beach to Bodega Bay November 19, 2015

I decided to take a ride out to Bodega Bay. Instead of riding directly to Bodega Bay I went through Muir Woods to Stinson Beach. From there I stayed on Highway 1 to Point Reyes and next I rode along Tomales Bay until I arrived at Bodega Bay. I also wanted to see Bodega the town where the Hitchcock movie "The Birds" was filmed. There are two remaining structures left - the church and schoolhouse - so I took a couple of pictures with my bike in front of the buildings. Overall was a great day and nice and warm for this time of the year.  A great day ride on PCH so close to home. You can't beat Northern California for riding.