Adventure begins with…

Somewhere half an hour south of Catavina, I bumped through one of the smaller potholes rather than zigging around like a thousand others. Seconds later, Raja’s motor cut out. No problem. I hit the starter to get it running while still coasting. Nada. Again? Nada. Damn. So I signaled to the riders behind me that I was stopping. We don’t ride with intercoms, so the two ahead of me would eventually notice our absence and wait, then circle back. Adventure riding always means watching out for the one behind you as well as moving forward. I coasted to a stop at the top of a...

Tension at the Big Top

Saturday I got the Tiger out of storage near Yosemite and headed over to San Jose to see Cirque du Soleil’s show “Amaluna.” The ride across was just lovely. The day was perfect, with the sun streaming down on the hills that looked like crumpled brown paper bags tossed out in a line. Seems like a long time since I’d headed over Pacheco Pass. The water levels in the reservoir looked dreadfully low as I glanced up from the fast sweepers. I prayed rain. I just had time to check into my motel and change and empty my side cases before heading down the street to the show....

Yosemite Photo Journal

May 2013 A long weekend to ride! How about Yosemite? Let’s go! Great partly-cloudy day to ride up to Yosemite First view of Half Dome The road ahead The road across the valley First waterfall Another waterfall And on the path back What should I see…? Pleine aire painter. Can I bring him home with me? Yet another waterfall Uncompromising Scales of time Looking across the Merced River No matter how big the rocks, the clouds are bigger. No matter how big the clouds, the sky has capacity. Delicious scallop dinner in Mariposa Saturday Back through Yosemite...

Here Be Dragons

I love, love, love my California adventure getaway weekends during the winter! While the snow falls yet again in Colorado, I’m in the warm green riot that is California springtime. This day I’d even have the pleasure of riding with my friend and mentor from coaching classes. We planned to catch the last gas station on the way out of town, and pick up a picnic lunch while we’re there. I know the first part of the route, so I took off in the lead. On the fuzzy map in my head, we still have to go through a corner of the city. But according to the roads on the ground,...

Forum Friends Ride the Rockies (2 of 2)

Thursday A stop just south of Ouray. (I have some video of this stretch, stay tuned…) A stop to see the old mines Lots of mines close together The Silverton & Durango railroad terminates here in Silverton. Todd wanted to find something to celebrate their 15th anniversary, so we spent some time wandering the shops.   While wandering a jewelry store, the owner came in just chortling about playing a trick on the shop owner next door. Boy, he really had her going! He’d made a pair of earrings with cheap colored paperclips yesterday and she said no...

Forum Friends Ride the Rockies (1 of 2)

For months, my online friends and I had been planning for them to come enjoy the incredible scenery and fantastic riding I’m blessed with here in Colorado. I’ve been so excited, thinking about all my favorite things to share with them! And in August they actually arrived. (I know, the report is a little late… more good things coming! Although we missed some folks from Minnesota who had to cancel at the last minute (new granddaughters are a rare treat… the mountains will be there next year!), Sunday evening we had guests from Missouri, South Dakota,...