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Tri-Valley Moto's Sunday Shop Rides
Shop Ride - First Sunday of every month
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Destination: Coalinga & Perko's for lunch.
Departure: 9:00am from CALmoto in Mountain View.
Sunday Ride Protocols
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Ride notes: This is an informal ride, and as always, remember that this is a social ride; your safety and the safety of your fellow riders is paramount. As a reminder here are some basic group ride protocols which you may also find useful for your own rides.
Safe speed: The safe speed for road conditions will differ from rider to rider. You are responsible to pick a pace that is comfortable and within your ability. There will be plenty of opportunities to regroup. Never ride beyond your limits in an attempt to keep up with another rider!
Safe distance: Do not follow closely; leave a safe distance between you and the next rider. It is especially important to avoid following closely on secondary roads where you can't see around the next corner and circumstances can change without warning. Passing: If you must ride faster than the rider in front of you, put your blinker on and pass. If you see a rider behind you preparing to pass, move over. There is little point to passing when riding in a group, however. We all get there about the same time...
Lane discipline: Never cross the double yellow line! Always stay in your lane, and pick your line accordingly.
Passing: If you are prepared to ride faster than the rider in front, put your blinker on and pass. If you see a rider behind you preparing to pass, move over and give plenty of room. Don't speed up!
Stopping: If the group stops, pull off the road completely. When the group starts, be sure to look over your shoulder for approaching traffic before you pull out after the person in front of you. Don't assume it is clear just because they pulled out...
Breakdowns: The sweeps and riding friends may stop and provide assistance. It is not safe for then entire group to stop for one rider unless there is plenty of room to pull off the road.
Taking off early: It is fine to head home early, but it is appreciated if you let the others in the group or the sweeps know so we don't wait around or go looking for you.
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Welcome, friends, to the January shop ride. This is a ride suitable for intermediate and experienced riders, on paved roads only. Some of the roads are very tight but take it slow and you should have no problems. We will be riding right past the entrance to Clear Creek Dirt Riding Area, so we can go through the river ford if you want a little drama. Makes for a great photograph and it is really not hard at all. Also you can see the site of the Salinas Ramblers Club campground where we sometimes hold dirt riding clinics.
Our route will be down Hwy. 101 to Hwy. 25 (this is the boring part) to Hollister for a mandatory gas stop at the Chevron station, south end of town, across from
Safeway. Be sure to fill up, this is the last gas for about 90 miles or more! Then 25 gets very interesting and turns into one of the best roads we ride each year. 25 finally joins 198 about 60 miles south and we take 198 into Coalinga for a brunch at Perko's, the only happening spot in Coalinga! After a liesurely lunch we'll head back on the Coalinga/San Benito Road that will take us to Hollister via the back way. This is the road that goes past Clear Creek so you may want to check out the route for future exploration. Unfortunately, Clear Creek itself is closed to dirt riders at the moment, and the donations we collect at our evening seminars and riding clinics go entirely either to the presenter or to the Clear Creek Defense Fund.
Departure time is 9:00am from the Mountain View shop. Livermore riders will need to meet at California BMW Triumph for this ride and should allow about 40-45 minutes transit time from the Tri-Valley Shop to Cal. Coffee will be ready by 8:30. Be gassed up and ready to leave by 8:50am sharp so we have time for an important rider's meeting.
This rider/safety meeting at 8:50 is very important to the continuation of these rides. I earnestly want to request that all riders ride within your comfort zones. Stay within the safe limits of your riding ability, and work on being the smoothest rider on the ride, not the fastest. True riding skill is built on a foundation of smoothness, control and a sense of line, not in trying to go fast and developing bad habits. Practice performing the smoothest possible upshifts and downshifts by good throttle control and matching engine and road speed, and experiment with slight changes in body position and weight transfer to help control the bike in the corners. For this Sunday's ride we are going to set an easy pace, and anyone who exceeds that pace and passes the leader is on his or her own.
I hope you can join us. Have fun and be safe! E-mail me or call (650.966.1183 ext.3) if you have any questions or concerns. And, by the way, all brands are welcome, in case you want to bring a friend along.
Best regards,
Kari Prager
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