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Tri-Valley Moto's Sunday Shop Rides

Shop Ride - First Sunday of every month
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Destination: Half Moon Bay
Departure: 9:00am from California BMW Triumph shop in Mountain View

Sunday Ride Protocols

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.

Welcome, friends, to the February shop ride! Our ride this Sunday will leave from CALmoto, in Mountain View, at 9:00 am. This is a short ride on Superbowl Sunday out to the coast and will get you home in plenty of time to prepare for and watch the game. This will be 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. Some of these roads are very scenic, and we will ride, rain or shine, along the coast to Half Moon Bay.

Our route will be one that is familiar to many of you. We'll leave the shop and go out Charleston to Page Mill Road, take Page Mill to Hwy 35, cross it and descend Highway 84 to San Gregorio. We'll turn right on Hwy 1 and follow Hwy 1 to Half Moon Bay and visit the old part of town where we will stop. The ride will be officially over at this point. I plan on stopping to enjoy a cup of coffee or a light breakfast. We may have to split up as most of the places are small but we may get lucky and get seating at one of the great little coffee shops or breakfast places. After the break, it is an easy ride up over Highway 92 and home for those of you with plans.

For you more adventurous types, you can extend the ride by heading back south briefly on Hwy 1 and take Higgins/Purissima Road to Verde Road to Lobitos Creek Road, which drops you onto Tunitas Creek Road. That leads you back to Hwy 35. After that you can cross Hwy 35and descend down Kings Mountain Road. At the bottom of Kings Mountain Road you will come into Woodside and you can get home via 280 or follow Woodside Road to 101.

Departure time is 9:00am from Cal BMW Triumph. Be gassed up and ready to leave by 9:00am sharp. We'll have a short rider/safety meeting at 8:50, and the shop will be open by 8:30 for bathroom stops. I want to earnestly 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. True riding skill is built on a sense of smoothness, control and a sense of line, not in trying to go fast. 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! If you have any questions or concerns send me an email.

Best Regards,
Mike Meissner

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