Day 13 - Reunions
Day 13
Kelseyville, CA to Scotts Valley, CA
332 miles
I may never have slept so soundly as on my friends Robert and Donna Marie Stahl's living room cot. Robert is Ron's younger brother. Robert took his first tour with us in 1984 with a total of 5000 miles of riding experience under his belt. Today he is an accomplished and skilled rider with nearly 200,000 miles of experience (most of it on his astoundingly clean 1983 Suzuki GS750 - more on that in a moment) and the unique claim of never having been "down" on a street bike. To do that, one must be well trained, vigilant, skilled, and lucky. Robert is all of the above.
We had intended to get up and leave early, but Robert was getting off work at noon, so we waited for him and visited a little in the afternoon. I gave him an impromptu bass guitar lesson, and we sat around, napped, and listed to music until it was obvious we needed to get going if we were going to get to Scotts Valley that day.
California is still in the midst of a heat wave and Kelseyville was not exempt, so we headed for the cool of the coast. Robert rode with us to the coast near Mendocino, where we had dinner at Elk, CA in front of a gorgeous sunset over the Pacific. I always have difficulty when I visit areas where the ocean is not to the west - after living on the left coast for so many years, it just throws me off to have the sun RISE over the ocean.
Robert's immaculate 1983 GS750E has over 130,000 miles on the original, untouched engine - a testament to both the quality of modern machinery and the value of fastidious maintenance. I am not a "group" rider at all - I have very few people I'm really at ease riding with, so it was a rare treat indeed to roll down the road with two good friends and great riders - it did not escape me how fleeting this opportunity would be, and I enjoyed every second.
Robert had to work the next day, and we needed to make time to get back to Scotts Valley, so we all headed back inland. Ron and I had an uneventful ride down 101, including a fog-shrouded Golden Gate bridge, to arrive about 1 am.
Kelseyville, CA to Scotts Valley, CA
332 miles
I may never have slept so soundly as on my friends Robert and Donna Marie Stahl's living room cot. Robert is Ron's younger brother. Robert took his first tour with us in 1984 with a total of 5000 miles of riding experience under his belt. Today he is an accomplished and skilled rider with nearly 200,000 miles of experience (most of it on his astoundingly clean 1983 Suzuki GS750 - more on that in a moment) and the unique claim of never having been "down" on a street bike. To do that, one must be well trained, vigilant, skilled, and lucky. Robert is all of the above.
We had intended to get up and leave early, but Robert was getting off work at noon, so we waited for him and visited a little in the afternoon. I gave him an impromptu bass guitar lesson, and we sat around, napped, and listed to music until it was obvious we needed to get going if we were going to get to Scotts Valley that day.
California is still in the midst of a heat wave and Kelseyville was not exempt, so we headed for the cool of the coast. Robert rode with us to the coast near Mendocino, where we had dinner at Elk, CA in front of a gorgeous sunset over the Pacific. I always have difficulty when I visit areas where the ocean is not to the west - after living on the left coast for so many years, it just throws me off to have the sun RISE over the ocean.
Robert's immaculate 1983 GS750E has over 130,000 miles on the original, untouched engine - a testament to both the quality of modern machinery and the value of fastidious maintenance. I am not a "group" rider at all - I have very few people I'm really at ease riding with, so it was a rare treat indeed to roll down the road with two good friends and great riders - it did not escape me how fleeting this opportunity would be, and I enjoyed every second.
Robert had to work the next day, and we needed to make time to get back to Scotts Valley, so we all headed back inland. Ron and I had an uneventful ride down 101, including a fog-shrouded Golden Gate bridge, to arrive about 1 am.
posted by Matt Lewis at 9:09 AM
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