July 1, 2007 - A last minute Ride by VROCers
Paula G. VROC #11355, Douglas "Tiny" R. VROC #4685 , and Don "VSP" I. VROC #5569-r
were the three Riders today.
We met at Geno's Shell in Livermore, although there was some question about Geno's Shells existence:
"R U sure of that addy? There's a Chevron at 1025 N Vasco,
But Google and Yahoo can't find a Shell at 1000 N Vasco ????
Bill (Cranky) S."
Geno's Shell is directly across Vasco from the Chevron Station at 1025 N Vasco Road. In fact this photo was taken from the Chevron parking lot.
Tiny and Paula pull in.
Paula is having a cup of coffee as Tiny just rests. Tiny has just gotten off of work at 7:00 AM and has not slept since yesterday. Although he said he has already downed a gallon of diet Coke.
The start of the Ride is over Old Altamont Pass Road. This was Hwy 50 when I was a child.
It is a beautiful, windy day. The temps are still in the low 70's just before noon.
We cross under the Union Pacific RR bridge. Just to the left is Waste Managements land fill entrance. The land fill itself is way up the hill.
Did I mention it was windy. Probably to be expected since you can see some of the wind generators in the upper right.
More wind mills and a nice twisty road.
The rest of the Ride into Modesto was over farm roads with only a few turns. The Valley is pretty flat and there is no reason to have twisty roads.When we arrive at our lunch stop I find that my little bike has an electrical problem and also a burned out right rear turn signal bulb. The electrical problem is with the front brake switch, so that my brake lights are constantly on. Anyway after screwing with it for a bit. It was decided to Ride it back home for me to switch bikes after lunch. My choices were limited, since one bike needs two tires and another needs a rear tire. All tires are in transit.
Waiting for the drinks.
Tiny skips the the red beans and rice and mac and cheese and concentrates on his brisket and ribs and lemonade.
Paula wiped out her rib sandwich, which is three ribs with two slices of bread on the side. And she also finished her side of red beans and rice.
Doc's wife Tanya eating of all things a hot dog.
Our waitress too was eating a hot dog.
Here is a shot of Doc's Q 'n Pit Stop on Maze Blvd - Hwy 132 four blocks west of Hwy 99 in Modesto, CA.The BMW motorcycle dealership is just beyond the signal light on the next block.
http://www.docsqinpitstop.com/
This is not Doc, who was not around today, but one of the cooks.
Slow cooking BBQ.After lunch we gas up and head to my house to swap bikes. This was a change in Ride plans.
From my house I lead Paula and Tiny over Roberts Island {There was a brush fire in a ravine at the intersection of Howard Road and Tracy Blvd.} and Union Island back to the Old Altamont Pass Road. I wave good bye and make a U-turn back home. The ravine fire was still burning on my return trip home.
----
Don "Very Short Person" Inamasu
VROC #5569-R; TWVROC #13, Inmate No. F650-2125
HSVROC Web Site:
http://norcalrat.com/hsvroc/
Stockton, CA 95219
