Nicasio Ride...and Brotherhood
by Ed Berland

Pictures by Luis Martinez de Pinillos

Sunday rides are a funny thing. You never know who will turn up. Sometimes we're just a couple of riders or at the most a handful. Other times we can have as many as 8 or 9 bikes with a couple of pillion passengers. This particular Sunday we had the usual five suspects and my brother-in-law, whom we can depend on to ride most of the time, well maybe not my brother-in-law (Oh, I'm gonna take heat...he's bigger than I am). However, periodically we have been losing riders due to personal commitments, valid or not, as my most dependable riding associate might comment. In any event, we were determined to shake up the status quo and get some "fresh blood" to enliven our little group.

I had placed an ad on Craigslist to see if we couldn't scare up some more riders. Of course, I had placed it in the wrong area initially and got the ad flagged. Seems one can't advertise for riders in the sales area. OK...no big deal, now we're posting in the north bay activities area, usually on a Friday, in anticipation of the weekend.

As luck would have it, two new riders showed up....both on Harleys. This was good as our sometimes guest writer, Brian, was no longer the "potato-potato" guy. Now, we're talking...instead of a trickle of two wheeled compatriots we now had a small stream...that was true until two of the "regulars" made a comment about checking out the other group that meets down the road from our starting point. They rode over and spoke with them. Shortly thereafter, a line of riders was rolling into the parking lot where we were waiting.

A comment here, while the riders assembled. I had been aware of this other group for quite some time. Named the Machu Picchu Motorcycle Club by its founder, Luis Martinez de Pinillos, they usually had quit a crowd parked on the street prior to their rides. Luis also had placed ads on Craigslist. I surmised from the name that he might be Peruvian, and as I introduced myself, was able to confirm that suspicion within a few moments. He also indicated that he had about 80 riders in his group. As with our own sorry bunch, the number will vary on any given day. Suffice to say that he was justifiably proud of that fact. I wish we could garnish 80 riders. Hmm, maybe one of our group forgot to shower or something.

Anyway, after introductions were made...(impressive we bikers are, with our social skills), we agreed to ride together for the day. A suitable destination was picked for brunch, the venerable Rancho Nicasio Restaurant, which we knew would handle our greater numbers, and off we went with the "Tourmaster" in the lead, and myself tailgunning in the rear.

The group quickly sorted itself out, with the faster, more experienced riders up front and the laggards, such as your truly in the back. There was some jockeying for position until everyone seemed comfortable.

Our route took us down Bennett Valley Road, to Grange Road and then Petaluma Hill Rd. into Petaluma. We road through the downtown area and hung a right turn on D St. Then we proceeded out through the countryside west of Petaluma. The weather and road conditions were optimal. On the way out, we passed another contingent of motorcycles going the other way. Lots of rider salutes, consisting of an outstretched arm, and occasionally a wave. Most notably, I spied a Piaggio, a two-wheel up front and one in the rear beast, the front wheels pivoting in the latitudinal axis to the road surface. Ain't technology wonderful!!

Time to hang a left turn at the road that goes to the restaurant. My innards were grumbling with the anticipation of huevos rancheros, a breakfast that gets me moving in the mornings. Speaking of moving, we had a nice group going, consisting of 13 bikes of assorted lineage and two pillion passengers of the female persuasion.

We arrived at the restaurant in short order and the tourmaster went in to secure our table for us, then commenced to hold court at the bar with his signature breakfast drink, fortified orange juice.

Coffee orders taken and delivered, brunch selections made, we then had an opportunity to really find out who these other people were who just ran down the road with us. I won't name names ('cause I've forgotten some....note to keep note of names for articles), but the group ran the gamut from carpenter to sailing instructor to airway transportation systems specialist. As many varied backgrounds as there were names, but all with one thing in common, a love of riding motorcycles. As we ate and talked, it came to me that although we were all different on the outside, with our varying degrees of protective riding gear and eclectic selection of two wheeled beasties, we were all the same...brothers (and sisters) on the road. We shared riding stories, life experiences and even some "six degrees of separation" stuff...it is indeed, a small world. One couldn't ask for better company. It's the stuff of instant familiarity....when you find out that this person or that has had a similar road experience. Now, even though we'd met these folks for the first time, we were already bonding with them. In fact, one of the riders invited us over for a Phillippino BBQ. Now, that's what I call brotherhood...not the BBQ, but the willingness to invite a complete stranger to one's home. It's that quality of being able to recognize kindred spirits and wanting to be with them.

Once brunch was complete we rode out through San Geronimo and back out to and up the coast, past Pt. Reyes Station and onto the rocky outcropping overlooking Dillon Beach. The weather was bright and sunshiny, but the wind was the pits. We didn't stand around long admiring the view. As he did at the restaurant, Luis took some photos and we're grateful that he has shared them with us. Agreement was made to head further north to the town of Bodega, inland from our usual haunt of Bodega Bay, thus avoiding the high winds. We stopped for a libation at the Casino Bar, and wandered outside to the patio, where many stories were told.

Back on the road once more, we meandered into the town of Sebastopol and lighted at Jasper O'Farrell's. Time for a pint of Guinness (Note: We don't advocate drinking and riding. You're in charge of your own lives and you know what you can handle, right?). It's for medicinal purposes, of course. Again, much discourse on riding, bikes, occupations, etc. Just like talking to family.

Finally, we head back to Santa Rosa along Hwy. 12, with riders dropping off to head in their own separate directions. Luis, his passenger, Amanda and I are the only three left as we wend our way to Bennett Valley. A final wave and blast on the horn and I'm alone.

As I pull into the garage and park my bike, I know I'll be riding with my brothers again soon.

P.S. Luis was kind enough to send me a Powerpoint slideshow of Machu Pucchu. You can download it by clicking here (2.59mb download) .

Cafe 29 Bistro Ride

Our favorite ride this time is from our Sunday Breakfast ride to the Cafe 29 Bistro, just north of St. Helena.

We left our usual meeting place slightly later than normal, but with a full complement of riders and passengers. A total of 12, and just the perfect number to mosy down those back roads to Napa Valley's St. Helena.

Our route took us to Calistoga Road, a twisty and narrow strip of asphalt, where we made a turn onto St. Helena Road and followed it's meandering course through the Macamayas foothills to the quaint town of St. Helena.

However, a momentary distruption occured during our jaunt when one of our rider's motorcycles lost its spark going into a turn. Fortunately, no damage to either rider or motorcycle. Being the tailgunner, it was spooky to see a rider just cross the double yellow directly in front of me and as luck would have it, stop in a dirt driveway. Could have been worse...an oncoming car, or the bike going down in gravel.

The road gods were kind to us that day.

Since I'd already called ahead to the restaurant, we only had a short wait as they rounded up a few extra chairs for us. We were seated in the outdoor dining area, shaded by the walls of the restaurant and were made to feel very comfortable.

At this point, I'm going to turn the narrative over to one of our regular riders (and writers) who has penned a review of one of the restaurant's breakfast dishes.....so carry on with your reading and bon appetite!

Ride Safe,

Ryder