264 miles 9 1/2 hours Top speed = 53.6 MPG = 80 Smiles = loads! So a good excuse as any for a good burn up the coast, unleash all of my 9 little ponies and head up to the Russian river for a scooter rallye camp out. A much different animal than the GS, this needed some planning. Freeways are a no go, my mighty 125 just can't play with the big boys on the major highways so an alternative route was planned. A little of the old on and off ramp biz would have to be done to navigate my way across the golden gate and then onto Hwy 1. Packing :huh I have some under seat storage, a rear bag and I should be set. 1 day or weeks on the road amounts to about the same gear unless you count food. That bit of the puzzle was being provided, so I only brought a small alcohol stove and my hot chocolate kit. The WeeBeastie was ready, I had packed the day before so I just had to get the gear on and go, ATGATT for me even on my scoot. The ground doesn't care what you fly off Some of the rear seat and luggage rack was covered by my BMW bag, the rear compression bags was the sleeping bag and the smaller bag was the tent pole and pegs along with my axe/hammer. Between my legs was a mudbag which held my 1 1/4 gallon extra tank. I was not sure if I was going to stay both nights and the added flexibility might be worth while. The beastie only has a 1 1/2 gallon tank. I was not on the road more than a few minutes when I had to pull over and check out another scoot, hmmm wonder if I have room for one more! OK, time to hit the road. I fitted my helmet with some reflective fun for the trip. Was to be a reoccurring theme, people getting pulled over and me not even getting looked at, the small buzz/whine of the scoot doesn't really grab attention. ah the open road, the feeling of under whelming power struggling to push my mass through the corners was exhilarating It is actually a ton of fun, a whole different mind set then a powerful bike like the GS. Momentum and planning in every corner, the small amount of pressure or angle making huge differences in cornering and exit speed. A lot of fun, I even got a nice flat road to wick it up a bit. If I could only catch up to the truck I could draft it! A small picture stop, it was turning into a great day for riding now part of the trip I was not looking forward to, the up hill part in traffic! The fog looked to have a solid grip on the coast too! might get a bit . I was tough though and ready for whatever the elements could through at me as long as it didn't rain
OMFG Garry, that looks awesome! Ok.... more pics, and dont forget the ones with the chickadees riding the old classic scootahs in their '60's miniskirts...
aaarrrrrggghh! stuck close to home! mucho, mucho jealous - Zuma is pacing the bike shed angrily...wants to tour...moah! moah z125 ride report!
Well as it turns out the weebeastie is much more capable than most the cages at navigating the up hill climb. Even with all the camping gear I was tail gating the cages, a few pulled over for me , but it is somewhat embrassing, passing them soooooo slowly, the key is momentum. the only time I would get pissed off is when they would brake for no reason and I had to adjust and try and catch back up the weather on the coast was normal for this time of year summer = fog, you can normally see the water from here. cool old wagon I passed The cool coast air was refreshing and the pace was good. I never felt like I was holding anyone up, in fact they were holding me up it seemed most of the time for a friend, it is still there and in good shape ok, some more fun corners coming up before the downhill sprint into pacifica my route had me jump off Hwy1 right as it started to the dual lane part then join back up with skyline after a small uphill detour then on skyline it was a blast into the city! Warp II ( the rubber bands are actually silicone bands but they are not to hold anything on just keep some extras ) Ocean beach and the Zoo just around the corner Hung with these guys as I made the way down, if you go a nice easy 28-32ish you get all the greens I offered to unpack and take them each on a spin, they refused So I took a quick photo op again. blasted past the cliff house and on my way hugging the coast roads to the golden gate Is it not art? more fuzz, they just waved me on though. Was being chased by this guy! I made a few crazy lane changes, wicked up the throttle, you could hear the 9 little ponies cry and off I went the rain/expansion joints were "interesting" on the tiny wheels and dual sport tires Then a saw a nice draft choice nipped in behind it and let off the throttle a bit Hey ladies look at me, blipped the throttle but nothing!!! oh well jumped off again at the first exit down into sausalito amazing view! the town was busy so I split a few times and got the heck out of there. gassed up for the last haul at the tam junction, then got stuck behind this on the way up! Then, this is where the planning and momentum came up, we started down hill, the guy could see me but was never going to pull over, so a left hander showed itself with plenty of room to get by and ahhhhhhh. A few nicer folks pulled over for me, it was amazing what a good pace I could keep on this stretch of Hwy1 Stinson beach below I really love this part of Hwy 1, smooth and right by the water passed a merc sl600 I shouted out 125cc wooohoooo as I zipped by oser then got a glance from this guy but nothing to worry about Point Reyes in and out and off further north........
I didn't stop, I planned a break in tomales. The bakery there is a little better in my opinion for a nice snack. made it in no time, but the bakery was out of bread stick so I opted for my second fav road side snack Hanging left I was going the back roads for the way out. Jenner and river road on the way back. bit dark in the trees to get good shots so I just blasted through until I hit town Then found the rally and set up my spot in the back near the river and away from the crowds So for packing I used 2 compression bags, one with the nest for the tipi and one with the shell. The gray/orange bag is my butterfly camp chair. Had my mini tools and patch kit below all that. Loads of swag! :huh tasted much better than it looks, nice bbq burger and chili blurry pic of the rest of the campground nice mix of different scooters interesting highway pegs sweet sidecar rig Some issues but it got back running again I hear totally pimped! A incredible cool set up made some hot chocolate, warmed myself by the fire then turned in for the night
Cool! Nothing but cool! I am in Monterey and if you are to came down on a weekend let me know(sundays are our riding day), we have a group here and our address is born2scoot.com. We have met group from Los Gatos and went on rides with them too. Happy scooting, great shots and hope that you keep at it.
Thanks folks, more to come in a bit. Will check it out, so far I have only been blazing tracks on the local santa cruz mountains and Alice's etc. Raods I have ridden for many years on high cc bikes seem totally new on the mini horse power but big on fun scoot
These scooter folks were crazy, I eventually put in my ear plugs and drifted off to sleep, I am glad I picked a bit of a distant camp site but dang they were loud The morning had me waking up to the smell of bacon and breakfast goodies! These folks know how to put on a spread. After it was the group ride, I am not a group ride type of guy, so I snapped a few pics and let them go on their way. Being one of the smallest displacement scoots I didn't want to hold them up on the straights (I was not worried about the twisties ). I sat for a while relaxing then, got ready to met a few ADV folks for lunch at the road house. packed up fast and stopped on the bridge for a snap of the river. It was full and looking good! I snuck my scoot past the gate at the road house and found some suitable guards to make sure it was ok as I went in for lunch Whammo, got the fever fast. Was good to see some friends and eat some amazing pizza! Sorry forgot the pic as I was too hungry Lunch consumed and much chat later, it was off again, river road to the coast and down. this near goat rock Low 50's here I come couple of twisty section later and I had caught up with traffic again A few swift passing moves and I was free again, wide open throttle and smiles galore The weebeastie was happy with the cool temps keeping the engine happy, I had stopped in point reyes for gas but that was it. Just kept motoring. same view different clouds on the return. The bridge was less fun on the return Got this family who was site seeing which was fine until they wanted a pic and slammed on the brakes to get the shoot. I locked up both wheels skidded but kept control then buzzed past them slapping the drivers window as I passed. I was not pleased! back through the presidio and the view was great some old crappy car headed back down the coast..... more later, I just saw I didn't upload the last few images
So where was I, oh yeah heading back down the coast. Ocean beach just after the cliff house in SF then a mad dash up Hwy1 (was much more fun going down hill) and back into pacifica slowly winding my way up and over hwy 92 I can get out of the fog and into some warmth then home stretch for an early evening home finish line The sun was going down and the shadows were long, but the smiles where still big even after 5 1/2 hours of scooter action Thanks for coming along FIN
Memories are made of this. Wish I could have made that... PS Where are the pics of the scantily clad ladies, you slacker?