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Greetings one and all.
I’m Leni Johns and I will be leading the September ride to the northeast side of Lake Mendocino. We have reserved the Deer Camp site at the Bu-Shay campground for Saturday night.
The
tour will
leave the IHOP at 1190 Arnold Way
(off Highway 4 west of 680) in
Martinez at 9 a.m.. After a mercifully short ride through the
Shell Martinez
Refinery we will head N on I-680
to Cordelia. After a strongly suggested
Pittman Road pit stop
and top-off , the better stuff
begins. THE ROUTE: We will head north
on Suisun Valley Road, and continue
as it becomes Wooden Valley Road.
From there we will turn right onto Hwy 121 take it to Hwy
128 and head west, past Lower Chiles
to Chiles & Pope Valley
Road. We will follow the yellow
lines as they bend to the west
to meet Pope Valley Road (these are two different roads, see
the map if the description is confusing).
From there we will drop down into
Middletown and head out 175 over Cobb Mt. then
onto Hwy. 29 heading north .
Lunch will be served at Marcie’s Brick Grill in Kelseyville, about four miles north of this intersection, just off the highway. If it looks like we threaten to overwhelm poor Marcie there are other luncheon possibilities, including a gourmet deli close by. From Kelseyville we will continue north to Lakeport where we will pick up Scott’s Valley Road heading north to Hwy. 20, where we will hang a left for the last leg of the ride. The entrance to Bu-Shay is a 15 minute ride from this turnoff. This is a pretty, curvy, ride (approximately 150 miles) but not an extremely demanding one. There are other great roads to explore in the area if you want to go hard-core.
Our camp site is on the lake, down an access road to the right just before the park kiosk. Latecomers can go directly to the site without checking-in with the ranger. Follow the arrow at the sign of the BMW marque posted on the gate. The site has pit toilets, and the pay showers are located in the main campground (bring quarters). Camping is still only $3.00.
I have planned the ride to arrive before 2 p.m. giving people time to relax before the 5 p.m. meeting. The weather could be hot, even in late September. If you want to swim bring your suit and water shoes. You can also fish nearby in the east fork of the Russian River. Parducci winery is about 20 minutes away and we will be going to the Ukiah Brewing Co. for dinner. You may also want to bring insect repellant for the evening hours. Unfortunately the local hot springs is not able to accommodate a group of any size, but I am planning on riding to Calistoga to soak on Sunday morning after breakfast. Anyone is welcome to join in.
I will be holding a single-question trivia contest designed for the busy minds that show up at the appointed time at the IHOP. A gift certificate to Starbucks will be awarded for the most correct answers, and a smaller prize to the most flagrantly creative guesser. There are no rules and contest details will be available at the restaurant.
For all our rides, we stop for gas (about every 140 miles, or sooner) and we take rest breaks about every 90 minutes. Our riding pace varies with the terrain and the Tour Captain, but we do our best to ride safely for the conditions.
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