Don Allison, Range of Light Chairman
For so long you think it'll never come. And then it's over and gone just like that. Range of Light 6, Labor Day Weekend, 1996; now just another chapter in the big book of motorcycling memories. It was a wonderful chapter for me, though, and I'll turn down the corner of the page so I can find my way back easily.
It was a great honor and pleasure to chair this year's event, and I thank our Club President, Bill Jarvis, for passing the reins to me last fall shortly after the completion of the polished 1995 rally put on by Lars Swartz and Terry Burnes. It was hard to imagine producing a better ROL than that one, and I knew I would be happy just to do as well. Range of Light 5 was a tough act to follow but on the other hand provided some high standards as inspiration.
Russ Drake volunteered his support at the very beginning, and was a real partner in the planning. Russ rode the routes with me and did all the work on contacting dealers and vendors for their support with door prize contributions. Hilary Cresswell was another early volunteer. In addition to serving as our support vehicle driver at the rally, she also worked the poker run scoring tables, collected tickets at meal time, and pretty much helped out whenever she was needed. Bob Love, the Club's Tour Captain, laid out the GS portion of this year's tour and rode sweep over the various dirt sections to ensure everyone had cleared the course. Several others volunteered their time at the rally and I want to thank Marcia Hall for riding shotgun with Hilary as well as helping with poker run scoring; and Mike Murray, Pat Holland, Dave Gluss and Ben Woo for their scoring assistance. Thanks all.
The tour began in Gridley, as it did last year, at the Butte County Fairgrounds, which offers very comfortable facilities and plenty of grass on which to pitch tents or sleeping bags. Campers who selected the sleeping bag only option, however, soon found themselves completely cocooned as defense against the stealthy Gridley mosquito. As late as Sunday night, rally goers were still comparing welts from bites inflicted at our first night's campout. Gridley was selected only in part because of its facilities or convenient location, though. Because last year's tour had begun there and traveled northeast, and inasmuch as the rally's name is "Range of Light," I felt riders would anticipate a return to the Sierra this year. Whether that rationale had any basis in fact is moot, but I took some pleasure in watching
people open their route guides and note that Saturday's campsite would be at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds in Ferndale.
True enough! Ferndale, just shy of the Pacific Coast, was our first day's destination; and a few riders were off and running around 7:00 a.m., headed due west toward a Sacramento River crossing on the Princeton Ferry. From there the route continued in a generally westward direction to Elk Creek. Several miles north of Elk Creek, at Newville Road, the GS riders were offered the option of two hours of dirt road to take them to the main tour route on Hwy. 36 west of Red Bluff. The rest of the tour continued up paved back roads to Red Bluff and out Hwy. 36 toward the Coast.
Both the main group and the GS riders eventually turned south and headed for Garberville; the GS'ers at Mad River and the rest at Bridgeville. Those who were running late or not tempted by rough and twisty roads had the option bail out by continuing west on 36 to Hwy. 101 where they could either pick up the tour at Garberville or go straight to Ferndale.
At Garberville the main tour headed up 101 and The Avenue of the Giants before taking the back door into Ferndale from Rio Dell on Grizzly Bluff Road. The GS types headed out toward Shelter Cove where they picked up Kings Peak and Wilder Ridge Roads to Honeydew and Mattole Road for the coastal
approach to Ferndale. The main group also had the option of taking Mattole Road from where it begins on The Avenue of the Giants at Dyerville.
Ferndale's weather was a welcome change from the heat in which the tour began that morning. Conditions at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds Saturday night were comfortably cool and the anticipated coastal fog never materialized. The facilities were spacious and comfortable and offered plenty of grassy tent sites where people could spread out and avoid that tent city feeling. Jim from JW Liquors was on the scene early and left us with plenty of cold beer and soda while local caterers Sean Marsh and Allison
Jones fired up the massive barbecue pit behind the Turf Room in preparation for dinner. And what a dinner it was! The young duo and their staff served chili-rubbed chicken, grilled corn on the cob, roasted red potatoes, salad and their own baked country rolls to a very appreciative crowd.
As dinner was being served we began setting up tables for scoring poker run entries, and as Hilary broke out the cards she had purchased for the occasion Pat Holland exclaimed, "these are pinochle cards," whereupon he explained that pinochle cards have no cards lower than nines. Hilary later mentioned the look in my eyes at that remark would have made a good picture. A quick survey of the diners, however, turned up two complete decks of playing cards, so the scoring continued without further incident.
There were other incidents, unfortunately. Paul Thompson experienced a low-side crash on Hwy. 36 after hitting some gravel and sand hidden in the shadows on a turn. Luckily, Paul was unhurt and was traveling with friends who helped him straighten his GS parts out enough to finish the ride to Ferndale. We learned also that Greg Hutchinson's bike developed a flat rear tire on lower Alderpoint Road. Dave Valentine and Terry Burnes came to the rescue, and Terry actually rode to Eureka to get a new tire and then returned to help Greg mount the new rubber. Lee Wolfe had a less fixable problem with his bike. His bike's wheel bearings fused, so he finished the tour carrying the crippled machine in the back of a rental truck (didn't stop him from playing the poker run the next day though).
Sunday dawned a little dewy but was otherwise sunny and warm. Sean and Allison helped start out our day in grand fashion by treating us to more of their cooking magic with an optional breakfast, which included their own wonderful cinnamon rolls. They only baked enough for one per person, but they were so popular three times as many could have been served.
Sunday's ride took us to Trinity County Fairgrounds at Hayfork back in the direction from which we'd come, but first we'd see some country to the north. The tour stayed off 101 as much as possible and moved through the eastern edge of Eureka before the GS and main groups split, the GSers through Butler Valley and across Hwy. 299 to Hoopa and the main contingent up to Arcata and 299 to Willow Creek and then Hwy. 96 north. The two groups rejoined at Hoopa and continued to Somes Bar before breaking to the east along Salmon River and Sawyers Bar Roads to Etna and Ft. Jones on Hwy. 3. Those roads, while completely paved, are rough and narrow and could have been intimidating to some riders; so an option was provided to continue up equally scenic Hwy. 96 past Happy Camp and down Scott River Road to rejoin the main route at Ft. Jones.
The final portion of Sunday's tour took everyone along the eastern edge of Scott Valley and onto Hwy. 3 and the Trinity Alps en route to Trinity Lake and Weaverville. At Weaverville the GS riders finished their ride to Hayfork on Big Creek Road and the main group continued on Hwy. 3 for a grand finish through some exhilarating sweepers.
One of the two smallest county fair facilities in the state (along with Modoc County's fair at Cedarville) Trinity County Fairgrounds provided our group with lots of grass and plenty of campsites. Jerry Fulton, the fair manager, was a most gracious host and was always on hand to make sure our needs were being met. Jerry and his "mule committee" also prepared the tasty pit barbecue dinner we enjoyed that night .
After a fairly hot day the evening temperatures quickly lowered to a comfortable level as we finished the weekend's festivities with the awards ceremony. The poker run cash awards were given and many door prizes donated by supportive BMW dealers and other vendors were also dispensed.
And then --- it was all over. I'm already looking forward to next
year. I had a great time organizing this year's event and only
hope you all had the terrific time I planned for you to have.
Maybe the Sierra next year.
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