Substitourmeister

It's Friday night before the first NorCal camp-tour of 1998 which is not going to take place in the rain. The phone rings and it's Don (Tourmeister) Allison. I anticipate that he will ask do I want to ride up to breakfast together the next morning; but no, he has injured his knee and can't ride and he wants me to lead the tour for him. What rotten luck, Don. You have been waiting four months for a dry tour and you're stuck home soaking your knee. As to leading the tour, sure, I actually know most of the roads he has picked out so I probably won't get as lost as I usually do when someone is following me. I accept his request.

Saturday morning and I am sure the tour is supposed to start at 8:00am at the Valley Cafe in Rockville so we (my lovely wife Carol and I) get up at 5:30am figuring it's a one hour ride to the cafe. As usual, we don't leave until 15 minutes after I wanted to leave. At about Walnut Creek I realize that it takes one hour and 15 minutes to ride to the cafe and if we stop for gas (I'm down to four bars already) we will be late. As much as I hate being late, it's comforting to remember that the tour can't leave without us, so we indeed stop for gas.

Arriving at the cafe full of gas and desperation, I discover several first and second timers plus Sam Lepore, Rich Alves and Marc Edwards in the parking lot with Brad and Ellen ordering breakfast inside. "What, you're not going on my tour?" I accuse Ellen, "You can't have breakfast, we're already late." This is when I find out the tour is scheduled for 8:30 so I have lots of time. Brad and Ellen don't, however, because we leave before they finish breakfast.

We go up Suisun and Wooden Valley Roads to Highway 121 and on to 128, Chiles and Pope Valley Road and Butts Canyon Road to Middletown for our first rest and bathroom stop. The Exxon station has only one bathroom, however, so by the time we are all finished Brad and Ellen show up. Now we have eight actual bikes so we look like a real club ride instead of a couple of friends going out for groceries.

The scenery on this tour is spectacular, as you would expect during these El Niño times. It's so green it hurts my eyes and the clear sky is that wonderful sky-blue, as it should be. The roads are even in good shape, and very clean. Taking 175 to Hopland, we go over Cobb Mountain, riding through pine forests on sweeper laden roads.

Now that Carol is riding pillion, I have had to adjust my riding style somewhat. At first I was always braking too late and squirming through turns, much to her dismay. And I also went a little too fast for her taste. Now we have this signal system that works like this: I go too fast, she slaps my thigh. I continue to go too fast, she pounds my thigh. After that I experience screaming and blows to the ribs. But none of that today, I am getting all my braking done before entering the turns and I'm on the gas through almost every one. Nirvana! Two people riding as one with the bike on perfect roads through stunning scenery! Oh Don, thanks for this tour; I wish you were here.

After lunch at the Mendocino Brewing Company, brewers of fine Red Tail Ale, we took East Side Road up the east side of the Russian river to Ukiah, then 253 to Boonville where our perfect roads end. Not that Mountain View Road going over to Highway 1 is really bad, it's just a little rough compared to the roads we had been on. In addition, at lunch I had foolishly turned up the damping on my shocks so the ride is jarring. We take Highway 1 up to Elk, then Philo-Greenwood road back to 128 to Flynn Creek Road to Compche-Ukiah Road to Highway 1 again and up to the campsite. Brad and Ellen left us in Elk and Rich went back home from Hopland so we pull into the park with only five bikes. Well, not bad for my first tour, especially since nobody crashed. Hey Don, if you lay out the route I'll do this again, but only in April, the best riding month in Northern California.

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