Thanks to Tuco for his help arranging this meeting. Tom is involved with and has written about the renovation project at the reservoir, and we will be some of the first to experience the improved site. He is also planning an easy GS ride (2-4 hours) on Saturday morning to sample some of the scenic roads in the area. Friday night camping is available and can be arranged individually with the campground by calling 530-622-6832.
We’ll have updates about the camping, dinner, the GS ride and the tour as we get closer to June, so check back for more details. - Lee Blake
The park has beautiful campsites, hot showers, clean restrooms and restaurants within walking distance. These are some of the friendliest people I’ve dealt with and I look forward to a great time. We have the use of a heated clubhouse for our meeting (if we need it), firepits at the campsites, free wi-fi and there are cabins available for rent if you don’t want to use your tent. Friday night camping is also available. Please call Sandra at (707) 349-2482 to make reservations for cabins or Friday campsites.
We’ll start the tour with breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Denny’s in Fairfield, 260 Pittman Road, and depart around 9:00 AM. Heading north, we’ll ride Suisun Valley road, Capell Valley road and over Berryessa Knoxville road to our first scenic stop overlooking Lake Berryessa. Then along Pope Creek, past the Hubcap House and up Butts Canyon to a gas/rest stop at the Hidden Valley Mart in Middletown. After that our route will take us right along the entire eastern shore of Clear Lake. If you have never ridden around the lake, it’s a surprise how big it is. After a break at the Alpine Park in Lucerne, right on the eastern shore of the lake, we’ll continue north on Hwy 20 past the Blue Lakes, over the East Fork of the Russian River and past Lake Mendocino before heading back south for our lunch stop in Ukiah. Finishing up with some fun twisties on CA-175 we’ll have done about 185 miles and should be at the campground by 2:30 or so with plenty of time to setup and catch up before the meeting starts at 4:00PM.
For members who ride up individually, please plan to arrive at the park after noon on Saturday when the office opens. When you arrive, stop at the office to sign in and pick up a restroom key. There is a $5.00 deposit (cash only) for each restroom key that will be refunded when you leave on Sunday and return the key. Don’t worry if you plan on leaving early, we have made arrangements.
As always, new members and guests are welcome. If you are new to the club and would like to join the ride, please check with the tour captain at the start of the ride. Club members and guests are reminded to have a full tank of gas and be ready to ride at the departure time.
Tour Captain: Lee Blake
Download 2012JAN_MainStreetGrill route pdf
Download 2012Jan_MainStreetGrill route gpx file
Breakfast at 8am, leave about 9am. Tour Captain is Cliff Dunn.
NorCal Home Page
Download 2011-Dec-CasadeFruta (route pdf)
Download 2011-Dec-CasaDeFruta (Garmin gdb)
Our November/December meeting will be 4:00 PM on Saturday, December 3, 2011 at the Casa de Fruta campground in Hollister. At the last meeting we talked about having the winter meetings fairly close to the bay area just in case the weather turns really nasty, and this venue fits the bill. Located just two miles east of the junction of Highway 152 and Highway 156, Casa de Fruta is easily accessible from Highway 5 or Highway 101.
The campground is at the east end of the Casa de Fruta complex at: Casa De Fruta, 10021 Pacheco Pass Highway, Hollister CA 95023. Map coordinates are Long/Lat: N36 59.409 W121 22.895.
Riders should stop at the office, register and get directions to the camping area. We’ll pretty much be the only ones at the campground, but let’s try to stay within the area they have assigned us. There is a restaurant, gift shop, wine and cheese shop and gas station right in the Casa de Fruta complex and the campground has hot showers, heated bathrooms, firepits, grills, tables and such. There is also a motel on site.
Point your browser to http://www.casadefruta.com/visit-casa-de-fruta.php for online information, call Lisa at 1-800-548-3813 or send email to info@casadefruta.com.
The weather forecast is good for the weekend; lots of sunshine and no rain. However, sunset is before 5 PM and overnight temperatures could be below freezing so bring your warm clothes and sleeping bags.
The guided tour will be relatively short but include some classic bay area roads. In keeping with the classic theme, we’ll have a leisurely breakfast at Alice’s Restaurant, 17288 Skyline Blvd, Woodside, CA 94062-5707. Breakfast will be at 8:30AM and the tour will start after breakfast about 9:30AM. We’ll head south on Skyline Blvd for a ways before getting into some of the many twisty roads in the area. Along the way we'll stop at the Dessert First Bakery in Boulder Creek for a morning snack, and the Corralitos Market for a break. We’ll get to Casa de Fruta in time for a late lunch and lots of time to set-up and catch-up with friends before the monthly meeting at 4:00PM.
As always, new members and guests are welcome. If you are new to the club and would like to join the ride, please check with the tour captain at the start of the ride. Club members and guests are reminded to have a full tank of gas and be ready to ride at the departure time.
The campground is at the east end of the Casa de Fruta complex at: Casa De Fruta, 10021 Pacheco Pass Highway, Hollister CA 95023. Map coordinates are Long/Lat: N36 59.409 W121 22.895.
Riders should stop at the office, register and get directions to the camping area. We’ll pretty much be the only ones at the campground. There is a restaurant, gift shop and gas station right in the Casa de Fruta complex and the campground has hot showers, heated bathrooms, firepits, tables and such. There is also a motel on site.
The guided tour will be relatively short but include some classic bay area roads. In keeping with the classic theme, we’ll have leisurely breakfast at Alice’s Restaurant, 17288 Skyline Blvd, Woodside, CA 94062-5707. Breakfast will be at 8:30AM and the tour will start after breakfast about 9:30AM. We’ll head south on Skyline Blvd for a ways before getting into some of the many twisty roads in the area. We’ll get to Casa de Fruta in time for a late lunch and lots of time to set-up and catch-up with friends before the monthly meeting at 4:00PM. Check back for updates and the route files.
As always, new members and guests are welcome. If you are new to the club and would like to join the ride, please check with the tour captain at the start of the ride. Club members and guests are reminded to have a full tank of gas and be ready to ride at the departure time.
Jim's Country Style Restaurant
5400 Sunol Blvd
Pleasanton, CA, 94566, USA
George C. will be leading the ride, filling in for Cliff while he recovers from a broken arm. The ride will roll out past Carnegie and though Patterson and Altamont Passes.
GPS and PDF maps coming.
NorCal Home Page
Sly Park Group Camp Area
Mormon Emigrant Trail
Pollock Pines, CA 95726
Long-Lat: N38 42.952 W120 33.932
Route Map pdf: Download 2011-Oct-SlyPark V2
Garmin: Download 2011-Oct-Sly Park V2
Local Directions: From Route 50 East, take exit 60 at Pollock Pines onto Sly Park Road. Turn right on Sly Park Road and continue about 5 miles to Mormon Emigrant Trail and turn left for about .6 mile. The entrance to the Group Camp Area will be on your left.
This is our Oktoberfest meeting and dinner is available at the campsite, or Polluck Pines is only 5 miles and has several choices for food.
Our guided tour will start at the Buttercup Grill, 4301 Clayton road, Concord, CA 94521, (925) 521-9224, and we’ll head east on Marsh Creek Road and Byron Hwy to our first stop in Stockton. Then we’ll work our way over to the New Hogan Reservoir for a quick break and then thru West Point and into Pine Grove for lunch. After lunch we’ll ride thru Fiddletown and onto to the Sly Park Group Camp Area. Total tour distance is about 178 miles and we should be at the campground by 2PM. We’ll depart the restaurant after breakfast, between 08:30 and 09:00.
This route is just under 4 hours of riding time, on some great roads, and we’ll have several stops along the way.
If you are new to the club, or just like to ride and would like to join the tour, please check with the tour captain at the start of the ride. Club members and guests are reminded to have a full tank of gas and be ready to ride at the departure time.
The Event Center at Sly Park on Jenkinson Lake features a fully equiped shelter house. Approx 200 feet from the house is a group camp site with picnic tables and a huge fire pit. We can ride our motos right down to this campsite. Most of the tent sites are level. There is a large, modern, clean outhouse between the house and campgrounds.
The entrance to the Event Center is on Mormon Emigrant Trail one mile east of Sly Park road. The entrance is marked with a sign. Also look for the NorCal logo sign at the entrance. Early Birds will have to seek a campsite in the main campground on the lake for Friday night. Reservations can be made on the website mentioned below, but probably won’t be necessary for late October.
See the article by Tom Harris in the September Newsletter (page 4) for more details on the area.
Book early to avoid disappointment. Space is limited.