Check out this video of Alex's California Escape. It shows a nice tour of Southern and Northern California with don't miss places like Death Valley and laid-back Sonoma County. And the Pacific Coast Highway, of course, too. Nicely done!
The Women's Motorcyclist Foundation's charitable/rider training programs are open for registration. Each program is designed to teach, improve and/or hone existing riding skills plus raise funds for breast cancer research. Every penny raised by the riders will go directly to the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation.
Hollister Hills State Vehicular Vehicle Park, CA. If you're not local, fly in to San Jose, CA. They will pick you up. Bike provided!
See the AFTC Article for complete information.
Women's Session is May 6-10, 2013, and the Co-Ed Session: May 13 - 17, 2013.
Women's Motorcyclist Foundation will send you your fund raising kit and instructions on how to set up your online fund raising page.
The expectations for fund raisers are reasonable in light of the economy. Plus, your travel expenses and meals can be deducted when you file your income tax as both the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the WMF are Federally recognized 501(c)3 tax exempt organizations.
SFO is notorious for delays, so plan ahead! Best Western El Rancho Inn in Millbrae near SFO has a "Stranded Traveler" program. If you stay there and your flight is delayed by several hours, you can take the shuttle back to the hotel and enjoy the facilities (pool, fitness, sun decks)and return to SFO on the shuttle. And, if you are delayed until the following day, you get a room for the night at no extra charge.
Its time again for Restaurant Month in Marin County! From cozy and casual to elegant and refined, Marin County is known throughout the country for its agriculture and family farms. Many Marin restaurants source their food from farms and farmers markets directly, providing guests an array of culinary choices to delight their palate.
via Marin County Restaurant Month.
Yosemite is a favorite destination for locals and a must-see for travelers to California, and there are plenty of great motorcycle roads in the area. I hope you get a chance to visit, and to stay a while to stretch your legs and breath in the scent of the mountains, enjoying the sounds and the silence of the pristine wilderness. Soon the area will be snowed in, but you're probably thinking about your motorcycle destinations for next year, anyway. Here's some food for thought, and some winter reading.
Nicole Espinosa and I were caught on camera in the parking lot of the Montbleu Hotel and Casino in South Lake Tahoe, headquarters for the first annual Lake Tahoe Adventure Motorcycle Ride & Rendezvous. We had a lot of fun there, and I hope to see you there next year.
Go get a cup of tea, sit back, and watch this video by adventure motorcyclist, photographer and multimedia developer John Beck. Experience the American West from Utah through Nevada to the Sierras and Lake Tahoe, on and off-road. Guaranteed to create a new dream or two.
ADVENTURE SUMMIT from Jon Beck on Vimeo.
Friction Zone's got a great article with tankbag tearsheet in the October issue about riding to Grover Beach in the Central Coast region, a spectacular destination for Fall motorcycle touring. Editor Amy Holland writes, "California's coastline is 840 miles long, a distance equal to 375 laps around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca or a main-road ride from Seattle, Washington to Salt Lake City, Utah. (California's tidal shoreline is far longer at 3,427 miles — the riding distance between Seattle and Florida's Key Largo.) About 75 percent of those 840 miles can be explored via California's SR1 which runs from tiny Leggett in the redwoods of northern Mendocino County down to the sandy beaches of Dana Point in southern Orange County. And all along the way, that spectacularly beautiful and winding coastal highway is dotted with quaint towns and villages that beg for further exploration. Because of this, any ramble along SR1 usually results in firm promises to pass this way again—and stay awhile next time…" Watch the video!" And pick up Friction Zone at your local motorcycle shop, or subscribe to get it delivered to your mailbox.
Momentum is building for TheThing at Motostrano, our 10 year anniversary event next Saturday the 29th. We are going to open at 9AM on Saturday and start the day with a parking lot sale of clearance items from our warehouse. Show up early, grab some High Wheel Coffee, and get the good dibs on various sundry of parts and accessories, open-box stuff, returns and odds and ends from the following brands: ACERBIS, UFO, CYCRA, EBC, POLISPORT, BRAKING, EXCEL, CRG, SUPERMOTO ENGINEERING, STM, RIZOMA, G2 ERGONOMICS, ZETA, CONTINENTAL, AVON, ALPINESTARS, SIDI, ICON, Z1R, LEO VINCE, ARROW, AKRAPOVIC. The kinds of things we'll have to rummage through will include plastics, mounting hardware, exhausts, tires, grips, handlebars, wind shields, spacers, sliders, frame plugs, levers, seats, sticker kits, boots, gloves, jackets, helmets, brake rotors, fenders. Prices will be marked down between 50 and 80%. All sales will be final. The Parking lot sale will end at 1pm. More info.
The first annual Lake Tahoe Adventure Motorcycle Ride & Rendezvous was held from August 24-26, 2012 in perfect riding conditions whether you prefer tarmac, dirt, water, gravel, rocks, sand, or all of the above. “The more dirt on your bike, the better,” was the mantra, but my personal goal was to not fall down on my new-to-me KLR dual-sport.
