Jun 18, 2011
Alyson, Alex, Preston and I parted ways in Sonora, California. They had to do Yosemite without me since the road has been closed right at the Yosemite entrance requiring us to take a 4 hour detour. Today they are heading to San Francisco where they will be through Sunday. One of the things they plan to do in Frisco is take a guided fishing trip on the San Francisco Bay.
Once we departed I headed to South Lake Tahoe. I’m not a fan of heights, but you just can’t get to South Lake Tahoe without going through some high mountains via pig trails. After making the trip I’m glad I did Imagine being able to ride in only a long sleeve shirt comfortably through mountains at 8500 feet, with snow covering the mountain as rapids intensely run down along side the mountain passes. It was amazing.
I made it to South Lake Tahoe from Sonora in about 5 hours. Once I got there, the first person I ran into was Nick. He is a good old Louisisna fellow who has spent much of his time this last year in Japan. He has an article in The Horse Magazine on his efforts in obtaining a motorcycle drivers license in Japan. Very interesting. He was actually on the plane heading back to the states when Japan was destroyed by the great tsunami. Needless to say, Nick, Chris and I headed out to find our fellow Stampeders. We found them at Road Rash Bar And Grill (ok, it’s really just a bar). There is where I got to see all my mc friends. Sadly, this is about the only time I get to see them each year. Everyone got to hang out and visit (while checking out our competitors bikes). Let me tell you, there are some sweet bikes here.
As nightfall hit, many of us headed to our resting locations. Before departing I learned “unofficially” that there will only be 50 miles of interstate on this Stampede, and this will be the longest and most time consuming Stampede to date. (who knows what is true or false at this point). The Stampeders will be making finally preparations on their bikes today. I went to bed last night and the temperatures were in the 70′s and I wake up to 42 degrees. Ouch!!! Stay tuned as the green flag starts warming up……
