4th Annual Bikes on the Bay

Sunday, June 28 is the upcoming 4th Annual Bikes on the Bay vintage motorcycle show at the Capitola Mall near Santa Cruz, CA.

The 4th Annual Capitola/Soquel Vintage Motorcycle Show is held in the parking lot of the Mall located on 41st Ave, Capitola. Aside from the vintage cycles there is entertainment, food, swap meet, vendors, etc. The show draws local families as well as lots of bikers who appreciate the oldies.

The show runs from 9am to 4pm on Sunday, June 28th so if you're in the Monterey Bay area that day ride on over to beautiful Capitola and have some fun.

It's Ride to Work Day!

For those of you who have a job, you probably already ride to work whenever the weather cooperates. If you don't, today is a day to get out there and join together with riders everywhere who are using their motorcycles for daily transportation.

It takes a little planning and organization if you take items to work with you. Once you find a place to carry everything, (laptop, lunch, extra clothes to change into once you arrive, if needed)
you will find a routine that is quick, comfortable, and a great way to begin your workday.

From Wikipedia:
Ride To Work is a Minnesota-based charitable organization devoted to increasing awareness of motorcycling as a transportation alternative, mainly through the annual Ride to Work Day. The organization was incorporated in 2000 by Andy Goldfine, the owner of Aerostich.
Ride to Work Day started in 1992 as an informal event, before Ride To Work existed. In 2009, Ride to Work Day will be on June 15.
According to a 2006 statement to the National Transportation Safety Board by Goldfine, Ride to Work Day is the largest motorcycle event by number of participants. Ride to Work Day is also run in other countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Israel, Turkey, Ecuador and the Philippines. In the United Kingdom, the Motorcycle Industry Association runs the event alongside National Motorcycle Week.

This year the day was moved up from July. It will from now on be the 3rd Monday in June. This was decided partly because the weather in most parts of the world is milder in June than July, and I guess Europeans are on summer holiday in July so aren't riding to work then.

I, for one, won't be working today. Still looking. I will be riding today, though aimlessly with no destination. That's the best kind of riding, right?

The Victory Arrives in Santa Cruz

Special Note: I promised my son that I would write a new post since I haven't been updating for quite some time. I knew I was disappointing some of my regular readers, but when my son asked me "what's up with your blog, Mom?" I felt really bad. While I promised him a couple of weeks ago, it has taken me this long to actually do it. Nate has grown into a wonderful person and a thinking, responsible adult. I am really proud of him and can't let him down. So this is for you, Nate.

I've been living in Santa Cruz since November and was without my Vulcan until late December. I've ridden alone since then, aside from a couple of rides with my brother and with my Salinas friends. On Memorial Day weekend Dave decided he would ride the Victory from Seattle to Santa Cruz and leave it down here. That way when he is here a couple of times a month we can go for rides together and enjoy exploring the lovely California roads.

According to Dave, the ride south was alot of fun but mostly uneventful. I guess that's a good thing when your bike doesn't let you down. He rode I-5 most of the way, which climbs across the Siskeyous and is a straight ride towards San Francisco. He rode 600 miles the first day and stopped in Anderson, CA for the night. The next day was 300 miles and he arrived here around 1:30 pm. The weather was good all the way through Washington and Oregon, with a few sprinkles as he passed into California. From there on it was great. I felt a little jealous as he kept calling to check in with me along the way. It sounded so fun!!

After riding all that time, the next day he was ready to ride again. We rode down the coast on Highway 1 from Santa Cruz to Big Sur. I can't even describe the scenery as we passed through Monterey and down along the coast south of there. There were no photos taken as it is a winding, 2 lane road with no guardrails to protect you from falling down giant cliffs to the sea.

It was great riding together once again and was another gorgeous day.

This is the famous Bixby Bridge that you may have seen on TV and in movies. This is the landmark bridge near Big Sur.



I can't wait to ride further south one day to explore Hearst Castle, Pismo Beach and other destinations I've never been.

Once Dave got the Victory to California, he looked up to see where the nearest dealer is in case he needs work or parts. THERE ARE NONE. The nearest 'dealer' is in Danville, about 100 miles away. If anyone in the Monterey area, San Jose area, or Santa Cruz area knows of anyone who works on Victory motorcycles, please let me know. I guess there aren't many other Victorys around here so Dave should be getting some good attention when he rides.