Fresno Ride with the Rotary Motorcycle Fellowship (March 31 – April 2)

(Don Presten and Lew Anderson)

· Friday… As always, I look forward to riding with the Rotocyclists. As a close riding partner of Lew Anderson, I was invited to ride with his Rotary group on the first San Louis Obispo ride many years back. I have since made half dozen trips with this group as a guest of Lew’s and I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them. Since Lew and I would not be able to attend this years San Louis Obispo ride due to scheduling conflicts, we decided to join up on this ride to Fresno. Lew had to teach a Police Academy class Friday morning, so we didn’t actually get on the road until about 11:30 on Friday. We had decided to make a “bonsai” run taking the shortest/fastest route to Fresno so we could be there before dinner. The weather was perfect – mid 70’s and 80’s. We headed to LA via Hwy 5 and stayed at 75 mph all the way to the base of the Grapevine before we finally ran out of gas and stopped. That 2-hour leg was a lot of work…we had to deal with the standard LA traffic and even though it was mid afternoon, we still had to be on our guard. Once we started out over the Grapevine, we allowed ourselves to relax and begin to enjoy the ride. We stayed on Hwy 5 until we hit Hwy 99. We took 99 through Bakersfield and into Fresno arriving tired, hungry and thirsty after 6 and a half hours of straight riding – side by side most of the way. (Lew is one of the few riders I will ride side-by-side with – we have been doing it for years and know each other’s riding habits very well. Synchronized lane changes and U-turns are a work of art and really impress the other drivers!) This was the first “long distance” ride I have made on my new 1999 Yamaha Venture – the bike lived up to its design and the ride was very enjoyable. The “Road Sofa” was wonderful – especially with the stereo blasting! The way these weekend rides work is that a hotel is designated and everyone uses Friday as the “get there” day – an informal dinner is usually the standard and the actual organized ride occurs on Saturday. Sunday is the “get home” day. Riders from all over the state usually participate and this ride was no different. When Lew and I arrived at Ramada on Hwy 41 (Gateway to Yosemite), most of the group was already in the bar enjoying the local micro-brew and dinner was scheduled for 7pm. Lew and I had time to unpack, shower and have a couple of cold ones before the dinner. Boy, they were good! We had a celebrity as our waitress – she informed us that she was the bikini queen of the local Turkey Testicle Festival (and yes, it IS a real festival). There is a story here, but you had to be there to understand. After drinks, we headed into the dinning room for a nice meal and fellowship. I was nice seeing everyone again – it had been more than a year since I last rode with these folks. After a nice meal, we were all off to the sack and looking forward to the “Big Ride” tomorrow. · Saturday… Ride Day! About 12 bikes headed out after breakfast for a tour of the Fresno foothills – When I don’t have to lead a ride, I really don’t pay a whole lot of attention to the route. So from my prospective, we saw a lot of really nice country, some rivers, a huge Dam (Pine Flat Dam) and lake and a lot more before we stopped for lunch in Three Rivers. After lunch, we all suited up for the 2000-yard dash to a local landmark – a candy and ice cream place where we had dessert. At this point (it was mid afternoon, and as the crow flies, we were a good 2 hours from the hotel), some of the riders opted to head back to the hotel while others wanted to try and hit Sequoia and Kings Canyon National parks before dark. Lew choose the former and I choose the latter. A smaller group of seven bikes head up the mountain into Sequoia National Park – up to this point, it was warm enough for tee shirts and leather vests, but after paying our $5 at the gate (Ash Mountain), we headed STRAIGHT UP and soon jackets were required. At about 6000 feet, we stopped for a view of Morrow Rock. The road is very twisty and for the first time that day, my arms began to tire – wrestling that 800-pound bike on road like this can be a chore at times. To top it off, they we doing road work which brought the lane size down to one. Three times on the way to the top, we were stopped (for up to 10 minutes) while traffic came down, before we were allow to go up. Not a big deal – actually we kinda laughed about it. As we approached the famous “General Sherman Tree”, the snow showed up. There was still a lot of it on the ground, but except for a few small patches, the roads were dry. The views were fantastic and the pace allowed us to enjoy them. Now, I am not sure how many of you have actually been to Sequoia National Park, but it is very easy to see how it got its name. The trees are HUGE – not tall, as much as big around! The sequoia is touted as “The Earth’s Largest Living Thing”. The General Sherman tree is over 2700 years old, it largest BRANCH is 7 feet in diameter and is the largest tree (as well as living thing) in the world. This is an amazing place – the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 6^th largest trees in the world are within a mile of each other. We spent some time just gawking at them, but the afternoon was growing late and we wanted to make another stop at the General Grant tree before heading home. By now we are above 7000 feet and there is snow everywhere (except the road) and it was a beautiful sight. By now, I had my jacket, chaps and winter gloves on (grin!). With a quick stop at the General Grant, it was time to head down the mountain and back to Fresno – it was approaching 5pm and we still had a couple of hours ride to get “home”. Nonetheless, even that leg was awesome as we came down though Kings Canyon. That night, we met at a local German eatery for some great Ruben’s and beer before heading back for cigars and a nightcap by the hotel pool. Tomorrow, we had to head home and we all had long rides ahead of us. · Sunday… Going home… We all met for breakfast and handshakes. Those of us who had to head south (5 bikes) joined up for a trip to Bakersfield. On the way, we stopped at one of only 12 US Indian Motorcycle dealerships (which was also a Dodge dealership!) to take our first look at the new Indian. It is quite impressive, actually…but at little pricey at $24,000. From there, it was time for another “split-up”. Lew and I decided that a quick loop along the Kern River, around Lake Isabella and through Kernville was in order before we started our “bonsai” run for home. It was worth it and the scenery was great. The Kern River Canyon was awesome, but Lake Isabella was very low. From there, it was into Lancaster, Palmdale, on to Hwy 15 and home. It was a great ride all around. Some final notes… I want to thank the Rotary Motorcyclists for another fine trip – I really enjoy riding with them. These rides are always well organized and they are a true pleasure. I also think I brought home about 25% of Fresno’s insect population and it took me 7 hours to remove them from every nook and cranny on my motorcycle – may the rest in peace.