Joshua Posting: A Ride to Virginia City, NV

     Geiger Grade (Nevada State Highway 341) is the quintessential twisty/turney ride for any motorcyclist visiting the Reno/Sparks/Carson City area. The ride to Virginia City, NV, from Reno, is wonderful for many reasons. It is not that long (30 miles from our house), it is a great twisty/technical ride, the scenery is awesome, Virginia City is a great old mining town with lots of history, there are some great restaurants, great shops, and the list goes on and on. It is also one of the roads both Alissa and I cut our teeth on riding big cruiser bikes. I have "rubbed" the footboards on my Heritage Softtail many a time going up and down the grade, and we still look forward to the ride every time.

     We both had a great ride, even though the weather conditions were not quite ideal. I ran the whole Grade at the posted speed limit of 45 MPH, even through the corners I used to take at 25-30 on the Heritage. Alissa pushed a little harder than she used to on her V-Star, and even commented "Wow, it is actually windy" when we parked the bikes in town. The handling is great, and I think the fairings and weight do a great job of negating the effect of the wind. The new bikes are AMAZING!

     Running back down the Grade was a similar experience, with minimal traffic, and a couple of wild Mustangs (wild horses) thrown in. While the ride is beautiful, there are some thing to be wary of. The Mustangs, falling rocks, and car wrecks are among the potential hazards we have seen over the years. As always when traveling, caution and prudence are the order of the day. Ride safe, rubber side down, and we will be back soon with more tales from the road.

   

The Twins in Virginia City, NV, with Sugarloaf mountain in the background

Josh Posting: A Dream on Wheels

     Yesterday is the first day I can remember not being uptight about getting home from a ride after 7:30 pm. What started out as a 250 mile ride ended up being a 330 mile ride. I decided to try to find a route we had been on once before, which winds past Antelope Lake in Plumas County, CA. It turned out to be a wonderful, twisty, rustic, and middle of nowhere road that added most of the extra mileage because it did not run in a straight line like the original route. The main reason for lack of stress is the  level of comfort on our new motorcycles.

   

SouthWest shore of Lake Almanor, CA

Near Antelope Lake, Plumas County, CA

Near Antelope Lake, Plumas County, CA

Rest Stop on 395 by Honey Lake, just south of Janesville, CA

   

 Our 2014 Ultra Glide Limiteds have many features that make the ride safer and more comfortable. From the audio system to the super comfy saddle, there is just too much to list, so I will start with the full faring. It is actually two parts, an upper and a lower fairing. Combined they block most of the wind while riding, which is nice on a chilly morning. There are vents to open if the rider wants more airflow around their body. There is also a vent in the upper fairing which creates an updraft just behind the windshield which keeps the airflow from coming over the windshield and buffeting the rider's head. Another benefit is gusty winds do not seem to push the bike around like they did my 2005 Heritage Softtail. Perhaps the extra 200 pounds has something to do with it as well. I am pleasantly surprised at the huge difference a full fairing makes in comfort and reduced fatigue. After three days on the bike coming back from Ocean Beach, CA, I still did not want to get off.

Home Sweet Home

     We have had the bikes for just over a month, and yesterday put both at just over 3000 miles. Our Ocean Beach trip was 1600 miles, and there was a discrepancy of two (2) miles on our trip odometers. Most of the time we are riding together, and having the same motorcycles makes planning for fuel stops and maintenance pretty easy. We both weigh about the same, are within 2 inches in height, and carry similar loads when we travel. It will be interesting to see how the only difference, our riding styles, will affect each machine. I will keep you posted...

Alissa Posts: Yearly Pilgrimage

Every year, my friends and I take our pilgrimage to Ocean Beach, California. We come from all over the place and we travel in a variety of vessels to spend as much time as we can in this cute little house near Dog Beach. That smile you see pictured above is pretty much permanent unless I am laughing. We have been doing this trip for ten years! We each have an account so we can help each other when times are tough, or, in the case of this year, when we want to celebrate a life change, like our friends getting married and doing the happily-ever-after thing.

Josh and I work in public education, so our friends
schedule their yearly vacation time for our spring vacation. I know, cool, right? That's because we know the coolest people EVER! And we love them immeasurably!

We visit the same places... Kevin's JumpStart Coffee Cart (he knows us by now), Bravo's Mexican Bistro and Cantina for delicious tacos and mango margaritas, Hodad's (http://hodadies.com) for burgers (yes, it is worth the wait~ whatever it is~ and we get asked every year), South Beach for oysters on the half shell and the view (http://www.southbeachob.com), Mother's Saloon because they have the most delicious macaroni and cheese (we call it crack and cheese), the AZ for a drink (http://www.theazcafe.com/site/) because it's thirsty work on vacation, and Pat's Liquor Store on the corner for just about anything from lottery tickets to champagne.

Every year, we try to take a slightly different route. This year, we took highway 95 to Death Valley after a snowstorm curbed our plan to head down the coast. Getting over the Sierras was just too risky, even with the new bikes.

This year, we were able to take a friend on our day trip to Julian, CA. It's a beautiful ride through some twisty roads into a really cute mining town. Julian is now known for its apples and we were able to bring back an apple-boysenberry pie for the troops (something we've not been able to finagle in years past).

Leaving OB

View along the trip

Another view along our way

A rest area stop (Yes, we took Kewpie along, too. She hates to miss anything!)

We were able to take our coastal trip on the way home. What a great way to end the trip~ taking the long way on Lady Illiria and Freddy (our Harley- Davidson Ultras). We rode highways 1 and 101 and stopped in Morro Bay for a night, as well as Santa Cruz for a night. We've stayed in Morro Bay before and love it there! A fantastic seafaring town, dog-friendly and with delicious seafood. What a treat! Plus, we got to listen to the sea lions! We keep thinking this is a place to spend more time. 

In Santa Cruz, we found the most delicious Indian fusion restaurant! (http://www.indiajoze.com/index.shtml) This is a must-stop! They are SO friendly and the food is SO delicious, we would return just to eat there again! Truly! And in the morning? THE BEST coffee (next to Kevin's, of course), Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company (http://www.santacruzcoffee.com). 

The riding... hoo! The riding was outstanding! Over 1600 miles and it just gets better! Where I used to get nervous pushing Floyd (my 2007 V-Star 1300) through the freeway turns going over Interstate 80 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains... nothing! Set the cruise and hit the road. Just delicious! I leave it to Josh to talk techie with you. Suffice to say I am satiated: I spent quality time with friends I love doing things I enjoy with the intent of doing it over and over again. (Beach, wash, rinse, repeat)

It's a good life and I am a lucky girl.