Courtesy of Rich Mample:

Surprisingly, JD's in Castro Valley turned out to be a good spot after all from which to set out on our East Bay Ride.  I had feared that if too many riders showed up JD's would be too small to accommodate us, thus forcing us to move down the road to "Baker's Square", which is always a good stand by.  But you know, the only specialty BS's possess is that pre-fabricated ambiance we're all so bored with.  So, I was pulling for a smaller group of core riders, and I got my wish.

Al Soboleski, Jeff Aldrich and I (a VFR bunch entirely) rode over from the Peninsula, arriving about quarter-to-nine, apparently first on scene.  Astonishingly, all three of us were able to pull into a parking spot right in front of busy JD's, right there on Castro Valley Blvd, right where anybody having trouble finding the place would spot our bikes and be saved.  A good start.

After yakking for awhile with Al & Jeff about who else might show up I decided to check out the very small parking lot behind JD's for other bikes, and sure enough I spotted a '98 VTR with a Penski shock and Staintune slip-on's, immediately causing me to realize that, "Gee, we're not the first guys here at all; Steve Quaday is!"; whereupon, he popped around the corner telling me to get the fuck away from his bike! Which, naturally, cracked us both up! (Perhaps we're sick).

Anyway, we were now four, quickly joined by Manny Talavera (CBR6) and his friend Andres (CBR1), making us six; and then by Leonard Lloyd (XB12), making us seven, that happy number, perfectly amenable to JD's table space and staff.

So, as I'd hoped we would, we ate a good breakfast at JD's, setting us up nicely for our ride, which - minus Jeff, who could only do b'fast - started almost immediately from JD's: North on Redwood Road, past the San Leandro Reservoir to Canyon Road; east on Canyon past St Mary's College, into Lafayette; then onto Hwy 24 for a brief Fwy ride to Walnut Creek's Ygnacio Valley Rd and Walnut Ave, which according to my map, would take us right up Mt Diablo, that eminent pinnacle from which to view the entire Bay Area and beyond - well beyond; in fact, all the way to Shasta in the north and the Sierra's in the East on a good day, which indeed, we had.

But, here my defenses dropped for just a minute and my map got me! Actually, my map complicit with the City of Walnut Creek, which, maybe to accommodate the high income tax payers of the area, had, at a key point on our route, installed a European style 'traffic circle' , which only served to baffle me, and which somehow led us away from what we should have been looking for in the first place: not Walnut Rd but North Gate Rd; which we certainly would have been doing if only the map's producers hadn't decided to use the smallest of print to denote the fact that Walnut turns into North Gate, and this for reasons no one can understand - unless you're Jeff Aldrich; who at this point, I'm glad wasn't around to explain (I'm sure you'll understand, Jeff).

Anyhow, Manny and Leonard managed to figured it out, so after paying a $6 fee (Yes, $6!) we proceeded to wind our way up to the summit of Mt Diablo, passing dozens of bicyclists all along the way, all peddling to the top, and all trying to convince us they were having fun in the process. (Actually, we did admire their feat and told them so at the top; it's a long, steep grind, lots of leg-torque required!).

As it turned out, our $6 view from the top was just short of perfect, well worth the fee. Just a little haze spoiled our long distance views - of Shasta, for example - but otherwise, the entire Bay Area was right there for us to behold and contemplate, which we did for a bit longer than I'd planned; although, we were all glad of it; it was beautiful up there!

Our down-the-hill ride - on SOUTH GATE Rd (?) - was also a good one, this time with a couple of bicyclists actually wanting to race us down the hill; to which challenge Manny responded; and naturally won; with no riders of either sort lost. Then, it was Blackhawk Rd to Crow Canyon Rd; Crow Cyn to 580 East, and then another very short Fwy stint to the Palomares Rd Exit.

Now, from this point, I was quite naturally thinking we'd proceed directly onto Palomares Rd, which my map - once again falsely! - showed as being right there; you know, right off the fwy, RIGHT THERE where we were expecting to see it! But, no. Somehow, it wasn't there. Palo Verde Rd was there, but not our target, Palomares Rd! So, I'm thinking, "..., well, actually, my mind just goes blank at moments like this, so I wasn't thinking much of anything. I just figured "What the heck, it can't be far...", we'll just ride down the road a bit and pick it up; but no; never in life; no such luck; Palomares Rd was nowhere to be found! So, we huddled up, kicked some thoughts around, and decided to do the logical thing, i.e.; to ride back the way we came, again passing Palo Verde Rd, but certainly we'd find our target very close by. But - this time with growing exasperation on my part - again, no such luck. Again we failed to find our target!

Well, yes, at this point, I must admit, even I was a bit aggravated. Only this time I was thinking; "it's gotta be the county's fault" (I'd already blamed the map-makers)

But, regardless, there we were, all just sitting there. For my part, as already stated, I was baffled, but, mind you, not blaming myself; and everybody else was baffled, too, but without doubt they were blaming me (bastards!). Then, however, as if to save the day, Al who with his brilliant close-up vision had been closely examining my despicably contrived map, noticed some VERY small print indicating that, just a tad before becoming Palomares Rd, Palomares is actually Palo Verde Rd! (Why? Who can explain this? The mapmakers? Or the county guys? I don't think so! The sods!)

Anyway, thank you, Al. You are to be commended for saving most of us; most, but not all; sadly, and only God knows how or where, we lost Leonard; and then quickly afterwards Andres, too, who since he had to motor all the way back to The City, figured this might be a good place to start back.

Never-the-less, we had a mission to complete, so the rest of us carried on down Palomares: normally a good road little traveled, but on this day, treacherously full of wind blown debris from trees lining the road; which, however, we braved at a nice pace and no lost riders.

Palomares soon took us to Niles Cyn Rd, and from there it was only a short scoot into the nicely rural 'railroad' town of Sunol for a late lunch and some convivial yakking. Yes, I caught some flack - deservedly so, I guess - about "all the U-turn's" and the virtues of "pre-riding a route". So, OK. I'll put it in my book.

After lunch, we lost yet another rider: Steve had to motor all the way back down to Morgan Hill, and he too figured he should get started to beat weekend traffic. But, he shouldn't have: from Sunol, Al, Manny and I attacked Calaveras Rd; we attacked it briskly, only encountering two vehicles along the way, and we were rewarded with exactly the kind of riding we all love to do every once in a while when no one's looking. Good old Calaveras Road!

Finally, to cap things off, we did Felter Rd to Sierra Rd, bringing us back up into the hills and to yet another brilliant view of the Bay Area, this time of the entire South Bay. Gorgeous! We were all too happy, glad to have been zipping around all day in good company, completely surrounded by Bay Area populations, and yet, most of the time, amazingly unaware of it! Riding motorcycles!

Yes. It was a good day. And we deserved it. And, for my money, Gentlemen (and Ladies!), from this point forward, it's damn the maps and ahead full throttle!