Lower Nye Campground

Jim Garey! Turned 50 on April 30th. He asked me if we could go on a ride because he was in need of getting away. Who isn't? These are weird times, to say the least. Stay at home, practice social distancing, six feet apart, wear a mask. Why? Because millions are dying each day and if you get this virus, you have two days to live. Stay at home. Keep your gun handy. I mean, that's what you would think, right? So let's crush the economy and put people on welfare. What the f? So we decide to go riding and camping. Campgrounds are closed throughout the state. We are not supposed to gather, even outside in the woods. We can, however, go to Walmart and gather with a thousand people. So we gathered....more than I have ever seen before, around this ride. I think final number was 24 old and young men. Plus, we had 6 four wheeled types. That was actually super cool because it got more guys to join and it allowed for some more comfortable and luxurious camping. More on that later.

This ride was supposed to head north to North Battle Creek Reservoir. However, the rain forecast was not good. So, several guys texted me with concerns and that was valid. I checked weather further south and we were looking pretty good. So, I did some more planning and routing and created some route that I thought could be successful for both bikes and trucks/jeeps. My goal was Lower Nye Campground but I also had Bear Creek in my sights. As it turns out, Matt checked out Bear Creek and said it was even one notch better. So next time! Matt was my planning partner. After I made the tracks I called him and asked him to look them over. We agreed on them as well as a backup to go down to Stonyford and the M10 if the M3 didn't work out. That's important for later.

We gathered at Palan's for kickstands up at 9. To be very honest, I had low expectations. We had guys coming from all over and in various vehicles and some guys still had their bikes in parts on Friday night. As crowd grew in front of the house, I got a little nervous. I feel like neighbors and park users are by and large cool and over this stay at home thing too, but still, it looks bad for those that are taking this thing very seriously. Anyway, quick rider meeting to give non gps people the route and then off we went. I was riding out front and usually I think about each rider and what color they are and if they have the tracks and so on. I quickly gave up. I decided this is going to need to be an every man for himself. It is too big to manage. My route seemed solid and doable without the track, the only thing is whether it was open or not. Turns out, it was perfect.

We got to Elk Creek the back way. Very pleasant ride out. Connected with Rig there and made our right onto the 308. I stopped to wait for all of the car people. They somehow got pretty far behind. But we were in no hurry whatsoever. We took a short break and then off we went. The 308 was smooth and fast. We got pretty high, and in fact shortly away from the M3, when I started to get nervous about my bike guys without the track. Riding without the track in the woods can get tricky, especially if you are alone. We passed a corner that had a significant road to the right and shortly after that I pulled over and turned back. I thumbed up all the guys as I found them and then pulled over in a wide area to pee. Then all of the car guys showed up. Time for a beer!

When I got going again, I found Mark up at the M3. He did the right thing. He wasn't 100% sure which way the other guys went so he waited. He did say he saw dust, but the wise move is to never trust dust. That could be a guy in a prius making that dust. So he and I took off. We had a great time. The track was just perfect. All of the front bike guys had stopped and gathered. Mark and I pulled up and then I ended up in front again. Then, the track got a little rockier and narrower. I was cruising along pretty good when Dave G went flying past me, sideways, with his foot out, roosting it. The KTM450 sounded so good. Those are fun little moments to watch. Matt caught up and rode with me for a while, then he took off to go play with Dave. When I got to the bottom and the Lower Nye camp, those two were getting the lay of the land. It was about 12:30. Dave discovered the back part by the creek and it worked great. It was a little early in the day to set up, but with such a huge group and so much gear, it worked out. Plus, I liked that at this point the track was good and we had no problems. I regret not going down to Bear Creek because we had plenty of time, but Lower Nye was perfect anyway. Dorian showed up with the Jeep and told me to check the coolers on the back. The whole rack was gone! But Jim H had it all in his Landcruiser. The hitch couldn't handle the bouncing and weight.

Once we were all set up it was time for fun. It was on my mind to pace myself as far as alcohol went and I'm happy to report I did not overdo it. I can't say the same for others, but that's what makes these trips so fun. Cut loose, enjoy, don't worry about it. Tyler brought a brand new huge bottle of Crown and Dorian brought a huge bottle of Bullet. In the morning, I'm happy to report, the Crown was empty and the Bullet close. Dorian made smoked ribs and that is a new high. It rained a bit. I was prepared. I carry a little fold up umbrella in my kit. I took quite a razzing for this. Thankfully, Jim H and Jarrod each had an easy up. These made for good refuge when it rained a little harder. At one point, many men in each easy up, fire in between, someone started the chant of Tastes Great, Less Filling. It was so funny. Totally organic.

It was so cool to have so many great guys. It was fun to watch the small group conversations and move around and join in. Good times that. Mike had brought boccie ball and that turned out to be a hit too. I lot of old friends got to connect and a lot of new friends were made. Good stuff.

We played poker under the stars. It really cleared up. Maybe so much that it froze overnight. All of the gear had frost on it. I had a tough time opening my luggage to get my coffee cup. I slept well and was cozy, but I have a killer sleeping bag. Others struggled more and you could see the look in their eye around coffee. Dorian and Justin got up at 2:45 or something and remade the fire. So fun!

We took our time packing up. During this time, we decided to head into Willows from Elk Creek and have lunch at The Stand. It was fabulous except for one thing. Matt wasn't with us and we didn't know where he was. I was worried, to say the least. Mainly because I had walked him to his tent in the meadow late Saturday night. He was struggling with this walking thing. He had his chair and I asked him to give it to me, but he said no, I'm using it as a cane. Hahaha. In the morning, he was doing better than I expected. However, he was the last to be ready and Dave G and I checked on him. He said his bike had started and he'd catch up. We took off. I figured he was 10 to 15 minutes to throw a leg over. Dave and I caught the vehicles and then more riders. We all ended up in Elk Creek and Kurt was already there. Bike guys waited for car guys. Car guys showed, without the truck and trailer of Jarrod's because they were staying longer and heading elsewhere. When Mark and Swen showed up in the Jeep without Matt, we all got concerned. Had he fallen down? Did he have trouble getting his bike started? Dangit. No cell service between me and Matt or Jim G and his family. So we decided to go to Willows because my parting words with Matt was lunch at The Stand.

We ate burgers and just hung around in hopes of some communication. The town of Willows just seemed open to me. Yes, the burger spot had some distance rules, but overall, they were super busy. Plus, a 79 year old man was our chatty Kathy guy while we waited in line. Is he supposed to be in the vulnerable category? I think people are really fed up with this business. Guys started heading out. There was no reason for the whole group to go back if that was our plan. People kept asking me what we are going to do. I'm like, why is this my problem? I just made the tracks! And Rig is all, you are right Peter, it's not yours alone. And then I looked at Raphael and Todd and I'm like, wait, you are a nurse and you are a firefighter, you are the two guys that should go back. And call Dorian, what if Matt has a broken tooth too! Dorian and Raph and Todd are the guys to go back. Damn. Jim G and Dave G went to go get gas and then Kurt, Mike, and Tyler and I all decided we had to head back. The logic was Kurt and I could make better time on the bikes and if we needed to haul the ktm we would eventually have the truck. We literally just made that plan when I got a text from Matt. I guess he sent the text earlier from Lower Nye but it didn't go, but he must have ridden somewhere in cell service and it finally sent. He said he decided to close the loop and go the other route out that he and I looked at. I had guessed that that might be the case earlier in our discussions, but had no way to tell until this moment. A huge sigh of relief at this point because we knew he was okay.

We headed on home, just 4 bikes at this point. At my place, Mike showed up to drop some truck stuff off, Kurt came down for final goodbyes, and we loaded up Dave G's ktm into his truck.

Other than the miscommunication, we really didn't have much go wrong. Jim G lost his front brake lever somewhere. Kurt forgot to turn off his fuel and it filled the cylinder and locked the motor. We pushing it in gear to clear that out and then it got started. And Dorian's rack broke with all of the weight of the beer and ribs. But the Yeti's held strong and dinner was saved!

So, all in all, it was a success. I needed this success since my last ride was a broken rib ride. This was good stuff. I like it when things go smoothly on the track and we don't have a bunch of issues.

Great scenery, good to get out in our forest, good people, good times. It is so therapeutic to laugh like we do. As I was riding home, I had a bunch of motorcycle memories. I don't have very many bad ones. I was thinking a little about the sport bikes on Thunderhill as we passed that. I was thinking about the desert. I was thinking about coast rides and redwoods. All such good stuff. All good memories. Motorcycles are cool and they bring cool people together. I like my DR. It really does reverything. It isn't the best at anything, but does it all well. I still like street riding. I kind of enjoyed the fifty fifty mix of this trip. Yes, I'd like a lighter bike in the woods. But once on the street, the DR is home and I love my little windscreen. I like the travel part of riding. I like going places and seeing new things. Look at that M3 and how close to home it is. I think that's only the second time I've been on it. It is so cool. You could take a car on it really. No reason to not go.

Matt and I talked on the phone. He feels bad. I think it is mildly funny that I actually guessed what he did. I just couldn't verify until that text came in. I think we need to tar and feather him though. We'll vote on this later! Matt!

Anyway, as I've had said before, if a man can be judged by the friends he keeps, then I am judged very well indeed. Thanks for being my friends fellas! And thanks for being flexible and having a good time.

Until next time! Cheers

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