A trip to Lincoln
Apr. 21st, 2008 04:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snousleBusy busy busy! Went to a BBQ at Tim and Ed's in Lincoln last night. From San Jose, it's about 150 miles north to Ukiah, and also about 150 miles north to Lincoln. So Ukiah and Lincoln must be really close, right? BZZZT!!! I knew this intellectually, but my geographical instincts tend to lead me astray. It's still 150 miles from Ukiah to Lincoln. It is, after all, very nearly in the Sierra foothills. So a casual ride ended up being, um, about five hours with all the scenic detouring.
Anyway, the riding was excellent but the weather was unreasonably cold. The blue sky and sunshine was just a ruse. I'll tell ya, though, it's sure going to be nice when it warms up a little. Being able to go motorcycling without any urban freeways or city traffic to deal with is just THUUUPER EXTHELLENT.
There's a number of casinos scattered around northern CA; I stuck my nose into one and was blown away by the abundance of lonely, crusty, blue-collar roughnecks with huge moustaches in there, apparently up to no good whatsoever. (Why am I so turned on to lost souls?)
Pity that I hate gambling, because this would surely be a good place to cruise. You know, get a cheap room and go trolling. I just might, anyway. On the plus side, casinos remind me that although gay bathhouses are kind of weird, they aren't that weird. To create a truly socially dysfunctional space, apparently, requires the touch of a heterosexual.
I got to Tim's place rather later than expected, but not far after the guys who had been out riding already. I'd arranged to make veggies in oyster sauce, so I was carrying my trusty wok on the back along with the usual sleeping roll. Ed has a high-power gas burner that worked quite well for the purpose. I thought I'd made too much, but the veggies were devoured instantly. The grilled sirloin Ed made was also excellent.
The big surprise was to see their irrigation canal - cum - swimming hole, which last summer looked like this:
and now looks like this:
This wasn't his doing - the regional water district has an easement across his land, and it was their thing. I was a bit alarmed, since this canal has always offered such an exquisite way to clean up after getting totally covered in mud. It's not clear yet how this change will affect its swimming potential. It might have turned it into a redneck version of the infinite lap pool, you know, the kind that's advertised in the margins of the New Yorker. Which would be cool.
Everyone left at dusk, and Tim and Ed turn in early, so I crashed in their guest room and was up at dawn and on the road at 7:30. It wasn't so cold as yesterday, but it was definitely a chilly ride. Real nice, though. I stopped for breakfast at Graziella's in Williams, where they'd had a fire that gutted the restaurant but left the deli intact. They had salt cod, albeit at a crippling price of $20 a pound. How could I resist? But dang, eating like an Italian peasant is sure expensive these days.
Anyway, the riding was excellent but the weather was unreasonably cold. The blue sky and sunshine was just a ruse. I'll tell ya, though, it's sure going to be nice when it warms up a little. Being able to go motorcycling without any urban freeways or city traffic to deal with is just THUUUPER EXTHELLENT.
There's a number of casinos scattered around northern CA; I stuck my nose into one and was blown away by the abundance of lonely, crusty, blue-collar roughnecks with huge moustaches in there, apparently up to no good whatsoever. (Why am I so turned on to lost souls?)
Pity that I hate gambling, because this would surely be a good place to cruise. You know, get a cheap room and go trolling. I just might, anyway. On the plus side, casinos remind me that although gay bathhouses are kind of weird, they aren't that weird. To create a truly socially dysfunctional space, apparently, requires the touch of a heterosexual.
I got to Tim's place rather later than expected, but not far after the guys who had been out riding already. I'd arranged to make veggies in oyster sauce, so I was carrying my trusty wok on the back along with the usual sleeping roll. Ed has a high-power gas burner that worked quite well for the purpose. I thought I'd made too much, but the veggies were devoured instantly. The grilled sirloin Ed made was also excellent.
The big surprise was to see their irrigation canal - cum - swimming hole, which last summer looked like this:
and now looks like this:
This wasn't his doing - the regional water district has an easement across his land, and it was their thing. I was a bit alarmed, since this canal has always offered such an exquisite way to clean up after getting totally covered in mud. It's not clear yet how this change will affect its swimming potential. It might have turned it into a redneck version of the infinite lap pool, you know, the kind that's advertised in the margins of the New Yorker. Which would be cool.
Everyone left at dusk, and Tim and Ed turn in early, so I crashed in their guest room and was up at dawn and on the road at 7:30. It wasn't so cold as yesterday, but it was definitely a chilly ride. Real nice, though. I stopped for breakfast at Graziella's in Williams, where they'd had a fire that gutted the restaurant but left the deli intact. They had salt cod, albeit at a crippling price of $20 a pound. How could I resist? But dang, eating like an Italian peasant is sure expensive these days.
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Date: 2008-04-22 10:45 am (UTC)