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http://lakeberryessanews.com/ has a nice little report and drone video of the Pope Valley School. Lots of us ride through there, and somehow knowing more about a place adds to the appreciation. It does for me at least. Whenever I see that little school in that beautiful valley I think, now those...

This amazing rain has filled Lake Berryessa to within a foot or so of the overflow. It just might top the glory hole this weekend if runnoff into the lake stays strong. Here is what the glory hole looked like this afternoon. I know lots of you ride this area, and thought some might enjoy...

Yesterday a couple of riding buddies and I visited the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento. Housed in a 78,000 sq ft warehouse, the museum contains cars and trucks from the past 120 years. Currently through February 19th they have a special exhibit called Live Free: California Motorcycle...

Yesterday I decided to check the water crossings and road conditions on Berryessa Knoxville Rd. A fireman neighbor mentioned that right after the heavy rains they got called out on several rescues up there, so I was prepared to turn back rather than risk being an idiot. Turns out the road was...

Rock slides near the dam are now cleared and 128 is now reopened around Berryessa. It's amazing how much the lake level has increased from recent rains. Not topping the glory hole yet but if this rainy pattern keeps up . . . -Bill

I found this kind of interesting. I was checking an ignition coil from an old Honda generator and happened to connect it to a cheapo Harbor Freight battery float charger. Lo and behold the coil produced a continuous arcing at the plug. What I think is happening is the charger has just a simple...

I took the little NX250 out for a 230 mile romp last Monday that included five wonderful gravel/dirt roads in addition to nice pavement stretches in between. Some of these are real gems that might be new to many riders, so I thought I'd share the wealth. My loop started from home off Pleasants...

I've been watching our local fall color develop and decided today was worth doing a little ride and shoot to check out fall in the vineyard country. Ride route Sunrise out behind the shop looked promising already. From Cantelow Rd. I headed down to Fairfield and out Wooden Valley Rd. to...

Fall rain storms have finally come to N. California, at last refreshing our hot, dusty and dry summer landscape with welcome rainfall and the beginnings of green growth in the hills. On my semi-daily rides I've been watching the fall color, waiting for that magic combination of clear air...

Hey guys, I'm looking for some help communicating with the administrator of the Pashnit forum. As mentioned in another barf thread the Pashnit forum suffered a server crash recently. It is back up now but unfortunately had to be resurrected from an old backup, apparently from around July 2015. I...

I've had this 1989 Honda NX250 for a couple of weeks now, getting it in top shape and fitting a gear bag and extra fuel holder. And I'm thrilled with the way it performs on the road. No problem there, it is surprisingly peppy, vibration is almost non-existent, the 6 speed gearbox has a ratio for...

I thought this was a worthwhile read: http://www.slobc.org/safety/documents/road-survival-guide.pdf -Bill

Sadly the town of Lower Lake was devastated by a wind driven fire yesterday. Over 100 structures lost and much of the historic downtown was destroyed. I ride through Lower Lake often, and was shocked to watch video of my favorite sandwich shop totally engulfed in flames. The owners are great...

100 degree temps are forecast for the next week, so yesterday I got in a nice back roads loop with 70s to 90s temperatures. I guess it's summer reruns time, no new roads on this ride. Plus the scenery is a bit drab from summer scorching, from both hot sun and wildfires. Still it was a week day...

On Monday the weather promised sub 90 degree temps so I took the opportunity to explore Leesville Rd. between Williams and Bear Valley, Colusa County. I had only been on the Bear Vly. end before, and this middle section of Leesville looked like it had to be fun! Turns out the entire 12 miles...

This road has been on my radar for a while and today I finally got around to exploring it. Mostly paved but with 2.5 miles of gravel, Ida Clayton road takes off of 128 about 6 miles west of Calistoga, skirts the western side of Mt. St. Helena and ends at Hwy 29 near Middletown. The first half is...

Here in Solano County it's been 100 deg. and above lately, too hot to ride except in the mornings. So to escape the heat I took a quick midweek trip to the coast to ride some great scenic roads in cool comfort. It was also an excuse to visit my two brothers who have homes along Hwy 1. It was a...

Yesterday I decided to test ride a new-to-me road between Middletown and Lower Lake. It was a wonderful ride so I thought I'd share some pics to entice others who may not have tried it. Here's the route I used, except I started and ended at my home near Vacaville: Link to Google map From...

I know a lot of you ride the area around Berryessa and north of Napa Valley, but I haven't noticed any group rides mentioning Mt. Veeder or Spring Mountain roads. Maybe I've just missed it, but for anyone not familiar with these two I'd like to highly recommend them. Here is a map of a ride I...

Well, I had a unique experience yesterday with a riding buddy. I was leading as we wound around Lake Berryessa headed toward Napa Valley. I pulled over at one point, and my buddy pulled alongside and said he had to clean off his jacket. Huh? Turns out a turkey vulture flew low across the road...