A ride with Kathleen and Jodie!

So, way back about ten bazillion years ago, I used to ride a lot with Women on Wheels.  I gradually stopped participating in the group for many reasons but have stayed in contact with a few members.

One of my good WOW friends, Jodie, moved to Arizona a few years ago. I stayed with her and her husband Mike on my cross-country trip in 2008; I’ve seen Jodie a couple of times since then when she’s visited the Bay Area, but that trip was the last time we rode together.

Kathleen still lives in the area but our paths rarely cross these days.   I can’t remember the last time I rode with her — it might have actually been the 2007 Pacific Rally in which Jodie, Kathleen, and I were the only attendees.

ANYHOO, Jodie was back in town a couple of weeks ago and I finagled a hall pass from Peter to go riding on a Saturday morning.  Hooray!  It was much more of a “catch up” meet than a riding meet, so we only did about 65 miles, but hey, it was riding! And it was great to chat with these ladies.

I hope to still be riding a BMW sport-tourer when I’m 70!

Jodie’s helmet is very visible:

Heading up Highway 9:

This next photo is pretty much the quintessential Highway 9 experience.  All it needs is a squid trying to drag a knee while tailgating you and it’s the perfect summary of riding in the hills on a weekend.

Highway 9 is under some major construction right now (and for the next couple of years), which I either didn’t know or had conveniently forgotten about.  The result is that we spent some quality time hanging out at a traffic-controlled one-way light with about 40 of our closest car driving friends.   At least the weather was nice so we didn’t roast.

We probably sat there with our engines off just chillin’ for about 10 minutes.  Literally 2 minutes after we started going again, my camera battery died.  WTF!  So I have no photos of the well-lit wide-open sweepers.  That’s the kind of awesome quality you’ve come to expect from my blog!

We did, however, eventually make it up to Alice’s, where we kicked tires for a little while and then went inside, had a great lunch, and chit-chatted for a while.

I have not magically grown — I’m standing on a curb in that picture.

So, not much long-distance riding from our long-distance riding friends, but it was a fun morning and we had some much-needed catching up.  Sometimes a leisurely 65 mile morning is more important than a 400 mile day!