My own private Blighty along the Delta
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 2:43 pm
I struck out to join Rick & Mike on an annual "Lonely Boys" ride. We're single guys who have no commitments to in-laws, kids, or a loved one. Sad though it may be, we seem to deal with it quite well in a manly sorta way (at least on the surface).
So I stick my head-scarf on (I don't know how to spell baklava correctly), a half helmet, and my Blue Biker Spec's.... OFF TO THE RIVER ROAD I GO!
It was a balmy overcast kinda day, but with enough humidity to make for a comfortable ride without having to dress in layers (and layers...). As I putted along the river, still and quiet that it was, I suddenly felt rather..... British, riding my Triumph in the Blighty. It felt good being a Brit' for a day.
My first stop was an obligatory stop, "Al The Wop's" for a Bloody Mary. They had Bing Crosby singing Christmas stuff in the background, and I was their second customer. The first customer claimed to be a son of the original founder of the Hells Angels. He was a squat guy like me, and kept his enthusiasm in check while studying very closely my Triumph parked outside. He liked it.
After my drink, I set off again. The morning had grown a little darker, and there was now a drizzle. Lemme tell ya, that "drizzle" with an open face 'half-helmet' was rather punishing on my tender 51 year old face! But I soldiered on and began to convince myself that the drizzle HURT SOOOO GOOD, those little drops of water sharp as pins & needles!
Rick, Mike, and myself piled our helmets, jackets, and gloves in the corner of the Café and had breakfast. After Rick had finished off the cafe's milk drinking several cups of his coffee flavored white stuff, he started in on Mike's cigarettes (Rick's a cheap moocher). After breakfast we put our gear back on and took a quick ride to the Ryde Hotel (an old ((haunted)) "speak-easy") where I bought gift certificates for Sunday Brunch. That's all the Christmas shopping I had to do, it was now done....
The three of us spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the little Chinese camp/town of Locke. We watched bikers roll in, and roll out: gay looking glamor cruisers, Harleys that had "conspicuous consumption" tattooed all over them, an old Duo Glide, and a clean shovel-head w/"peanut tank".
We took another ride in the drizzle to "Fosters" in Rio Vista for a final drink. Fosters has the single largest private collection of mounted big-game heads on display. They've got it all, 95% of which was shot by the same gentleman.
We parted, saying our collective "It was cool Bro; see ya New Year's Eve at the same Café?" The 'Lonely Boys' ain't so lonely after all, we got our bikes, a place to ride, and our Bro's.
Merry Christmas fellow bike'n 'Brothers'!
So I stick my head-scarf on (I don't know how to spell baklava correctly), a half helmet, and my Blue Biker Spec's.... OFF TO THE RIVER ROAD I GO!
It was a balmy overcast kinda day, but with enough humidity to make for a comfortable ride without having to dress in layers (and layers...). As I putted along the river, still and quiet that it was, I suddenly felt rather..... British, riding my Triumph in the Blighty. It felt good being a Brit' for a day.
My first stop was an obligatory stop, "Al The Wop's" for a Bloody Mary. They had Bing Crosby singing Christmas stuff in the background, and I was their second customer. The first customer claimed to be a son of the original founder of the Hells Angels. He was a squat guy like me, and kept his enthusiasm in check while studying very closely my Triumph parked outside. He liked it.
After my drink, I set off again. The morning had grown a little darker, and there was now a drizzle. Lemme tell ya, that "drizzle" with an open face 'half-helmet' was rather punishing on my tender 51 year old face! But I soldiered on and began to convince myself that the drizzle HURT SOOOO GOOD, those little drops of water sharp as pins & needles!
Rick, Mike, and myself piled our helmets, jackets, and gloves in the corner of the Café and had breakfast. After Rick had finished off the cafe's milk drinking several cups of his coffee flavored white stuff, he started in on Mike's cigarettes (Rick's a cheap moocher). After breakfast we put our gear back on and took a quick ride to the Ryde Hotel (an old ((haunted)) "speak-easy") where I bought gift certificates for Sunday Brunch. That's all the Christmas shopping I had to do, it was now done....
The three of us spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the little Chinese camp/town of Locke. We watched bikers roll in, and roll out: gay looking glamor cruisers, Harleys that had "conspicuous consumption" tattooed all over them, an old Duo Glide, and a clean shovel-head w/"peanut tank".
We took another ride in the drizzle to "Fosters" in Rio Vista for a final drink. Fosters has the single largest private collection of mounted big-game heads on display. They've got it all, 95% of which was shot by the same gentleman.
We parted, saying our collective "It was cool Bro; see ya New Year's Eve at the same Café?" The 'Lonely Boys' ain't so lonely after all, we got our bikes, a place to ride, and our Bro's.
Merry Christmas fellow bike'n 'Brothers'!
