Dear CbrGirl, I am now down to my last six pack of Yuengling Lager. I have enjoyed it on the beaches of Monterey, Santa Barbara, and in Lake Tahoe..... So last weekend I decided to take off to Lake Tahoe to run with 3 other VROD enthusiasts. I packed up my hump bag and started the 3 hr ride over the mountains. When I pulled out of my driveway at 13:00 on Friday, it was 80〫so I removed the liner form my textile and headed out. I decided to take the advice of the neighbors and the wife (which proved to be a mistake), and took a more scenic route via 124, 88, and 89. At about 5 miles onto 88 I ran into road construction and sat in the now 90〫heat for 20 minutes before traffic began to move at 5mph in this 55mph zone. Once I got onto 89 things were moving much better and had cooled off quite a bit...then it happened. Speed limit for much of 89 was 40 or 45 due to the residential areas, but then it opened up to nice twisty roads and 55mph limits. Six or seven miles in a nice fellow on a BMW gives me the old head tap warning for LEO lurking, so I slowed my 90mph pace down to the posted 55mph. I saw one LEO drive by me in the opposite direction after a few miles and decided to pick up the pace but keep alert. Now cruising along at 80mph in a 55 I set up for a BEAUTIFUL right handed sweeper with zero traffic in front of me. I choose my line, lean in, then my radar detector goes ape shit! What the hell am I supposed to do, I'm already leaned over and committed to my line and damn near at the apex? I back off the throttle, give the LEO parked in the bushes a glance, and keep checking my mirrors for a pursuit that he never initiates while dropping speed to the posted 55. Just when I thought I got a freebie, I see LEO SUV coming briskly in the opposite direction but no lights. Then as I got damn near next to him the lights fly on. I put my hand up and look for a pull off on this winding mountain road, which appeared in about 100 yards. I pull all the way back to the tree lined edge of this 30' deep by 60' long pull off, kill the engine, and wait for the LEO. He comes up asks me for my info, and I start patting down my jacket trying to remember where I put my wallet. As I was doing my "where's wallet" dance, I noticed his left hand cover his holster. At that I stopped the dance and informed officer friendly that my registration and insurance were under my seat and license were in my riding pants and I needed to dismount to gather his requested info. He smiled and nodded compliance. Off comes the helmet, I turn off the Floyd background music blasting from the GPS now that I pulled the headphone jack, (Officer friendly gave me a look when he realized that I was black and blasting Floyd), I gather up the goodies and hand them over. He tells me that I was clocked doing 80mph through that turn in a 55. My response was pure surprise, as I really didn't believe I was moving that fast through the turn. He tells me he rides quite often and knows how easy it is to just get caught up in the ride. He walks to the other side of his vehicle, which is parked about 3' across from my bike, and begins the "did I just pull over a bank robber routine". At this point I had been on the road for about 2hrs and was a bit thirsty. I asked the officer via the passenger window if it was OK for me to go into my bag and grab some water, to which he answered, "go right ahead". As I'm finishing my litre of water he comes around to the rear of the bike, (verifying tags vs. registration), and asks me a question that I have NEVER been asked in my 30 years of driving... "How much do you weigh?" I look at him with my best look. He repeats the question to which I respond 190# without all the gear. He finishes up comes over and gives me the lowdown. "You were clocked doing 80 in a 55, but I wrote you the ticket for 70. Slow down especially with the upcoming blind turns, we've scraped off a few bikes off the sides of the road that challenged a deer and lost" I thank him for his advice and for the ticket as he's rolling out. I'm now noticing a sign that says I'm at 4k feet and I ponder switching out to my cold weather gloves and putting the liner back in my jacket. Hmmm, mother nature has now told me to go behind that bolder and drain the bladder before continuing on, so I do. I get back on the bike with the same warm weather attire and motor on. Within minutes I notice the temps dropping even further, and finally had to pull over and gear up for the cold. I'm now at 8000', stopped at a rustic information center with several car loads of tourists looking at me like I lost my frick'n mind. One older gentlemen in his early to mid 70's hobbles over to me with cane in tow and strikes up a conversation about the bike and his love of bikes in his hay day. I notice the Navy cap with the Seabees patch and thank him for his service and thanking the Navy for always giving us Marines a ride to do the fighting. We share a laugh and part ways. I now have my liner back in my jacket, winter riding gloves on my hands, and feeling a bit warmer. I jump back on the bike and continue my roll onto Tahoe. Heading down and through the mountains there was so much snow melt that there were streams of water flowing across the roads and several dear at the very edges of the roads drinking the fresh mountain snow water. HOLY SHIT!, that officer fucking called it! If not for that traffic stop I would have been doing closer to 100mph instead of 65, most likely scaring a deer into my path. For those that don't know, I have a 15" titanium rod with 15 titanium screws in my right hand. It tends to ache in damp weather, and always gets the coldest and does so incredibly quick. The fingers on my right hand are now a bit chilled, even with the heated grips cranked to max and winter gloves on, while my left hand is sweating. I look at the GPS which indicates I have a mere 47 miles until my destination, with that info I decide to press on instead of stopping to warm up the right hand on the exhaust. Nice peaceful ride the rest of the way in, with brief bursts in the triple digits. I'm now into the town of Tahoe and need to slow for the traffic light to make my right turn. I grab the front brakes and the wheel turned and began to slide, so I let go and went rear brake only to a safe stop. While stopped, I noticed that I had zero feeling in my right hand at this point. GPS is now telling me I have a mere 17 miles to my destination so I press on. 17 uneventful, front brakeless miles later, I pull into the driveway of Tahoe George and the other two VRODS awaiting my arrival. I jump off the bike, take off helmet & gloves, shake hands, then put my right hand about 2" from the hot exhaust pipe to warm it up and get some feeling back. After about 5 minutes I could feel some tingling so I stand up and continue the socializing. It was an awesome weekend. We did about 500 miles of "roads less travelled" through Tahoe, Reno, Carson City, Virginia City, and every other little town along the way. Absolutely beautiful roads and scenery. I've driven the same routes many times, but this was the first on a bike. Completely different experience and so much more enjoyable. If you ever have the opportunity to take a ride through the Sierras, I highly recommend it! Pix from the Tahoe trip.
