Budsters trip through the gold country.

9/17, We met at the golden arches in Castaic (Rick, Julia in the Blazer, Roland and Sandra, Les and Stephanie, Tom and Barbara) had breakfast and then proceeded on our quest to Reno. The days ride to Oakhurst was slightly cloudy, caught a few light sprinkles but luckily no rain! Hmmm Budsters shovelhead seems to be having battery problems, lucky for him there is still a kick starter on the bike (and he had to use it) but when too tired to kick a small push or roll down hill for a bump start seemed to work also. Not to worry, Budster has a friend in Oakhurst who lent him a battery charger for the weekend. Steve and Lisa met us at a gas station, as they did not make it to the arches in time, now we were six bikes. Great ride through Sequoia and Kings Canyon, great sights, good weather. The accommodations in Oakhurst were nice, dinner was ok, and the service lacked a bit

9/18 Met for breakfast, service was a little better, but.. Budsters bike started fine, that charger did the trick. Good thing Rick was convinced to bring his Blazer and thanks to Julia for driving it *s* . Off we go, heading for Auburn through the gold country, hmm Budsters lights keep getting dimmer, and now he has to kick start again. Then the bike died and would not start at all, no lights, no nothing. There we were on the side of the road when we discovered that the ground lug to the battery was broken, tried to strip the wire, but it was too short and too stiff, Barbara found some bailing wire on the shoulder, we cut, we bent, we made it work! Then we stopped in the Jamestown Harley dealership, they have a service department, they took Budsters bike in right away!! To make a long story short Budster had to have his stator replaced, he sent the rest of the group on their way.. Budster took the mechanics to lunch across the street, great meatloaf, helped wrench a few bolts, finally got the ok to hit the road 6:30pm *whew* hwy 49 is no fun at dusk, sun in the eyes, then darkness was worse, talk about a curvy road, talk about bugs, glad I wore a full face helmet, two hours later I arrive in Auburn, pull into the Holiday Inn parking lot, hmm, no bikes (maybe they went out to dinner) go check in, good/bad news, there is a reservation for me, but, my riding partners are not here! The folks at the desk were helpful and told me that they went to the Best Western down the road a bit (ask Rick why). Had a nice dinner at the adjoining restaurant.

9/19 On to Reno, (Budsters bike was running good with electric start) nice ride, checked in to the hotel, not bad, not great, close to the action! Locked up the bikes, freshened up, hit the Street Vibrations vendor area, a little disappointing, not as many vendors as we expected, a few trinkets were purchased, had lunch, headed for the slots. Some of us went to the Planet Hollywood for dinner, interesting, (Budster ordered a shooter, slammed it back, got hit in the tooth with a penny, waiter assured him that was NOT part of the drink, it was on the house, thanks? We went our gambling ways (Budster met with friends who live in Reno).

9/20 Left Reno to have breakfast down the road a bit. Found a cute place in Miladon sp? Not bad, not great, good coffee! Down 395 we went, great day, great weather, dressed for the cold trip over the pass, uh-oh, two lane road, no left turn lane, car stops to tun left, Les and Stephanie tried to stop, layed the bike down on the left side,slid along, then the bike high sided throwing them over, just missing the stopped car. Budster was right behind them (second time for me to witness friends crashing in front of me), Stephanie's foot was definitely facing the wrong direction, she had a cut over her eye, her shoulder hurts, Les, stood up and had a sore hip and shoulder, seems like the whole police department, sheriffs department, fire department were there, even the local new photographer was there (paparazzi) all help was good, the lady who had stopped to turn left was really shaken up (newly pregnant) Julia helped Budster calm down *s*. went back to town to get a trailer for Les's bike, Les and Stephanie were in the local emergency room, only to be sent back to Reno for more care than the locals could provide, Steve and Lisa went back to Reno to help them get organized. We continued on to Oakhurst through Yosemite (what a ride) great views (no wildlife) checked back in at Oakhurst, went to a great dinner (ribs… Yum,) met more of the Ventura HOG members who went on a different ride.

9/21 Headed back home, Budsters shovelhead started spewing oil out the crankcase breather getting the rear wheel and brake nice and oily, guess it was the 80mph run up the grapevine, stopped in Frazier Park, got some cleaner to get the oil off the rotor, put in two quarts of oil, back on the road to home with no more problems, the life of a shovelhead i guess *sigh* do it agin? you BET! ready for the next ride *waiting for my kitchen pass*


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