Chowchilla Ride 09

It was a chilly morning at the start of the ride from my home in Pacifica, however as I rode over the hill to meet up with Padre and Ghost (club names) the sun began to warm the air, making the conditions perfect for the morning ride. The three of us then proceeded to San Mateo where we got together with Chewy at a small parking lot just off the 101.

Over the bridge on highway 92, was uneventful as we had one more stop to make in Modesto to pick up the last member of the Angry Scotsmen, brother Rev. Chewy did however manage to miss a dead turkey along the route. Once we arrived at Rev’s home we stretched our legs and paid respect to his family. After a short lunch at one of the local fast food establishments the group was ready for the long ride to Chowchilla, CA.

The 7 hour ride took us past the towns of Hornitos, Bear Valley, and Mariposa. Amazing the group only managed to get lost twice on the back roads, but not too far lost where turning around didn’t make sense. The long country roads and hilly twist’s made the ride exciting and at times seem like a small roller coaster ride at a theme park.

Finally arriving in Chowchilla in the late afternoon The Day’s Inn was very welcome site. We started to unpack the motorcycles and after a brief rest and pit stop Ghost, Chewy and I were sent on a scouting mission…finding a bar to sit and have a drink, only to discover that Chowchilla has 3 bars, one of which was directly across the parking lot from our hotel. The bar also doubled as a diner in the next room confirming that we have truly landed in a small town. You know you are out in the middle of nowhere when a gas station, hotel and a bar/diner all share the same parking lot.

After grabbing a bit to eat at the local pizzeria, we made our way towards the bar/diner. It was your typical run of the mill small town building, half the exterior lights were burned out and the red arrow sign pointed the way for all the truckers from the highway to see. Once inside the building all eyes were on the new guys and a scream came from the other side of the room asking to show our patches as the 8 people in the bar were curious at whom we were. We ended up spending the rest of the night with these fine people, drinking and telling stories.

Making a slow start the next day, which might have had something to do with the hangovers; we made our way back to the diner for a late breakfast. Afterwards we packed up the bikes and made our way out of Chowchilla and towards the bay area. Needless to say we took the short route back, making this the longest 3 hour ride I have experienced so far. We cut across San Luis Obispo past the reservoir and up highway 5 towards Gilroy, then making our way to highway 152 towards highway 101. The home stretch up 280 I finally made it home in the last afternoon, which at that point I was barely coherent.

If asked if I would do a ride like this again, the answer would be absolutely. The opportunity to meet new people and see small towns like Chowchilla will always be worth the ride on a motorcycle.