I remember Barry Hill and I raced down from the Novitiate... too fast and I Hit a short brick wall, flipped over the handlebars and Landed in a Bush on my Back with my toes still in the toe clips... Bent that front wheel and we had to buy a replacement at the Flea Market... I also Rode to the Rosicrucian Museum... That's a long ride... Once Joe Franck and I tried to Ride to Big Sur but I quit before I got to Summit Road... He and his other Friends Made it... Amazing... My whole family rode on Freeway #280 on the Day before it opened... Smooth White Concrete for miles... thousands of other bikers... Bikes were a way to have freedom of motion at ZERO Cost. No Need to ask my parents to drive me anywhere because I could Just Ride... and tell them where I was Going... and sometimes I even arrived at the Declared Destination!
Years Later My First Wife and I Rode from New York City to Washington DC. It Took about 2 Months... We Traveled LESS than 50 miles a day. MANY Days we didn't travel at all... It was a Vacation and often we stayed by the pool at the Campgrounds... In Rural New Jersey and Maryland many farmers have private campgrounds to make some easy money... We Went from One to the Next and the Farmers would call ahead, make reservations with friends of theirs. Once they came looking for us because we had gotten lost and didn't arrive on time... Thanks! I remember that it was downhill for 60 miles to the Delaware River... We Rode as fast as the Cars that were passing us... Maybe 50 MPH... and then... 60 miles uphill...
I posted this on my Facebook Group... "Things I Remember Growing up in Los Gatos" and my Neighbor Victor Koman posted something... That reminded me of Driving my Dad around during his last year of life... We went Down Highway #9 towards Saratoga and Turned Left at The Library... Drove to the TOP of the Mountain and Visited a Subdivision Dad Built... Apollo Heights... On Orbit Road... There was Still an Empty Lot for Sale all these years later... You could Look Down on the Paul Masson Winery... see Moffett Field and Los Gatos... That subdivision was one of his greatest accomplishments... It was all just bare land when he started and the only way a Customer could visit their lot was by riding a Burro... He arranged for a road to be paved, electricity, water sewers... etc... I'm really glad we went... We had planned to Go to Vasona Park that Day but when the Park Ranger asked us to PAY ADMISSION... I refused...
Years Later My First Wife and I Rode from New York City to Washington DC. It Took about 2 Months... We Traveled LESS than 50 miles a day. MANY Days we didn't travel at all... It was a Vacation and often we stayed by the pool at the Campgrounds... In Rural New Jersey and Maryland many farmers have private campgrounds to make some easy money... We Went from One to the Next and the Farmers would call ahead, make reservations with friends of theirs. Once they came looking for us because we had gotten lost and didn't arrive on time... Thanks! I remember that it was downhill for 60 miles to the Delaware River... We Rode as fast as the Cars that were passing us... Maybe 50 MPH... and then... 60 miles uphill...
I posted this on my Facebook Group... "Things I Remember Growing up in Los Gatos" and my Neighbor Victor Koman posted something... That reminded me of Driving my Dad around during his last year of life... We went Down Highway #9 towards Saratoga and Turned Left at The Library... Drove to the TOP of the Mountain and Visited a Subdivision Dad Built... Apollo Heights... On Orbit Road... There was Still an Empty Lot for Sale all these years later... You could Look Down on the Paul Masson Winery... see Moffett Field and Los Gatos... That subdivision was one of his greatest accomplishments... It was all just bare land when he started and the only way a Customer could visit their lot was by riding a Burro... He arranged for a road to be paved, electricity, water sewers... etc... I'm really glad we went... We had planned to Go to Vasona Park that Day but when the Park Ranger asked us to PAY ADMISSION... I refused...
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