I don’t know if you have noticed, but the last few weeks I have been off the radar. My youngest grandson has been diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia a condition where the bone marrow does not replace the necessary platelets or blood cells. This is a very rare disease and not easily treated. He’s 6 and a half and has spent the last several weeks getting transfused in an Alaska hospital, where they went for summer vacation. *sigh*…it’s a serious and very real event. The solution may be a bone marrow transplant, if his brother is a matching donor. There is alot riding on this very fact. Anyway, if treatment is successful, he will likely be cured, or at least leading a more normal life. All of this has me worried sick. So yesterday, even though my head was swimming in recent diagnosis, I felt a little local ride might blow out the cobwebs by demanding I concentrate on something else.
My grandboys, earlier this year.
Ok, where to go, that will make me do some “real” riding yet get me home after a few hours? The answer, up into the foothills, away from traffic to some pretty darned good riding.
Getting out of the Sacramento basin is always jammed with traffic so I opted for the side streets which takes a bit longer, but after so much time off the bike, it in the end gets my skill level back up where it needs to be before taking on the twisties. It was a bit boring, but with my ipod playing my favorite songs, I managed to key into a rhythm with the flow of traffic. Once past Auburn, I was in the zone and a very favorite little jaunt heading to Georgetown, CA.
Thanks to google, I was able to get a couple of road shots. I didn’t bring my old point and shoot intentionally, so I was more likely to simply ride!!
As you can see the road is covered in tar snakes, which on this hot afternoon, makes for some “ah ha” moments.
A quick stop in Stumpy Meadows for water and a stretch before continuing on my all time favorite road, Wentworth Springs.
It wouldn’t be a ride unless I took at least one self-portrait to show I was really there! 😉
Yep, a well shot sign is a sign of the times…
Wentworth Springs road which has wonderful pavement, and for all practical purposes, is like my own private racetrack on this day! Oh, I LOVE this road!!
Sorry, there was no way I was stopping for photos!!
Icehouse Road had lots of traffic getting ready for a holiday weekend and it was similar by the time I reached Pollock Pines on Hwy 50. I decided I’d go down Starks Grade off Sly Park Rd, for an escape from humanity. It was perfect.
The apocalypse…
Onward to Plymouth where the temperatures were rising to invite one into the very pits of hell or so it seemed.
The reward when arriving home, was worth every moment of riding in the hot afternoon sun.
Today’s 175 mile ride has succeeded in providing me with some stress relief and it reminded me why I love riding. I needed this to make me rekindle the passion I have deeply felt about motorcycling.