I’m in a season of change within my riding community. In my 20s, I very much enjoyed the local community around South Bay Riders. We were all clustered around Silicon Valley, so finding people to ride with on any given weekend was easy. Plus, the forum gathered all local rides in one easy-to-consume feed.
Once I came out, I wanted to meet some new motorcycle riders within the gay community. Homoto filled that niche. However, I’d often have to pay the “Silicon Valley” tax on any ride that wasn’t in the South Bay. For example, a North Bay ride would have an additional 80 miles on the freeway to get to the start point in the city and back home. Life then brought me out to the East Bay, and while that tax was reduced, I missed the neighborhood feel of South Bay Riders.
I’m choosing to focus on that local community once again. As I told a good friend of mine, “motorcycling is a big place.” There are good people that ride bikes everywhere. My section of the East Bay doesn’t have as tight of a community as the South Bay did back in the early 2000s. The Internet also radically changed with the advent of social networking, which tried to consolidate everything competing for your attention in one “feed.” Sites like South Bay Riders and Bay Area Riders Forum (love the BARFs and SBRs) took traffic hits as eyes and clicks went to Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. The social networking platforms don’t make event organization easy. Grr. I miss the days of going to the GroupRides forums on BARF and SBR to see what was going on in my community. Facebook is a mismash of groups that make it hard to find others riding in the neighborhood. Kudos to Andy and Budman for all the work they do keeping their sites running.
Last year, I started going to The Moto Social #sanfrancisco more regularly. Started in Toronto, Canada, The Moto Social is simply a gathering of riders without preference to bike, skill, or style. Their tagline always makes me laugh: “don’t be a dud; be a bud.” Many of the riders at The Moto Social come from San Francisco. By happenstance, I met J there pre-pandemic. He invited me into one of his traditions, riding over the hill to Oakland for coffee. The tea drinker that I am found balls. Not just any balls, but the most amazing balls in Northern California (likely the country).
I’ve always been a fan of meatball subs—beating out a meatloaf sandwich and ham and cheddar. Nothing beats crispy bread, warm marinara, lightly melted cheese, and, of course, meatballs. I settled for the Meatball Marinara at Subway for a long time due to convenience, but this is a different level of Baller. I introduce you to the BALLS at Southie in Oakland. One bite into this culinary masterpiece will leave you wondering why I settled for Subway for so long.
After lunch, the crew wasn’t quite finished riding, so we explored around Alameda County. It had been a long time since I had ridden Redwood Road. It is one of Alameda County’s fun roads with its nice pavement and twisty demeanor, especially when coupled with with Pinehurst Road to the north. Unfortunately, our spirited dance was cut short due to a road closure that had been around for some time.
While bummed at first, the road closure created what was essentially a dead end. The only people out on the road wanted to go to the end of a dead-end road, also known as motorcyclists. We didn’t have to compete with hardly any traffic, which made for a fun ride in the twisties!
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