Tag: Bay Area
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Easter Sunrise: Clear Skies, New Peeps
Easter Sunday on Mount Tamalpais—I’ve been doing this ride for years now, and I’ve written about it enough times that you’d think I’d run out of things to say. But 2026 handed me two firsts, and both of them changed the morning in ways I wasn’t expecting. For starters, I didn’t ride to Tam Junction… Read more
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Riding Shotgun on 4×4 Day: BARC at Tumey Hills
BARC, the Bay Area Rivian Club, held its Tumey Hills run on the calendar for April 4th: 4/4, known as 4×4 Day in the offroad community. When I first signed up, I didn’t really think about two massive things colliding in my schedule that weekend. While it sounded awesome when I initially saw the event,… Read more
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The Warring of Seasons
It’s no secret that I love Mount Diablo. I’ve ridden up and down that mountain more times than I can count, on the V-Strom, on the GS, in the Volt and the Rivian, and the destination is always the same. The summit. That’s the whole point, right? I love the technical nature of the road… Read more
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Pea Soup – Tule Fog Returns
The alarm goes off at 6:40. It’s still dark outside, and the warmth of the bed is almost convincing enough to skip it. Almost. But my neighbor is already up, his dog waiting, and I’ve made this commitment to myself and to him: fight the winter sedentary together, one early morning walk at a time.… Read more
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The Ride Up for Ride Down
It’s no secret that I love riding my motorcycle up and down Mount Diablo. It’s the ride that doesn’t require hassle. No bridges, tolls, or traffic exist on this technical squiggle. Last night I needed to clear my head, so I grabbed the Speed Triple and the Canon R5 and pointed them both toward the… Read more
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#kindness
I’d been wanting to get the Speed Triple out for a sunset ride all week. There’s something about that bike and golden hour—the way the light hits the tank, the temperature cooling down just enough to make the ride comfortable, the roads emptying out as people head home from the weekend. I couldn’t decide between… Read more
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The Moto Social SF: Baby Blues BBQ
R introduced me to The Moto Social about five years ago. At first, I was a casual attendee, but over the years I’ve tried to make it a priority, as it gets me out of the burbs, into the city, and connected with other cool motorcyclists. As I’ve written before, the Triumph Speed Triple, in… Read more
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I like your bike!
If you’re curious to see my tastes before this bike, check out Chapter 3: Gelände Straße I don’t know exactly how to phrase it—so I’ll be direct: aesthetics usually haven’t been high on the criterion list when I purchase a motorcycle. My first bike, a Kawasaki Vulcan 750, was a mix between power cruiser, 80s… Read more
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The Moto Social SF August 2025: Excelsior Coffee
I just need to say it: I’m so far behind on my blog. I was supposed bright about the Super in August and now here it is in September. Plus, I don’t think I’ve finished quite writing about Canada. Forgive me for authoring out of order. Tonight’s Moto Social at Excelsior Coffee was in… Read more
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The East Bay’s Best Moto Camping
It’s no secret that I love riding my motorcycle up and down Mount Diablo. It’s technical, tends to have very little traffic on weekday afternoons, and has kick ass views across Northern California. While riding the Bay Area’s second tallest peak is awesome any time of the day, it’s especially awesome at sunset. I always… Read more
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The Moto Social SF May 2025: Jane
Sometimes I do a post from the Wayback Machine…. I never got around to posting this one after the April edition… to that effect, May will be black and white to highlight the vintage nature of this post. R introduced me to The Moto Social back in 2019—an event designed to bring motorcyclists of all… Read more
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Chasing Sunlight on Easter Morning
Easter Sunday – it’s become one of my favorite motorcycle traditions here in the Bay Area. Easter has come late this year, April 20th to be exact. That means the sun gets up extra early, which means we’ve got to follow suit as time goes quickly. Every year, I tell myself I must be in… Read more
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The Moto Social at 15-35mm
The Moto Social is a monthly gathering of motorcycle riders. Started in Toronto back in 2013, The Moto Social has spread across the globe gathering motorcycle riders of all persuasions to hang out for one evening during the “warmer” months. Here in San Francisco, our community gathers from April through October, whereas the community in… Read more
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Great, Local Rides cost $8
For a long time, I have been a fan of the “5 o’clock ride.” It’s that after work, hop on the bike, and go explore with no freeways, traffic, bridges, or tolls. Mount Diablo is always an excellent climb. Getting out to Marsh Creek is littered with traffic and red lights, making it less desirable… Read more
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Born a Streetfighter
I first rode the Speed Triple out on California’s Highway 1, squiggling the coast on a picture-perfect, blue-bird sky kind of day. I’m sure on that kind of day, I might have fallen in love with any kind of motorcycle aside from the soulless FJR and the K1300s that made my back hurt at the… Read more
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January’s Jocund Din
As the years have gone by, I’ve learned a bit more about the various subsystems of motorcycles I ride. I’ve not yet had to really deep dive into the suspension. This Triumph Speed Triple wants to change that. Our roads in this part of the world while not littered with potholes aren’t exactly smooth. As… Read more
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501: Levi’s, Winter, and Motorcycles
I know it’s just another post. But this feels different. What started as a simple way to let my family know I was safe on a motorcycle trip to Seattle has truly become something enduring over decades of my life. This is post number 501. Let’s call it the button fly Levi’s post names after… Read more
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Bringing in the New Year Amongst Giants
More recently, I’ve added the common tradition of opening the front door to bring in the new year’s air into the house. Being one who likes to accelerate just about anything – I turn on the whole house fan to suck in even more of the new year’s air! The Grandeur of Armstrong Redwoods Some… Read more
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Rivian Tech Day
After publishing Join a Motorcycle Tech Day: Build Skills, Friends, Confidence, and Savings, my dad sent me a similar article from the Wall Street Journal, which was published the next day. The article details how Millennials are learning to fix their own vehicles to save money in a highly inflationary economy. I remember that phase… Read more
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Holidays in the Bay
This year has been a year of doubling down on experiencies that make the bay, the bay. I’ve enjoyed some old and new motorcycle epics like: Much like motorcycle epics in the Bay, I wanted to double down on some holiday traditions in the area. For many years, I’d travel back east to see and… Read more
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Diablo – Adventure in Black and White
A good motorcyclist is a good meteorologist. Weather affects a ride in so many different ways: temperature, precipitation, wind speed, wind direction, fog, and the list meanders on. It’s December and it’s sunny with a high temperature of 60°. How could you not ride a motorcycle today! Mount Diablo is one of the local, technical… Read more
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Simplicity & Complexity: Riding Mount Diablo
Normally on a Saturday afternoon, this parking lot is packed! Nary a spot for a motorcycle. Today, however, barely a soul was to be found. No one was manning the guard gate at the entrance to the park. Climbing the mountain, I didn’t have to wait behind anyone – simply passing and waving to a… Read more
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The bike that got me hooked!
As I’ve been thinking about this blog, my mind keeps going back to the Moto journalist greats like Clement Salvatori and Peter Egan. They write with a deep appreciation and a long perspective of the art and sport of motorcycling. Reading each of their articles over the years, I’ve noticed they are always artful about… Read more
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Springtime on Foot
I love the early warm days of springtime with temperatures in the mid-70s and green hills all throughout the landscape. Today’s blog post is more about aggregating snapshots rather than telling a particular journey’s narrative. Some of the best hiking happens after the sun goes down. The vibrant colors of the city lights twinkling below… Read more
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Easter: Our Season Opener
This is one of my favorite rides in #BayAreaMotoCulture. If this post doesn’t convince you to get up early to join us in 2025, take a look at former years! April 21, 2019Sunrise on Mount Tam April 1, 2018Easter Sunrise April 8, 2012Easter Sunrise: A Bay Area Motorcycle Tradition March 23, 2008The Oh Dark Thirty… Read more
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Electrify America: SF Flagship Charging Station
Growing up, I vividly remember vacations in the family car in Florida. As soon as we crossed the state line, I could see my father’s smile widen as we entered his happy place. We were clearly a gulf coast vacationing family. However, we once took a trip to Disney World, a rite of passage for… Read more
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Exploring the Glory Hole
Expanding on the ride from yesterday, I’ve also been kicking tires with the Northern California BMW Club. They put on pretty epic weekends like Range Of Light every Labor Day weekend. It’s a ride that you have no idea where you’re going. The club gives you a ride packet at the start of every day… Read more
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New Roads; New Communities
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… Read more
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The Magic of Flight
I was just out of high school. My grandfather and I went to the new IMAX theater on the other side of town to watch the new film The Magic of Flight on the circular, silver screen. He was a World War II pilot. I was a kid just out of high school. My mother thought it… Read more
