The sun is out and it's not too cold. The clouds in the sky look like fish scales, or like waves in the sand where a creek has gently moved over it to create concentric bands. Other clouds are being whipped by the wind into giant feathers in the sky. You can tell the wind is really moving things around up there in the high altitudes, but down on the road it's calm.
The sun shines down and warms the day, but we are still wearing our warmest riding gear as we head out up the highway past the vineyards with their winter vines in stripes across the hills. The hills are green from the new grass on the hills, but the trees are mostly leafless with their branches making lacey patterns reaching up to the sky. The winter sun is low creating long shadows which makes the hills stand out from the hills behind them.
It's a beautiful day, but instead of working on my bike, my friend and I take off on his K100. We both need to get out, and luckily I can ride behind him. Not at all the same as riding my own, but it's better than not going at all. We head up Hwy 101 north of Healdsburg and when we get to Cloverdale, we head up Hwy 128 towards the coast. This is a beautiful twisty road with a couple of very deep hairpin turns and the pegs scrape the pavement as we lean into the turns. He's a much more experienced rider than I am and rides faster. I always learn a bit more every time I ride with him, and he doesn't have to wait up for me at the next intersection.
We continue heading up into the hills until we come to another road called Mountain House Road and turn to the north. This is another nice twisty road and there are no cars at all. We eventually come up on another bike with rider and passenger - looks like a Honda Goldwing. That passenger has a much more plush seat, but I'll bet it's not as fun!
They are riding slower and we slow down and follow them into Hopland where we meet up with Hwy 101 again. Here we stop for a bite to eat. Then we take off back home down the highway. It's been a beautiful day for a ride, especially knowing that some big storms are headed our way and it may be awhile before we get some good riding weather again.
