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| Shay Zak aboard a tasty Velocette Thruxton |
It sells out quickly, so the 120 motorcyclists (plus guests) who shelled out for the Quail Ride must consider it worth $290 for a light breakfast, a CHP-guided tour of Central Coast back roads, a few hot laps of Laguna Seca racetrack, a catered lunch, a fantastic banquet dinner (with speakers like
Cook Nielson, yours truly, and a preview of the upcoming feature film 'Why We Ride' - more on that later), and two passes to the
Quail Motorcycle Gathering the next day, which also includes an excellent free lunch and booze. With room rates at the newly-reopened
Quail Lodge averaging $160/nite, its no wonder at all that the entire hotel was booked, too, as the Quail is ridiculously nice for the money. But its not all about the dough, is it?
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| You don't see many riding shots IN the 'Corkscrew'... so thanks to my intrepid passenger Susan! |
Last year's Quail Ride dodged the rain, but we trod on cat's feet across the narrow, wet, and tree-shaded lanes of Carmel Valley and beyond. This year was full sun all day, with the temp peaking at 85 degrees heading down Laureles Grade Road, after creating our own heat around Laguna Seca. In a nutshell, it was perfect, with a little bizarre thrown in for entertainment - I'll let you spot the strange, and let the photos do the talking.
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| A show winner at last year's Qual; the Magni-chassis BSA triple sounded fantastic while hammering around the track |
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| Actually, this is a Chopper. But not that kind; the rear section can be attached to the rider's 'cage' with the engine vertical, and yes, that's a rotor in back of the rider. He's promised next year he'll 'Ride to the Quail, and fly home'. Brave. |
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| Sweet Commando under the oak trees |
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| This year's iteration of the Crocetti Special Triumph |
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| Deb ditched the Dream for this new RE |
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| Hot Dunstall Norton with distinctive alloy 810cc cylinder barrels (years before the factory made an 850cc) and early disc brakes; all Dunstall equipment - rare! |
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| Some were happy to pay $11/gal for 110octane race gas! |
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| Ride organizer Gordon McCall blew past me at 90mph on his local-roads playground |
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| Nice to see the show bikes, especially the Customs, come out to play. This is a well-done Panhead |
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| Other kinds of horsepower |
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| 'Fass Mikey' Vils with Irma and his Cannonball Harley JD inside Talbott Winery |
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| Journalist John Stein and his nifty ex-Catalina GP Yamaha |
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| Ken Arman on his Commando, just about to drop into the Corkscrew, a blind-left-right-downhill combination: fun! |
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| Immaculate Suzuki 'Kettle' GT750 watercooled two-stroke triple |
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| Our host Rob Talbott at his winery in the Santa Lucia Highlands, with his high-mileage touring BMW GS. He'd just returned from an 11,000 mile round-America tour |
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| Preparing to re-enter the gorgeous Salinas River Valley |
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| Sometimes 'The Man'...isn't! |
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| My humble ride, two-up; the 'Project Desert Rat' Triumph TR5T, proudly covered in Mojave Desert dirt |
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| Turn 2 at Laguna Seca |
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| In the 1970s, Craig Vetter built the 'Mystery Ship'; he should have waited. This is his high-gas-mileage special, now clad in aluminum |
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| Two Zero electric sports bikes joined the ride; silent and swift... |
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| ...at least, they passed me going up the big hill to the Corkscrew! |
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| Chasing the silver fish |
5:50 PM
Posted in: Electric Motorcycles, Laguna Seca, Magni, NORTON, Quail Motorcycle Gathering, Quail Ride, Triumph, Velocette, Zero
