Double Eclipse

The pull of La Luna was too much. She invited the bikin' fools' to romp in her favorite playland. She would entice them to peak under her penumbra shadow to see the wonders of her special offering. The fools were powerless to resist. Ten bikers appeared at the shop to take part in this once-in-370-year event.

Dr. J. preps the much needed "camp" fire

The original plan was to commute to RLS, then ride up to the Stonehenge lookout. However the weather simply didn't cooperate. A week of rain, cold and funk made the plan unworkable. In fact the notion of not riding at all was floated and found fertile ground.

Pre-ride tuning session

Yet La Luna began to tease the riders with an occasional, tantilizing view of her in full nudity dancing in and out of the passing clouds. When Dan and Suzanne appeared the urge to ride was pushed over the top. All that remained was to get properly tuned, eat some flesh, trade stories and get the funometer off the flacid end of the scale

First major technical challenge before getting out of the parking lot

The chosen ride was the Oat Hill. The reasoning was simple. If it began to rain and became miserable, the contingent could simply ride back downhill. The ten riders finally began to move. Once past the giant puddle in the parking lot, the ride was born.

Happy moonrider

Although it was cloudy, there was ample light. The trail was unusually bright. Recent rains had cleared a line in the trail that was easy to see and ride. The wad of riders made decent time. Several stops were taken to absorb the beauty of the night.

Newbie wondering WTF? Is this a good idea?

The Lady of the Night occasionally peeked out of the clouds. At one point around ten o'clock, the distinct edge of a shadow began to be visible on the lumenous orb.

Check out the moon

The steering comittee decided to direct the ride to the Canab-a-Knoll. The shadow on the moon was growing larger. The group gathered at the Rollers turn and jetted downhill. Linz was in the lead group. He was unable to stay in contact with the speedy front runners and missed the turn to the knoll.

OK, it wasn't all downhill

Nine of the ten waited at the knoll for Linz to arrive. There was confusion whether he was in front or in back of the crew. Michael came prepared with a signal flare. It was sent aloft to alert the senses and the rest of the world that something special was in progress. Although there was precious little viewing of the special happening, the group none-the-less partied towards the midnight hour.

Night vision milliseconds after the flash

When it became obvious that Linz wasn't returning and the generous light was fading, the group resumed the downhill dash. Linz was found and the bikers finished the ride. It was dark as the riders exited the trail. The moonlight was gone for the next couple of hours.

A bottle rocket streaks across the dark sky

The riders returned to the shop. It was around midnight when it all came to an end. A few intrepid souls went to the Calistoga Inn for electrolyte replacement while the geezers headed home.

Cool

The ride was a success despite the cloud cover. The rain never happened, the temperature was reasonable and there were no technical issues or flats. The ten riders were able to stroke the funometer into the pleasure zone for the evening.

Oooo la la