Jim lobbied hard for a ride in Knight’s Valley. Others resisted a little, but came to the conclusion that no one had a better idea, except Shawn who wanted to wait for the full contingent of bikin’ fools to be present to attempt the X-factor ride he had seen from space.

Five riders made the call. Doctor Die would challenge the hills on the five speed, while the rest Shawn, Eric, Tony and Jim K. would ride bikes slightly better suited for the first part of the ride. The ride started at the fire house in Knight’s Valley then headed down the road to an undisclosed location and headed into the woods, across streams and towards the vast, open areas high above the valley.

La Luna beautifully lights the evening

“Dang Jim,” Dr. Die quipped, “You chose this ride just to show us how strong you are.”

Jim bristled, “What kind of dumb assed statement is that.”

Jim was notably miffed, not sensing the levity of Dr. Die’s statement.

The group continued up hill with Jim grumbling about the perceived criticism. He was exhibiting signs of going Korte on the rest of the group. Finally, when the group stopped, he confronted Ron.

“What did you mean by that statement?” Jim wanted to know.

Everyone else seemed to know that Dr. Die was exhibiting only the joy and enthusiasm of being on a unique and fun adventure. After a very short exchange Jim got the picture and all was good. The group continued to climb high into the hills. The ranch road was smooth and steep. There were several sections of walk-only hills. Eventually the group gained altitude into the treeless, grassy hills with fantastic views all around. From this vantage point Mt. St. Helena stood majestically to the east. Most all of Sonoma County could be seen in a string of lights from Cloverdale to Petaluma.

Lunatistas lounge in the special arena

The group stopped at one of the higher areas and discussed the possible options for the rest of the ride. One option was to head downhill immediately. This would have ended the ride is a short matter of time. The other option was to descend slightly towards Santa Rosa for a short distance then climb back to the high ground before descending back towards the valley. The latter option was selected. In part the weather was simply to beautiful to cut short this venture. The moon was entirely fat and opulent. The sky was cloudless allowing the lumens to shine down, unimpeded upon the happy group.

The trail descended past one of Jim’s most notable wrecks ever. On a ripping downhill run a few years ago, Jim managed to stack so hard he broke three ribs, tweaked his shoulder, sprained an ankle and sent his bike forty yards away where it crashed and was almost unrideable. Tonight Jim would take it easier at this drop-in, showing greater respect for gravity.

The road became extremely steep downhill. The route was under trees at this point and void vision had to be employed to make the passage. At the bottom of the descent, Jim stopped and headed off into the woods to try to find an item that had been left on a previous ride. There was no luck finding the consumable package, perhaps the local critters had taken care of the safety equipment that was left behind.

Riders maintaining safe conditions and proper nutrition

Now the riders had no choice but to climb back up the hills to the highest point on the ride. Then the downhill began in earnest. The smooth ranch road offered no impedance to the progress of the moonlight mavens. The final stop was taken at a flat area of hills. The beautiful plateau was populated with oaks. The road meandered across the landscape as if in no hurry to go anywhere. After lingering for a pleasant perisd of time, the lunatistas continued the downward plunge. In a relatively short period of time, the flats of the bottom and the final water crossing rolled under the wheels of the riders. No one managed to keep their feet dry on the deeper of the two crossings.

Finally the group exited the hills and came back to the pavement. Three of the five headed back to Tone’s truck while Jim and Eric decided to ride back to town on the road. The moon was high in the sky, the air was cool and the quietness of the late night permeated the countryside. The ride on the pavement was at times surreal. On the downhill section of the return, Jim passed within a few yards of a startled deer whose exit strategy contained serious faults. The deer bolted with terrific speed pall mall into a fence. Undaunted, the deer got up and took not one, but several more shots at the fence, each time crashing with a resounding metallic crunch. The deer’s final solution would be a mystery to the bikers. At best he would have a sore nose and a wild tale to tell his Bambi friends.

STOP!!!... being ordinary

Jim and Eric returned to the shop to find that the others had yet to arrive. It was quickly determined that they had detoured to the Cali-Inn for post ride, electrolyte therapy. It was a great, fun ride. Jim keep the troops entertained and hosted a memorable event.. La Luna cooperated with a brilliant showing, illuminating not only the passage, but the wild human spirit that lies dormant most of the month.