|
Welcome to Valley Riders July 11 - Dinner Ride to Triangle Drive In, Fresno near Hoover High School, 5:30pm July 20 - Seven's Restaurant for Monthly Meeting, ride to follow July 27 - Kings Canyon Ride Lots of fun events coming up. Glad you are planning on attending. Find the Monthly Calendar on the Rides Page |
Valley Riders
Welcome to Valley Riders, an independent riding group that enjoys riding, socializing over great food, and the company of like minded bike enthusiasts. We have a diverse group of members as well as motorcycles. As long as you enjoy riding you'll find a place with Valley Riders. We are located in the Central Valley of California less than 2 hours from Yosemite (60 miles) and 2 1/2 hours to Pismo Beach (150 miles). Our base is in Fresno, which allows for some great mountain riding as well as coastal rides.
Our members live in Fresno and the surrounding areas including Madera, Kingsburg, and Lemoore. As a new motorcycle riding group we meet the third Saturday of the month at the Yosemite Falls restaurant located at Hwy 99 and Ashlan Avenue in Fresno. We meet at 8:30 a.m. for breakfast, talk, and to share information on upcoming rides. Often we will plan a ride following our monthly meeting to some fun destination.
Our members are made up of Military veterans, school teachers, truck drivers, retired and working folks. Our rides may be only a few hours to more local destinations such as museums, a chocolate factory or interesting restaurant to longer rides to the coast or mountains to beat the heat. No matter where we go we have a great time. You may also find great overnight rides to destinations such as Tahoe. Many of our members have ridden to national parks, motorcycle rally's, and several have experienced the Ride to Wall in Washington D.C. You don't need to go on all the rides, you just pick your favorites and enjoy the company of good friends and the freedom of the road. Valley Riders began in March of 2014.
Our members live in Fresno and the surrounding areas including Madera, Kingsburg, and Lemoore. As a new motorcycle riding group we meet the third Saturday of the month at the Yosemite Falls restaurant located at Hwy 99 and Ashlan Avenue in Fresno. We meet at 8:30 a.m. for breakfast, talk, and to share information on upcoming rides. Often we will plan a ride following our monthly meeting to some fun destination.
Our members are made up of Military veterans, school teachers, truck drivers, retired and working folks. Our rides may be only a few hours to more local destinations such as museums, a chocolate factory or interesting restaurant to longer rides to the coast or mountains to beat the heat. No matter where we go we have a great time. You may also find great overnight rides to destinations such as Tahoe. Many of our members have ridden to national parks, motorcycle rally's, and several have experienced the Ride to Wall in Washington D.C. You don't need to go on all the rides, you just pick your favorites and enjoy the company of good friends and the freedom of the road. Valley Riders began in March of 2014.
Small TalkHuntington Lake Ride, June 29, 2019 The ride to Jones Store didn't happen. The destination was closed due to all the snow damage they had this past winter. Dennis being so resourceful gave us a new destination and away we all went. We had 5 bikes and a sidecar as Big John called my car. His back wasn't feeling up to the ride on the bike, so he drove and I rode as his passenger. It was nice having company and it gave me an opportunity to take a few picture along the way.
The ride was going really well until one of the bikes just died. Come to find out the charging system failed, not the battery and Alan W planed to replace it soon. Fortunately, where we broke down was not far from a Napa store and he was able to get his bike running by replacing the battery. We continued our ride to Shaver lake for a quick relief break. As we were all getting hungry we loaded back up and made our way to a little store/sandwich shop. We were looking for a little bigger menu and continued on our way to Huntington which was just another 10 miles up the road. The road gets a little more winding, but the views were spectacular looking down over the mountain. By this time we are at 6000' and still climbing. The weather was beautiful and you really felt one with your surroundings. No trailers, big vehicles are allowed on this road so traffic was really light. As we came into the Huntington Lake area from Huntington Lake Rd we were right there at the restaurant. This fantastic little place where it was a limited menu of burgers and fries, shakes or a scoop of ice cream. Sitting on the covered patio overlooking the lake was great. Just a lot of campers, travelers and families enjoying a break. Looking out we were near a makeshift boat ramp and we could watch people dock their boats in between the trees. The road was only 100 yards from the lake, so for me it took me back to my childhood of camping with my folks. After lunch and a nice time of hanging out at the lake we loaded back up and continued up the road. Now we could really see the lake from many viewpoints, lots of fishing, tent campers and small trailers at the lake. The road just continues around the lake to Hwy 168 and then down the mountain to home. The bikes stopped for gas, so Big John and I continued down the road passing China Peak and checking out some of the other camp areas for future reference. All in all I think we can all agree this was a fantastic ride to the beautiful area we a blessed to be living around and hope it will on the ride calendar again. We still plan to go to Jones Store as this is another fabulous ride destination, so watch for calendar updates. A big thank you to Dennis for setting up this ride and to John T, John C, Terry, Alan and Kathy, Johnny and of course Big John for driving me. Looking forward to riding again next month. Here you will find Dennis working on his driving skills at the recent Rider Safety seminar held at the Post 509 on Saturday, March 23, 2019.
Slow Maneuvers is the video Dennis shared. Set up your own course and give it a try. Dinner Social in June 11, 2019This month's social was held at Triangle Drive-In near Hoover High School. It's always good to see friends and I'm sorry I was out of town. Big John did a great job of taking some picture for me to share. I heard by the time everyone finished their dinner there was no room for ice cream so we'll have to head over to Cold Stone in the near future. See you at the next social on August 8th. It will be held at Sweet Tomatoes. Please someone remind me, last time I missed it. Since August 8th is early in the month a reminder will be helpful. Sweet Tomatoes is on First Street near Kaiser Hospital in Fresno, just north of Herndon. See you there!
|
Meetings
Monthly meeting. 3rd Saturday of the month, Seven's Restaurant, 25 Shaw Ave, Clovis
NEXT MEETING IS SATURDAY, July 20, 2019 - Seven's Restaurant Hello Riders: Hope your week is going well. At our last meeting on Saturday, June 15 it was a smaller than usual group as I know many people were out of town visiting family for Father's Day. I sure hope yours was enjoyable. We have some great dad's in our group and we wish you a very Happy Father's Day. Terry has taken on the raines as the new Leader and did a bang up job. Due to the busier than usual weekend our meeting was cut a little short and as usual we adapted quickly. We had a wonderful update from both Dennis and Jerry regarding their Rides to the Wall in Washington DC. As someone that has never been, living through their experiences was wonderful. I could tell it certainly means more than just a bike ride with a bunch of dudes. Dennis encouraged others to do it. Jerry talked about many of the places he's now been and checked off his buck list. Certain a life changing experience and I'm glad they both are back safe. Jerry said his distance was nearly 10,000 miles this trip, going across county then up north to Maine. Thank you for your service and the honor you have shown. John T talked about all the birthdays and anniversaries we have in June and July. Wishing you a very Happy Birthday and a shot out to Oscar and Charlene celebrating their wedding day on the 4th just like Big John and me. This past social was at Dicicco in Kingsburg and we had a minimal turnout. Dennis and Kristy said the food was good but maybe the weather was just too warm for a ride. Stay in town on hot days. Next month it's Triangle Drive In on Bullard and First. Dennis talked about the safety issues of riding for long periods of time. Being tired and letting your brain go into a brain fog is serious concerns. That split second can make a difference. We shared some stories about being over tired and avoiding it. Get plenty of sleep, get off the bike when your tired and check your gear. Lots of good advise. Our calendar is looking a little thin and Dennis is asking for your input. He wants to add some new destinations. Send him your suggestions. Terry mentioned that he and Suzanne would be going to Kings Canyon on Sunday morning and invited anyone that would like to join them to meet at Perkos on Kings Canyon and Clovis Ave at 9am. The ride on Saturday was postponed till August when the museum had an open house. More information to come. We closed the meeting with our drawing and yours truly won. You have to be there to win so I'm feeling pretty good about my $25. Our next meeting is Saturday, July 20 at 8:30am at Seven's. Remember we have a ride to Jone's Store on Saturday, June 29. Hope you can make it. Have a safe month and we'll see you soon. Remember!!! Next Meeting: Saturday, July 20, 2019, 8:30am - SEVENS Restaurant, 25 Shaw Ave, Clovis Dinner Ride Social: Thursday, July 11, 2019, 5:30pm - Triangle Drive In near Hoover High School on Bullard Ave and First. Lane Splitting
There has been a lot of talk about lane splitting and we found some good articles and information. CHP Lane Splitting Tips Article: https://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/Home/News-Story/california-highway-patrol-releases-lane-splitting-tips CHP link: Download Lane Splitting Safety Tips https://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/DesktopModules/EasyDNNNews/DocumentDownload.ashx?portalid=3&moduleid=4097&articleid=11778&documentid=445 I hope you find this helpful. Thanks to Dennis for sharing this info. I am always looking for pictures from rides or write-ups from your experiences to add to our website. We no longer have a monthly newsletter and the website belongs to Valley Riders. Send you articles and pictures to Sindi, smcguire@csufresno.edu. In addition if you know of rides that may be of interest to our members send me a copy of their flier or all information.
Regular schedule Monthly Meeting the 3rd Saturday of the month at 8:30 am, Seven's Restaurant, Minnewawa and Shaw in Clovis. Fun, information, ride updates, prizes and plenty of good conversation. Join us.
Information LinksMotorcycle Safety Foundation provides helpful information for safe riding.
Valley Riders Printable Brochure Riding In A Group T-CLOCS Pre-ride check list Pretend You Are Invisible Riding With A Passenger Protective Gear Information VideosMSF offers several videos for the new and experienced rider. Click on any of the links and find the video on the right of page.
Welcome to the Ride Basic Rider Course Group Riding Street Rider Course I |
Valley Riders Motorcycle Group: Our group has been in existence since March 2014 with more than 65 members. The group has traveled quite a few miles in a short period of time. We’ve traveled along the Coast of California to places like Moss Landing, Monterey, Cambria, Santa Cruz, Pismo Beach, Carmel, Big Sur and Avila Beach (Annual Frozen Bun Run), San Jose (Lick Observatory), Danville (Blackhawk Car Museum), Fairfield (Fairfield Brewery), Paso Robles (Estrella War Birds Museum). We traveled to places in Central California like Hilmar (Hilmar Cheese Factory), Porterville (Stafford Chocolate Factory), and Hanford (Superior Dairy). We have also traveled to the mountains of California to places like Kings Canyon National Park / Sequoia National Park, Huntington Lake, Three Rivers, San Joaquin River Delta (Delta Loop), Kings River (Cedar Grove), Mariposa (Mt Bullion) and Groveland (Airport Ride to Ken and Linda Stark’s home). We’ve traveled to overnight places like Sacramento (Gold Rush Ride) and along the Northern Coast of California (North Coast Ride). And of course, we traveled locally within the Fresno (Forestiere Underground Gardens, Grizzly Baseball Game) /Clovis (Dan Rouit Museum) area. We can’t forget about all the great places we ate at. There are too many to mention, but our Annual Family and Friends Picnic and of course, the Christmas Party at Cosmopolitan Bar and Grill are always our favorites.
Safety is always an important element while we traveled the open roads of our country. We have had Parking Lot Practices and CPR/ First classes to keep us and our motorcycles fined tuned. We want to thank our Safety Coordinators Jerry Gregg and John Cunningham, Randy Patrick and Randy Hopkins for all the practice on our motorcycles. We would also like to thank Jerry and Jamie Slater for teaching us the proper techniques of CPR and First Aid.
by Wendy our Newsletter Editor (2014-2017)
Safety is always an important element while we traveled the open roads of our country. We have had Parking Lot Practices and CPR/ First classes to keep us and our motorcycles fined tuned. We want to thank our Safety Coordinators Jerry Gregg and John Cunningham, Randy Patrick and Randy Hopkins for all the practice on our motorcycles. We would also like to thank Jerry and Jamie Slater for teaching us the proper techniques of CPR and First Aid.
by Wendy our Newsletter Editor (2014-2017)