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Welcome to Valley Riders
Aug 8 - Dinner Ride to Sweet Tomatoes 4:30 Note Time Change today only Aug 17 - Monthly Meeting at Seven's Restaurant 8:30am with Ride to Fossil Museum following Aug 31 - Fundraiser Ride for Law Enforcement See Flyer Sept 12 - CHP Motorcycle Competition for Officers, Public Welcome, Campus Point 8-4pm Lots of fun events coming up. Glad you are planning on attending. Find the Monthly Calendar on the Rides Page |
Small Talk
Monthly meeting. 3rd Saturday of the month, Seven's Restaurant, 25 Shaw Ave, Clovis
McKinley Grove Ride, July 20, 2019 Five of us went on a short ride after the meeting today to McKinley Grove. Great mountain ride up to Dinkey Creek, and then finally on to see the BIG trees at McKinley Grove, Short 1/4 mi walk around the trail to visit the Giants. Then headed home to enjoy the rest of the Saturday with family. Approximately 125 miles and 3 1/2 hours and a very nice day! Jerry
Huntington 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. Xmas Get-Together, Planning Ahead Every year we as an organization come together to celebrate the holiday season. We see old friends that may or may not still ride and just eat, drink and be merry. Friends are friends.
This year there is discussion about moving the dinner to a luncheon. Everyone is so busy with family for the holidays that maybe this would work out for everyone. Recently I sent out an email to all members asking what they would like. A Dinner, A Lunch or maybe nothing at all. I'd love to hear from you. I'm looking at Dec. 7, 14 or even the 21st for a luncheon, price around $20 includes lunch, tip and dessert. Send an email to me at smcguire@mail.fresnostate.edu and let me know your interest. Not all spouses get my messages. Thanks, Sindi Dinner Social in July 11, 2019 |
NEXT MEETING IS SATURDAY,
Aug 17, 2019 - Seven's Restaurant Notes from July 20, 2019 Hello Riders: The turn out was good for our monthly breakfast meeting. It was good seeing Don, Rich, Jim, John C, John T and Big John. We also had several wives join us which always makes it nice for me. Big thank you to Terry and Susanne for always making the meeting fun and interesting. TL came in with short hair and no mustache. Hardly recognize that young man. We had reports from John T on membership and birthdays. We had lot to celebrate this past month. Congrats to all those celebrating their wedding anniversaries too. TL asked for someone to take over the treasury and Jerry G stepped up. He was quick to start selling those drawing tickets, so he'll be just fine. LOL John C covered road gators and obstacles on the road. Lots of junk out on the road and with all the rain be cautious and aware. Good discussion followed. The calendar is getting a little thin for events, rides and dinners. Don is going to look into a restaurant for the Sept 12 social so watch the calendar. Next month, Aug 8 we will be going to Sweet Tomatoes on First St near Herndon. We will meet at 4:30 because they have a senior price around $9 that ends at 5pm. We want to take advantage of the saving. Dennis picked up a couple of possible ride destinations as well. Soon the weather will be cooler and best time to ride, cooler temps just around the corner. Dennis mentioned a Tahoe ride so watch your email for information. You can also get on our email list by contacting Sindi. smcguire@mail.fresnostate.edu. With cooler temperatures we will have more long sleeve shirts available soon. We had request for some another color so we are looking at that. TL requested we have hats and we'll have them soon as well. Shirts are $20 S/S, $25 L/S and Hat $15. Dennis mentioned the ride after the meeting and about 4 or 5 were planning on taking a ride up the hill. With only the drawing left TL brought the meeting to an end around 9:35am. Congrats to Rich as this weeks winner. See you next month. Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019 at Seven's, 8:30am. Remember!!! Next Meeting: Saturday, Aug 17, 2019, 8:30am - SEVENS Restaurant, 25 Shaw Ave, Clovis 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 Motorcycle 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 Slow Maneuvers is the video Dennis shared. Set up your own course and give it a try.
Information LinksLane 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. 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.
This 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!
Dinner Ride Social: Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019, 4:30pm. Sweet Tomatoes located at First near Herndon. Note time change for this month only. |
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 Seven's Restaurant located at Minnewawa & Shave 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. We have just celebrated our 5th year anniversary in 2019.
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 Seven's Restaurant located at Minnewawa & Shave 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. We have just celebrated our 5th year anniversary in 2019.
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)