“You know Uncle Phil, I help plant a bunch of these trees years ago when this place got hit by a forest fire” John tells us.
“I bet that
was backbreaking work. I remember pegging tobacco back home where you
stayed bent over all day, pegging and planting” I tell him.
“See anybody behind you?” I ask Rich. Having seen a crash on each of my previous group rides, I'm getting that sinking feeling.
“No, not lately” Rich says.
We decide to wait a bit longer. Still no one comes and I know in my heart something is wrong – bad wrong. A patrol cars zooms by headed in the direction that we just came from. Then we see an ambulance whiz past us headed the same way. My heart sinks and I say -
“Boys, somebody's
down.”
Since John
knows the road, he heads back to check it out. Rich and I stay put,
but it seems time is standing still. Our minds go through the riders
and we wonder if it is V.J. or one of the other guys. There is nothing
that hurts your heart anymore than the thought of someone getting hurt
riding. You know that is part of it and a chance you take every time
you mount up, but it still does not make it easy. John finally pulls
back up with V.J. close behind.
“It was the
Tony, the older guy. He lost it at that cattle guard. Not at the cattle
guard, but just before it. He ended up hitting the right frame that
the fence runs off of” John tells us.
“Well boys,
I'm done for the day” I tell them. “I
just don't have the heart for much more. This is my third group ride
that someone has gotten hurt. Let's just head for the house.”
We are all pretty much of the same opinion, so we head down out of the hills. V.J. has graciously offered to lead me into Don's house and for that I am thankful. We head toward the valley and decide to get a bite to eat before John and Rich have to head back to their houses. The restaurant was an unremarkable sandwich shop, but it didn't matter much. It was good to get out of the heat and to chill out for a while. We finish our sandwiches and get ready to mount up.
“Well, Mapinator,
you've got to come to Tennessee so you can find out where the really
good roads are” I tell him.
“Well, maybe in a few years when my son gets a bit older” he tells me.
We mount up and head for the road where the traffic is true California – elbow to elbow in all lanes. I'm running tail-gunner and John decides to lane-split to try to get around this mess. I've always been kind of a game chicken, so I figure I'm not to old to give it whirl. I'm thinking –
“In Tennessee,
some good old boy would open his door just to take you out if you tried
this back home.”
So I keep my
eyes wide open and do discover that some cage drivers are fine with
it and some ain't. It works fine but you just have to be careful. Finally,
we clear the mess and get underway at speed. Further down the road,
the Mapinator gives us the high sign and he's off to go back to his
house. V.J. assumes the lead and finally gets to highway 160. What a
wonderful road after the hassle of the heavy traffic. It winds lazily
along the Sacramento River, with a few draw bridge crossings. It passes
through small towns that give you a real flavor for what small town
California is like – not much different that small towns anywhere. We
finally stop alongside the river because it's getting close to Rich's
peel off point.