Soon we’ll be throwing our legs over the saddles,
cranking up the bikes, and departing for the Hollister motorcycle rally. As in years past, we were looking for a
summer road trip.
After some discussion, we decided on the Hollister Rally, our third visit to this event. Many are probably of the history
of this a small town out in the boondocks of central California.
Inland from Monterey and south of San Jose and the Bay
area, in 1947 Hollister was the location of the now (in)famous “riot” that
served as the basis for the Marlon Brando film “The Wild Bunch.” By popular myth, it is also viewed as the
birthplace of the American biker culture.
In ’47, the bikers were World War II vets, joining together
in various clubs, or “gangs” as the press called them. However, like today’s veterans, they were not
gangs, but like-minded and similarly experienced veterans associating with their
brothers.
For that weekend in 1947, the American Motorcycle
Association sanctioned a Gypsy Tour motorcycle rally in Hollister. Reports differ widely and dramatically, but it
is understood many more bikers showed up than expected, with riders coming from
all over.
Some reliable reports indicate
a few guys got out of hand, though the press (the fore fathers of the mainstream
media?) wildly exaggerated the situation.
Though some bikers roared up and down the town’s roads, and drank in all
of the welcoming bars, various sources indicated afterwards that it wasn’t as
bad as made out to be by a largely absent press after the fact.
For good or bad, truth or fiction, the legend of the
Hollister riot began. Indisputably,
however, the American biker image began to take shape and the
foundation for the biker life style was laid.
The Hollister Rally had been taking place off and on over
July 4th for a number of years.
After attending two previous rallies, we’d read about issues plaguing
the events. Apparently, the rally didn’t
occur for a few years, then suffered some problems during half-baked attempts
to resurrect it. Lately, however, it
seems to be back in is previous well-organized and successful form.
Hollister is about 45 miles southeast of San Jose (do
you know the way to San Jose?) and about halfway between I-5 and the Pacific
Ocean, off Route 101 and southeast of Gilroy. So this year we will drop anchor in
Gilroy. What do you mean you’ve never
heard of Gilroy? It is only the garlic capital of the
world!
Hollister is a really, really
small town in one of the warmer parts of central California. Thankfully the weather forecasts are for
decent temperatures during the rally.
One important aspect of the biker life style is
recognizing the dramatic differences in operating a bike with one or more other
riders. When driving a car, following
someone to a destination, it is relatively straightforward and easy. Just get behind the other guy, maintain a
reasonable distance, point the car, and go.
Step on the slanted peddle to go and rectangular pedal to stop. Most often other drivers see you and you see them. Nothing to it, right? On bikes it is a totally different proposition.
For example, while physically possible to ride
side-by-side on most freeways, it isn’t necessarily safe to do so. Consequently, experienced riders often ride in
staggered formations, leaving fore and aft and side-to-side space between the
bikes.
Safety is paramount when on a bike, because from a frontal or rear perspective, a
motorcycle is about one-third of the width of a car. From the side, a bike is less than 50% of the
length of an average car. So a good
rider pays attention to riding safely.
Another factor is the impact of heat on the
motorcyclist. Riding in the heat is
miserable. Though probably wearing a
light t-shirt, the sun and heat from the bike and the pavement beat on
you. And your head is encased in a
helmet, which retains the heat. The
air moving across your body at freeway speeds provides some relief, but there
comes a point where it is just absolutely miserable. There is no other way to describe it. Therefore, planning travel times and routes to avoid excessive heat is important.
Packing for a road trip also deserves some specific
comment. Again, it isn’t at all like
grabbing a couple of suitcases, throwing in everything you think you might
need, and stuffing them into the back of a car.
On a bike you are limited to a small bag strapped to the sissy bar and a
couple of saddlebags. Not a lot of cubic
inches, so good judgment is paramount.
Since it is likely you’ll encounter various weather types, clothing for
cold-to-cool-to-warm-to-hot is needed.
This includes short and long gloves, helmet, goggles, and chaps (leather
leggings to cover the legs). And the leather jacket.
Add to these bulky items the shaving kits, parts/tools/oil for the bike,
and ball caps, there really isn’t much space remaining for much more than basic
attire, comprised of the ever-present blue jeans, skivvies, socks, shirts,
swimsuit, and some half-way decent attire to wear when going out for a bite to
eat. With practice and experience, you
can judiciously pack for a motorcycle road trip.
As of this writing, our routing north through L.A. is
undecided. Hitting the I-210 to
intersect SR-134 and ultimately Route 1/101 (Pacific Coast Highway) is
preferred, even though a longer distance, because it avoids the perpetual mess of
I-405. However, temperatures through the
inland empire are forecast to be in the 90s and possible low 100s, definitely
something to avoid. The alternative is
timing our departure to miss the worst of the 405. This can mean, nevertheless, hitting slow – if
not stop and go – traffic, another pain on a bike.
OK, most of you have done stop and go traffic and know
it’s a bitch. But unless or until you do
it on a motorcycle, you have no idea just how much of a total bitch it can
be. Clutch in, clutch out. Feet up, feet down. Oh yeah, motorcycles don’t stand by
themselves when stopped. You either have
to put down the kickstand (unrealistic in traffic) or put one or both feet
down. It becomes a pain really, really
fast. Add to that the fumes from the
cars and trucks around you, the heat, and discomfort and it is not what “Easy
Rider” looked like. When possible, plan to avoid heavy traffic and stop and go conditions.
When on the road like this, you can’t carry on a
conversation with your buddy. Wind noise
and distance make it impossible. So you
are left with your thoughts, together with paying close attention to the road
conditions and other vehicles. In a way
it is a type of solitude in the midst of everything going around you. It is easy to get mentally lost in the beauty
around you, when conditions permit, which are heightened because of riding the
bike. As previously described, you
aren’t encased in a car, with climate control and a stereo. You are pretty much one with the
environment. But in traffic, it is imperative to remain focused on the task at hand.
Once we get to the coastal area of Santa Monica, etc.,
the route and ride will be much, much more enjoyable.
Not too long before we are enjoying that part of the ride.
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