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Russian River Rally, August 1999
by Deborah Lefferts


Riding Up to RRR


Out of the seven of us riding up to RRR from San Francisco, Kim Carr and I were the first on the train at 6:30am. The normal train commuters gave Kim and I stares, as if we should quiet it down. We were talking and joking very loud. With the addition of our other bike buddies, Miguel Aznar, Ken Kennedy, Mary Kairis, Ray Rodriguez, and Troy Stenstrom, the noise level increased into a loud party.

When we arrived in San Francisco, Mary left for the ferry, while the rest of us waited for Miguel to return from his morning meditation ~ 15 minutes. About 9am, the six of us rode across the Golden Gate Bridge. We decided to go under the bridge, however, after a nice descent we were stopped at the bottom by the construction workers using a crane to move some large steel items. They asked if we had read the sign? I said "what sign?" Well, there is a very large sign on top saying "CLOSED". Troy and Miguel had seen the sign. We were sent back up the road.

We decided to have breakfast in Sausalito. So, we put our noses out for the greasiest spoon place that we could find. Lighthouse was it, and the place was packed. According to Troy and Miguel, they could barely finish two pancakes, because they were so big. Ken was the only one that the doctors would proud of with what he ate. The rest of us were questioning our ability to ride without being sick.

We finally started riding about 11am, with the group breaking up into two groups; the Racers (Miguel, Ken, Troy), and the Singers (Kim, Ray, Deborah). I should say Ray and Kim were the singers, as I had no clue to what they were singing. I could tell my age. The only thing I could sing was Nat King Cole's "When You Are Smiling".

However, the age issue disappeared when Ray and I raced up the hill to Occidental and, of course, I beat him. Ray and Kim passed out on the bench in Occidental. Kim and I found out Ray has testosterone disease or foot-in-mouth disease. Ray told us, for him to be a man all he needs is a truck.

Jimmy Baker and Teri Duffy rode up from San Jose, but missed our party, however, they must have had their own party. They were grounded by their children for coming in after dark.


Riding Back from RRR


Returning riders were Ken, Miguel, Kim, Jimmy, Teri, Jonathan Crockett, and me. We left camp about 9:45am Sunday, after help cleaning up. We stopped in the Cheese Factory, which was great with plenty of samples. In San Francisco, we missed the 6pm train. We arrived in San Jose at 8:30pm, after dark. We were all pretty tired, however that did not stop Jimmy from throwing jelly beans in the air for Kim to catch with her mouth. However, it seems Kim's ability to catch them with her mouth does not match her ability catch them with her shirt.

-Deborah