My Hero's!
Written By Kenneth Kinder

As I have been writing about my arrival in Grass Valley in 1949, and the adventures that Neal and I had logging and working in the woods. My mind wandered to one Saturday, that Neal and I had delivered a load of logs to Crawfords sawmill, in the small town of Colfax, California. We were headed back to our cabin in Grass Valley, when Neal spotted a guy from our recent past walking the streets of this small town. By recent past I mean like six months prior and what was so strange, was we had known this guy in El Monte close to 400 miles south of our present location.

His name was Luke (William) Sellers and he had been a classmate of ours in high school. He was the brunt end of the joke on so many occasions, and the only reason that comes to mind is his lack of fighting back when some-one pulled a prank on him. In other words he was an easy target. I remember about so many times that we would be at the Hula Hut, or Simon's drive-in and some one would pants Luke and send his clothes up a light standard, or use him as a guinea pig for their barber college experiment. This was at the end of the war and a lot of our friends were veterans that were going to school on military money better known as the GI bill. This money could be used in many way’s and a lot of the guy’s found that barber college was the least strenuous on their mental faculties. Any how back to Luke. He was the type of guy that was happy just to be one of the gang. A gopher that was gullible and wanted to please.
At these drive-ins, cars would park three deep in line waiting for their car-hop on roller skates to bring their orders. It was usually at one of these locations that we would find Luke and have him do our bidding. This is where we would challenge other cars to a race at 5th avenue out in the country. A straight stretch of road that was wide and long enough to determine who had the fastest vehicle. Luke was always available to clean the windshields, change the flats, start the races, any thing that we needed he did.

So, when we spotted him walking the streets, we pulled over and asked him "what he was doing here so far from home? His reply, was don’t you remember down at the Hula Hut, you told me there was lot’s of work up here in the woods and that I should come on up." We probably had told him something along this line not thinking that he would follow through on our advice. So we loaded Luke in the truck, took him back to our huge 20+20 cabin and had him spend the weekend with us. On Monday morning we took him to the forestry dept and got him a job working in the woods up near Downeville a town high in the Sierra Nevada Mts.

Luke spent the whole summer working hard and at the end of his tour, he came by to thank us and tell us about his experiences. He said, "he had a great time with the forestry, made a few dollars and was heading home. He also told us he lost a good friend that he met while working there." This friend was killed by a bear while working in the woods.

This was in the fall of 1949, and the next time I saw Luke he was in a military hospital at Ft. Ord California. I was just going through my indoctrination to begin my training as a soldier in the Army. I received word that Luke was on this base and in the hospital. When I went to visit him he was pretty much the same personality, not complaining just excepting the fact this was the hand that was dealt him. His whole left shoulder was messed up, wounded while in Korea, and his last words to me were "be careful over there." To me this brunt end of the joke was a true hero, and I made up my mind that day to try and never be a participant in any stupid games that people pull on each other to demean or humiliate them.

It was at one of these same drive-ins in the winter of 1950, that I ran across another errant classmate. These drive-ins, were like the ones depicted in the movie American Graffiti, or the TV series Happy Day’s. I was back in southern Ca. because the weather in Grass Valley was to bad to let us do any logging, so I came down to visit relatives and friends. This classmates name was Willie Shoemaker. If you are at all familiar with horse racing and jockey’s, that name should ring a bell. Willie at one time was the winning-est jockey of all times. I don’t know if that holds true today; but he held that title for a number of years.

How I knew Willie, was by sharing physical education classes with him. He was not very enthusiastic about school or education, his only interest lay in horses. He was constantly asking me to cut classes and give him a ride to Warner's Stables to exercise, and cool down or hot walk horses. As I have stated in previous stories, I don’t like horses. It’s not that I don’t like horses, it’s more that I am uncomfortable around them. I have a certain amount of fear of them and they can sense this, and when this happens you have lost the battle of who has control. As I wrote in another story my hero's have always been cowboy’s; but the horse I prefer to ride, has two wheels and handle-bars, four cylinders and drinks gas.

Getting back to Willie, at one point in our relationship I more or less told him if he didn’t pay more attention to school and studies he would never become more than a bum. So it was about two years later and he was an up and coming jockey, heck he was better then that, he had made a bundle. So here I am sitting in a buddies car with about two quarters to rub together, and up drives Willie in a brand new Cadillac convertible, with this beautiful six foot blond draped all over his 108 pound body. When Willie spotted me he said "hey Kinder how you doing? Making lots of money? Hows the world treating you?" He went on and on and he then ask me, "do you remember what you told me a few years ago? It went something like you will always be a bum or no good nobody. He then ask about my financial standings, I mean he really rubbed it in my face." So I guess this is the reason I have seldom gambled, because I don’t know how to pick a winner when I see one.

Willie didn’t needle me very long because he was really a pretty nice guy, and I deserved what he gave me. We enjoyed each others company that evening and a couple more times before our paths separated, and the last that I heard about him was that he had an accident in his van returning from Santa Anita race track. It seems he dropped something while he was driving and reached down to retrieve this object, when he hit the shoulder of the road, lost control of his van turning over many times down the side of a hill. The final outcome is Willie is now a paraplegic. I heard that he still trains horses and jockey’s , so I guess it is hard to keep a winner down.

Speaking of winners, I had the privilege to be near greatness on two separate occasions this past week. On Thursday the 25th I watched my grand-daughter reel in two trophy size trout (maybe I exaggerate), but they were keepers. I have been telling her that we were going fishing all summer, and now that El Nino is upon us I figured we better get it done. So we went up to Caples Creek and drowned a few worms. My grand-daughter will be six in two weeks and she thinks she is pretty big stuff. I told her mother to dress her in jeans and a long sleeve shirt, and we would pack a picnic lunch. So when Jessica arrived her mother said that she had packed a separate bag and that I should check it out. When I opened the bag, I found it contained a roll of toilet paper, two paper plates and two paper cups. She remembered my introducing her to the joy of out-door picnics and toileting when she was three, and she thought it was great.

The other winner I was in close proximity with was Scotty Parker. On Saturday The annual motorcycle one mile event that usually decides the holder of the # 1 plate for the following year. This race was a barn burner, as usual Scotty Parker from the state of Michigan, was right up there in the point chase. The final race was 25 miles, and after 14 laps a bike slid out in turn 4, and the race was halted . So when the race was restarted after all bikes had a tire change they were all lined in a straight line, and Scotty was in third place. He held back until the last two laps, he then turned on and won. Below, is a picture of Scotty with his # 1 plate on his proud steed.

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A spontaneous ride emerged with the onset of Mother's Day, since it had been several months since I had seen or spent time with my mother. So, In near perfect weather, I packed up the Bandito, routed a quick map in google and asked Gary to clone it onto the GPS and off I went with promises to return in a couple of days. Well, almost...

Leaving at a somewhat reasonable hour, I had an amazing ride under partly cloudy skies knowing that some serious goat awaited me as I headed to Antelope Lake. The twisty Hwy 49 was a great introduction to what lay ahead.

Route to PDX
http://goo.gl/maps/Mh35W

Downieville


Hwy 49


The back roads to Antelope Lake were all Forest Service roads that wound up in elevation through an area that had been badly burned several years ago. The underbrush rich and vibrant grew up around the skeletal remains of the tall threes. The skies shed a quick downpour and I used caution over the newly wet roads. As I rose, I couldn't believe just how many shades of green covered the hillsides. It was a new birth to the area, lush and ripe.

A quick rainfall...








Descending towards Janesville and looking into the valley below.


Highway 139 is one of my favorite roads to traverse north of Susanville and working toward Oregon. Eagle Lake is located off 139. I have wanted to stay here and at one point or another will make it so!


These flowers were prolific along the highway in NorCal and Southern OR.


The sun was getting low in the sky and the reflection in my lens was a treat though a far cry from the natural lighting.


Love the sky, which immediately brought the image of Monty Python's god in the clouds.


I had called ahead knowing I'd arrive in Klamath Falls rather late, and made a reservation. I came to learn just what a good idea that had been once I arrived at the hotel filled with dogs and owners for the American Kennel Club and Klamath Dog Fanciers big "best of show".

Well amid the dogs, I discovered that my room had been changed from a ground level room to an upstairs, which at this point a room at all was a delight. As I pulled in, I discovered that my room and key did not match and my room was in a different building. Oh my...I was tired and just wanted to get the bike and me situated. Two lovely girls came to my rescue with a glass or vino and they called the office and asked for them to send someone to sort out my right room. In the meantime, I took a deep breath and a big swig of wine. It worked out wonderfully and I made two new human friends and six new dog friends.


After a solid night of sleep, I rose, got coffee and decided I had never seen a dog show and that it was high time. I packed up and checked out and off I rode to the fairgrounds to see some dogs.

I got numerous shots, but these were my favorites.

Se Habla Zoom Zoom !!
. . . . and in other languages too


We will meet at Cal-Moto (BMW, Triumph, KTM, Vespa) showroom in Mountain View, have some fresh coffee, gossip a little, take a look at pretty bikes, gossip some more, and then go for a nice ride.

Arrive 9_ish. KSU 9:45 AM

Details, RSVP, who else is going, etc ==>CLICK HERE

• When: Sat 5/25/2013
Meet at 9:00 AM; KSU 9:45 AM sharp

• Where: Meet at Cal-Moto Mountain View
2490 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View, CA

I know this subject has probably been covered a thousand times, but can we try once more? I'm thinking of upgrading my stock busa seats for Corbin. I know a lot of you use Corbin. How long does it take on average to get once ordered, and how soft are they? There really are hundreds of different leathers some very hard and some very soft. For obvious reasons you don't want it to soft. Also how does Corbin stand up to weather, snow, rain, sun etc.? It's a lot of money and don't want to make a mistake. Thanks to all for inputs.

Just curious if there are any other Montana riders on the Pashnit forums?
Summer is finally here I believe and I'm looking forward to doing more riding.:hello

NEW Doc Wong Motorcycle Touring Clinic, Fri, June 14, 6:30PM

Hi,*

You're invited to my first ever: *Doc Wong Motorcycle Touring Clinic!

***
Doc Wong Motorcycle Touring Clinic
Date: June 14, 2013 Friday night 6:30-8:30 PM
Where: Doc Wong's clinic in Belmont: 1021 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Belmont, CA
How to register: email docwong@aol.com
Cost: $0.00 How cool is that!
***

We love to ride, it refreshes us and helps give us a fresh outlook in our lives. Friends are made, rides*enjoyed and adventurous experiences abound!



Our SF Bay Area gives us some wonderful riding opportunities locally for some wonderful day rides. *But*how about longer overnight rides? *A weekend trip? *A week long trip cross country? *How about riding into*a different country? *Alaska? *Mexico? *South America? *Or even doing a long distance competition such as*an Iron Butt ride?

Good News! *Steve McCaa, noted long distance Iron Butt competitor, whom I met at one of my other Doc*Wong Clinics in sharing knowledge with each other, has graciously volunteered to share his knowledge and*experiences with you so that you can be more prepared and thoroughly enjoy your longer distance*motorcycle trips! *Not all of us are interested in doing a "11,000 mile, 48 states, 11 day" Iron Butt competition,*but let's hear from Steve on how to improve your fun and enjoyment of a longer distance touring ride!

Topics covered are:

Routes:
* *West Coast
* *US cross country
* *Other Countries
* *Resources for routes* *

How to prepare for a trip: *
* *Trip Planning:*
* *How to Pack for a trip (clothing, safety and repair gear)
* *Maximizing Comfort: Seats, Ergonomics, Windshields
* *Riding gear, handling exposure: heat or cold
* *Bikes, setup and modifications for touring
* *Spare parts, tools
* *Type of bikes needed
* *Auxillary lights
* *Do's and Dont's, Best Practices
* *How much riding experience do you need?
* *Road noise, helmets, ear buds, music?
* *Hard or soft bags?
* *Bringing computers and cameras.
* *Maintenance while on the trip? *Tires, repairs, services?

Going Solo or riding with*a group, finding other riders to ride with
* *Radio communications?

Issues While Riding:
* *Maintaining concentration and focus
* *Handling fatigue*
* *Body position, foot peg positions
* *Throttle locks
* *Eating and Bathroom Breaks
* *Security of parking your bike overnight
* *Navigation
* *Dealing with hazards, deer, etc.
* *Fatigue, dozing off, zoning out

What to do about:*
* *Long days, hot, cold, windy and rainy day riding strategies
* *Emergency Repairs, flats, other mechanical
* *Emergencies: SPOT, GPS
* *Preparing for the unexpected
* *State law differences for motorcyclists
* *Unwritten Laws
* *Rain, bugs
* *Risks of night riding

Iron Butt and other long distance competition Information

Doc Wong will cover: How to handle pain and discomfort, stiffness, soreness, cramps and pain while riding. Food, hydration,*electrolytes, etc

***A checklist will be provided for you to help you on your next trip!

Ride street, ride track, ride dirt, trials.....ride.....well!

Doc Wong

Full Motion Chiropractic*
at: Carlmont Village Shopping Center
1021 Alameda De Las Pulgas
Belmont, CA 94002

Check out the stuff on the Doc Wong (Free) Riding Clinics on my web site! http://www.docwong.com

Note: Photos for "Doc Wong Crashes" are on my web site.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To get the latest announcements on my Riding Clinics subscribe to the Doc-Ride Mail-list!

Go to:http://micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/doc-ride
Go to: www.meetup.com/docwong to join the Doc Wong Riding Clinic community
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Thanks to Keith Code, his books and school of which much of the Doc Wong Riding Clinics are based.

Click on photo for details.

Meet at 9 AM, KSU 9:30 from Cal-Moto Livermore.

Not for newbies

What does the idiom highway robbery mean? An extremely high price or charge for something.

Origin: During the time of William Shakespeare and the early 16 th century, it was common for travelers on the open road to be held up and robbed by armed highwaymen. With time, the phrase "highway robbery" came to be associated with charges for goods and services that were so expensive that the buyer felt that he or she was being robbed by the seller.

A while back when I was in the bank, the teller said “ I don’t know if you are aware of a $15.00 per month penalty charged to your account”. “She then went on to say this is your second month so I thought I would bring it to your attention”.

I was very glad she did because I don’t always check the statements that well and it is easy to miss some items. The balances are always checked but thirty dollars wouldn’t have caught my eye. I found out it was due to my dropping below $20,000.00 in that account. I will add the fact that in small print this penalty was stated but I never caught it when I opened this account. Ignorance is bliss…….NO. I still had $19,000.00 plus a few bucks in the account diminishing at the rate of $15.00 per month.

This account would make just a few dollars per year on that amount, so I thought I could get this travesty of justice removed from my balance by talking to the president of the bank. Nada……not one cent would he replace in the account……….now this got me hotter than a firecracker on the fourth of July. So after a few back and forths I told him where he could go and closed my argument with these words. “Even Jesse James had the courtesy to use a gun when robbing someone.”
I still have my money in that bank with the same jackass president and my way of thinking is he will be replaced or switched to another branch one day and I will like his replacement. I think that they rotate managers more often than tellers and maybe that is to keep them from getting to friendly with the customers.

In criminal law, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's freely-given consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting, fraud and sometimes criminal conversion. In some jurisdictions, theft is considered to be synonymous with larceny; in others, theft has replaced larceny.
Someone who carries out an act of or makes a career of theft is known as a thief, and the act of theft is known as stealing, thieving, or sometimes filching.

Burglary (also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking) is a crime, the essence of which is entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offence. Usually that offence will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary. To commit a burglary is to burgle or burglarize).

Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force and or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear. Precise definitions of the offence may vary between jurisdictions. Robbery differs from simple theft in its use of violence and intimidation.

If a babysitter steals a ring and cash out of your house it is considered theft, but if her boyfriend does it is considered burglary because she was the only one who had permission to be in the house.

I am not quite sure which category for me to place the actions of the bank but no matter what we say I am sure we will continue getting the short end of the stick.

Now……………on to the ride!

There were 10 of us on this ride and the weather was just about perfect. Sir Charles took us thru Ione to hit the outskirts of Valley Springs……..The home of Chris Carr the Harley factory ride a while back. Chris Carr was not only a national motorcycle racer on tracks but also broke land speed records and was inducted into the Motorcycle hall of Fame in 2004

It is also where the young girl was murdered by her 12 year old brother.

Calaveras County Sheriff Gary Kuntz said at a news conference that Leila Fowler's brother was taken into custody just after 5 p.m. Saturday. He will be charged with homicide, Kuntz said. Several classmates of the 12-year-old boy, and parents of those classmates, told KCRA 3 that the boy's name is Isaiah Fowler. The Calaveras County Sheriff's Department would not confirm the boy's identity.

The classmates said Isaiah Fowler was at his sister's vigil that took place just days after the girl's death and was seen back at school.
Valley Springs residents who knew the family said Saturday after the arrest was announced that they are shocked by the news and that Leila Fowler and her brother were close.

Fowler was found stabbed to death at her family’s home on Rippon Road on April 27.

The attack shook the tight-knit Valley Springs community of about 7,400 people and set off a massive manhunt.

We then rode up to Pardee Overlook for our first break. Killed some time there deciding which way we were going next as we had the community park in Groveland in mind for lunch and you can get there from several directions with Charlie at the reins. I also wanted to hit Coulterville and get a peek at Dogtown Rd. Last Friday I went to the memorial of Milton Balmain that I drove truck for back in 1951 he was 99 years old when he passed on and I visited with the family and found out that Doug and his wife live on a very large parcel of land and if I recall properly it is self contained and it is a Log home on the exterior. Doug is the young boy I referred to a while back that worked all summer at his dads sawmill for a Winchester deer rifle. From my calculations it is about 11.5 miles out from Coulterville on Dogtown rd. to get there and I am thinking that much of that road will be dirt or gravel and my bike Janey K already said no way Papa-Ken………you go there, you take dirt bike. Pretty snippy for someone who just lightened my wallet of close to a thousand dollars.

Back to the ride. From Coulterville we worked our way back up to Groveland for lunch and spent some time there deciding which of the hearty were going with Charlie back VIA Wards Ferry. Four did Six didn’t. Oh you should have heard the excuses for not riding Wards Ferry but Charlie, Cowboy, Jim Guiles and myself blazed the trail one more time to see if there was any new art work decorating the bridges on this tour. The four of us made one more comfort break in Columbia before picking up 49 to 16 and back home . About 300 miles and was it worth the effort. At times I find it hard to get up and go but once I do it is always worth the effort…….Ken.

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Here is a video of a trip 2 years ago. It was a real fun day considering.

Outta Control's Wild Sore Ass Ride (Long Version) 10/16/11 - YouTube

WHEN THOU DOEST MOUNT UPON THY STEAD...
YE OLDE ATGATT TIS WHAT YE NEED...

I ordinarily post photos of my rides. I thought I would try something different. A couple of years ago, I bought a Gopro camera and usually used it for taking photos. This is my first attempt at a ride video. It is obviously an amatuer production.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=3xh5AvFrbks

Annual Open House at the Dan Rouit Museum in Clovis.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

10 am until 3 pm

Link

This was a late september sunday of 2012.
Departure from/close to Varese (Italia) direction Lugano and some roads (lanes) around the lake close to Lugano. +/- 300 km roundtrip with a wonderfull weather. Crossing customs is a breeze, no stop or questions ask but be prepare for.

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This was a very beautiful sunday of january 8th 2012, yes january!
Lago d'Orta is locate west of Lago Maggiore, closer to the Alps. It was unusaly quiet but also unusual wonderful weather for the period of the year.

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Doc Wong Braking Confidence & Skills Workshop! Th, June 6, 6:30PM



Hi,

I'm sure you're aware how to brake effectively is as important a skill as all of the other skills necessary for smooth, confident and safe riding. *I'm finding that a lot of riders can improve their skills in how and when to apply the brakes. *There is definitely a safety issue with the incorrect use of the brakes. *This causes either increased braking distances and at worst locking up the brakes prematurely, sliding out or crashing.

It's one of those skills that a lot of riders don't think of until the SHTF. *In this very unique clinic I'll be covering key points and techniques that every rider should know such as: *

Emergency Braking, Threshold Braking and Locking up the Front tire (how not to)
Braking at the limits of traction: How best to avoid crashing
Braking and Corner Entry Speed: How to Smoothly and Effectively Transition from one to the other
Critical Dos and Don'ts regarding Braking
Braking While In a Turn
Trail-braking
What Brake To Use: Front vas Rear brakes
Engine Braking
All About ABS
Braking and Downshifting
Downhill Braking

Improving riding confidence comes with knowing, applying and practicing the basic skills of riding. *With improved knowledge and skill anyone can become a smoother and safer rider. *I hope to present this vital topic to you in a way that truly improves your understanding and ability to apply this while riding and braking.

The Doc Wong Riding Clinics are now in it's 18 year with now over 40,000 riders having attended! *Is that cool or what? *Anyway welcome to this new clinic, I hope you find it helpful.

Yours in great health, great riding and great fun!

What: New Doc Wong Braking Confidence and Skills Clinic
When: Th, June 6, 2013 - 6:30PM-8:30PM
Where: Doc Wong's Full Motion Chiropractic office at 1021 Alameda de las Pulgas in Belmont
Cost: $0.00
How to signup: email me at: docwong@aol.com

Seating will be limited, so if you do sign up and need to cancel, please let me know as I anticipate a waiting list.

Doc Wong

Full Motion Chiropractic
1021 Alameda De Las Pulgas
Belmont, CA 94002
Office: (650) 365-7775
Fax: (650) 365-7890
docwong@docwong.com
www.docwong.com
Moving from Pain to Optimal Health

(Free initial consultations available to riders for health problems, just e-mail me at docwong@aol.com)

Check out the stuff on the Doc Wong (Free) Riding Clinics on my web site! http://www.docwong.com

Note: Photos for "Doc Wong Crashes" are on my web site.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To get the latest announcements on my Riding Clinics subscribe to the Doc-Ride Mail-list!

Go to:http://micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/doc-ride
Go to: www.meetup.com/docwong to join the Doc Wong Riding Clinic community
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Special acknowledgement and thanks to:

Keith Code of California Superbike Schools for his help and guidance and support. The Doc Wong Street Riding Clinics are almost all based on his works. Get his books and tapes on the subject, read them and apply them....your riding will be much better for it! *www.californiasuperbikeschool.com

In memory of Gary Jaehne for his contributions to our motorcycling community!

Helimot Leathers: *The leathers I use and consider the best! www.helimot.com