Knights Landing Loop, April 1, 2017 A Ride to Collect ABC Letters for my 2017 HOG ABC's
April Fools' day, but a serious ride. Day started out on the cool side, the low 60's But by noon it was mid to high 70's and later reached the low 80's
Last year, and in some previous years, I rode a loop that went north west of Sacramento with the farthest point Knights Landing Today I repeated most of that loop and then while I was on my way home, on I-80 heading west from Davis was a parking lot. So I thought "what if I go down through Rio Vista and Isleton?" It only added about an hour to the loop so I went for it.
First letter stop was in Contra Costa at their pet shelter. I have used this before for my County Letter "C"	From there, I rode up to Vacaville I intended to find the post office, but forgot the exit so I rode on to the Iron Steed HD dealership They do not have a convenient, large sign for an easy photo so I made do Dealership Point for my ABC's
I fired up the GPS to find the P.O. It took me a bit, the on and off ramps in Vacaville do not necessarily line up But I got my photo City Letter "V"	From Vacaville, I headed up I-505 Then over Rd-14 and Rd-13 to Zamora I love visiting these little towns and their tiny post offices City Letter "Z"
Continuing east on Rd-13 I came to Knights Landing City Letter "K"	Between the towns is very enjoyable Riding through the farm fields A sign of the new world, a wind turbine as part of the farmer's world
It is Spring, ground preparation and planting time	The crops are planted in phases to provide a steady stream of produce
Yolo City was my next stop Again, a small post office City Letter "Y"	Now on to Woodland Bravely parking in a red zone at police headquarters City Letter "W"
I was proud that I noticed a sign for Yolo County that provided an easy photo for a "Y" county I usually have been stopping at the Yolo County Fairgrounds for a photo but this time I skipped it When I got home and looked at this photo, I realized it did not include the word "County" so is unusable for my ABCs	Woodland has a community and senior center that shames those around our south bay area
About this time, I was getting hungry so I stopped for a bite at El Patio at the corner of Gibson Road and East St in Woodside It seemed very busy, a sign of good food?	I pulled into the parking lot and, as I was dismounting, a man and his wife eating on the patio spoke up about his Harley and how he had heard me coming.
We talked for some time.  He was an E-5, a Seargent, in the 82nd Airborne, a paratrooper.   Fort Bragg, Fayettefille, NC  I spent a lot of time there myself way back when. So we swapped memories, Bragg Blvd, Iron Mike, artillary fields, Pope Air Force Base He grew up in Knights Landing and now lives in Woodland.
This is an example of what I love so much about riding a Harley.  Everywhere you go, you meet so many interesting people with whom to have fabulous conversations
Heading back toward home, I found that I-80 was, as per normal, a parking lot I pulled off at Pedrick Road to fuel up. Next to the Cevron station I discovered Pedrick Produce. A really great place to shop.  I spent a lot. In the future, I will stop here while in the area	I was thinking, how would it be if I rode home through the delta? I calculated that it would only add about another hour  So I headed out. On the way, I came across Dixon City Hall A good photo although I already have a city "D"
Again through the vast fields until eventually I arrived at Rio Vista.	I could not resist a couple more photos even though I already have a city "R"
Isleton is just about 5 miles east of Rio Vista and the ride there is right along the river Very beautiful City Letter "I"	Heading south over the San Joaquin River bridge, a turn to the east took me into Oakley. A good opportunity for another photo. City Letter "O"
This day, although very satisfying, was very long, about 325 miles, 10 hours. I don't know if it was tough because it was the first longish day in quite some time or maybe the stop and go nature of the trip was very wearing. Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that I am not so young as I once was. Consequently, I am rethinking the daily goals for my upcoming May trip
This map shows 290 miles, but there were some segments that I was not able to include due to Google Map limitations. Actual odometer miles was approximately 320 miles.