There is always some question in the winter months about the weather. The Bikin’ Fools have a commitment to venture out in any weather that the Gods offer on any given full moon. The selection of the coastal ride had the potential to be a giant bust with inclement weather.

"Just wait," Shawn had said two weeks previous, "The weather will be

perfect, it always works for the full moon rides."

He was correct. The here-to-fore rainy skies relented and offered the ‘fools’ a nearly perfect forum for the event.

The character of this ride would be new and different, as is the case with all moonrides. Tonight there would be a mascot, a canine ‘runnin’ fool’. Azule,

spirit guide for Morgan would be initiated into the realm of the moonlight madness known to the Bikin’ Fools.

It is never known for sure who will show up for the ride. Rejoining the event would be Dave and Shane, veterans of previous rides, and core group; Shawn, Mike and Eric. Conspicuously absent was Linz, who would be enjoying the full moon on another part of the planet. Jim

Corte was a long shot with a plan to meet at the starting point of the ride. He was in Santa Rosa with his wife and child, a prescription for severe iffy-ness.

Tonight’s event would be a rare sortie to the coast, an area here-to-fore not transited by the Bikin’ Fools. The coast in the summer is frequently fog enshrouded making for less lumens and clammy conditions. In the winter, however, clear skies often prevail. On this Nov. 21^st such conditions were in place to accommodate the monthly romp of the enthusiast riders.

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As the riders drove towards the coast, a spectacular view to the north yielded the mountainous silhouette of the terrain from Mt. St. Helena to Geyser Peak. This rugged, twenty mile stretch of mountains had been transited in sections, at night without lights by the core of mountain bike riders who now motored towards yet another adventure.

Jim had the misfortune on the previous moonride to get "lost". He bailed from that ride and missed out on the hours of fun and levity and killer dinner. So it was with some skepticism that the crew pondered whether Jim would shine for the event. As the group assembled and prepared for the ride, there was still no Jim.

"I’ll bet he won’t make it." Shawn said with some doubt.

"Every time he does something with his family, he never shows up."

The five riders made the last minute adjustments and started to proceed from the Willow Creek picnic ground towards the Flaming Candor restaurant.

The door of opportunity was closing for Jim. As the front runners proceeded on the narrow winding road, suddenly a vehicle traveling at warp speed rounded the corner. It was Jim. He skidded to a stop.

"Dude! Glad you could make it man." Eric said, "We had written you off."

"Yea, I had to deal with the fam," Jim stated, "It took a little longer than I had expected."

"Well, get your shit together, we’ll ride slow ‘‘til you catch up."

Jim stormed off and the other riders slackened the pace. The road was ridden to highway 101. They proceeded uphill to the Goat Rock turn-off and proceeded towards the single track to Trav’s climbing heaven. At that point, a volunteer stayed behind to wait for Jim, to make sure he went the proper direction.

The group became fragmented at this point. There were a couple segments traveling at independent speeds towards the climbing rocks. Eric was with Mike and Shawn. Seemed easy enough. However at one point Shawn said; "Its all downhill from here." He meant to the rock. But while Eric fiddled with the camera, he was just far enough behind that he failed to see exactly where Mike and Shawn went. Eric proceeded downhill and arrived at the big outcropping of rock. For a few confusing moments he tried to decide where to go. He was sure this was the destination that the others had mentioned; though Eric had never been here before.

"Well," Eric thought, "Shawn did say something about downhill…" Eric proceeded to travel past the gigantic rock pile and continue on the trail towards the Pacific Ocean, not that far away. For a while, he could hear the voice of someone at the road yelling. But when Eric approached the ocean, all that could be heard was the pounding of the surf. There were no other riders. Humm…

Finally Eric did a U’ie and returned to the rocks where the rest of the bikin’ fools patiently awaited his return.

After the required safety inspection, the seven mountain bikin’ enthusiasts headed down the beautiful smooth trail along the bluffs adjacent to the ocean. The moon was high in the sky, the visibility was perfect and the trail was a super (mountain biking) highway. Waves crashed on the beach below.

Shifters clicked into the higher gears as the group shredded the scintillating miles along the sea. All too soon the parking lot at the beach access appeared. Two cars were in the dark. Both cars had steamed up windows….

Now the big climb loomed for the crew. So far the ride had been mostly flat. But several hundred feet of climbing had to be accomplished to summit the first set of hills inland from the ocean. Then the awesome single track would take the crew back down to the campground for the scheduled gourmet event.

The trail was so easy to ride that it had to end. It couldn’t be that easy! So at the very end, on the way, way steep section, the trail and the rest of the world disappeared under the canopy of thick woods. Now void vision had to be employed to "feel" the way. Eyesight no longer worked. Several times riders exited the trail to the sound of crunching branches and leaves. No one stacked.

Finally all of the attendees including Azule, arrived at the picnic grounds. That was the good news, the bad news was that the thick forest was dank and dripping wet. Finding wood became problematic. Starting a fire was even more of a dilemma. With the aid of Jim’s ‘boy scout’ log, a fire finally began to crackle and burn. The fire was Daved to the max. Yet, the fire never really roared, but it cooked the food. Finally the Bikin’ Fools got the reward of being extra hungry after a beautiful romp along the Pacific Coast. The corn, potatoes, cooked carrots; steak, chicken dogs, sausage and more were consumed in ancient caveman fashion.

Finally the event drew to a close. It had been another exceptional event with a new twist = the dog. Azule performed well. There was notable skepticism at the outset, but the dog seemed to know that if he screwed up, he and his owner would be toast with the Bikin’ Fools. Azule not only stayed out of the way of everyone, but also dusted most of the group, most of the time He scored big at dinner.

The excursion along the coast was exceptionally nice. It was new territory and all of the elements conspired to make the event a memorable occasion. Next time, the Fools will be sure to invite the girls.