Three B's Ride

[James Burleigh]

I told MadMike I wasn't going to start this thread 'cause I didn't take many pictures. But hell, someone's gotta do it. :glare:

Okay, here we go....

First there was the Earps and Holiday:

And the Wild Bunch:

Then there was the Dirty Dozen:

And Reservoir Dogs:

But more to the point, there was also the Keystone Cops:

And the Three Stooges:

So finally we get to...the FJR Dudes! :blink:

(L to R): puppychow (Sam), MadMike2 (Old Fat Bastard), Ranch Hand (Dave & Nancy), Rog & Deb, Sacramento Mike, (Ms. Hycle) Terri, gfran (Cindy & Gary), unknown squid.

And a sorry-ass looking bunch they are too. But if you take MadMike out, then it ain't so bad.... This is the crowd that made it aaaaaallllll the waaaaaaaaay to the Haggin Art Museum, the ones who showed a little bit of culture and stamina to ride all 30 miles or so of this cultural excursion. Good on ya.

Others attended the bird part and the beans part, like the Bluestreeks, Bugnatr, Nightshine, and flying junior. jwhite518 was with his daughter and made the prudent decision to turn back for home when the fog became too thick the farther they got toward the valley (sorry we missed you, Jerry). Visibility was 1 mile+ by the time we all got to the rendezvous, and clearing. By the time we pulled out of the museum, the sun had broken through. Here's the scene in the museum park as we headed back to our bikes, and of course the obligatory bike picture (mostly the good ones, but with a purple bastage in the bunch :glare: ):

It was a great day, a lot of fun--good riding, good food, good friends, new friends, some @^@! birds, and some fabulous art!

Thanks, all, for coming and making the second annual Three-B's ride a rip-roaring success!

JB

 

[Niehart]

JB, good to see your in print again.

Love the unknown squids shirt :lol:

 

[flying junior]

Now I really feel bad about heading home early. Never did see blue sky all day.

As I rode past the park near my home in Sacramento, I noticed some big white birds gliding around on the pond. They had long, gracefully curved necks. Sandhill cranes!

 

[SacramentoMike]

Pretty sure those were pigeons, Walt.

Here's a crane. The only one I saw all day. Legend has it if the crane doesn't see his shadow, it's foggy.

And lunch. The beans were in short supply at this point, but they eventually found some extras for the rest of us.

But there sure was plenty of Bierstadt

All in all, it was far better than riding in snow. It was very good to see everybody and have so much opportunity to just visit. Many thanks for setting it all up, JB.

 

[James Burleigh]

Here's a crane. The only one I saw all day. Legend has it if the crane doesn't see his shadow, it's foggy.

If that's a sandhill crane, then I'm Albert Bierstadt. :blink:

 

[madmike2]

I had a great time. :yahoo:

Yes, there was the typical Sacramento Valley fog....pretty normal for Winter in this area. The temps were in the mid-40's to low 50's. The view somewhat obscured but....

...the people were great, the fun was plentiful, the food was wonderful and the museum interesting.

The NorCal group got to meet the Ranch Hands (Dave & Nancy) and puppychow (Sam) AND, they might even ride with us again. Even after meeting J.B. (aka: Das Kommandant)!

Following are some of the pictures I took.

Meeting in Elk Grove @ Laguna Blvd. and I-5:

@ 0930 we headed South on I-5 to meet "Das Kommandant" @ Flag City (Hwy 12 & I-5). We rode North about 2 miles and turned West on Woodbridge Rd. to the "Wood Bridge Ecological Reserve":

We pulled over at a turnout to look at/for Sandhill Cranes.

"Someone said, "There they are!"

Another said, "No, those aren't cranes, they're Swans!"

There were plenty of different species of waterfouls. Here are some photos:

I coasted up to these birds, sat on my bike and took this picture. Then one of our group when riding by at 40mph, or so, and they took off.

The group gathered at another turnout then saddled up to head for lunch at Angelo's in Lodi.

 

[dcarver]

Very nice everyone!

 

[SacramentoMike]

If that's a sandhill crane, then I'm Albert Bierstadt. :blink:

Did I say "sandhill" crane? Don't make a mountain out of a sandhill, Albert. I mean JB.

 

[madmike2]

Lunch at Angelo's.

Hey, Sacramento Mike, are those tortilla chips and salsa any good?

Mmmm Mmmmm good!:

"Here's to you!" from Roger.

Too bad you couldn't join us.

Cyndi (Mrs. Bluestreek) and her "Hotdog To GO".

[SIZE=8pt](Not really....leftover enchilada???)[/SIZE]

After lunch, some of the group departed. The bluestreeks wanted to beat the forecast rain home as they live about 1 1/2 hours North, and Walt (Flying Junior) had a date with Judy. The rest of us headed South to Stockton. I had stopped to say farewell to Steve & Cyndi and Walt so, while the rest of the group meandered through beautiful downtown Stockton, I rode Hwy 99 to the Crosstown Hwy. and to the museum from the South.

Here is a group photo of MOST of the riders.

puppychow (Sam), El Commandante (Hans), gfrans (Gary & Cyndi), Ranch Hands (Nancy & Dave), Debs (of Rogdebs), Hycles (Mike, aka: Squid & Terri), Rog (of Rogdebs) and Sacramento Mike.

Where the heck is Nightshine?

Hycle (Mike) beside one of the Bierstadt paintings. The artwork here is not "small".

 

[madmike2]

Photography in the museum is problematic with the equipment I have.

NO flash. No publishing "for profit. We had to sign a waiver and promise to "obey the rules" or else they'd toss "Das Kommandant" in jail and ruin his reputation. Or maybe GIVE him a reputation. Either way, those of us who took pictures inside did the best we could.

J.B. (Hans) intently studying Thomas Moran's technique in his rendering:

"A mountain Temple"

Here are a couple of detail close-ups.

See the cross?

The waterfall:

Nightshine (Sam) next to a painting. This painting is practically photo-realism and amazing in its detail.

Besides the amazing oil paintings there was other art work....like this statue someone carved of SkooterG:

And a collection of local historic artifacts.....

Like this Victorian era bedroom.

Antique farm equipment like this Holt-Caterpillar (designed by Benjamin Holt and built in Stockton,CA, for use in the Sacramento-San Juaquin Delta farming region).

And this antique fire equipment.

:clapping: Thanks, Hans, for planning this outing. :clapping:

I had a great day :yahoo:

 

[MEM]

Photography in the museum is problematic with the ezuipment I have.NO flash. No publishing "for profit. We had to sign a waiver and promise to "obey the rules" or else they'd toss "Sas Kommandant" in jail and ruin his reputation. Or maybe GIVE him a reputation. Either way, those of us who took pictures inside did the best we could.

And a collection of local historic artifacts.....

:clapping: Thanks, Hans, for planning this outing. :clapping:

I had a great day :yahoo:

Wow. That looks like one of those 'red letter' days. Those paintings are glorious. Sorry I missed it

 

[puppychow]

MM - could you please send me the uncompressed image files for the Thomas Moran painting? The level of intricate detail in his painting was amazing!

 

[HYCLE]

Had a great time riding with the norcal gang.

Took some pictures I thought were important to the forum.

I think this one explains how JB can post those fantastic paintings he claims as his own.

This one is titled Forrest Rats.

Then I found one called Bust's little friends.

This one was called Bust's Grampa.

I think this one is called Girls of the FJRForum or Party at Barb's.

More later, :blink: :blink:

 

[James Burleigh]

Wow, Hycle, you've just demonstrated the difference between a good camera and a cheapo one. Here's my new desktop background (if you stand up from your computer and stand 10 feet back you will watch the magic of aerial perspective and how the flat surface becomes three dimensional):

Here's another detail:

Thomas Moran, who painted the above, helped persuade Congress to make Yellowstone a national park by creating many paintings of Yellowstone. His most famous was Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which Congress bought

 

[James Burleigh]

MM - could you please send me the uncompressed image files for the Thomas Moran painting? The level of intricate detail in his painting was amazing!

Sam, it was nice meeting and riding with you, and talking art. I told you Bierstadt painted in Europe. Below is his Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, which is hanging in the Natl Gallery in Washington DC. It's about 8 feet wide. I did some research: He was born in Germany and came over to the US in the late 1850s when he was in his mid- to late 20s.

But the best of the best, and a competitor of Bierstadt, was Frederic Church, which the museum does not have. Here is his Heart of the Andes, fully 10-feet wide:

And his Niagara Falls:

 

[HYCLE]

I guess I need a new camera that can take pictures like Hans (hands)

I even got some pictures of the Birds for later. :clapping:

 

[MEM]

Had a great time riding with the norcal gang.
Took some pictures I thought were important to the forum.

I think this one is called Girls of the FJRForum or Party at Barb's.

More later, :blink: :blink:

Those wimmens are beautiful. Yup that would be us ..... Girls of the Forum

 

[madmike2]

Had a great time riding with the norcal gang.
Took some pictures I thought were important to the forum.

I think this one is called Girls of the FJRForum or Party at Barb's.

More later, :blink: :blink:

Those wimmens are beautiful. Yup that would be us ..... Girls of the Forum

Are you SURE that isn't a party at Barb's?

 

[dcarver]

Who is the wimp that covered their bike? :rofl: