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[JCZ]

  A good friend offered to let us use his condo in Santa Cruz for the Christmas holiday.  Weather is cooperating so we accepted, took advantage of it and rode.  Left home about noon today.

The ride wasn't to bad.  I mean the ride was great, the traffic wasn't to bad.  A brief stop in Los Gatos......is it really going to be Christmas in a couple days??



Back on Hwy. 17, we're back on the road to knock out the last twenty -five miles....no room for errors on this road...





We arrive in Santa Cruz and................are you kidding me?  Somebody is really surfing in this weather?  If the ocean didn't have currents, it would be a big block of ice.



We pass by the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.....but nobody's up on that wood roller coaster.



We arrived and unloaded.  Andy, Terrie and I walked over to the Crow's Nest for lunch.  We set upstairs in the lounge.
This was a view from our table.....a boat returning to harbor as the sun was going down.  Andy....this is the pic that we were talking about.



and a view out the other side of the lounge.....harbor side...



and the lighthouse, out on the point....



yep, there's even people in shorts and short sleeves playing sand volleyball in this weather....









Location, location, location......it doesn't get much better....



The view from the deck of the condo....a sailor's paradise.





The sun is going down.....Andy's heade back over the mountain on his SERG.



Terrie and I are off for a drive along the beach....





OK, truth be known.....probably took forty pictures trying to get this one pic of the wave crashing on the beach with the sun going down behind the lighthouse.....but I got it!









Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you.....the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean two days before Christmas 2011!



As we approach Capitola on Cliff Drive I notice a bunch of surfers in the water.....waiting for the right wave....



Capitola is a beautiful little town on the beach, as the sun goes down.  But it'll have to wait till tomorrow.....time for bed.

[BAGGER 1]

WOW, what beautiful weather, ride safe and Merry Christmas

[Buy early]

Great shots JC! Especially the one of the lighthouse with the sun behind. Looks like the sun is the lamp in the house! The wave is a bonus. Well worth the effort!

Remember when we lived in San Diego. It was always hard to get into the Christmas spirit.

Got a snow squall through here yesterday so it will be a mostly white Christmas here. Very pretty but also impossible to ride in. Life is a series of compromises.

Enjoy the coast, the weather, the riding, and a Blessed Christmas to you and Terrie!

[jamnflhxse2]

Great pics! Keep them comming and ride safe!

[JCZ]

Capitola......a great little town.  Be aware, they have an over zealous parking patrol and they seem to have a thron in their sides about motorcycles and motorcycle exhausts......keep it really quiet.  In this town you're only going to impress johnny law and he's going to impress you right back.  
At least that's the way it was in years gone by.  Didn't see one parking patrol last night.

Coming down the hill into downtown Capitola (the locals don't care how cold it gets)...















All these businesses have balconys (most have two levels) on the back side hanging over the water...



The Hotel Capitola is a ten room boutiqe hotel right in the heart of downtown Capitola.  They have microwave and refer in each room.  Looks to be a great location for a summer time stay, across the street from the beach.







Time to walk down to breakfast.  Will post more later.....

[fatboy63]

Really Great photographs, thanks for sharing.....Merry Christmas from a slightly grey and damp UK. 

[Twisty Joe]

JCZ...Great pics and thread.  Merry Xmas!!

[Gettinold]

JC I'm sure this will be a Christmas you'll remember for a long time! Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas to all!
      Dave & Helen

[JCZ]

Thanks a bunch for all the complaments here and the PMs.....I appreciate them.  Glad that you guys are enjoying them....makes it all worth it. 

We rode a tad bit over 200 miles today and got a slew of more great pics, too.  Incredable weather today.  Not only was it sunny and clear all day but much warmer, too.  It got up to 64F and we were ridng the ocean in t-shirts.

But back to strolling Capitola last evening.....



Capitola pier.....





and proof positive you're in the land of surfing and all that goes with it....



waxing his board, there on the left....











and the sign in the window of one of the surf shops says it all....























The Crows Nest is just across the street but it's closed tonight.  But if you missed a run pin, or a pin for your car club cruise, or your snowmobile team, or your scuba dive club, or ...........................they probably have it here at the Crows Nest (never saw anything like it before).....   



That pretty much sums up our day, yesterday.  Today was an equally great day with some really awsome sights.

[JCZ]

JC I'm sure this will be a Christmas you'll remember for a long time! Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas to all!
      Dave & Helen

I've been coming to this area since I was a kid.  Terrie and I have been here many times just in the past few years.....but what will make this Christmas so remarkable is because it's sunny, clear and very few people (normally thousands of people and absolutley no parking spaces) so yes, it will be a memorable Christmas for us.

[Sklywag]

Merry Christmas JC & Terrie

Hope to see you soon.

B&T

[2k]

Thanks for sharing your christmas adventure with us. Great job!

[guppytrash]

I want your life! 
Thanks for the great pictures!

[Grizzly]

Thanks for the great pictures JC... Interesting shots as always.

Hope you guys are enjoying a wonderful Chrsitmas and ride safe.

We're having a "green" Christmas here as well, just a  tad too cold to be riding though.

All the best for a happy & healthy 2012!

[JCZ]

I want your life! 
Thanks for the great pictures!

Not really all that different from some of the others on this forum.  A blue collar hourly employee just bumpin along in life.  Just happen to really enjoy photograpy as a hobby and I do ride reports of simple day rides, and other places that all of the Nor Cal have been a million times.

The difference being.....that I'm constantly thinking of those from other places around the country and around the globe that have never been or only been once or twice and the ride reports will help them to reminice their visits.  Everybody on this forum could do the same thing with their rides, wether they're day rides, over night rides or touring.  It would all be places that I and many others have never seen.  Come on now everybody.....get those cameras out and start working on "your ride report"!  Let's see em!

People think thoughts like "well, it's just flat farmland"......or "there's just not much here to see", etc. etc. and that's because they've grown complacent with their area and take it for granted.  But it's places the rest of us have never seen.....take the picture and post it.....we really do want to see your area.

[JCZ]

Thanks for the great pictures JC... Interesting shots as always.

Hope you guys are enjoying a wonderful Chrsitmas and ride safe.

We're having a "green" Christmas here as well, just a  tad too cold to be riding though.
All the best for a happy & healthy 2012!

Gerbing eXtreme Element XE pants and jacket will take care of that.

[Sea Biscuit]

Great pictures JCZ...thanks for taking the time to post!

[JCZ]

We woke up yesterday (and today) to the sounds of the surf crashing on the beach.  It's almost hypnotic.....the rythum and soothing sound......and now I get it.  It's not just the view, the scenery, it's also the sounds that go with it....seagulls chirping from time to time.  Puts you right back to sleep....two, three, four times in a row.

The view out the front door first thing in the morning.....







Just to get our day going.  A bite to eat and a cup o' joe at the Verve Coffee house in downtown Santa Cruz...







and the Santa Cruz Mission.  Unlike many of the California Missions....there isn't much left to this one but here's what's there...









Riding along Cliff Dr. here in Santa Cruz...

[JCZ]

And our next stop is the Surfer Museum, which is inside an old retired lighthouse.  I've passed by here many times in my life but have never stopped.  We stop on Christmas Eve morning and the sign on the door says "Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day".    Still some awsome views though it made it hard to think about it being Christmas.  You see.....in my mind, Christmas and surfers or girls running in shorts don't go together.















Looking back at the Santa Cruz pier....





A surfer told us that these are 20' waves.  But they're not the big waves.  The paddle out and sit on their boards and wait.....sometimes for half hour or more....for the big one to come in.  To give you an idea of the scale.....the black dots out there in the ocean are surfers sitting on their boards waiting.  The further out (where they're at) when the big waves come, they're actually a rolling tube.



I wondered.....how do they get in the water with jagged cliffs, rocks and the surf constantly beating up against it all.    The stairs down to the rocks are the key. 

[JCZ]

See the surfer that just popped up on the back side of the way (to the right of the pic)...







The stairs again.....and a surfer about to descend to the depths below.    You've got to be kidding me.....that's how they get in?  I've got to see this!  



and a memorial to the surfers, both men and women that have died in these surfs and on these rocks....all died doing what they love to do....surf!







Here he goes....they stand there for awhile....getting a feel of the rythum of the waves and more importantly, their timing.  As it was explained to me, it's not just a matter of picking a time to get into the water as much as timing the waves so that the surfer has time to row out a ways before the next wave comes, so that he's not slammed back into the rocks.  It was very interesting.  Just watching it, I could feel my heart racing like I was the one about to jump in.....



and a couple pigeons that sit on the cliff watching, the whole time



and he's off (by the way, this guy looked to be at least 50 yrs. old)....





and then he paddles in a very fast but very rythmic motion....



and the two pigeons are still sitting there watching....

[JCZ]

We're rollin.....north, along the coast....









To the right of the sign is a Blue Hearring Crane (only know that because that's what the park ranger told me it was  )



more shots of the crane...











And now we move on to the butterflys.  It's where they migrate to in the winter....tens of thousands of Monarch's

They're pretty inactive until it warms a bit and then they all start being very active.  The tops of the eucalyptis trees are full of them hanging inclusters.  A few on the deck...

[JCZ]

Uh-OOooohhhhhhhhh   



It was everywhere back in here.  The orangish/reddish bushes on the right.  It's easy to spot in the fall but the rest of the year also, if you know what to look for.  It grows in three leaf clusters...













Believe it or not.....we were riding 60 mph up Hwy. 1 when I caught this shot over my left shoulder......they were pacing us, approached from the rear.  I think they were doing survealance.

[JoMo]

Thanks for sharing your christmas adventure with us. Great job!

Yes thanx for sharing your xmas and once again great pics.

                                    Jo Mo NYC  

[JR]

Wow...some great pictures as always JC! Thanks for the adventure! Merry Christmas and God Bless ya's.

[ak]

Cowwabunga Dude ! Thanks for stopping by yesterday,AK

[erniezap]

Sorry that we didn't get to see each other yesterday!  Great pics and I am glad that you guys are having a great time!

[LovemyCVOgirl]

As I'm sitting here today working, but I'm taken to a new and exciting place with your great pictures.  Thank you so much for the scenic Christmas present.  I would wish you and Terrie a Merry Christmas but it already look's like you had one!

[CVOThunder]

What a great way to spend Christmas!!! Congrats!

[JCZ]

Pigeon Point Lighthouse has an international hostel.  Private rooms (share kitchen and bathroom) are $75 a night and they have a hot tub on the side of the cliff.  Nostalia, history and scenery all rolled into one and where else can you sit in a hot tub on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean at night.

the hostel.....lieteraly right at the foot of the lighthouse and on the edge of the cliff...







the fog horn building....







the light....









and the fog horns...

[JCZ]

We turned off Hwy. 1 and headed east to Pescadero.  A nice little town....

For the Nor Cal members on this forum.....a great ride, go east past Pescadero to right on Alpine Rd. to Page Mill Rd. a very nice ride as the pics will show.  If you're looking for steep and narrow twisties, this is the road you want.



This little store in Pescadero has a little deli counter in the back that makes some really great sandwhiches...worth the ride and the stop!



This is a little art studio that was built in the mid 1800s.  The lady said the palm tree and the English Ivy was planted at the same time.....referred to it as mother nature's artwork.  Definately unique!





we continue east, looking for Alpine Rd....

[JCZ]

By the tree and the telephone pole on the left are several deer....





We stopped by and visited Andy and Sherry.  Sherry has missed her calling (interior decorator).....their home is decorated very nice.  And a decorated tree in every room......



view from their dining room...



etched glass door between the kitchen and dining room....



and a view of the pool from the dining room...



the living room...



and the view from the living room....



the breakfast area....



Andy working on his photography skills....while I'm workin on my modeling skills

a view of the pool from the family room...



the tree in the family room....





photographer extordinaire....



We're off.  The sun is going down and we have to get back over the mountain on Hwy. 17 (aka blood alley)....



a little more relaxed, but we had a great day today, as well. 

[1sharprdkg]

JC the Christmas trip pics were great and really helped cheer me up. I saw Terrie was sporting a shirt from my local HD (Thunder Creek), small world huh. I think you are 100% correct about getting a little bored and taking for granted our riding area. I know I am guilty of that. I hope to start doing better and taking more and better pics, maybe even try the ride report thing. No matter how easy you make it look it still takes some talent and you my friend have a good eye for the view finder in your camera. Thanks and great job!

[JCZ]

JC the Christmas trip pics were great and really helped cheer me up. I saw Terrie was sporting a shirt from my local HD (Thunder Creek), small world huh. I think you are 100% correct about getting a little bored and taking for granted our riding area. I know I am guilty of that. I hope to start doing better and taking more and better pics, maybe even try the ride report thing. No matter how easy you make it look it still takes some talent and you my friend have a good eye for the view finder in your camera. Thanks and great job!

Yep, we were through there a few years ago.  Ruby Falls, Lookout Moutain, Rock City, some of the battlefields, etc.  A year before that, Andy, Jon and I rode through there....spent a couple days in Chatanooga.  You've got some nice riding area back there, too.  Lookin forward to your ride reports. 

[JCZ]

Christmas was a pretty lazy day for us.  We didn't even get out of be until 10:30 a.m.

Headed out to breakfast in Aptos, Calif. at the historical Bayview Hotel and Ristorante Barolo.....a French Basque restaurant.













They had an interesting sword and other weaponry collection on the walls....

[Robmay]

Not really all that different from some of the others on this forum.  A blue collar hourly employee just bumpin along in life.  Just happen to really enjoy photograpy as a hobby and I do ride reports of simple day rides, and other places that all of the Nor Cal have been a million times.

The difference being.....that I'm constantly thinking of those from other places around the country and around the globe that have never been or only been once or twice and the ride reports will help them to reminice their visits.  Everybody on this forum could do the same thing with their rides, wether they're day rides, over night rides or touring.  It would all be places that I and many others have never seen.  Come on now everybody.....get those cameras out and start working on "your ride report"!  Let's see em!

People think thoughts like "well, it's just flat farmland"......or "there's just not much here to see", etc. etc. and that's because they've grown complacent with their area and take it for granted.  But it's places the rest of us have never seen.....take the picture and post it.....we really do want to see your area.

I for one have never been to California and really appreciate all of the reports and photos even though I rarely comment. Thank you!

I agree that no matter where you live and/or ride, there are lots of folks that have never been there. I'll try to take more pics! 

[JCZ]

We spent the afternoon out on the Santa Cruz pier.  I've been on a lot of piers up and down the west coast and a few on the east coast however, I believe this is the longest pier I've ever been on.  It just keeps on going out into the ocean.  Those of us from Nor Cal know how hard it is to find parking out on the pier but not the case for Christmas day.  Although it was pretty busy, there was plenty of parking still.

A view of the Santa Cruz Beach & Boardwalk amusment park....where one of the few remaining wooden roller coasters still operates.  Childhood memories.....







They have large openings cut into the deck of the pier so that you can view the sea lions laying on the pier pillings below....



The blocking is 8-10 feet above the water.  These warm blooded mammals weighing from an infant of a couple hundred pounds to a full grown sea lion in the 800-1,000 lb. range are graceful enough to pop up out of the water and get up on the blocking.  Being warm blooded mammals, they loose their body heat while in the water through their fins.  They lay there for hours, to get warm.

What everybody was assuming was a mother and her calf....



When is the last time you were on a wooden roller coaster?





Make some room......here we come....













Can't imagine what this home might look like at night......




even out into the street.....don't park your car there to long........

[JCZ]

We decided to walk out to the lighthouse, so we're on the opposite side of the harbor from the condo....





a look back at Crow's Nest where we ate Friday afternoon with Andy....



We accidentally stumbled upon this guy practicing his rock hopping.  Not sure what they call it with bicycles but when they do this with motorcycles it's called "Trials".....I assume it's the same for bikes.  They do not have a seat...it's all done standing on the pedals.  Very soft rubbered tires with low air pressure for grip and traction.  This guy was incredable and I consider it one of the highlights of our trip.  It didn't escape me that he was wearing a windbreaker that has USA on it.......he's definately world class!

I kept the shutter button pressed on my camera for the two or three minutes it took him to do this loop and if I play them back real fast it looks like an old time movie.  I'll post a few here just so you can get the idea....













He stayed balanced in this position, with his wheel turned for at least a couple of minutes.....and surprisngly, very still.  Incredable balance and he was the master.  You'll notice the seagulls in the pics......they seemed to not be bothered by him at all.  I can only assume he practices there quite often.  He was definately drenched in sweat.

























From the top, down to water level and back up without once putting his feet down!



as we left to walk on over to the lighthouse Terrie told me "that guys legs and butt were as hard as those rocks!".  I told her "I never noticed.....I'll have to take your word for it".......now where's that hot babe in that skimmpy bikini?

[Mrs Rooster]

 Thanks for all of the pictures JC. Merry Christmas to you and Terrie!!!
Ahhhh, all of the memories of Santa Cruz and growing up   My Grandfather taught me to rollerskate there. My first time on a surfboard (I was 2) was there with my father. Lots and lots of family memories, then Terry came along and we created our own there.  
Surfing at Lighthouse Point...lots of memories....Uncles, cousins, and lots of friends.   The picture you posted of the surfer waiting looks like it could be my girlfriend's husband...sure looked like him.
Santa Cruz is always one of my favorite places to go visit...minus all of the traffic now a days.
Pacific Garden Mall, sitting at an outside cafe and people watching. It's one of those things if you have to explain you wouldn't understand. We took some of our friends from Washington there and they get it now.
Cafe Verve...my cousin about lives there. It's her favorite coffee spot...then comes Gail's in Capitola  
It looks like we need to plan another trip down that way again. 

Thanks again JC...great job on the pictures.

[JCZ]

There's a large pod of dolphins....or is it porposes.....maybe 12-15 of them swimming off shore about 50 yds.  That was interesting to watch.  Of course being a land lubber, I tell Terrie "look sharks" as I just saw a bunch of fins sticking out of the water.  No....they burst my bubble and told me it was dolphins.  They sure do move fast.





Terrie, looking down in there at the sea life in the tidepools....



Clams, barnicles and star fish every where.....

















This dog was hilarious.  The lady would throw the ball and the dog would chase it....along the beach....out in the ocean, etc.  But every once in awhile the dog would take the ball and go dig a hole in the sand, very quickly, put the ball in it, cover it up.  Then dig it back out and bring it back to her....

[cvobiker]

JC - Those are some great photo shots and many thanks for sharing.  I've been following your photo post's here and on Pashnit and gotta hand it to ya,, your photo skills are getting pretty darn good    If i remember correctly you shoot with a Nikon P-90 (or was it a P-60  ). Are you still using this camera, or did Santa bring you a new surprise.  I wrote a letter to Santa earlier this year and asked for a Nikon 5100, I guess i was a 'bad boy' this year cause Santa didn't deliver my wish. But i cant complain Santa did bring me Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Creative Suites which includes Photoshop CS5 Extended..  After messing with these for the last day, my brain is fried    defiantly a huge learining curve here, think i'll stick with Lightroom for awhile and curious which one you are using  
Keep up with the good photo shots and look forward to seeing more.  

[kb]

JC  Thanks for taking the time and effort to post all of this. Looking at all of you're pictures was like having a mini vacation to the west coast. My "bucket list" just gained another location. Thanks I enjoyed the trip.  Kevin

[JCZ]

JC - Those are some great photo shots and many thanks for sharing.  I've been following your photo post's here and on Pashnit and gotta hand it to ya,, your photo skills are getting pretty darn good    If i remember correctly you shoot with a Nikon P-90 (or was it a P-60  ). Are you still using this camera, or did Santa bring you a new surprise.  I wrote a letter to Santa earlier this year and asked for a Nikon 5100, I guess i was a 'bad boy' this year cause Santa didn't deliver my wish. But i cant complain Santa did bring me Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Creative Suites which includes Photoshop CS5 Extended..  After messing with these for the last day, my brain is fried    defiantly a huge learining curve here, think i'll stick with Lightroom for awhile and curious which one you are using  
Keep up with the good photo shots and look forward to seeing more.  

I've received a couple of PMs asking me the same thing.  I use a Nikon D-60.  I have a natural interest in photography but I'm really technology challenged.  I mean I probably don't use half the features that my camera has.  I think I do have a pretty good eye for framing pictures of setting it up, if you will.  I just kind of seem to know or suspect what might make a good picture as far as scenery or background goes.  But as far as the equipment goes.....I don't really know what I'm doing.

Thanks to Jock and Terry (TCinBham), I've learned two or three settings.  The setting that has the little picture of mountains enhances the color and I use that one often.  I also know that if I'm taking a photo of a subject that has a lot of light behind it, that there's a setting that will provide fill flash up front (thanks a bunch Terry!).......and another setting for super close ups, with yet another for anything that's in movement (races, etc.) and a setting for no flash.  That's pretty much it as far as my technical knowledge goes.  I rarely use a flash indoors, if at all and then it's usually just a fill flash.  Beyond that, I don't have a clue.

I don't know anything about Lightroom, Creative Suites or Photoshop.  I've only had this camera a couple of years.....may never know all the features and functions it has but I do OK with it considering it's all just hobby at 80 mph.

[JCZ]

We returned from the lighthouse at about 3:00 p.m. yesterday and dinner reservations weren't until 5:30 p.m. so we went back to the condo and kicked back for a couple of hours (I posted pics here).  When we stepped outside to go to dinner, this was a pleasant surprise.....look at this incredable sunset.







We had Christmas dinner with this guy, last night.  Andy, he said you just need a little stache wax! 



By the way......Terrie had steak and I had baby back ribs....two of the best dinners we've had in a long, long time.  We'll definately be going back o Hindquarter in Santa Cruz.    http://www.thehindquarter.com/ 





It was a great Christmas 2011! 

[JCZ]

The ride home today was equally nice.  We left Santa Cruz and stopped in Los Gatos for breakfast.  We decided to take Hwy. 9 (Skyline Blvd.) up past Alice's Restaurant and then down across the bay, to escape the bay area traffic.  Took a little longer to get home but well worth it.  For those that don't know Skyline.....it runs the length, at the top of the coastal range on the San Francisco penninusla.  There is one area (between Half Moon Bay and San Mateo that you can turn your head and look to one side and look out across the Pacific ocean.....turn your head and look the other direction and look out across the southern end of San Francisco bay. 

A beautiful ride and beautiful scenery down the slopes on either side!

In this first pic.....if there weren't fog down there, you'd be able to see San Francisco bay and the east bay (San Leandro) side.

 

This pic also lookin east....if you'll look dead center (L to R) and just above the fog line, you'll see the peak of Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) peaking out above the fog.




random shots of Skyline....























Couldn't tell it by the awsome weather but yes.......it was Christmas 2011.   

[johno]

Great shots as always JC!  Hope to see you and Terrie soon.  I too don't post enough and should post more, but don't take as many pics as you and never seem to find the time to get it done, but will try to do better next year as well.  That area is great riding and great views, especially the loop through Big Basin state park too.

Take care enjoy the holidays and thanks for sharing!

[wasJons]

  so neat, I love that area, and we are so close, it's fun it see it anytime of year!  Glad you had a great holiday.  Kayla made ours perfect.  So fun to see Christmas through the eyes of a five year old.  Totally changes our lives but we seem to have adjusted.  Wished we were with you, I guess we will be in about 13 years!!!!    I love you both so much and miss you both also!!!!

[Jock]

Nice work JC!  Really enjoyed the photographs and all of the information provided.  In addition you are quite lucky to have a model on hand during your photo shoots!  Sure hope you negotiated a good rate with her!

Thanks!

[JCZ]

so neat, I love that area, and we are so close, it's fun it see it anytime of year!  Glad you had a great holiday.  Kayla made ours perfect.  So fun to see Christmas through the eyes of a five year old.  Totally changes our lives but we seem to have adjusted.  Wished we were with you, I guess we will be in about 13 years!!!!    I love you both so much and miss you both also!!!!

Are you saying that you're selling your bikes?

[BigLew]

Jc really enjoyed the pics. you really are blessed to have some great places to ride. Some to the pics looked like places we rode when I was out there, but I know it wasn't. Looks like your skills are improving with the camera as well. Glad you are having fun, its a great hobby. How are you enjoying the EX Treme gear? Looks like they opened a manufacturing plant  about 40 minutes up the rode in Stoneville with a outlet store there. looks like a short rode trip. Would really like some pants that are lite weight waterproof and heated. Tell Terrie hi and have a great new year!!

BigLew

[JCZ]

Jc really enjoyed the pics. you really are blessed to have some great places to ride. Some to the pics looked like places we rode when I was out there, but I know it wasn't. Looks like your skills are improving with the camera as well. Glad you are having fun, its a great hobby. How are you enjoying the EX Treme gear? Looks like they opened a manufacturing plant  about 40 minutes up the rode in Stoneville with a outlet store there. looks like a short rode trip. Would really like some pants that are lite weight waterproof and heated. Tell Terrie hi and have a great new year!!

BigLew

Check these pants out.....light weight (much less cumbersome than thermals, levis and chaps), warm, and also serve as rain suit.  They don't have back pockets but two large patch pockets on top of the thighs.  Initially I thought "I'll never use those" but they are so convenient.  At a gas stop I don't even have to stand up to get to my wallet.

Like anything new....it took some getting used to but was surprising how quick we adjusted.  And riding at freezing temps (28F one morning) in total comfort is a plus.  We don't dread walking out the door early in the mornings.....just go plug in and go.

The down side, if there is one.....anything above 65F you either have to unzip or get moving....even when you're not plugged in.  In the house, you get warm very quickly.  They have zippers that urn up the outside of the legs so that helps a lot.  We also take a pair of jeans....just in case.  All in all, money well spent in our opinion.

This weekend looks to be another great ride.....going up into Big Foot....aka Sasquatch conuntry.  Really lookin forward to it.

[BigLew]

I think I'll call and see if they have them up the road. Thanks

BigLew

[JCZ]

I think I'll call and see if they have them up the road. Thanks

BigLew

Jeff told me that all their stuff was going to start being made in North Cacalacky.  (Where did that nickname come from, anyway?  )  Something about the lack of quality control on the stuff being made in Asia.....had to bring it back to the homeland.