After visiting with my friend and fellow moto hypermiler, Alan Smith, we began talking about Craig Vetter and were wondering how he was doing with his recovery from hip surgery. We had last visited him in November and he was still using crutches and was pretty limited in his mobility. We called him up and made plans for Alan and I to ride down on our streamliners to his ranch in Carmel.
We headed down last Friday , meeting in Pleasanton but just after the peak traffic congestion ( 0830 Hr) on the 580/680/101 freeways here in the SF Bay area. We were able to use the HOV lanes so we were able to maintain a steady 75-70 mph through Pleasanton, Fremont, Milpitas, San Jose. Traffic was still pretty thick and slow for the most part but the HOV lane allowed to cut through the congestion with ease. Just past San Jose we had to switch lanes quickly around a sudden stoppage from a single car stalled in the middle of the 101 freeway. We continued into the hills and twisties near Gilroy and cut over on 156 to beautiful Hwy 1 toward Monterey and Carmel. The ocean view and sand dunes were beautiful on this cool, clear day. We stopped briefly for a coffee overflow pitstop at a beach park area and then finished the ride into the outskirts of Carmel, then onward to the hills and forested areas surrounding the Vetter ranch. We got hundreds of waves, thumbs up and had our pictures taken during the ride; nothing gets more attention than riding a streamliner except for riding 2 streamliners in formation
Craig was happy to see us. He is now able to walk aroiund without crutches and is painfree after suffering for many years from his hip fractured in a racing accident. The surgery has been very successful in improving the health of our mentor and great friend.
We spent the next 5 hours discussing this season's Vetter Challenges, solar power , motorcycles, streamlining and plans for more moto rides. Craig is almost ready to resume riding and is anxious to get back to his shop to make a template for a fiberglass tailsection front/backrest/bulkhead to be available like his streamlined nose kit. We'll be joining him as the work gets going on this next project. Exciting stuff and a great visit.
We headed back home just before the peak commuter rush but again made good time charging through the traffic. All in all, a great day and a great ride.
