Modern Vespa

It may not be snow and ice, but I went for a ride today during a brief pause between two major storm systems that are battering North California. I'm determined to take advantage of every scooting opportunity I can this winter, and I guess that means riding even when the skys are threatening.

Here's a shot I took on Skyline boulevard, facing vaguely West and overlooking Oakland and the San Francisco bay.



Skyline runs through a lot of woods, and the storms that were hitting us up until late this morning left a whole lot of storm debris in the road -- piles and piles of pine needles, bark, and twigs, and of course it's all wet. The roads ranged from rivers of water coming down from higher elevations to bone-dry, and so speed was pretty erratic the whole ride. I did a total of 42 miles at an average speed of 22 mph. Maximum speed was 46.7 mph.

Now for some soup. All the heat has left my body.

Ah, the rainy season.
I don't recognize the area, probably because of the limited visibility. There's a nice dark rain cloud directly to your left.

You mean the No Parking sign? Yeah. Not my most artistic photo.

The area is vaguely above the Montclair district of Oakland, near where Ascot dead-ends into Skyline.