Rick Mayer Cycle - New Saddle Trip

[Burnszilla]

Saturday morning Sharon and I got up at 5:30am and left at 6:50am to head north 263 miles to Anderson, CA to get a new seat made for my K75s. We arrived just after noon and he welcomed us into his home to relax with a cup of green tea. He took photos of Sharon and I sitting on the bike and then he printed them and started to make the saddle which took over 2 hours because we were swapping stories. We were the last drop in customers to have their seat made in the old garage. Rick has a brand new big garage that will be finished next week.

http://static.flickr.com/34/90280195_c9884b8202.jpg

Rick starts to take apart the old BMW comfort seat:
http://static.flickr.com/18/90280233_f93d7ddfdb.jpg

Rick is a master on the sewing machine. His father gave this machine to him.
It's a model from 1966. He uses dacron to sew the double stitch seams.
Meanwhile, Sharon is asleep in the lazy-boy beside the fireplace in the living room.
http://static.flickr.com/29/90280300_7892af200f.jpg

Fitting the cover on:
http://static.flickr.com/38/90280319_ab318a6094.jpg

Rick's wife breeds Newfoundland dogs. That's Blue the St. Bernard. He's the lover.
http://static.flickr.com/11/90280393_b38b840b2a.jpg

The new saddle:
http://static.flickr.com/19/90280526_5307460d45.jpg

The ride home was much more comfortable than on the way there.
My butt doesn't slide all over the place anymore. I feel planted on the bike.
It's a warm fuzzy feeling.

We stopped at Louis Cairo's in Williams for some 'Louis Bread' (1/4 inch of garlic on bread) and steaks:
http://static.flickr.com/19/90280592_cc22a30845.jpg
(I'll betcha $10 DarrylRi has eaten here)
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We arrived home at 9pm exhausted. We had a hot tub and went to bed.

[riderR1150GSAdv]

Cool! :thumb
I had one of his seats on my LT and was very happy with it. I did 1000 mile days on it that I would never have been able to do on the stock seat.
Rick was nice to deal with too.

[BradfordBenn]

Cooooooollll Newfie's.

I like Newfies! http://home.att.net/~chloebenn/

[tourunigo]

:type any used Mayer saddles out there for a K1100RT? -Bob (the cheap bastard)

[DarrylRi]

Hey, Burnszilla! Who told you about Louis Cairo's? I thought that was my secret! Got to have the Louis Bread.

Next you'll be telling me you're onto all the Basque restaurants in the Central Valley...

[Burnszilla]

Hey, Burnszilla! Who told you about Louis Cairo's? I thought that was my secret! Got to have the Louis Bread.

Next you'll be telling me you're onto all the Basque restaurants in the Central Valley...

Rick recommended the place. Darryl if I ever go on a trip I will always ask you where there's a great place to eat in the area. Don't you worry. You have never steered us wrong. Do tell us about the Basque restaurants.

[lawman]

Steve- thanks for the further info on Rick; I was very impressed by his web site and I had an extended talk with him at Lima; Needless to say, this will be my next saddle; I plan to ship him mine in the next two weeks; wj

[DarrylRi]

Rick recommended the place. Darryl if I ever go on a trip I will always ask you where there's a great place to eat in the area. Don't you worry. You have never steered us wrong.Aha. Rick's a knowledgable guy!
Do tell us about the Basque restaurants.I'll give you a couple hints: the Woolgrowers in Los Banos, even though it looks like a cross between a dive bar and a homeless shelter, is worth trying. Also, there really is a reason to visit Bakersfield, besides just riding on through to get onto CA-178.

[Burnszilla]

Aha. Rick's a knowledgable guy!
I'll give you a couple hints: the Woolgrowers in Los Banos, even though it looks like a cross between a dive bar and a homeless shelter, is worth trying. Also, there really is a reason to visit Bakersfield, besides just riding on through to get onto CA-178.

Darryl, why don't you just write the book "Eat Your Way Across America".
This would save us time with all these riddles.

http://www.gaudenbat.com/rest/rest-ca.htm

[DarrylRi]

Darryl, why don't you just write the book "Eat Your Way Across America".
This would save us time with all these riddles.

http://www.gaudenbat.com/rest/rest-ca.htm
!!!! I've seen several Basque restaurant sites in the past, but they've generally been out of date. This looks great!

I've been slowly checking out the Basque restaurants in Bakersfield. Benji's is quite good, and is also right at the CA-58/CA-99 crossing. But it loses a bit on account of it being so new, modern, and well lit. Still, the food is excellent.

I also tried out the Chalet, but even though the parking lot was packed on a Thursday night, I'd say they were a notch down.

The Noriega is totally old school, right along with the Woolgrowers in Los Banos (which seems not to be affiliated with the one in B'field; the building they're in is over 100 years old, and a restaurant has been there for 85 years). Long tables, food served family style -- sort of the Basque equivalent of Durgan Park in Boston. When you're on the road alone, you can have an interesting conversation with dinner.

Basque food is not haute cuisine; it's sturdy farmer's - or in this case, shepherd's - food. There's an emphasis on lamb, although you'll see pork, chicken and even beef on the menu. The classic meal starts with a green salad, then a tureen of soup, bread, baked beans (which you can eat separately or add to the soup, I'm told) and a salsa that's fairly mild. Then comes the main course with vegetables, french fries, and the meat. The Woolgrowers gives you one of those little single serving cups of ice cream for desert. The meal sometimes comes with jug red wine included.

[jwhite518]

Do tell us about the Basque restaurants.

There's the Basque Cultural Center (http://www.basqueculturalcenter.com/) in South San Francisco. It's a club and a restaurant in one. Bonus: It's around the corner from the Sees Candy factory and store.

[lorazepam]

I had never had Basque food until a business trip to Bakersfield. It wont be the last time though, most excellent food!!!

[ian408]

Dude, if you'd have called, one of my bikes would have a new seat. And,
Anderson Valley would have half the beer.

Nicetaleburnzilla!

Ian

[ian408]

There's the Basque Cultural Center (http://www.basqueculturalcenter.com/) in South San Francisco. It's a club and a restaurant in one. Bonus: It's around the corner from the Sees Candy factory and store.

And a block or three from my BIL's. Not to mention Big Red's Cafe.
Eggselent Breaky!

Ian