NorCal BMW Gypsy Range of Light Tour
By: Jeanette Tran 
For any of you in the Northern California area with nothing to do this Labor Day weekend, I would personally recommend that you take a look at NorCal BMW's Gypsy Range of Light Tour. Normally I would not be a fan of paying someone or some organization to take me on a tour of riding around, but this one is different. Or at least that is how it was for me anyways. In a previous article I mentioned my first ever motorcycle camping trip, and Range of Light Tour was the one I went on. I remember, at the time, I was trying to decide between two overnight camping trips: One was the Range of Light, and another one was a forum organized group trip (no registration fees required). So why is it that a person like me, who does not believe in paying for a good time on my motorcycle, decided to sign up for the Range of Light Tour? When comparing the two overnight trips, I think my decision was heavily influenced by the fact that this was going to be my first overnight motorcycling trip. Since that was the case, I wanted to have something a little more sheltered and organized which would give me a lot less to worry about in terms of preparation for my trip. The Range of Light Tour has a $75 fee, but that fee includes the campsite reservation, dinner for two nights, and a support vehicle (if needed) for the whole trip. Not to mention they have a poker run and raffle prizes at the end of the weekend. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they will shuttle any soft bag camping gear that you might have from one campsite to the next, so you do not have to worry about hauling the extra weight while riding around on the twisty roads. The other trip I was looking at, I would have to book my own hotel room, lug my own bags around on my bike, worry about what food to eat during the whole trip, and possibly have none to little help if something happened to my bike. So in the end, you can see how a small registration fee of $75 was more pretty reasonable. The only catch to this event is that you have to have a BMW, or find a rider to sponsor you, which actually is not hard to do at all. Also, another reason why I recommend this tour, as opposed to any old regular tour, is because of the whole gypsy aspect of the trip. The only thing you know of when you first sign up for the ride is your meeting start point. After checking in at the campsite on Friday night (or Saturday morning if you prefer) you will then be given a map with directions off to your campsite for the next day. The maps are in the form of little pamphlets that can conveniently fit inside the sleeve of a tank bag (if you have one). On one side of the booklet it shows a turn-by-turn list of the roads with mileage and recommended gas stops. Then on the opposite page, it has a general map of the area. The maps and directions lead you along some of the best back roads around California, and you never know where you just might end up. My trip last year started in Plymouth, CA (a little south east of Sacramento) and I ended up riding south through Yosemite, and I even crossed over through Nevada on my motorcycle! It never even crossed my mind to try riding into a different state on my very first long overnight ride, but it happened, and it was all thanks to this great tour. Overall this was a really great overnight motorcycle camping experience for me, and I just want others to be able to experience what I did. If you cannot make it on this specific tour, then I suggest you go out and try to find something similar in your area. And if you think it does not exist, then make your own! You are already at Sunday Morning Rides, so what's stopping you from grabbing your bike and spending a weekend with some twisty roads?
Deadline for preregistration August 21, 2009. Published: Aug 06, 2009 Leave Comments |
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