Hollister Independence Day Rally 2005

Posted: July 25, 2005

After a nice cruise through the Kern River Valley and down the Kern Canyon, we came to Bakersfield and continued straight on 178 out to Rosedale Hiway and on to Buttonwillow where we made our first gas stop. There were plenty of other bikes gassing up there and heading up the I-5 but we continued on 58 to McKittrick where we picked up the 33 and headed north to our next stop in Coalinga. Hiway 33 in that part of the state is in oil country and after riding through miles and miles of oil wells, we finally started seeing serious signs of agriculture as we neared Avenal and about 20 minutes later we reached Coalinga. After gassing up and a quick lunch, we were on our way again headed west on the 198 through some rolling foothills with lots of curves. This was a really nice part of the ride as I had never been on this route before and there is some nice scenery through here. We saw several large groups of bikes stopped along the way under large shade trees taking a break and enjoying cold refreshments. About 50 miles later, we turned north on 25 and about an hour later we were rolling into Hollister about 2 pm. The closer we got to downtown, more and more bikes were in evidence. Since none of us had ever been to Hollister before, we followed a group of bikes that led us to the Arlen Ness exhibit where I managed to get a couple of good shots of some of his more exotic creations, the Mach Ness race bike which is powered by the jet engine from a helicopter and a 3 cylinder custom bike. I also snagged a really cool LED replacement bulb from Revenge Cycle for my taillight that offers increased visibility for my bike and we got directions to the main event area. Dave thought about buying one too briefly but decided we only needed one firefly in our group.

After struggling through a bit of gridlock, we finally made it into the center of town and the main event area and with a bit of luck, we found a spot to park fairly easy. It was crowded Friday but nothing like what was to come on Saturday. We browsed the vendors and food booths and while it was the standard fare for all large bike events. Hollister had a nice feel to it and people were very friendly. There was one entire side street devoted to food vendors and there was some good stuff to be had. The local VFW had a great tri-tip dinner going inside the Veteran’s Hall and there was also exhibit of some vintage Indians and one old Vincent motorcycle. After eating and buying t-shirts, we all split up and explored the place on our own. Since a run of this size always has lots of vendors with cool products we were looking for some new additions for the bikes. Rex was in search of new speakers for his Ultra Classic and I wound up purchasing a Wind Vest for my Fat Boy which was installed in about five minutes.

As evening approached, we started figuring out what we were all going to do for the night and this is where it became a little interesting. Rex and Dave had planned on camping out and Waylon and I were just winging it, originally planning on heading for the coast and spending the night in a motel. Instead, we tagged along with Rex and Dave to the Hollister Hills campgrounds and wound up paying ten bucks to spend the night. However, since we had no camping gear, a trip back to town was necessary and with directions to the local Target store in hand, Rex, Dave, and I set off for town while Waylon held down the camp spot. On the way into town, we ran across a flock of wild turkeys which I thought was pretty cool except I was wishing I had my shotgun. After locating Target, I purchased two $15 sleeping bags and $6 tarp and Waylon and I were set. Two packs of hot dogs, a bag of marshmallows, some cheap skewers, a fold up ice chest, sodas, ice, and a box of firewood rounded out what we needed and it was back to camp. It was at this point that one of the trip’s highlights occurred. While in Target, we ran into a biker from Canada named Lane in who followed us back to the campgrounds and spent the night in the spot next to ours. He was touring California and kind of just happened onto the Hollister Run. A railroad engineer by occupation, Lane was quite a free spirit and a biker to the core. We all passed the evening conversing and cooking hot dogs and marshmallows before finally passing out after a long hard day. In the morning after a shower and a couple of pieces of jerky, we started bagging up and getting ready to roll back into town for a while. Another interesting character I met in the morning was Birdman from the Rough Riders M.C. from Barstow. Before we could get out of the campground, Dave bought a center stand for his Road King that was installed on the spot and he was happy with new chrome. The facilities at Hollister Hills were fairly nice and in addition, it wasn’t very crowded at all. I wouldn’t mind staying there again but I would like to be better prepared next time.

Back to town we went and after spending a few more hours at the event, it was time to roll out of town and head for the coast. We made our way to the 156 and headed for the Monterrey Peninsula where we headed down the Highway 1 for Big Sur and a great ride down the California coast. Since it was little cooler on the coast than it was in Hollister it required donning sweatshirts, jackets, and full gloves. Regardless, it was an incredible ride and brought back memories of my only other ride through there nearly 30 years ago on my first Harley, a 1974 XLCH 1000 Sportster. Traffic was flowing fairly smoothly and we made good time from Monterrey to San Simeon and we made a gas stop in Cambria. While we were at the gas station, Rex made a new friend who had a large nose ring and was riding a crotch rocket and in need of some “motorcycle oil.” Rex donated some of his H-D synthetic to the poor lad and got him going again and we headed off for Paso Robles. It was still pretty cool in Paso Robles so we kept riding on 46 until we reached Lost Hills when it became time to remove several layers of clothes. From there it was only a short hop into Bakersfield where we spent the night with my good friends Bob and Jill Boyce, who are also HOG members with whom I have enjoyed some nice rides. After a good night’s rest, we said good-bye to Bob and Jill and headed home back up the 178 and arrived back in Ridgecrest about 1:30 pm on Sunday. All in all, it was a good ride and proves that some of the best rides are not planned out in advance with great detail but impromptu and spontaneous rides that just happen and you kind of improvise and make it up as you go along. Another factor when you throw together a spur-of-the-moment ride is that you often get to ride with people that you haven’t ridden with before. Although I had ridden with Rex before, it was my first ride with Dave. I enjoyed riding with both Rex and Dave and hope to ride with them again soon. I’m already thinking about next year and hope we can plan a ride that will include more folks and possibly a chase vehicle to carry tents and camping gear. Hollister is certainly a run that I would enjoy making again.