I got up early Saturday morning to run around and get the new
bike and me ready for the Christmas Tree ride (New rain gear, widder
wiring harness, etc) hopped on my new bike for the first time and
headed down 17 'cause I was running late.

About half way down 17 a big wind caught me in the torrential rain and 
the rear end let go and I had one of those, "This sucks" moments but 
all ended well. By the time I reached 280 I had 3 more near death 
moments and decided that this wasn't going to be the best day to be 
scrubbing in brand new tires on my new bike that I was riding for the 
first time.

I got onto 280 which was much more exposed to the wind and after
another moment I thought, "Screw this" and got off at the first exit.
I decided to take the side streets, skip the ride and take the 
mountains back where, hopefully, I could do 35 all the way home without
obstructing traffic.

I got up to Alice's and stopped for some hot cocoa and shot the shit
with the locals who were being really sympathetic. They thought that
taking 35 south would be really dangerous when I got to the windy part
but, there didn't seem to be any safer alternative.

The corner before I reached the super windy part I passed a couple of
bikers and they were looking incredibly haggard in a way the gave me a
deep dark sense of foreboding about the next mile or so. I found out
later that one of the riders was Jeff Frost, AFM #996, and he was looking
haggard 'cause he'd just crashed when the wind blew him off the road.
It was so windy that I had to stop at one point and I could barely stand.

Anyway, long scary ride slipping and sliding in the wind and rain
while dodging flying tree branches.

There was a giant tree blocking highway 9 w/ power lines on the
ground around a blind corner. I stopped to warn traffic until the
Fire department came. The people on the other side of the tree were
trapped because a tree had already fallen down behind them. When the 
fire trucks finally arrived and they said it would be about 2 hours
before they'd have the road cleared so, we all headed back up to four
corners planning to take Skyline to Bear Creek Rd.

Anyway, long scary ride slipping and sliding in the wind and rain
while dodging flying tree branches.

...And there was another fallen tree blocking the road! We turned
around and headed back to four corners where another fire engine was 
blocking off four corners. A bunch of people milling about trying to 
decide what to do when this lady in an Audi said, "I have a chainsaw!" 
So, we all headed back down Skyline and with the roar of her chainsaw 
let ourselves through. Yehaw!

Anyway, long scary ride slipping and sliding in the wind and rain
while dodging flying tree branches.

I got down to Ben Lomond and highway 9 was closed because another tree 
had fallen down. so we back tracked and blah, blah, blah. 6 hours 
after I left I got back home drenched but in one piece.