2 Italian bikes
2 tall germanic women
Ed and truck
These things and a spare pair of socks and underwear, and a box of books was the start of a mini road trip up the Nor Cal coast from San Francisco to Point Arena.
The notion to do a book reading of motorcycle poetry and Chicks on Bikes in a remote bike shop on highway 1 at 4 pm on a Wednesday seemed a bit absurd. But any excuse for a road trip with friends was a welcome excuse to escape work and family. Turns out the small but enthusiastic crowd that came out was wonderful. They were the most friendly and engaged crowd, the kind of people that make it worth it to have written book and schlepped it around.
The Zen House is a suprisingly sophisticated motorcycle shop on highway 1 that draws motorcyclists from hundreds of miles to work on their race bikes as well as any general repair from anything from Hareley’s to the off road bikes the locals prefer. Owner Dave is a brilliant mechanic with a pedigreed history and his wife Kelly runs the front desk and teaches yoga across the street.There is a sense of zen with a buddah overlooking the work area and green plants dangling from the ceiling.
Zen House owners Kelly and Dave
If you have the good fortune to be riding along that blissful bit of California in Point Arena, just stop in. Like an old buddy, they will treat you with warmth and kindness and give you advice for whatever you may need along the way.
I myself have tried several times to read Robert Persig’s book Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance and I’ve never made it to the end. It may be blasphemous to some but I find Phadreus a pedantic know-it-all who starts to bug me and Persig not a particularly good writer. But the ideas in there are good and I have respect for those who contemplate and embrace them.
And so on to the photos:
Called Tetnus, the famous bike found sitting 20 years in a yard in So Cal. Ed hauled it up here. It will now be made into a racing bike by Dave at Zen House. Really.
TETNUS
An Homage to Rust
Luminous Rust
Christina (yep me), Kelly and Ed
Zen Jen - our tour manager owner of Die Werkstatt if SF
I learned another great use for Duct Tape: use it to get tiny cactus prickles out of your hand.
Tags: California, Ed Milich, Jennifer Bromme, Moto Guzzi, Motorcycle, Point Arena, Tetnus, Wrenched Book, Zen, Zen House
January 30, 2010 at 8:19 pm |
Your photos are, as usual, exquisite Christina. I am looking forward to a dry day and a ride south to Point Arena and the Zen House, about which I have heard only wonderful things!
January 30, 2010 at 8:22 pm |
love the blog update. i’ve always wanted to go up to pt. arena to check out dave’s shop. i love it up there!
i think he’s from southern california. my motorcycle buddies from san diego have talked about dave and his shop up there.
February 27, 2010 at 5:34 pm |
I know that bike ‘tetnus’.
How’d you get Old Mark E to part w/ it?
I think I offered to buy it once.
Then I heard it was gonna be raffled off one time but that turned out 2 be bad info.
March 23, 2011 at 12:13 pm |
Dave , spoke to you about my multistrada You needed my vin # zdm1vabp13b001578.Will call when weather looks better !!! Thanks,george.
January 22, 2012 at 3:34 am |
hope you don’t see this as a criticism (what A lead-in) but when I saw 2 tall germanic women , I could only think Teutonic would be funnier
feel free to delete