Crusin' the San Joaquin

On the trail with the JUS BROTHERS

     My wife Deb, and I donned our fuckin' helmets and rode over

to Scot and Debbie's for a Sunday putt.  Scot is the treasurer for

the Jus' Brothers M/C (Tracy/Stockton) in N. Calif.  We're so close

that some of our bros call us Frick & Frack.  A while later, Al and

Cindy showed up and the six of us headed to Manteca to meet up

with a few more Jus' Brothers, includin' Prez Rebel, Johnny Reb,

Big Butch, Nolan, Corky, Big Ron, and Bruce.  This would be the

pack today- 10 scoots.

     The meeting place was a bar called "Leo's Club".  Leo's sits jus'

outside the Manteca city limits.  This bar has been around a long

time and is very well known to local area bikers as a welcome

place to come and kick back, in a home-away from home atmos-

phere. 

     Leo's a great guy, and ya could do a lot worse than to stop here

for a brewski.  If you ask nice, ya might get to see the pet Buffalo

he keeps out back.  You can find Leo's by takin' the Airport Way

exit from Highway 120 and headin' north to Yosemite Avenue,

where you'll want to make a right.  Leo's is a half-block down

Yosemite on the left side.

     From Leo's we rode due east on Yosemite Ave. which soon

becomes highway 120.  When you find yourself going under

highway 99, take a look around, you won't have any trouble

finding food or fuel here on the east side of Manteca. Continuing

east on 120, we passed the Old Towne Saloon on the right, which

is approximately seven miles from Leo's.  Old Towne has a full

bar and pool table, and sits outside of town in the country.

Nice place.  Moving on through this part of Highway 120, we

were surrounded by vineyards and almond orchards which

were in full bloom when we went through.  There are a couple

of wineries along this stretch for those of you who'd like to

sample some good grape juice.  Beer will do me jus' fine, thanks.

     About 13 miles east of Leo's you'll go through the town of

Escalon.  There're signs leading to a historical museum here,

and one of these days I'm gonna stop there, but today it wasn't

on the agenda.  The town of Oakdale is next on highway 120,

about nine miles east of Escalon.  Oakdale seems to have more

than it's fair share of radar cops, so be cool on the speed while

you're passing through here.

     As you leave Oakdale, you'll also be leavin' the flatlands behind

too.  From here, you'll start to climb into the foothills and enter

horse and cattle country.  Nice scenery, complete with outstandin'

views of the snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains.  At this point

we were than 100 miles from Yosemite Park, but, alas, that was

not on our route plan for today.  But if ya get this far and have

the time, the park is worth explorin'.

     Highway 120 continues it's ascent through the foothills, passing

some scenic volcanic rock formations and eventually the road

splits, with Highway 120 being the right hand fork heading toward

Chinese Camp and Yosemite Park.  When ya pass through the very

small town of Chinese Camp (population 150), you'll see a small

grocery/gas/bar on the right side.  This is the Kiwi Tavern. A real

nice couple from New Zealand run the place and Jus' Brothers

members have always been treated real well on our past stops.

     From here it's about 19 miles to the rustic town of Coulterville.

After leaving Chinese Camp, you'll continue east on 120 and take

a right turn on Highway 49.  You'll see a state fish hatchery at

Moccasin Creek after you turn onto Highway 49. Visitors are

welcome and it's free if ya wanna take a peek.  Jammin' down

Highway 49 toward Coulterville is lotsa fun on a scooter. Plenty

of twists and turns with a long drop on one side.  A word to the

wise here- if ya happen to be comin' through this stretch early

or late in the day, watch for deer.  There's no shortage of ambushin

blacktails in this area just waitin' to leap in front of you.

     As you enter Coulterville, on the left you'll see the historic

Jeffrey Hotel.  Making a left turn on Main St., you'll find Yosemite

Sam's on the right (about a half-block down ).  It's run by a Harley

rider named Griz, and it offers beer, pizza, and of course, pool.

We stopped here and had one helluva good time.  There's a lot of

Old West mining history in Coulterville, and it's easy to kill a fair

amount of time walking around town, which we did.

     When Johnny Reb, our Sgt. at Arms, got us back on the road,

we were heading west from Coulterville down Highway 132,

towards Modesto, which is about 55 miles away.  There are lotsa

good places  to camp along this stretch.  You'll ride by a couple

lakes, as the road runs along the Tuolomne River for awhile,

which is easy on the eyes.

     Before you get to Modesto you'll pass though the small town

of Empire.  Upon entering Empire, you'll see Antonio's Bar &

Grille, on the left.  We pulled in for a few pitchers of suds, and to

check out the action.  Ya see, Antonio's is a topless dance bar,

and opens at 4pm, seven days a week.  While there was no cover

charge, the beer was high-priced.  On the other, the dancers are

good, they have a lot of pool tables, and we took our ladies in

with us and had no problem, only a great time.  Be warned,

security at the front door will do a weapons pat down on all males

enterin' the place. So leave that kinda shit in your saddle bags

at this stop, and relax and enjoy.  The guard did keep a good eye

on our scoots, though.

     About five miles west of Antonio's , still on Highway 132,

( Yosemite Blvd. in Modesto ) you'll pass Gun Country, on the

right.  They have an indoor handgun range open to the public,

and besides selling guns, they'll also rent guns for their range.

If ya like to shoot, like I do, check it out.

     Just past Gun Country, on the right, you'll find Cannery Row,

a biker bar.  Andy, the owner, has been riding longer than most

folks I know, and is one helluva good dude.  On and off over the

years Andy has featured topless dancers in the Cannery, but not

currently.  However, he does have a full bar and two pool tables.

We stopped and, like always, there's never a dull moment with the

Jus' Brothers.  For those cravin' some new ink, there's a tattoo shop

in Modesto called "End of the Trail".  It's gotten good reports.

     We decided to end the day where we started - at Leo's.  So,

heading west on Highway 132, we split from Modesto and got back

into the sticks, continuing west until we crossed the San Joaquin

River.  A right turn on Kasson Road put us on the path back to

Manteca.  We hooked another right at the San Joaquin City Resort,

which ain't a bad bar either.  This put us on Airport Way, heading

along the river.  We shot past the Manteca Gun Range ( pun -

intended ), a few miles out of Manteca.  A right turn on Yosemite

Ave. put us right smack on Leo's doorstep.  A few more cold ones

went down and an enjoyable day came to an end.

     So now that we've clued ya in on some prime bars, not to

mention a great ride, you'll have nobody to blame if you don't

get out In The Wind and have a good time.

-Irish Mike

IN THE WIND Magazine / Travelin' Trails Feature  (July 1994)

note:  Photos not included here.