SBR Chip Chase

For a few years now, I’ve been a member of South Bay Riders,
an online motorcycle community that brings together local riders who live in California’s South Bay Area. The forum is open to all motorcyclists, whether they ride cruisers, dirt bikes, or sport bikes. It’s been a great resource for tips, group rides, maintenance questions, and just witty banter between others who enjoy riding like I do. About a month ago, someone came up with an idea for a game, similar to geocache, involving motorcycles and a modified poker chip.

Someone stashes the chip near an obvious landmark, posts up photos and a few clues of the general area it’s located in, and whoever finds it first stashes the chip in a new mystery location. As the game progressed, people started adding little prizes to a cache along with the chip. Whoever finds it, keeps what’s inside, and adds new items to the cache, along with the chip. It’s been a lot of fun to read about, but I didn’t think I’d know many of the spots it was hidden in. On Friday the 13th, I figured out where the chip was located, and it wasn’t too far away, so I went out to get it!

The chip was located on Ryder Rd in Scotts Valley, CA, which is about 8 miles from my house, and a road I had never been on. The guy who stashed it, said it was located under a stick, next to a cube sculpture.

I thought I had found the goods! Turns out, someone got there before me! That person, Dan, has been a rider for  thirty years, and knows this area like the back of his hand, so I didn’t think I’d get another shot at finding the chip so soon. But the next day, he posted a picture of a bridge, and said he’d be riding in that general area. If anyone knew where the bridge was, he’d give them the chip, if they could catch up to him. Well, I saw the photo, and knew exactly where the bridge was! So I rode out to meet him!

The bridge in question is located at Fern Ridge and E. Zayante Rd. in Lompico, CA, a rural area of the Santa Cruz Mountains. When I got to the bridge, I was alone, so I took a few photos while I waited for my prize!

The view of Zayante Creek from the bridge was breathtaking.

I climbed down to get a different perspective of Zayante Creek.

After waiting for about half an hour, Dan never showed up, and I left empty handed. But decided to keep riding the mountainside. I headed up E. Zayante Rd, which is full of switchbacks, and fun twisties, and made my way up to Bear Creek Road , north of the town of Boulder Creek.

Along Bear Creek Rd. I stopped to take in the view.

Even on an overcast day, it was a sight to behold.

When I arrived home from my ride, a new clue was posted. Since noone caught up to Dan out on the road, he did stash the chip in Lompico, and based on his clues, I knew exactly where. It was at the Loch Lomond Recreation Area. I jammed back up the hill and claimed the chip! Success! Third time’s a charm!

Now I had to stash it somewhere. But where? I decided the chip had seen a lot of the Santa Cruz Mountains lately, so the next day I took a ride south on Highway 1.

Some riders on SBR had complained about past hiding spots being too difficult to find, so I decided to open up the game to anyone, and brought the chip to one of the world’s most famous bridges!

The Bixby Creek Bridge is technically out of bounds of the South Bay Area, but the guy who came up with the rules decided to include Big Sur in the boundaries of the game because it is such a beautiful place.

It was difficult stashing the chip, because random people kept stopping here to take photos. I didn’t want anyone else to find it, unless it was an SBR member!

A group of folks driving south from San Francisco asked me to take a picture of them. Afterwards, we got to some small talk. One of them is a teacher in the Solebury School District in New Hope, PA, not far from where I grew up! Small world…. Well, the chip was located later that night and has found a few new homes since it was in my possession. But the game goes on, and I may yet have more stories to share!

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