Recently in Rides Category

My trip report for CFR 2009 is posted on this TCFJR entry.

I'm off to CFR, an FJR rally in Nakusp, BC. See this TC FJR post for complete details.

My ride got truncated a little, but was still a blast. Full write-up is on the TCFJR site here.

I've been losing vacation time at work, which I hate - a lot - so I'm taking Friday off to go riding. I'd like to get in a good, long ride.

The current plan is to take the 101 to San Luis Obispo, then the 58, 229, 41, and 46 over to the 99. South on the 99 to the 58, east to Barstow and the 15, south to Escondido, west to Oceanside, then up the 5 back home. A little over 700 miles, and a good test run to see if the bike and I are ready for a BBG attempt.

I'll post more after the ride.

I took a ride on my motorcycle today.

View Larger Map

Toecutter organized a ride he called the Central Coast Romp for Saturday, April 22nd, and a bunch of riders on the FJR Forum joined in, including me.

I left at 7:24am, and made good time to the meeting point in Coalinga, at I-5 and SR-198. Head winds cut my gas mileage way down at the end, so I stopped for gas at SR-41, about 20 miles short of the 198. I got to the meeting point at 10:05am, in plenty of time for the scheduled 10:30am departure.

We left around 10:40am, heading west on the 198. I don't do much group riding, but knew the basics of staggered formation and "The Pace", and I think I did pretty well. We made a short stop to collect everyone.

At SR-25, we turned north. The 25 is one of my favorite motorcycling roads, but I've only ever done it north-to-south, which made it fun. After the fun twisties to the south, we synched up at the entrance to Pinnacles, and headed north into the higher speed sections.

Bob took off at FJR nominal speeds to scope out the conditions. About 10 minutes later, we caught up with him on the side of the road - he had hit a rock and had a flat front tire. Luckily, Mark from Visalia had a plug kit and plug-in compressor, and in less than 10 minutes we were all back on the road. We turned off the 25 onto SR-156 to bypass Hollister.

The plan was to stop at a Mexican restaurant in San Juan Bautista, but when we arrived we found the streets around the restaurant closed for a big street fair. We found a backup pizza place, and I grabbed a sandwich and enjoyed some conversation with Jerry and Lisa, Mark, Andrew and Sheri, and the others.

We headed west on the 156 to the 101, then southwest to Marina, Monterey and Carmel. We stopped at the Chevron at Rio Road, across the street from the shopping center I always stop in for coffee, then headed south on SR-1.

The group was more comfortable with double-yellow passes than I normally am, but everything was done safely so I joined in (although Andrew and Sheri made some moves that gave me pause). We made good time, with people moving up and back in line as their whims took them. We hit some really nasty gravel patches that made me really unfomfortable, but we all got through unscathed.

About half-way through, we had split into two groups: me, TWN, and Andrew and Sheri up front, with George, Bob and Barbera, and Rudy hanging back. Our group stopped at the motel just north of Hearst Castle to wait for the others. We used the porta-potties, took pictures, and still kept waiting. After about twenty-five minutes, George and Bob/Barbera pulled in - they had stopped for coffee, and left Rudy smoking back at the restaurant.

We proceeded smartly to Morro Bay, where Tim/TWN collected the heated vest he'd loaned to Barbara. After the unplanned stops it was getting late, and I still had 200 miles plus to ride, so Tim and I made our farewells and headed out.

We made good time to Santa Maria, and stopped for a last tank of gas. Shortly after we restarted, it started to rain, and we fought a light drizzly rain all the way to Santa Barbara. Tim pulled off to go home in Carpinteria, and I kept going. I stopped to make a quick check-in phone call home, then hit the road again.

Traffic on the 101 was weird - a bunch of cars weaving around at 10mph over the flow of traffic. It helped me make good time.

I hit the driveway at 10:45pm, tired but happy. I made a note to buy the same plug kit Mark had - it was great.

A wishlist for motorcycle camping.

• LL Bean Borealis tent
• LL Bean Adventure sleeping bag
• Therm-a-rest Trail Comfort sleeping pad
• LL Bean Adventure Duffle - medium black
• MSR PackTowl - large

The lunch truck isn't coming this week, so after my lunchtime walk I went down to Von's to get a sandwhich. The Cadillac is in the shop, so Justin is using my car, and I'm on the FJR. I put my helmet on the holder that's part of the license plate frame while I went into the deli.

When I got back to the parking lot, I put my bag into the side bag, and grabbed my helmet off the holder. Just as a fluke, I noticed what looked like some foxtails in the inside of the helmet. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a bee...

I stared at it for a half a minute, then decided to put on my glove and swat it out. It took a couple of tries, but I finally got it out.

I hate to think what might have happened if I had just blindly strapped the helmet on with a bee stuck to the inside lining.

I did my Iron Butt Association Saddle Sore 1000 (SS1K) ride yesterday. An SS1K is 1,000 documented miles in less than 24 hours, for which you recieve a license plate frame, a pin, a certificate, and all the personal satisfaction you deserve for extending your horizons.

I'd mapped out a route months ago, waiting for my mind, body, and the weather to all reach a state of readiness. The headaches are mostly under control, I'd been exercising regularly, and the weather looked good, so Sunday was the day.

Home to Barstow

I spent Saturday getting things in order, and did some final packing first thing Sunday morning. I woke Carole up at 5:22am to witness the start of my ride. Originally I planned to go down to the WaMu ATM for my start-of-ride documentation receipt, but at the last minute I decided to stop at the 76 station at Duarte and Rosemead to top off. The gas receipt showed my official start time was 5:30am.

The 210 was fast, but the 15 a little faster. There were cool fingers of clouds hugging the ravines along the ridgelines from Glen Helen up to the 138, and I hit Barstow at 7:00am straight up. I filled up, got a small coffee and a blueberry muffin, and changed from the sweatshirt to the fleece underneath my Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket (with the liner in place).

Barstow to Phoenix

The head winds were fierce on I-40, and the occassional crosswinds made things interesting, in a horror movie sort of way. The winds also dropped my gas mileage way down, and I had to stop in Yucca, AZ (between Bullhead City and Kingman) to fill up, about 35 miles short of my planned stop in Kingman. I left I-40 for US-93, the main road between Phoenix and Las Vegas. People drive fast on this road - very fast. Wickenburg seemed like a nice little town.

I made good time until I hit the outskirts of the Phoenix metro area. Construction work slowed me down, and I mistakenly stayed on US-60 instead of taking the 101 freeway loop. I-17 south can be bad, even on a Sunday, but I made good time.

When I passed Sky Harbor I decided that I wouldn't make Casa Grande without more fuel. I stopped in Chandler to fill up, and went across the street to a Wendy's for a quick bite to eat. I also removed the fleece, the neck gaitor, and the jacket liner due to the increasing desert heat.

Phoenix to Yuma

I stayed on I-10 to I-8, and stopped at a Love's truck stop in Casa Grande/Eloy for a required gas receipt. (IBA rides with rectangular routes require that you document your stops in each of the corners.) I was a little worried about the pressure in my rear tire, so I topped it off here too, estimating that 42 cold would be 45 or so hot. A nice guy on a Harley saw me taking pics of my bike at the gas pumps, and offered to take a picture of me and the bike.

An FJR, a V-1, and an XM radio make the perfect setup for a run along I-8. It's fast, under-patrolled, with a high flow-of-traffic speed. I stopped for a bathroom break at a rest stop, but otherwise went straight through to Yuma. While filling up in Yuma, I chatted with a guy on a BMW with Oregon plates who was heading into San Diego. He left a couple of minutes before me, but I didn't see him the rest of the way.

Yuma to San Diego

Ordinarily, I would have been looking into the sun for this leg, but the clouds kept the glare way down. West of El Centro you climb up into the hills, and the warmth of the Arizona dessert was gone. I stopped at a gas station in Jacumba for a bathroom break and to put on the sweatshirt, neck gaiter, and jacket liner. The rest of the way into San Diego was uneventful.

San Diego to Home

I wanted to check my rear tire pressure again, but the Chevron in San Diego didn't have a working air hose. I grabbed a quick cheeseburger and strawberry shake at the In-N-Out next door, and got back underway at 8:10pm. By now, I was tired and a little sore, but knew I could grit it out.

In Anaheim I got to watch the Disneyland fireworks show from the freeway - a nice diversion. I stayed on the 605 to the 10, and headed back to the 76 station at Rosemead and Duarte for my ending receipt.

I straggled in to the house at 10:35pm, sore but happy.

I'm tentatively planning on my SS1k ride in a few weeks, and needed to put some miles on to make sure I'd be ready. Carole and Mandy were meeting Michael at Gladstone's, so I mapped out a ride that would get me there in time for lunch.

It took a little longer than usual to get ready. My rear tire was way low of pressure, which took a while to correct. The RAM ball in the left mirror mount broke off, so I had to mount the new double ball on the left lever mount so I could use my radio. I finally pulled out around 11:20am.

Once I hit SR-138, the XM just would not pick up a signal. I fiddled with it off and on, but wound up with no music until just about Santa Clarita. I'm looking at either a replacement antenna, or trying to pick up another Roady 2 unit - it's really nice to have tunes on a long ride.

Gladstone's was okay - food was good, but I had a headache that I just couldn't shake. The ride home was uneventful.

Mandy and Carole were heading to Palm Springs for the holiday, and invited me to join them there for dinner. I almost always ride either west (towards Santa Ynez) or north (to Palmdale), and was looking for new roads, so I gladly accepted.

I left at 10:45am, and stopped in Redlands for gas and food at a crummy Del Taco. A three-car accident in a construction zone tied up traffic once I got back on the freeway, but once that cleared I made good time to SR-62. 62 loops north and east through Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley, and Joshua Tree, where you cut south into the Joshua Tree National Park, where I gladly paid my $5 motorcycle entrance fee (I thought it would be $10).

The road through the park is sedate, and I spent some time behind some slower cars which let me enjoy the fantastic scenery. A few miles south of the entrance most of the traffic had found something else to do, and the last half of the drive I was mostly by myself. The views were amazing, and I really enjoyed the twisties on El Dorado Mine Rd. There's no ranger station on the south entrance.

Once you cross I-10, the road changes to Box Canyon Rd., and it proved to be interesting. A few twisties, some wide sweepers, and a 120mph+ straightaway made it pretty fun. It dumps out onto 66th Avenue in the city of Mecca, with views of Salton Sea to the south.

A few jogs took me SR-111 north, then SR-86 north to I-10. The first exit is Golf Center Pkwy, which joins up with SR-111. 111 starts out westbound in Indio, but soon hits prime time in Indian Wells. I got to the Elephant Bar in Palm Desert at 3:45pm, and called Carole to check on our 4:00pm meeting time. They were running late - too much shopping at the outlet mall in Cabazon - and asked me to get them a newspaper with movie times while I waited. They arrived at 4:35pm, and the restaurant was already quite busy - a lot of retirees enjoying an early dinner - but we didn't have to wait for a table.

Mandy had an oriental chicken soup that looked great. Carole had a beef dip with cheddar, and I had shrimp. The cole slaw was perfect - not too spicy, not too bland, nice and crunchy. The lemonade was also just about right - not too sweet, not too tangy. We split a lava cake for dessert.

On the way back, traffic on I-10 was bad from San Gorgonio Pass through to Cabazon. I knew the 10 would be rough with holiday traffic, so I grabbed SR-60 in Beaumont. It had some slowness around I-215, and again at I-15, but the carpool lanes helped a lot. In spite of a sweatshirt, a fleece pullover, and my motorcycle jacket, I was really cold once I got home.

Super Sunday started with a nice ride up to Palmdale — Big Tujunga Canyon, Angeles Forest Hwy, a snack at Tom's in Palmdale, Bouquet Canyon, and Little Tujunga Canyon. I hit the driveway back home with 36 miles on reserve. S&T says it's 137 miles, and I was back in three hours and fifteen minutes.

I made enchilladas for dinner, and managed to clog up the kitchen sink in the process. It was one of those nasty ones, where you have to remove the trap to get the snake into the main pipe. No fun for me.

Seattle got no love from the referees, but could have won the game anyway if they'd avoided all the mistakes.

After some challenges getting everyone showered without steaming up the whole motel room, we joined up with Chad and Dave for breakfast at Margie's across the street. The food was good, but I wound up getting my own coffee refill…

I dumped a bunch a stuff into Chad's trunk and followed him to the track. We got to park in the campground section, about a mile closer than yesterday, and on asphalt to boot. We got there just as the World class race was getting underway. There was some good action on the corkscrew, but too many cautions made the race flow a little odd.

Porsche Cup GT3 racing was next, and Chad's mechanic Kevin Dobson had taken poll. This race again had too many caution periods, but we cheered when Kevin won the race handily. There was a cool spin in the lower section of the corkscrew during this race: the green number 10 car had been bumped, purposely, a few laps earlier, and the damage caused the fender to rub against the left rear tire. This tire finally gave out halfway down the corkscrew, sending the car into a flat spin that lasted five complete rotations. He was able to limp back to the pits, but his suspension failed soon after and he never passed us again.

I repacked my gear and suited up for the ride home, leaving the track a little before 2:00pm. From SR-68, I headed south on G-20, a fun romp up and down the Laureles Grade, with a bunch of fun twisties. Once I turned east on G-16, Carmel Valley Road, I had to bide my time through town, but things picked up soon after. More great scenery and high-speed fun, with plenty of technical corners to keep you focused. I cut down Central Avenue, with FJR-nominal speeds all the way into King City, where I stopped for some tacos.

I took US-101 south to Paso Robles, stopped quickly for gas, and headed east on SR-46. It's much more scenic to take US-101 all the way back home, but it adds about 100 miles to the route, so 46 is the way to go for the quickest way home. It's posted 55mph the entire way, but alertness and a V-1 make higher speeds possible. It's always prudent to ride in the far right section of the lane, in case one of the on-coming yahoos decides to make a pass long after the opportunity had expired.

I grabbed a bite at a McD's in Buttonwillow, then headed home on I-5. The moon was very bright, with patchy clouds from the storm coming up from the south. I stopped at the base of the Grapevine to add some warmth under my jacket - it gets cold going over the summit.

I pulled into the driveway at home at 8:45pm, wishing I didn't have to go to work the next day…

Finding the tickets, watching the big boys race.

Last year, I rode my relatively new FJR up to Monterey to watch the American Le Mans Series race with my brother-in-law Cary and his whole family. This year, it was Cary, his brother Chad, their friend Dave, and my nephew John, and like last year I decided to ride up the day before to enjoy the fantastic motorcycling roads of the Central Coast. Photo album

My original plan was to leave around 8:00am, but it always takes longer to actually hit the road. I finished packing, got everything on the bike, added air to both tires (42/42), and finally left the house at 9:52am.

With the V-1 on duty, I made the run up I-210 and I-5 to Frazier Park Rd. in good time — very good time. Once I passed the Lockwood Valley Rd. cutoff and made it past the Pine Mountain Club, I had a lot of fast fun on Mil Portrero and Cerro Noroeste. I normally do this road west to east, so it was like riding a new road.

I turned east/north when I hit the 33/166 junction for the long slog through the oil fields to SR-58. Looking back, this was the least fun part of the day's ride, and only the anticipation of SR-58 and good reception on the XM radio made it palatable.

SR-58 is really three roads in one. Going to east to west, you get fun, fast twisty section, followed by a big stretch of lonely straightaway with awesome whoopdee's, and finishing with more fast twisties. An excellent way to spend the morning. Without admitting anything, the max speed listed on my GPS showed 122mph after the middle section.

I guess my heavy throttle hand burned off too much gas, and I was deep into reserve way too early, so I had to take the La Panza Road cutoff into Paso Robles. I really, really like SR-229 south of Creston, but gas stations are few out here, and walking didn't seem like the best option. I filled up at the first station I found, with 49 miles on the reserve odometer.

After a quick lunch at the Mexican restaurant next to the Motel 6 in Paso Robles, I headed up county road G-14 past Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio to give the V-1 more exercise. In the fall, the central coast views are a great combination of dry grassland with lots of green oaks.

The highlight of the day's route was my first ever trip on Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd. — named in the November 2005 issue of Motorcyclist magazine as one of the ten best rides in the world.
I went west on Mission Road, did the quick check-in at the Fort Hunter Ligget guard gate, and puttered along at military-base-nominal speed, enjoying the views. Once you clear the base, the road becomes an awesome path through the central coast range, with a canopy of trees, tight blind curves, and the occasional gravel-strewn corner. The last few miles are steeply downhill, and once you break out of the woods and look down thousands of feet on the mist-shrouded ocean it's a challenge to focus on the road instead of the fantastic views. Luckily, cage traffic is sparse, but you do have to take appropriate care.

By the time I reached SR-1, the weather had changed dramatically. The inland heat had given way to thick fog, cool ocean breezes, and temperatures in the fifties. I felt comfortable enough to stick with my mesh riding jacket, although I considered stopping to put in the liner a few times the rest of the way.

There was suprisingly little traffic (always the biggest frustration on such a cool riding road), and the ones I did encounter were either easily passed or willingly pulled into the turn-outs. (Remember, I do not pass over a double-yellow, just on general principle.) I stopped in Carmel for coffee, but because of the late start it was past 6:00pm and all the shops were closed.

Before I left I'd arranged with Cary to pick up the ALMS race tickets at the will-call hotel, to save time on Saturday. The will-call was in the Embassy Suites hotel in Seaside, just up SR-1 from Carmel. I called Cary to see if he'd been able to get me authorized to pick up the tickets, but he hadn't gotten through, so we agreed it would be best for me to skip the trip to Seaside. Instead, I took SR-1 up to SR-68 for the ride to the motel in Salinas. On the way, it started drizzling, starting out light and getting heavier as I went along. After checking in, I walked across the street to the In-N-Out for dinner, and spent the evening reading my new book.

All-in-all, one of my best riding days in a long, long time.

I'm going to the American Le Mans Series race at Laguna Seca this weekend, with my brother-in-law Cary, his brother Chad, my nephew John, and a friend of Chad's. The plan is to leave first thing Friday morning and take the long way up to the Motel 6 in Salinas — Cerro Noroeste, SR-58 from the 33 to SR-229, then up into Paso Robles.

From there, county G-14 to Lockwood-Jolon Road, which goes over the coast range to SR-1 just north of Gorda. A quick stop for coffee in Carmel, then maybe up to Seaside to pick up the race tickets at will-call (if they'll let me — Cary paid for them, and they may require him [and his photo id] to pick them up). I spend the night alone in Salinas.

The race starts late on Saturday, so if I'm feeling it I plan to go up to Hollister (maybe even the outlet mall in Gilroy for new socks!) then down SR-25 — one of my all-time favorite roads. From King City, I'll take Carmel Valley Road (G-16) (another big favorite), G-20, and SR-68 back to Salinas.

The plan for Sunday is to catch the rest of the race program, then do the quick 101-46-5 ride home. If I'm really feeling it, I have the option to stay on the 101 and do some rides in Santa Barbara county.

Download S&T file

I was feeling good - too good to stay at work after a long, stressful week - so I hit the road around 11:45am for a long ride through Lockwood Valley.

I stopped in Gorman for lunch, and started reading a cool new book - . About eight miles west of Frazier Park, Lockwood Valley Rd. cuts off to the southwest, and I moved the headphones from the XM to the V-1. I ride Mil Portrero and Cerro Noroeste a lot, other roads that connect Frazier Park with SR-33, but have never been on Lockwood Valley Rd. It was fast and very fun, except for four or five stream crossings along the way. The last one was weird - a small stream, normally about four feet wide, spilled over a concrete section of the road and spread into a thirty foot section of water on the roadway. I took it slow and easy, with my feet off the pegs, and made it through unscathed.

I headed south on SR-33 for more twisties. There's a couple of places where one lane is still washed out from last winter's storms; stop signs control access to the single remaining lane. It seems to work - there's never a lot of traffic on those stretches.

I went back to the XM when I hit Ojai, and cruised back home. Lane splitting was necessary from Calabasas all the way home - there's few better ways to get focused on a motorcycle than splitting Friday afternoon traffic on the non-carpool-lane sections of the Ventura Freeway. S&T says the trip was 234 miles.

Salinas to home, via Paso Robles and I-5. 312 miles.

Chose 101-46-5 for quick way home instead of longer coast route. Arrived home around 3:30pm.

Eureka to Salinas - 421 slow miles. Good fun. Lots of traffic north of SF who would not pull out for any reason. Wind on the GG bridge. Surfers at Pacifica. Santa Cruz. Watsonville. Salinas. In-n-Out.