On A Cold Sunday

Taking a break from our usual routes heading south. Today Mike and I headed north to meet up with his friend Dennis from work who rides a Monster S2R. We met Dennis at Berts MEGA mall in Azusa. Its actually where I bought my Duc, and I haven't been back since. After meeting up with Dennis we headed north on Azusa blvd until it turned into 39 - San Gabriel Canyon Road.

If you see a sign like this and don't smile, then turn around.

We took the 39 up past the reservoirs and then took East Fork road up. It was definitely colder riding up the mountain but I had thermals on under my suit so only my fingers were cold. Even then, it wasn't too bad. We stopped every now and then to warm up and take in the scenery.

After awhile, Dennis had to turn around and head back down because he had to be somewhere. But Mike and I continued on. It had snowed on Thursday night and the snow level dropped down to 3000 feet. But on Saturday it was really warm and melted a lot it. But not all of it!

As we were coming up to one corner that was very well shaded, the road was white. I was thinking why is the road white? I think that is ice....shit it is ice. Luckily it wasn't that big of a patch and we weren't going that fast. But we made mental notes, slower and more careful for the rest of the way up. A few corners later we came across this bigger longer patch of ice and decided, yup its time to turn around.

Aside from the ice and some rocks from slides that you would expect on a mountain road, they are in really good condition. And with them winding along the side you usually can see people coming up or down. And there are a ton of overlooks for great views.

On the way down we stopped at Camp Williams Cafe for a decent cup of coffee and a mean stack of flapjacks.

Overall it was another great day of riding. The 40 minute freeway ride getting there sucked, but well worth it. Once it warms up we will be heading back there soon.

On Any Sunday

There is a saying that goes "You can live more in 5 minutes on a motorcycle, than some people do their whole life". South Grade road going up Palomar Mountain is a good 2 or 3 lifetimes.

On Sunday Randy, Mike, Mike's brother-in-law Jim and I went for a ride to Palomar and back. It was one of those perfect day rides, that leaves you wanting more, exhausted, a little sore, and at some point or another your heart was beating louder than a Ducati twin (sorry Randy that you ride a Yamaha). Mike just got a smoking deal on a 05 Multistrada 1000 s. It already had the DP hard cases, Termi Exhaust and of course Ohlin Suspension. And it only had about 1300 miles on it. So it was time for him to break it in.

And now that Mike's KLR was free, Jim got to come along and ride it.

We met at the usual place on PCH and hit the road at 8am. The morning was perfect, couldn't ask for better weather. But with the weather and holiday weekend, there was a lot more traffic out and about that early in the morning. We took Ortega over to Lake Elisnore again and stopped at the Lookout for a quick break.

Still my favorite road I have ever ridden is De Luz road leading to Fallbrook. Its a little narrow and a lot of blind corners. But hardly anyone is ever on it and the whole thing is twisties. If you have never rode De Luz road, trust me ride it once. Actually never mind, I think its probably one of the best kept secrets in So Cal.

We got to Fallbrook around 10 and just in time for breakfast. And par for the course we stopped at the Wayside Cafe again. The food is pretty good and owner/manager is a great guy. Its hard to actually find courteous and friendly people in Orange County. I guess that's why Fallbrook isn't in Orange County.

After breakfast it was a straight shot on the 76 to South Grade road going up Palomar. Its a good 20+ miles from Fallbrook to Palomar along the 76. And then it begins. South Grade road. Its a place where everyone should go at their own pace, dont try to follow or catch anyone and watch out for on coming traffic going wide. All the way up you smell brake pads and clutches and hear the roar of Sporties going up and down.

Once to the top, we all had to stop and breath. Once our breath was caught, we took in the scenery and shared our stories of coming up.

From there its a quick 5 miles to the Palomar Observatory where we met up with Mike's wife Amanda and their daughter Zoe and Jim's wife Julie and their kids Tyler and Hunter.

After having lunch and hanging out for a bit, we hit the road home at around 3:30. A little later than we had planned, meaning that we would have to race the sun back home. When we got to Fallbrook the sun was low, the clouds moved in and the temp dropped a little. It didn't rain but it was looking like it was going to soon. As we hit the base of Ortega going up the sun was setting and it would of made for some great pictures but we didn't have time to stop. Next time. By the time we got to the 5 it was completely dark, which with my tinted visor made it more interesting. None the less, it was another perfect journey. We covered almost 300 good miles and 5000 feet up and back down again, the only thing that would of made it better is if we camped over night and made the ride longer. Next time....