Ride Report - Four days

[MrCrash]

Day 1

How the day was supposed to be:

A fun afternoon out on a magazine test bike, enjoying the roads around Mounta Hamilton.

How the day turned out:

We're leaving Lick Observatory down the back side of
Mines, towards the junction. I'm leading on a 2002 VFR800, Glen is behind on his GSXR1000, my friend Randy on an F4i is a behind him. Ryan is next up on his brand new Marchesini shod GSX-R1000, with someone else on a TL1000R right behind him. The five of us broke away from the rest of the group on the way up the hill. I expect us to separate off again.

We get to the bottom. It's only Glen, Randy, and myself.

A few minutes pass. No Ryan, no TL1000R. Glen and I discuss the
possibilities.

"Fucker. Something is wrong."

We go back up the hill. Kevin is on his way down with his CCM Supermotard, with my friend Dan on an R1. Glen goes ahead, I stop to talk to them.

Me: Someone down?
Kevin: Three down, two are over a cliff.

Fuck.

I continue on, cruising knowing that the Sheriff / park ranger we
passed on the way up is probably on the scene already.

I go up and around another mile or so of bends, coming around one rock face, and see the image at the bottom of the page. Pictures say 1000 words. That one made me say two:

1) Oh
2) Shit

Summary of the damage: Three bikes down, Ryan goes over the cliff with his GSXR1000, the TL1000R guy stops on the edge, I believe an R6 went down right behind them, not sure why. Everyone is OK.

I think Cary's bike tipped over off the kickstand, whoever bought Glen's bike showed up as well, and locked both brakes and went down approaching the scene, just to add to the mess.

Messy day, glad everyone made it through physically unscathed.

/forums/images/threads/000/000/716/p1010006.jpg

 

[MrCrash]

Ride Report - Four Days, Day 2

After a great meal with some friends in Berkeley, I look at the horizon and decide I have a little light left, I can probably take redwood / Grizzly back. The Wall up on top of Berkeley was packed with riders admiring the sunset, as was just about every turnout on Grizzly. It was quite scenic out.

I then saw the headlights in my rear mirrors, and heard the BARUMMMMMM BARUMMMMMM of some single cylinder motorcycles. I figured it was a Supermotard, so I let him through. He came by on one wheel, and I chased.

I hadn't chased a Supermotard ridden that well in years. He was getting that thing in and out of tighter corners much faster than I could, I was barely gaining ground on him in the faster corners. Million dollar homes in the hills, Million dollar view, purple skyline with the horizon glowing orange, riding much harder than I should be riding to chase down this hooligan of a rider, who was not only ripping through turns, but cracking wheelies coming out of them as well.

I flash my high beams to bid him farewell, and turn onto Pinehurst to head down the backside of the hill. A minute later, I hear the BARUMMMMMMMMM BARUMMMMMMMM again.

All I can think is "I am the prey".

I put my head down for a few corners, realize the futility of attempting to (safely) put distance on him, and wave him through. Together, we hammer through Redwood Road at what would be a healthy daytime pace in full gear. Nevermind the fact that it's now night, and I'm only in jeans and a jacket. Once again, I only gain in the faster sections, due to the fact that I have a few more ponies on tap, in addition to the fact that he's not going 100% on the straighter sections. After the ride, we talk for a bit at a gas station in Castro Valley, then head on our way.

That night, I dreamed of chasing the motard again, seeing it ride out of corners on the back wheel, in the most picturesque of locations.

I might have been out of a job and down on my luck, but for that moment, chasing that motard, on that road, it couldn't have mattered any less. I felt good.

Which was a good thing, for the route I had planned out for the next few days was a demanding one:

/forums/images/threads/000/000/716/msmap.jpg

 

[MrCrash]

Ride Report - Four Days, Day 3

Seeing as to how it was my last day with the 2002 VFR800, I figured I should make an event of it. The scenic route to Los Angeles was in order. Departing Fremont at 7AM, I headed south towards San Jose, taking 101 South to Gilroy. From Gilroy, I took 25 South, stretching the legs of the VFR a little bit, having some fun as well. All the while checking my time, considering this to be a bit of a training run for the upcoming SaddleSore 1000. I cut over to King City and head out to Lake San Antonio / Lake Nacimiento via Jolon Road.

After a few miles on Jolon Road, which can be a bit of a high speed diversion to 101, I made a right onto Interlake Road. Some sections of pavement on this road were just so cherry, every granule of rock which made up the road surface would glisten in the afternoon sunlight, like some newly paved tennis courts. I follow Interlake up on the ridge between the lakes, then make a right onto Nacimiento Lake drive, taking me over a dam towards Paso Robles.

Now for one of my side road excursions. Instead of heading straight for Paso, I make a right onto Chimney Rock Road, the first road I ever scraped a footpeg on back in the early 90s. More of the same glistening pavement, this time with far more technical twists, turns, and elevation changes thrown in. In the rainy season, you'll even have a small stream crossing to negotiate. Left on Klau Mine and Left on Adelaida reveals a serene single lane stretch of road, taking me all the way back to Paso Robles. A bit of gas and it's time to move on.

15 minutes South on 101 and it's time for the highlight of the ride, Highway 58 from Santa Margarita to McKittrick. I rig up the helmet camera for this ride and get on my way, through more of the tumultuous pavement mixing elevation changes with direction changes. The road has everything.

I used to claim I could have fun on a public road without ever breaking 75 mph. Well, looking at the speedometer for once, it's apparent I was lying. I'm going to tack 10 mph onto that and make it 85. Tack another 30 mph onto that for Highway 58 over the whoops, where I seem to hold a fairly constant 115 over the roller coaster section.

I refuel again in Taft and make my way out to I-5 via 166, and follow that south to 14. Taking 14 east a few miles, I get off on Placerita Canyon, for my final technical leg of the trip down, Little Tujunga. I stop for a moment to let a Park maintenance truck put some distance on me, take a few photos, then head up and over into the environmental cesspool of Los Angeles.

After dropping off the VFR at American Honda in Torrance (what a huge place, with such beautiful receptionists), I had a cab bring me over to American Suzuki in Brea. There I picked up the new TL1000 powered adventure tourer, the DR1000 V-Strom.

What a motor. I can't imagine it in the dirt. The incredible hulk meets Indiana Jones. Getting on the freeway, I closed on a ZX-9R rider on a cloverleaf, who put himself into a bit of an aggressive riding position and held his speed through. The oddness of the bike let me know right away, ultra aggressive sportiness isn't going to happen.

From there I proceeded South to San Diego. Upon arriving, I checking the odometer and added the miles up.

610 miles in 12 hours, with a 2-3 hour break in the action for the cab ride from Torrance to Brea. Not bad.

(image = taking a breather on Little Tujunga in the San Gabriel Mountains)

/forums/images/threads/000/000/716/p3040004.jpg

 

[MrCrash]

Ride Report - Four Days, Day 4

Waking up at 8 AM, an hour later than I wanted to, I proceeded to take 5 north up to 405 in Los Angeles. Originally I wanted to take the 15 North and cut over via Ortega, but waking up as late as I did, that wasn't an option. Once in Los Angeles, I started getting sleepy on the bike as well, and took a few breaks to shoot some nicotine and caffeine through my veins. Both are substances I typically avoid, but kicking my chair back and taking a nap isn't an option on a bike like it is in my truck. I continued on.

I attempted to cut over to PCH via the 10 in Los Angeles, but traffic was just gridlocked. No room to squeeze this adventurer tourer between cars either. A little Aprilia RS50 knifed its way on through, putting itself where this Hulk-Hogan-meets-Indiana-Jones beast could only dream of going. I flip it and decide to pass on it. No Latigo Canyon for me. I headed for 33 North out of Ojai.

The first few corners on the bike were an eye opener. I'm not sure if it was my riding style, the setup of the nonadjustable front end, the geometry, the 19" front wheel, or the dual sport looking Bridgestone tires. Any attempt to load the front end would result in a push / chatter. No worries, I would be taking it easy, setting entrance speeds early, and gassing as early as possible to negotiate my way through bends. I followed 33 up and over the road runner scenery down into the plains near Taft / Maricopa, and proceeded to go the other way on 58.

It was at this point in time that my brain started to seriously cut out. The same sensation that people often get while falling asleep at the wheel, I noticed myself experiencing while averaging 80-90 mph, hammering the bike through an 80 mile stretch of twisties. I should have stopped, and am not too sure why I didn't. Next time, I will. This Saddlesore 1000 was going to be more difficult than I thought. Hopefully I'll get some decent sleep before it, unlike the night before. I made my way back to 101, then took 46 west to Santa Rosa Creek Road.

This gnarly, bumpy, pothole and gravel infested stretch of road was the sight of my first crash back in 1994. If we do this road, I'd like to give people the option of taking 46 to the coast and meeting us in Cambria. It's not for everyone, but as Glen and everyone else on last weekend's Mines ride remembers, I kind of like imperfect pavement. Perhaps not as much as Lance seems to like it (I'm sure Coustier remembers me on the Eureka ride a few years back, out on Highway 3 as I kicked the back end out after making a pass to chase after Lance on pavement with a loose surface), but still a lot of fun. Especially on an "adventurer tourer" of a bike. I followed Santa Rosa Creek Road to the coast and took Highway 1 north.

Highway 1 is epic. I thought back to my college days, how many times I took this road north to visit a gal at UC Santa Cruz that I fell head over heels for. Songs of the day popped in and out of my head. Turn after familiar turn, I remininsced, remembering how I broke my hand punching a sign post upon discovering she had a significant other (might have been a fiance). I remember tearing the cast off with a vice and wire cutters in a bowling alley late one night, so I could ride my bike up to see her before she left on her summer internship. After all, it's a little hard to operate a motorcycle with a cast on your hand. Highway 1 was the route I took to see her that last time as well, it never fails to bring those memories back.

Coming up on traffic in Big Sur, I got "the bird" from one car driver, at which point I realized I was still travelling with my high beams on. The high beams on this bike are so strong, doing a wheelie on it would probably signal low flying aircraft to land. Impressive display of horsepower and candelpower, for sure.

I cut in via Carmel Valley Road, taking Lauralis Grade up and over to 68, back to 101. As I entered the San Jose city limits, I realized how much warmer polluted air is, as I was freezing my ass off out on the coast. Once back at home, I checked my odometer. 640 miles.

Four days. 1450 miles. Two very different bikes. Four bikes down. Two bikes over a cliff. Countless flashbacks.

Down on my luck, out of a job, no longer racing for a championship, recent arguments with the ex-gf and with other family. But after this past weekend, everything somehow feels good.

(Image attached = Santa Rosa Creek Road, east of Cambria. Lots of automobile commercials and bike mag photos shot there.)

/forums/images/threads/000/000/716/p3050010.jpg

 

[MrCrash]

Image: Overlooking Highway 33, north of Ojai and Ventura.

/forums/images/threads/000/000/716/p3050007.jpg

 

[MrCrash]

Image: Highway 1, North of Big Sur. I think some movie scene with Tupac and Janet Jackson was filmed here.

/forums/images/threads/000/000/716/p3050012.jpg

 

[theSteveCo]

Wow! Thanks for the posts! I'm glad you signed up and graced us with your travel report! Can't wait to hear more at the next social!!

Oh, and since your 6 posts all lie in this one thread...


Welc:barfme :bigbarf MrCrash!!!

 

[MrCrash]

wow, glad you had a great time except for the mishap the 1st day.

so what's your impression of the 2 bikes?

btw, :welcome Mr Crash. Saw you register a few days ago.

Thanks.

Impressions.

VFR:

Does everything I want a sportbike to do. Looks exactly how I want a sportbike to look. Has all the trick features I could desire.

But I get off the bike, and think something along the lines of "That was nice. Rides so smooth. Handles really nicely. Looks nice too. I wouldn't mind one of these. This bike really makes sense for someone like me."

DL1000:

Senseless. Who the fuck is going to use 120+ hp in the dirt. Perhaps if I rigged up a sled to it with a moving weight that increased resistance, and somehow added an announcer's voice to it yelling "SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!! TWO WHEELED TREE STUMP PULLING MACHINES OF DOOM (Doom... doom...)!!!!!

With an excitement similar to when I first lost my virginity, I babble things like "OHMYFUCKINGGOODNESS the motor in this thing KICKS ASS i just CRANK on the throttle and SURF the TIDAL WAVE of TORQUE as the M-M-MOTOR goes WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMP WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMP!!! woooooooooooooooooooo what a FUN bike!!!!"

If I'm going to drop 5 digits of money on a bike, it had damn well better do both of those things. Something that makes sense in some ways, but is senseless in others. I'm all about integration.

- Mike

 

[Max Smiley]

great writing and insights! and :welcome again!

did you ever keep in touch with that girl? never know what can happen...

 

[Wolf]

Did the 2 riders go over the cliff too, or just the bikes? How far down did they fall?

 

[wei7]

Hey Crash, WELCUM! So is this what you are doing to take a break! Be safe and take the bikes to all the tracks from SJ to SD!

 

[MrCrash]

great writing and insights! and :welcome again!

did you ever keep in touch with that girl? never know what can happen...

We ended up on good terms before she left for her internship in Atlanta, where she met a guy she eventually moved to Texas for and had a kid with. Last I heard she was back in the area. This was 7 years ago.

Oh well, I'm sure I'll meet another tall, attractive, friendly, fair skinned, Filipina, pre-med student with a radiant personality and an appreciation for sportbikes someday.

Hah.

Did the 2 riders go over the cliff too, or just the bikes? How far down did they fall?

One of the riders went over. He and both bikes got caught by the first row of bushes you see in the picture. The other rider stopped on the very edge.

Hey Crash, WELCUM! So is this what you are doing to take a break! Be safe and take the bikes to all the tracks from SJ to SD!

I've covered my fair share of them, I guess the only ones left in California for me to do are Fontana and Streets of Willow. I've done:

Thunderhill
Laguna Seca
Sears Point
Willow Springs
Buttonwillow
Las Vegas Speedway
Pikes Peak International Raceway
Prairie City (YSRs)

That's a lot of going in circles. I'm all about exploring new grounds right now. Throwing the mountain bike in the back of hte truck or hopping on the Couch-A-Suck-Me and checking out new roads / trails sounds nice.

We'll see what comes of things when I'm employed again and have the funds to check out new tracks.

- Mike