Geezers, Beemers, Firefighters, and Me…

My favorite holiday has always been Memorial Day.   Can’t say why…maybe it’s because of the stellar folks I’ve known serving our nation, the three-day weekend, and the great riding weather.  Whatever the reason, I was feeling good yesterday in anticipation of this great weekend, and so was everyone else. 

Yesterday morning I grabbed my Nikon because I knew I’d grab some great shots at the plant.  And that would just be the start…we have three days of great weather coming up here in So Cal (no surprises there!).

My first stop was a visit to our impresario John, who was finishing a custom tank for lucky Neil in Texas.   Ah, yet more eye candy…

John is the most talented artist I know.  He did the paintwork on the Alvin bike, the In-N-Out bike, and now, the one above.   The guy is a gifted perfectionist.  I listened as he explained to me how he arrived at the colors for the pin striping and the handpainted Mustang name on this one.  John doesn’t just buy colors…he mixes and adjusts until he arrives at the image and the color combos he has in his head.   John puts incredible energy into everything he does, and the results are just the best I’ve ever seen.

After shooting the John’s latest creation, I wandered back into the Pro-One area and found Tony, busy as usual, working on one of the 124-cubic-inch big twins destined for Australia.  We’re putting together another six of these monsters for our friends down under.  If you ever want to hear energy, you have to listen to one of these V-twins speak.   They’re awesome.

And speaking of awesome, Steve had his ’63 Plymouth out yesterday…what a car!  Two four-barrel carburetors, factory headers, a 426 Wedge Mopar engine poked out to a displacement that might be more at home in a locomotive, and what a sound!   Steve’s Mopar is nearly 50 years old, and it still looks brand new. 

Twin carbs…cross manifold induction…a big block Wedge…this is the stuff dreams are made of…

…and to get it all to the ground…M&H slicks on American Racing wheels…this is one sweet ride!

So, Day 1 of my three-day weekend found me waking up early in anticipation of a great time.  I rode my new California Scooter over to Bob’s to meet my friends (the Geezers) for lunch.   It’s a tradition with my riding buddies.   Saturday morning will find us at Brown Motor Works (the premier BMW dealership in our area).  We sit around and solve the world’s problems (I’m being serious here) and then go for lunch.  I wanted to surprise the guys with my new Classic, and I thought it would be cool parking it around Beemers that cost five times as much!

Me, as photographed by my friend Dave, in the high rent district…

A couple of the Geezers…Dennis (an Iron Butt rider) and my riding buddy Joseph.  See those mountains in the background?  In another hour, I’d be up there on my California Scooter!

After lunch, I hung around Bob’s for awhile, and my good friend Ron and I talked cameras, motorcycles, riding in the high Sierras, and new BMWs.   Ron wants to sell me a BMW.

One of these days, I may buy a Beemer.   If was going to pull the trigger today, I’d get one of these new green 1000cc roadburners…190 hp, traction control…it’s a real rocketship…

The big Beemers are great bikes, but a funny thing is happening…I find I am having way more fun on smaller bikes than on the monsters.  I’ve had some real monsters, too…Harleys, a big Honda CBX, a 1200cc Triumph Daytona, my Triumph Tiger…you get the idea.   A few years ago I bought a KLR 650 just to see what all the excitement was about, and I found I really liked it.  The simplicity and the light weight made the bike feel like a more honest motorcycle to me, and I felt good riding it.  Now, riding the 150cc single-cylinder California Scooters, I’m finding I’m enjoying these even more.   There’s just something cool about a small bike.  I can’t really explain it.  It makes me feel good when I’m using 100% of what the engine can do.  It’s simply more fun.

So, after leaving Bob’s Beemer store, I pointed my red Classic toward Mt. Baldy.   Wow, the weather was great, the bike felt great…it just felt great to be alive.

I stopped on the way up to grab this shot in the Angeles National Forest…

I don’t think I’m saying this just because it’s my bike…but I think this is a stunning motorcycle.  I thought about a custom paint job for my Scooter, but I knew I would be shooting lots of photos and putting them on this blog, and I want to show the world just what a showstopper a stock CSC bike  is.  The Rock Star vibe hasn’t worn off.  I stopped to take photos and people stopped to look at the bike.  It was cool.

These are the kind of roads I get to ride on.   I was only about 10 minutes from my house when I shot this photo.   We have the best roads and riding weather in the world.

Another scooterist enjoying the day on the way up to Mt. Baldy…

My little red Classic pulled real well on the haul up to Mt. Baldy Village.   These roads are a lot like most of the Transpeninsular Highway in Baja, and my ride today confirmed in my mind that this bike will make for a great ride down to Cabo San Lucas.

I stopped at the post office in Mt. Baldy Village to grab a shot…

The Mt. Baldy Village post office shares a building with the fire department, and it didn’t take long for firefighters Graham and Jim to notice my California Scooter…

I was having a tough time getting Jim to smile, so I used my secret weapon…I asked if he’d like to take my bike out for a spin…

Jim hopped on and was gone.  Graham starting laughing.  He told me I’d probably never see Jim again…but Jim came back with my bike and the biggest smile I’ve ever seen.

Mt. Baldy Village is only about halfway up the mountain…the road climbs steeply and winds up to about 8000 feet to get the ski lifts.   Some of those grades are more than 30%!   The little 150cc motor just powered through it and took me all the way to the top!

I followed the road as far as it went and grabbed another shot of my Classic…

The ski lift winds up the last 700 feet or so to get to the ski lodge.   If you look at the notch in the photo below, you can just make it out…and yes, the sky up there really is that blue!

My wife and I hike to the top every couple of years on New Year’s Day (it’s our tradition), and the view up there is something you have to experience.   On a clear day you can see the entire high desert, all the way to Edwards AFB, Victorville, and other areas.   You can see Bighorn sheep up there.   It’s only a few miles from my house.   We sure are lucky living out here.

On the way back down, I saw a couple of cruisers parked in front of the Snowcrest Lodge, so I stopped and grabbed a couple of photos.  I think this Kawasaki’s flames would look good on our black Classic…

And then I saw this Harley with a Captain America helmet.  I used to actually wear one of these 40 years ago, right after Easy Riders hit the silver screen (don’t tell anyone I told you that, though…I wouldn’t want it to get back to the Geezers).

Yep, we’re two days away from Memorial Day, but this sign is for real.  I saw snow on my ride today!

I had a great day today (and I hope you did, too).   You know the best part?   There are two days left on this holiday weekend, and my California Scooter gas tank is still nearly full!