California Dreaming…the Rock Store and More…

The Rock Store, Pacific Coast Highway, Neptune’s Net…these are the places that define a great southern California motorcycle ride.   We hit all three yesterday on our California Scooters.  

The guys had been talking about a ride to the Rock Store for several weeks, and yesterday was the big day for us.  Steve, Tony, TK, our test rider and good buddy Joel, Arlene (who has one of the best looking bikes I’ve ever seen), and yours truly were on the road early Sunday morning.   This year’s June gloom (the overcast morning marine layer that hits us hardest during June) had been lingering for a bit, but that was okay by me.  Given a choice, I’ll take riding on an overcast day any day…I like the feel of it, the photography is better (the lighting is more even), and with all the protective gear, the cooler temps make for more comfortable riding.

I was up at 4:30 a.m., beating my alarm clock by an hour.  I always wake up early the day of a great ride.  The Rock Store is a neat destination, nestled in the hills up above Malibu and known throughout southern California as the place to be on Sunday.   The twisties getting up there are wonderful, the food’s great, the place has a good feel about it, and the motorcycles and people it attracts make the trip exciting.   Who could sleep knowing that’s on the menu?

Our group hooked up in Agoura Hills for the Rock Store ride, arriving early and feeling good.   We had only been there a few minutes when Arlene, president of Go Go Gear, arrived on her Go Go Gear bike.  She’s wearing one of her signature motorcycle jackets, which matches the awesome paint job John flawlessly executed on the Go Go Gear California Scooter. 

Here’s a photo of Arlene and Steve chatting before we hit the road.  Steve would be riding the Sarge bike on our ride today.  That’s Joel in the background…he’s one of our engineering test riders who attained 98 mpg on a California Scooter a few months ago.

The group, minus me (I’m on the other side of the camera)…Arlene, Steve, Joel, Tony, and TK…

A great shot of Joel, a mechanical engineer who knows motorcycles….he would be riding the Rock Star (the gray bike to the left) to the Rock Store.

After a bit of chatting, we were on the road in the Calabasas hills.   A gloomy marine layer only added to the fun as our California Scooters buzzed along…

I like riding the tailgunner slot…it was fun watching our Scooter squadron hum along these great roads…

When we arrived at the Rock Store, we made a splash.  We were the rock stars…everyone stopped what they were doing and walked over to check out our California Scooters. 

It was fun watching the crowd’s reaction to these little motorcycles.   Folks ignored the exotic and expensive motorcycles…they wanted to see our bikes. 

After just a few minutes, one of the Rock Store riders asked if he could sit on my bike.  It was a question we would hear many times on our ride today…everyone wanted to get on a California Scooter. 

 More California Scooter excitement in the Rock Store parking lot. 

I spotted this Ducati Desmosedici RR right in front of the Rock Store, parked less than 30 feet way from our bikes.   It’s a $72,000 motorcycle (Tom Cruise rides one…this might even have been his, as a lot of movie stars frequent the Rock Store).    This magnificent motorcycle was completely ignored…everyone was congregating around our California Scooters.

After a great breakfast (thanks again, Steve!), we rode off from the Rock Store through more twisties on our way to the Pacific Coast Highway.  We stopped to grab a few photos at this scenic overlook high in the hills above Malibu, when this fellow on a dual sport hammed it up a bit for my camera…

My new friend Joe on my California Scooter…

Here we are on the Pacific Coast Highway, heading north, with the Pacific Ocean off to our left…

We pulled into Neptune’s net, a seafood restaurant and famous motorcycle destination on the Pacific Coast Highway.   Steve, like all of us, was having a great time…

We drew another instant crowd, and like before, everyone wanted a photo on a California Scooter… 

I met a group of guys in Escuadron 201, a really interesting club…

While they were taking pictures of our bikes, I spoke with Daniel, who told me a bit about the club…

During World War II, El Escuadron 201 was  a volunteer Mexican fighter squadron that fought alongside US units in the Philippines and elsewhere.  They flew P47 Thunderbolt fighters.  I was surprised to learn about this unit; I had never heard of it before.   The motorcycle club is named after the heroic 201st, which is still an active duty unit in the Mexican Air Force (they fly Pilatus PC-7 aircraft today).

A few of the guys in Escuadron 201.

My new friend Daniel, in Escuadron 201, in front of Neptune’s Net.  That’s me on the left in my California Scooter jacket.

I spotted this guy leaving Neptune’s Net on a KLR-650.  Great bike – I own one and I’ve been all over Mexico on it.   It’s sitting in my garage, largely unridden since I got my new California Scooter.   That’s the Pacific Ocean across the street.

 

This young lady was on a cafe racer Honda 4.   When I was a kid I worked for the Barzda brothers on the east coast, who campaigned sprint and Indy cars under the number 33.  I wanted to ask her about the number, but she got away before I could.

Here’s another bit of motorcycling exotica…a Matchless leaving the Neptune’s Net parking lot.   The flying M is an awesome logo…it’s one of the best motorcycle logos I’ve ever seen.

Yet another rider who wanted seat time on a California Scooter…I didn’t get this fellow’s name, but I did a double take…don’t you think he looks a lot like Peter Fonda?

We left Neptune’s Net and headed north on the Pacific Coast Highway.    That’s Steve in front of me on the Sarge, and those tiny specks up ahead are the rest of the crew.  Joel was way out in front…

When I first moved to California back in 1979, I kept experiencing these overwhelming deja vu feelings, especially along the Pacific Coast Highway.  I was certain I’d been in these places before.  Then I realized…I was seeing the places I’d seen on TV shows and in the movies when I was kid. 

Steve and TK, taking a break just over the county line in Ventura, along the Pacific Coast Highway…

Even at the rest stop, people came over to check out the bikes.   Here’s Tony talking to a guy who wanted to know all about the California Scooters.

You know, this stretch of the PCH (Malibu and points north) is kind of known as a billionaires’ ghetto.  We saw a lot of very exclusive automobiles…but folks were still more interested in our rides.   Here’s a fellow in an exotic Audi who pulled off to get a better look at our bikes…

This was our turn-around point, and we pointed the bikes south to head back home…it was still a bit overcast as we rode along the Pacific.

A Ferrari rolled by, slowing to get a better look at my red Classic before zooming ahead to check out Steve’s Sarge…

 TK, after topping off the Rock Star bike…

We rolled down the PCH for a few  miles before turning inland.   We wanted to make one last stop at the Rock Store.   Here’s a cool shot of Steve diving into a corner and hitting the brakes under the watchful gaze of a California Highway Patrol officer…

 I grabbed this shot back at the Rock Store…it’s on a Honda Valkyrie…

We stopped in for a bit and folks were all over our California Scooters again…this young lady just got out of the Army (she was a diesel mechanic), and she had to get on the Sarge… 

Another cool pair of bikes…a pair of 1982 Honda MB5 motorcycles.   These are 50cc two-strokes.  The fellows who owned these had poked them out to 70cc with big bore kits.  Small bikes are cool. 

Shannon, my new Rock Store friend, striking a pose on my California Scooter…

My last shot of the day was Russell Mitchell, of Exile Cycles fame.  Russell builds exotic custom bikes, he’s an actor, and he’s been on a number of custom bike building television shows (including his own show on the Speed Channel).    He’s a cool guy, and he was happy to let me take his photo on one of our custom California Scooters. 

So, there you have it…the Rock Store, the Pacific Coast Highway, Neptune’s Net, great mountain roads, celebrities, company presidents, great friends, great bikes, and great riding on our California Scooters.   We’ll be doing these rides on a regular basis, and not just in California.  Come to think of it, not just in the United States, either…our Baja ride is coming up in September.  Think about that…what a great way to put your first few break-in miles on your new California Scooter….riding along the Pacific Ocean taking in the magnificent sites of the Baja peninsula!   TK is a good guy to talk to about that…just give him a call at 1-800-884-4173 and he’ll fix you right up!