Brisk!

Cold mountain air, the awesome 130-mile ride on Angeles Crest Highway yesterday, and CSC RX3 sales…the title of today’s blog (Brisk!) applies equally to all three!

Angeles Crest Highway was about as lightly traveled as I have ever seen it on our mid-morning run yesterday.   The road has been blocked on its northwestern end for a few weeks now by a landslide and it will be through the rest of this winter (it doesn’t go all the way through to Wrightwood).   That’s evidently discouraging a lot of people from riding it.   And (your tax dollars at work) ACH is being repaved, so the road surface was gravelly for much of its length yesterday.  That’s another factor that tends to scare off many motorcyclists.  But not us brave souls on our RX3s!  We had a blast.

Hey, how about another video or two of our ride through the mountains!

We rode up with five riders…Tuan, Twin Peaks Steve, Duane, Tom, and yours truly.   We had a bunch of guys meet up with us at the plant, too, on big bore sports bikes, including our good buddy Joel.  They couldn’t take the day to ride up to Newcomb’s, but they wanted to stop in and see the RX3s.   That’s okay…the sports bike guys wanted to shred and we wanted to get some breakfast!

We left the plant on our ADV bikes and headed to Newcombs…

The ride out to Highway 2 (that’s the Angeles Crest Highway) was great, even though it was just a simple slog on the 210 Freeway.   Once we were on the Crest, though, the riding changed from a simple freeway slog to what we in So Cal are known best for…our magnificent twisties (this time in the Angeles National Forest).   The videos don’t do the road justice.   You really need to experience it for yourself (and at just $3,495, that’s eminently doable, folks).

Our destination was Newcomb’s, a motorcycle hangout that’s about as good as it gets.  Good food, good people, and a good opportunity to walk around in the parking lot taking in all of the moto exotica that’s attracted to a mountain moto Mecca like this.

I was surprised when we pulled into the Newcomb’s parking lot.  It was only about 20% full, no doubt due to the lighter-than-average ACH traffic described above.   That was all right by me, though.   I already knew it had made the riding better, and I knew the service in the restaurant would be prompt, too.  I always like to use some of my better lines in restaurants to let the wait staff know I want to get in and get out quickly, especially when I am on a motorcycle ride.  Long leisurely dinners are okay when I’m out for a fine meal with Susie; when I’m on the RX3 it’s all about the riding.

When I entered, one of the folks in the restaurant asked if I wanted to sit near the fireplace or near the bar.   “I want to sit near a waiter,” I said.

“Got it,” he said, and a very nice young lady was at our table quickly.  I had a bit of fun with her.  I’m old enough that I can joke around with young ladies.  Her name was Natalie and I knew immediately she had a good sense of humor.  “Tuan here is too bashful to ask, but he wants to know if you’re single,” I told her.   Tuan blushed.   So did she.

“I’m single,” she told us, smiling at Tuan.

I noticed that our pretty young lady had an interesting tattoo on her arm.  Marilyn.   I’m a sucker for anything that has anything to do with Marilyn, and I asked if I could grab a photo…

The food and the conversation were great.   My staple for a biker breakfast is always the same:  Two eggs over medium, extra crispy bacon, well-done hash browns, sour dough toast, and coffee.   Newcomb’s got it perfect….

Tom and Tuan both ordered some sort of a California omelette thing with avocados.   Hey, there’s no accounting for some people’s tastes, I guess…

I sat across from Twin Peaks Steve, and I really enjoyed hearing about his RX3 adventure ride in the High Sierras along Highway 395 in northern California.   Steve did it right…he camped the entire way.   I sort of swore off sleeping on the ground when I got out of the Army nearly 40 years ago, but Steve described his adventure ride in such glowing terms that he’s got me thinking about doing the same thing.   That’s a good area to do it in, too.   The regions north of Bishop along California’s Highway 395 are amazing.   Anybody out there want to do that with us?

After breakfast, we checked out the bikes in Newcomb’s parking lot and headed back down to the LA basin.   It was another amazing ride, and the RX3 was perfect for it.   I’m constantly amazed at just how good these bikes are.

Boy, there sure is a lot going on.   Secret missions are coming up all over.   Colombia, for the ride with AKT Moto and Juan Carlos.   As I’m typing this blog I’m trading messages on Skype with a guy in Saudi Arabia for a possible trip there.   And the guys in Turkey want me to visit again.   Turkey is one of my favorite places; it’s absolutely amazing.  Woo hoo!

Overseas stuff is cool, but not as cool as a brisk morning ride on my RX3 with my good buddies on the Angeles Crest Highway!  Good times, yet again.   I can’t wait for the next one!