Yesterday’s Ride…

It’s late, I’ve been glued to the computer all day, but I promised a few shots from our ride yesterday and I need a break…so here we go!  My friend Jim and I had talked about an early morning breakfast ride during the week, and Saturday was the day.   Jim rode his black and chrome Classic over to my place early yesterday morning.

Here’s Jim on his new California Scooter, with chrome everywhere…fork lowers, both triple tees,the controls, the speedo case, the speedo mount, you get the idea…

Jim’s a pretty serious rider, like me, I guess.  He’s owned any number of Beemers since I’ve known him, a Guzzi, a Suzuki DR650, a Kawi, and too many others to list.   He knew he wanted a California Scooter as soon as he saw one…just like I did.

Jim and I pointed the bikes toward the San Gabriel mountains…the plan was Shinn Road up to Mt. Baldy, Glendora Ridge Road over to the East Fork, breakfast at Camp Williams, East Fork down to Highway 39, and then home.   We like riding Glendora Ridge Road heading from Mt. Baldy to Azusa in the morning because the sun is at our back…it’s hard riding straight into the sun going the other way.

The racer boys checking out my Scooter where the East Fork, Glendora Mountain Road, and Glendora Ridge Road converge…it’s a popular spot to stop and talk to the other riders.  Those guys are wearing full leathers, and with the hot weather we’ve been having, I’ll bet they were sweltering by the time they got home.

Here’s a shot looking west, toward the Pacific Ocean.   In the winter (when there’s less haze in the air) you can actually see the ocean from here.  It’s amazing…no matter how dirty and smoggy the air gets in the Pomona Valley, a 20-minute ride from my place and this is what we get to see…

Jim and I rolled down the East Fork Road (a series of downhill, tight switchbacks).  We zoomed along the eastern fork of the San Gabriel river and headed over to Camp Williams.   There were lots of campers along the East Fork Road, and they were already barbequeing.  Those hot dogs and hamburgers smelled good!  

You know, one of the great things about riding a motorcycle is that you get to smell what’s going on around you.   A car is insulated…you just don’t get the same feel for a place as you do on a motorcycle.  Think about some of the great rides you’ve had, and I’ll bet the smells were a big part of it.   The Yucca plants after a desert rain.  The ocean.  The pine trees up in the mountains.   You know what I’m talking about.  I used to like riding my Harley along Valley Boulevard in the early evening here in southern California for just that reason…the hamburger stands, the pickle factory, the salsa factory…it was great.   My friend Bob and I had a good laugh about Baja for just that reason…he called it the “land of 1000 smells…”  Anyway, our morning ride yesterday along the East Fork was great…there’s nothing better than the fragrance of hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill…unless you’re smelling them while you’re on a motorcycle ride!

When we pulled into the Camp Williams restaurant, Jim and I had barely parked the bikes before we drew a crowd.   The guy in the photo below is the Camp Williams restaurant owner…he saw us pull up and and he wanted to check out the bikes.   There were a half-dozen guys around us in just a few minutes.

This is pretty nice ride…it’s about a 55-mile round trip from my place, and more than half of it is on incredible mountain roads.  

Once we sat down to eat, we got serious.  I had my usual two eggs over medium, and Jim went all out for his usual hearty breakfast.   Jim is a health food nut…or so he says…what do you think about this chili omelette?

After a great breakfast, it was a quick slalom down Highway 39 into Azusa (boy oh boy, do these bikes handle well in the twisties!), and then home.   It was a super ride…just the ticket for starting a busy weekend.

It’s gonna be a good week…I can feel it…and yep, we’re getting closer to the Baja ride!  Planning starts in earnest this week, and we’ll be talking about our plans right here.  Less than three weeks to go, folks!  I’m thinking about blogging portions of the trip while we are on the road.   Many of the places we’ll be staying won’t have Internet access, but I may try to post a photo or two while we are tooling along Mexico’s Transpeninsular Highway if you want me to.   What do you think?  Wanna see our pictures and read about the trip while we’re out there?