Roadtrip!!!
Yes, it's been quite some time since I've blogged last. There just hasn't been much news. Being a square is quite boring! Living for the weekend then being disappointed when the motorcycle ride cancels due to the rain. I've thought about moving and returning to the trail but there is just something that keeps me grounded here in LA... the friends that I've made here are great! Having an awesome support system is what I missed when traveling and now that I have it here, it makes moving difficult. So here I am chugging away with a boring stationary life with an occassional fabulous roadtrip. Anyway, let me continue on my story...
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(A week before the ride, I had the brilliant idea of "updating" my traveling style with a GPS system and music. I had been using a tank map bag but soon realized I had been outdated. A friend of mine helped me with the electrical and install my car GPS on my bike, which of course is removeable. The speakers didn't arrive in time for her to help me so she talked me through it on the phone. My handlebars ran out of space so I velcro'd the music applifier to my tank. This way it could be removeable. The speakers are bolted in place on the handlebars.) |
The Pasadena Motorcycle Club (PMC) is the oldest motorcycle club in California. Every year they host a top secret ride and call it the Greenhorn. This year was the 65th annual event. What they do is advertise the Greenhorn as the "mutha" of all rides - which is an arduous 2 day ride to who knows where. They tell you the mid-point and recommend a hotel but everything else is secret until the morning of the ride. Some friends did last years ride which was all the backroads to Las Vegas and back to Southern California. They were so pumped about it, I decided I would do it this year.
This year, PMC recommended hotels in Coalinga, California. From there, we could speculate what backroads we would take. The event registration began at 7AM, last Saturday morning May 14th. Of course, I had pre-registered and was up by 4AM, since I had to load my bike and the start point was an hour from my house. I had never been to the store where the start point was so I wanted to be sure and have plenty of time just in case the unexpected occurred.
I rode with my motorcycle club - West Coast Biker Chicks... it was only the 2 of us. But some other friends rode with another motorcycle group and there were 12 of them. At first, I wanted to ride with my friends but 14 people makes a really long line; hence, slower traveling and stopping would be a long affair just for a photo opportunity.
So as soon as we checked in, my fellow WCBC, Wendy and I took off. 715AM our ride began... and what an adventure! It was also a poker ride so at every check-in we got a poker card and they had raffles. At first, I looked at the map and realized we had checkpoints due in 2 hour increments. This is to verify we were following the route correctly and to pick up a poker card. Then I saw the time of the last check-in... 5PM and approximately 300 miles later and thought (seriously) what kind of sissy ride is this? I'm used to competition riding 1,000 miles in 18 hours or teaser rides of 100-250 miles with various motorcycle groups and making a day out of it since it's mostly about hanging out with other women bikers. I was thinking that this crazy short ride and it's suppose to be the best ride of my life?
Our checkpoints were approximately every 100 miles and since we left almost 2 hours early, we knew we would make our time and get to our hotel early; hence my disappointment in stopping in the middle of daylight. I have not ridden Central California before except on the Interstate. But we only were on the I-5 for just a few miles and all of it were country roads that had the most amazing views of lakes, farm land and vineyards. We took our time since it was just the 2 of us - stopping for pictures, lunch and slowing down and enjoying the scenic views.
We went over several cattle guards, bumps and potholes... the roads were not well kept but that's probably what added to the charm of the ride. That last cattle guard, we went over had a huge bump that I could not avoid. And I went too fast over it bottoming out. I felt something hit my leg and I thought maybe something broke off my bike but I didn't want to stop. If I did stop, there would be nothing I could do anyway with the lack of civilization and minimal tools. All I could do was keep going and hope for the best.
We did get to our hotel around 430PM, and I must admit I definately must be getting old. That little 300 mile scenic route wore me out. Of course, I had been up since very early and was so excited about the ride that I slept only 3 hours the night before. So if you count riding from my house it had been almost 11 1/2 hour day with 350 miles down. As we parked, I noticed I was leaking oil... yes, I must have bottomed out one too many times. But luckily, one of the bikers that was on the ride checked it out and said I blew my left shock. I'd still be ok to finish the ride and oil will continue to squirt out. I would just be uncomfortable since one side of my bike would not have shocks. And I won a raffle prize... a Harley-Davidson zippo lighter. Way cool, although I don't smoke.
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| (Dry water crossing that we rode over. No water.) |
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| (My Harley-Davidson packed with my overnight back, which made the perfect backrest!) |
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| (I don't even recall the roads we were on except they were all backroads of Central California.) |
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(More country roads - we saw baby and adult cows who all waved to me with their tails. Everywhere I turned cows were waving at me. Kinda freaky but of course when cows lift their tails to wave, stuff exits their backside... not so cool... but perhaps we just scared the poo out of 'em with our loud bikes!) |
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(We were in awe of the country-side.)
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Day 2 was my favorite as far as scenery. It was a bit uncomfortable due to the blown shock and my back was killing me going over each bump, pothole and more bottoming out. But there were more water crossings with actual water! And due to the night rain, the road was damp... in some areas there were rocks in the road as with mud. One of the PMC riders slid on some mud and dumped his bike. His bike was alittle scraped up and he was okay but needed a break. There were so many people in a rush to get to the next checkpoint. We were passed by several bikers and we didn't understand the rush since we were lolligagging stopping for photos, riding really slow to enjoy the scenery.
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| (This ride had everything - mountains, country, vineyards, olive farms, cows and longhorns.) |
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| (With all bike rides, you cannot forget about the elements - it was cold in the mountains and cloudy skies brought rain.) |
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| (There were so many lakes I had not even heard of before! Amazing sights!) |
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| (So picturesque! PMC did an awesome job researching this route.) |
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| (My fellow WCBC, Wendy - yes, we had to cross a few low water crossings. This was the deepest and in my opinion the most fun part of the trip!) |
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| (As I gunned my bike through, I realized I went to fast and it looked like I was parting the water! As soon as the water hit my pipes, steam billowed although it's difficult to see in this picture. I only wish I had this on video! Luckily, we both made it through upright, first try.) |
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| (So many curves, switchbacks and hills - this is by far the best ride I've ever gone on!) |
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| (There were several miles of tree canopy that I thought was just an awesome sight!) |
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| (Meeting up with the 101 in Morro Bay) |
We were riding so slow and took a leisurely lunch in Morrow Bay that we were actually running alittle behind schedule. You can't beat fresh seafood - we had fresh clams in a bouillabaisse that was delicious! We soon made up our time by speeding at 80mph in some straight aways. I won't be surprised if I get a speeding ticket in the mail or something. I hope not. We made it to our final checkpoint at 430PM. There were still several riders out and they extended the checkpoint hours but I know my 12 friends were so far behind schedule they skipped the checkpoint and went home. And it started to rain. But then again what kind of biker roadtrip would it be without rain?
As far as sissy ride, I take it back. I was beat. Total mileage 753 miles in 22 1/2 hours of riding time, extended over 2 days time.
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| (On the very first day, we went over so many potholes, bumps in the road, cattle guards - it was unbelievable! After that last cattle guard, there was a huge bump in the road and I took it too fast. I blew my left shock and oil spurted every where. Of course, I didn't notice this until we got to the hotel in Coalinga. I bottomed out several times and the last one, I knew did some damage but I couldn't figure out what and we didn't stop to check it out. One of the fellow bikers we saw on the road checked it out and said it was my shock. No more comfy riding but I'd be able to finish the ride and buy new ones or get these ones re-built when I got home.) |
In the meantime, I have the option of getting my shocks re-built or just purchase new ones. After 10 years, I think these shocks have served me well. I noticed with 10 year old bike, things are starting to fall apart from age. Some friends have told me to trade in and get a new one but I'm particularly fond of this bike and we've had many awesome roadtrips together.
