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Motorcycle Road Trip - With Pics.

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  • Motorcycle Road Trip - With Pics.

    I am switching jobs and had some PTO to burn, the wide and kid were on a fall break from school so what better way to get out and see the world than on our motorcycles? I mean, hitting the highway and seeing America on a motorcycle is just as cool and Bangshifty as doing it in a hot rod, right?

    We planned a Route 66 tour through Northern Arizona, but after looking at the weather decided that it was just too damn cold. We debated the options for a while and Friday night, after hours of deliberation and weather checks we opted to ride to San Clemente, California Via I8.

    The bikes receive regular maintenance by a mechanic/friend who has more years working on bikes than I do walking this earth so a basic look over for safety items, top off the oil and set tire pressures were all the maintenance items needed. We loaded up the bare minimums and hit the sheets for an early departure.


    We headed west on I10 around 0800 Saturday morning, the temps were in the low 70's and the sky was clear. It warmed the mid 80's about 100 miles out, somewhere near Gila Bend Arizona. It was great riding weather, no traffic it was a great day to be on the road. Well, it was a great day to be on the road until we got to Imperial county, California. Apparently, this area is known for high winds, which is why they built a giant windmill farm there. As we inched closer to the Jacumba Mountains the wind became more and more intense. Wind speeds were above 20 knots gusting to 60 at times according to the weather app. I was cruising at 60 mph, in a straight line, listing about 45 degrees. As we gained elevation the wind began to die down but the temps dropped to the low 50's. We were disgruntled and cold but not deterred. We pulled over, put on our leathers and other gear to keep us warm and forged onward to the shore.

    This is the type of terrain on the easter slope of the Jacumba Mountains for those that have never seen it. Stark and beautiful, it makes me think of the images sent back from Mars.



    We had to stop often because neither bike are especially fuel efficient while doing 75 on the interstate in heavy winds. Eventually, exhausted and hungry, we rolled into San Clemente 5 hours later than anticipated. Now, we are not like most of you, we do not plan. So when we arrived in town we had to find a place to sleep which proved to be both a lesson in futility and hysterical. Every place that had a "vacancy" sign light did, not in fact, have vacancies. One place, a rather seedy looking roach motel wanted $200 for the night. I laughed at her. She asked how much I want to spend. I told her no more than $100. She said there was no way I could find a room for that on a weekend. I assume she thought I was a moron and would shell out the $200 on her word. But I told her I'd rather sleep next to a dumpster and we rode off. After a arduous search (the internet was not helping matters in this case) I found a nice place at the end of the main drag with 1 room available for just below my $100 max. $98 bucks and some paperwork later we had ourselves a room.

    The next morning we were invited to my wife's friends house for lunch. The family went all out and made an italian feast that was second to none. We filled our bellies on all manner of pastas, meats, cheeses and garlic laiden bread and walked down to the beach.





    We did not prepare for a trip to the beach but it did not stop us from enjoying it. You can see my son in the water...in his jeans. It was a cold ride back the hotel for him.



    After changing clothes we rode to Dana Point and rode up the PCH a ways. The weather was great, the traffic was not too bad. A fine way to spend an evening.








    We found ourselves in the hills of California, the weather was cool, the sky was clear and the ride was amazing. Then we began to see weird stuff in the sky. At a red light I happened to look up and see a bright light moving REALLY fast across the sky. We argued about what it was my son, who apparently is smarter than the wife and I, says "it's a rocket". We laughed watched it til the light turned and headed back towards town for some chow. We know we saw something weird, what we didn't know was my son was 100% correct.

    While shoveling a tasty burger down my food tube I happened to look at my Facebook and noticed a post from a good friend of mine who is stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Unbeknownst to us, there was a Space X launch from Vandenberg and we did, in fact witness a rocket launch. These pictures are ones that my friend took.





    The next morning we visited the mission San Juan, Capistrano.














    We went to the beach that evening to play in the surf and watch the sunset.






    While a 3 day motorcycle excursion is not everyones cup of tea, we had a blast, saw some amazing sights and achieved what we intended. We wanted to relax, with no schedules, no rushing, no plan dictating our movements. We just simply wanted to go and do whatever the hell we wanted whenever we wanted. We did just that and it was great. Aside from being a bit sore from way to many hours on a 20 year old Harley, I feel refreshed and happy. If you can, I suggest you get out, get away, even if for only a day. I am realizing that life is short and there needs to be more to our time here on this rotating rock than working for a weekend. I've been doing it for far too long and it is time I took my life back!

    Thanks for reading,

    Joe
    Last edited by JOES66FURY; October 10, 2018, 10:59 AM.
    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

  • #2
    Cool trip. Thanks for sharing.
    Chris - HRPT Long Haul 03, 04, 05, 13, 14, 15,16 & 18
    74 Nova Project
    66 Mustang GT Project

    92 Camaro RS Convertible Project
    79 Chevy Truck Project
    1956 Cadillac Project

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    • #3
      Great trip! Glad you and the fam had a super time.

      Dan

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