Wrightwood, CA

[alanmcorcoran]

Last year I managed to get out to the local hill six or seven times, so, this year, for the first time ever, I figured I'd pony up for the heavily discounted season pass (it's like $250 in August.) My wife did all the BS on-line, but you have to go up there to get your picture taken and actually collect the pass. I figured I'd do it now, before the snow starts, to avoid a line when I actually want to go skiing.

When I drive up, it's nearly 100% highway/freeway and I can do the 74 miles in about an hour. Wanted to ride on backroads, so I asked Google to set me a route. This turned out to be a mistake on several levels.

Ten or twelve miles in, I get turned around at Carbon Canyon. It's only opened to residents on account of a bunch of their houses burned down and local law enforcement is apparently concerned about looters or looky-loos. I'm a fifty year old man on a 250cc bike with no saddlebags. Not exactly a threat to make off with the plasma TV. But, then again LEO's are not the best people to reason with once they've made a decision about something. So, U-turned and turned on my ABPS. Twenty minutes and 6 freeway miles later, I was back on track.

The non-freeway pace was quite slow. Speed up to traffic light, stop, repeat. At about 2 hours in I finally hit a very lovely stretch of backways: Lytle Creek Road. Beautiful, slightly winding, through a canyon next to a creek, up through the mountains. NO LIGHTS! Very nice. Started to relax and think ride wasn't so bad after all. About 8 miles up the road, I hit the recommended turnoff - a very sharp right on Sheep Canyon road. 15 feet in I almost dumped Suzi - the road was deep, loose gravel. Not suitable for anything other than maybe a Hummer or a Jeep. Screwed by Google! There happened to be a local family on a hike/walk. The first thing they asked me was if I had used MapQuest to get up Lytle Creek. Told me there's no way to get to Wrightwood from Lytle Creek. Back to the freeway. Cost me about 30 minutes total. Got on the 15, (the regular way I usually go) to the 138, etc. and got to Mountain High's season pass office at 4:30 - three and a half hours.

My ass had gone past the point of numb. Learned a new trick. If you stand on the pegs you can push the back of your ass up against the back seat and get some relief underneath. Rode quite a bit of the last half hour or so like that.

My ass being in the condition it was, darkness having set in, and there being no real back way back, I decided that being a pussy is a relative thing: I strapped on a pair, said to myself (a la O'Reilly) "Eff it, we're taking the effing freeway!" Hauled ass down the mountain (it was COLD up there, like 40!), onto the 138, onto the 15 and onto the 91. 74 miles of straight ass- hauling: bouncing, grooves, scallops, wind buffeting, trucks, debris, chuckholes, BE DAMNED. I was NOT going to drag my ass through Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Upland, Ontario, Chino, Diamond Bar, Brea, East Butthole, etc. for another three hours.

Got home in about 85 minutes give or take, including a stop for gas, power bar and coffee. What with the detour, my 150 mile ride ended up being closer to 160, but by the end of it, I feel like I have moved a little closer to being a regular biker.

[Moedad]

You had an adventure! Did you take pictures? I need to go for a ride tomorrow.

[alanmcorcoran]

No pictures. Didn't bother to take the camera on this one. Did get in a little of Rte 66 on the way out. Nothing noteworthy, stop and go traffic in Fontana.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

My ass had gone past the point of numb. Learned a new trick. If you stand on the pegs you can push the back of your ass up against the back seat and get some relief underneath. Rode quite a bit of the last half hour or so like that.

Did you also try the "heels on the passenger pegs" position? I find it quite helpful. Alas, my legs are not long enough for the "push back" to help me much. I REALLY wish there was an easy way to mount some "center" pegs.

I thought sure we'd see a windshield performance report but no such luck. How DID it do for you ?? (Maybe that part should go in your shield thread.)

[alanmcorcoran]

It's hard to say on the windshield. It'd be a lot easier if you could press a button and it rolled down like a window. Then you'd be able to quickly compare the two situations. As it is, I have to try and remember what it was like when I didn't have it and my memory is not so good.

Overall, I'm guessing it's a positive. I have definitely gotten less apprehensive and more aggressive on the freeways. (One thing that may not be clear to non-California riders: freeway <> multilane highway. Until you have ridden on the grooved, scalloped, and seamed concrete surface, it is difficult to describe. There are stretches paved with asphalt and these are a dream compared to the normal concrete. Plus some sections of the concrete are far more turbulent than others. Like I said, hard to describe.) I think the lowered level of wind buffeting reduces the chaos enough so I can still maintain my sanity while screaming along over the cobblestones.

I did another 20 miles or so last night on the freeway back and forth to a party -a trip I would have done on surface streets in the past. Over these last ninety miles, I've learned that I can goose the bike up to 60 in fourth. If it's flat, downhill or wind aided, I can go into fifth and get up to 63-68. I'm not sure if the windshield is affecting the speed or not, it seems like I top out now at just under 70, but I don't have to kiss the speedo to get over 60. Most of the time on the freeway I'm at a tad above 60 or less, partly because of traffic, partly because it takes ideal conditions to accelerate up higher than that.

[BusyWeb]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

I thought sure we'd see a windshield performance report but no such luck. How DID it do for you ?? (Maybe that part should go in your shield thread.)

Yes, I also wanted to see how the Mr. Alan's windshied is doing..

Mr. Alan, seems you had a great riding.
How's I-15 riding down, I had yesterday night too.
I couldn't speed up like cars doing when I was riding down with GZ250. :blush:

[alanmcorcoran]

Well, it's definitely better going down than going up. I rode most of the way down drafting a bit behind a truck doing an even 60ish. I was about 50-75 feet back. The truck gave me a little relief from lane changers and an excuse for not going 85 like everyone else. After about 15 miles, he turned off and I was on my own again. Got a little clenchy when the cars were darting in front and then hitting the brakes at around Norco.

The main thing for me is I'm still adjusting to the constant wiggle/jostle and general turbulence at that speed on that surface. I've started to get a little more used to it, but it's still a pretty intense situation for me. Once it's dark, I can't see the road surface with my peripheral vision (I'm mostly looking ahead) and I worry about hitting a giant pothole or the various ladders, mattresses and other lost cargo that is commonly littered across the lanes.

[patrick_777]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

Well, it's definitely better going down than going up.

I couldn't have said this better myself.

[trykemike]

Alan a few thousand more miles , you are getting there. Just don't hurt your back.
I did when I was 27 yrs old on a dirt bike and I pay for it ever since.

[alanmcorcoran]

Trike,

The back only bothered me for about 24 hours (and it didn't kick in until about 24 hours after the ride - so I'm not 100% sure if it was the culprit - probably though). I went to the gym towards the tail-end and did my core routine, including upside down situps, incline situps, sideways situps and roman chair leg lifts. Was probably just sore (old) muscles - nothing important broken. At 50 I'm coming to grips with a sharp decline in muscle strength, endurance, flexibility and limberness. Things seem to tear and tighten up a lot easier and stay that way for longer. Sooner or later I'll probably tear, pull or strain something more-or-less permanently and then I will be sorry, but, until then, I'll probably continue to live in a state of denial.

I've hurt myself a lot more in the gym and on the racquetball court and the soccer field - three more activities I probably shouldn't be doing at my age. I hate getting old.