OK. Question: How many SoCal riders does it take to get a ride together….? Answer: I'm not sure but one guy pulled it off. Thanks to GhostRider, and anyone else who helped, for coordinating this. Also thanks to the Group One leader amansker and his pillion for leading us two-up and he was still able to drag his knees thru the corners… Just kidding he only did that once or twice.
The San Diego crowd GhostRider et al, was kind enough to invite other SoCal'ers for this grand adventure. We took him up on it. People showed up from Orange, Riverside and San Diego Counties, to partake in this San Diego hosted excursion. GhostRider planned out the route, from Escondido CA, elevation 684ft. to Idyllwild CA, elevation 5,300ft. He also made maps for us, planned stop points, and warned Jo'An's restaurant in Idyllwild that we'd be invading their establishment, etc. What a nice guy! We did appreciate it.
It was also really great meeting all ya'll, we have some great people on this forum! It was an awesome ride!!!
The riders:
GhostRider & Pillion (Dave and Beth)
Neil San Diego (Neil)
ynotride (Dan)
FJRBluesman (Simon)
amansker and SO (Andy & Jillian)
Santa Fe Dreamin (Lanny)
Slappy (Jerry)
McRide (?)
FJstaR (Tony)
KB1190 & Friend (Keith & Wes)
Skuehl (?)
I hope I didn't forget anyone....
The Rides:
2 - 2004
2 - 2005 Best bikes IMHO
2 - 2006
3 - 2007 WINNER!!
2 - 2008
1 - V-Strom
The Route Map
We gathered in Escondido at Starbucks at 9am and left about 9:30am or so. A couple of the group were not as well prepared with cold weather riding gear and peeled off for other parts warmer as we continued into the cloudy mountainous abyss. We took all back roads into some very desolate country and some real twisty roads. Weather was great for the most part, mostly cloudy, with some spots of drizzle. Roads weren't too bad a little wet, ok very wet, at Idyllwild, but hey, we got our bikes washed for free… OK they're really dirty now. After a couple stops for stretching, we made it to Jo'An's around noon, for some warm lunch and get out of the cold wet weather. Yes it was rather cold at 5,300 feet.
Around 1:30pm, for the trip home, we split up for those going south and those going north.
Everything went great no issues, no bikes broke down, cause there were no HDs with us, and everyone made it in one piece. I had at least a couple moments so to speak. A dog decided it was the right time to cross the road in front of me and another on coming car, the cage came closer to hitting the dog then I did, I saw this coming and took action. On the way home I did take out a flying bird around Lake Matthews. Ynotride then had to maneuver around the fallen fowl behind me. Animals really like me. I like animals too… medium rare.
Others that took pix, please contribute or add any anecdotal items to this post.
OK OK. Here are some pix…. Enjoy.
At the Escondido Starbucks, I bet they sure would like their parking spots back....
A cavalcade of FJR's
The gang! Thanks FJstaR for this photo. Kneeling; FJstaR (Tony), then left to right standing; Skuehl (?), KB1190 & Friend (Keith & Wes), FJRBluesman (Simon), ynotride (Dan), Slappy (Jerry), McRide (?), Santa Fe Dreamin (Lanny), Neil San Diego (Neil), amansker and SO (Andy & Jillian), GhostRider & Pillion (Dave and Beth).
Our first real pit stop at Warner Springs.
Almost there! It's drizzling here but we thought it was fun to hang out in the rain. We don't see that wet stuff very often….
This is a great one. I'll call it, "The Meeting of the Minds", or "The Great Debate". Everyone is figuring out how to get home. We got there OK but, we didn't plan how to get back….
Stimulating the economy at $4.39/gallon.
The San Diego crowd GhostRider et al, was kind enough to invite other SoCal'ers for this grand adventure. We took him up on it. People showed up from Orange, Riverside and San Diego Counties, to partake in this San Diego hosted excursion. GhostRider planned out the route, from Escondido CA, elevation 684ft. to Idyllwild CA, elevation 5,300ft. He also made maps for us, planned stop points, and warned Jo'An's restaurant in Idyllwild that we'd be invading their establishment, etc. What a nice guy! We did appreciate it.
It was also really great meeting all ya'll, we have some great people on this forum! It was an awesome ride!!!
The riders:
GhostRider & Pillion (Dave and Beth)
Neil San Diego (Neil)
ynotride (Dan)
FJRBluesman (Simon)
amansker and SO (Andy & Jillian)
Santa Fe Dreamin (Lanny)
Slappy (Jerry)
McRide (?)
FJstaR (Tony)
KB1190 & Friend (Keith & Wes)
Skuehl (?)
I hope I didn't forget anyone....
The Rides:
2 - 2004
2 - 2005 Best bikes IMHO
2 - 2006
3 - 2007 WINNER!!
2 - 2008
1 - V-Strom
The Route Map
We gathered in Escondido at Starbucks at 9am and left about 9:30am or so. A couple of the group were not as well prepared with cold weather riding gear and peeled off for other parts warmer as we continued into the cloudy mountainous abyss. We took all back roads into some very desolate country and some real twisty roads. Weather was great for the most part, mostly cloudy, with some spots of drizzle. Roads weren't too bad a little wet, ok very wet, at Idyllwild, but hey, we got our bikes washed for free… OK they're really dirty now. After a couple stops for stretching, we made it to Jo'An's around noon, for some warm lunch and get out of the cold wet weather. Yes it was rather cold at 5,300 feet.
Around 1:30pm, for the trip home, we split up for those going south and those going north.
Everything went great no issues, no bikes broke down, cause there were no HDs with us, and everyone made it in one piece. I had at least a couple moments so to speak. A dog decided it was the right time to cross the road in front of me and another on coming car, the cage came closer to hitting the dog then I did, I saw this coming and took action. On the way home I did take out a flying bird around Lake Matthews. Ynotride then had to maneuver around the fallen fowl behind me. Animals really like me. I like animals too… medium rare.
Others that took pix, please contribute or add any anecdotal items to this post.
OK OK. Here are some pix…. Enjoy.
At the Escondido Starbucks, I bet they sure would like their parking spots back....
A cavalcade of FJR's
The gang! Thanks FJstaR for this photo. Kneeling; FJstaR (Tony), then left to right standing; Skuehl (?), KB1190 & Friend (Keith & Wes), FJRBluesman (Simon), ynotride (Dan), Slappy (Jerry), McRide (?), Santa Fe Dreamin (Lanny), Neil San Diego (Neil), amansker and SO (Andy & Jillian), GhostRider & Pillion (Dave and Beth).
Our first real pit stop at Warner Springs.
Almost there! It's drizzling here but we thought it was fun to hang out in the rain. We don't see that wet stuff very often….
This is a great one. I'll call it, "The Meeting of the Minds", or "The Great Debate". Everyone is figuring out how to get home. We got there OK but, we didn't plan how to get back….
Stimulating the economy at $4.39/gallon.
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