tcfjr
Well-known member
Well, this post is late, but here it is anyway.
Back in March, 2010, my buddy Doug (doug5551) and I picked date in March to do an SS1K. Doug was prepping for the IBR5000, and I had a BBG planned for May, and we both wanted to get in some long rides before hand. We rode a California In-State SS1K on March 21, which we found out afterward was the first day of spring.
After the ride, someone told me about the IBA's Four Seasons certificate - you earn it by riding an SS1K on the first day of each of four consecutive seasons. Doug and I talked it over, and decided to make it happen. We rode on the first day of summer, and the first day of fall (with some routing advice from Jerry White, of all people) - and stayed within California for each one. The last ride was on the first day of winter - December 21st.
Each of the first three rides took us north and west, so we came up with a route for the last ride that went south and east, but stayed within California. Here's the original route plan:
One of the problems with a Four Seasons is that your dates are fixed. As it got closer to the day of the ride, Southern California was hit with a massive rain storm, and on December 21st no one would have chosen to ride, but we had no choice - rain or shine, we had to ride.
We started at my house, with Doug's buddy Chris Ogden joining us on his BMW, and we left Temple City around 6:30am. A quick stop at the local Chevron gave us our starting receipts, and we hit the road in light-to-moderate rain. By the time we hit I-5, it was coming down pretty good, but we managed to make decent time using the HOV lanes. From southern Orange County into San Diego, we had moderate to heavy rains almost the whole way. We grabbed some gas and a receipt in Mission Valley, and headed east on I-8 towards El Centro.
The rain dropped to light-to-moderate in the mountains around Alpine, but picked up on the downslope and on into El Centro. We gassed up there, and headed into the desert towards Brawley, Glamis, and into Blythe near the Arizona border on I-10. We had a few patches of dry roadway in this stint, but it started raining again as we passed through Glamis, and the rain continued into Blythe. We kept north on US-95 to Needles under moderate rain.
At Needles we decided to change the route a little: instead of going up Kelbaker Road past Kelso and onto Baker, we decided to head directly west on I-40 to Barstow. We'd make up the lost mileage by heading north from Santa Maria for a while. At least that was the plan.
The stint from Needles to Barstow on I-40 started with light rain, and the rain got heavier with every mile we rode. By the time we hit Ludlow it was getting really heavy, and by the time we pulled off for gas in Barstow it was coming down in buckets.
It seems that all but the very best "waterproof riding gear" will soak through if the rain is heavy enough for long enough...
While Chris and Doug grabbed a bite to eat, I made a quick detour to the nearby WalMart for a fresh pair of socks. I asked for a couple of extra plastic bags at check-out, and put them between my fresh socks and my now-wet boots.
At this point we all new we needed a new plan. The reports for SR-58 over the Tehachapi's showed heavy rain, sleet, and fog, and US-101 from Santa Maria down into the L.A. area was going to be a steady stream (get it?) of rain. At this point, Chris wisely decided to end his ride, and headed back home directly.
Doug and I decided the best strategy was to stay as far east as practical, and the best way to make that happen was to head back to Needles on I-40. The IBA discourages that kind of routing on an SS1K, but under the circumstances we hoped they'd cut us some slack - plus we would have rock-solid documenation.
We bid Chris farewell, and headed back to I-40 for the run back to Needles under light-to-moderate rain. We grabbed a gas receipt in Needles, and headed back to Barstow. At Kelbaker Road, my helmet shield came loose, and we pulled off so I could re-attach it. When we got back on, we hit an 8-mile wall of fog, and Doug used his auxiliary lights to good advantage as we struggled along at 25-30mph.
We didn't stop in Barstow the second time, and continued south on I-15 towards Cajon Pass. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves when we reached the Cajon Summit with only light rain, but were soon reminded of our folly. On the downhill side of Cajon Pass, we hit the heaviest rain we'd seen all day – Doug called it 'car-wash rain' (copyright pending) – with the added fun of sleet and 30-foot-visibility fog. We put on our four-way flashers, and fell into formation behind a small car that was creeping down the highway at about 15mph. We considered pulling over to the shoulder, but were concerned about getting rear-ended by a big-rig in the heavy fog, so we plugged away.
Our initial plan was to head down I-215 into San Bernardino, but a lighted message sign told us that the 215 was closed at 6th Street. The workload of piloting the bike in those conditions prevented me from pulling up details on where 6th Street might be, so instead we headed down I-15 to I-210, and went a couple of exits east to a known gas station in Fontana.
We arrived there just after midnight, about 18 hours into the ride. As you might expect, we were cold, tired, and wet. We had reached that point where conditions are so miserable for so long that you start to consider it perversely fun to be out riding in the rain. (Please consult Old Michael for other examples of 'perversely fun'.) We had some interesting conversations with the other patrons of the mini-mart...
We put our heads together, and came up with a plan to get the necessary mileage. The ride from Fontana directly to Doug's home base in El Segundo would put him at 1005+ for the ride. I rode with him to the junction of I-105 and I-710 in South Gate, grabbed a turn-around documentation receipt, and then headed back to Temple City for my finishing receipt with just over 1009 miles on the GPS odometer.
Here's the final route. The heavy blue line on I-40 shows we made multiple passes over that section.
Back in March, 2010, my buddy Doug (doug5551) and I picked date in March to do an SS1K. Doug was prepping for the IBR5000, and I had a BBG planned for May, and we both wanted to get in some long rides before hand. We rode a California In-State SS1K on March 21, which we found out afterward was the first day of spring.
After the ride, someone told me about the IBA's Four Seasons certificate - you earn it by riding an SS1K on the first day of each of four consecutive seasons. Doug and I talked it over, and decided to make it happen. We rode on the first day of summer, and the first day of fall (with some routing advice from Jerry White, of all people) - and stayed within California for each one. The last ride was on the first day of winter - December 21st.
Each of the first three rides took us north and west, so we came up with a route for the last ride that went south and east, but stayed within California. Here's the original route plan:
- Leave Temple City (just southeast of Pasadena)
- San Diego
- El Centro
- Blythe
- Needles
- Baker (via Kelso)
- Barstow
- Bakersfield
- Santa Maria
- El Segundo
One of the problems with a Four Seasons is that your dates are fixed. As it got closer to the day of the ride, Southern California was hit with a massive rain storm, and on December 21st no one would have chosen to ride, but we had no choice - rain or shine, we had to ride.
We started at my house, with Doug's buddy Chris Ogden joining us on his BMW, and we left Temple City around 6:30am. A quick stop at the local Chevron gave us our starting receipts, and we hit the road in light-to-moderate rain. By the time we hit I-5, it was coming down pretty good, but we managed to make decent time using the HOV lanes. From southern Orange County into San Diego, we had moderate to heavy rains almost the whole way. We grabbed some gas and a receipt in Mission Valley, and headed east on I-8 towards El Centro.
The rain dropped to light-to-moderate in the mountains around Alpine, but picked up on the downslope and on into El Centro. We gassed up there, and headed into the desert towards Brawley, Glamis, and into Blythe near the Arizona border on I-10. We had a few patches of dry roadway in this stint, but it started raining again as we passed through Glamis, and the rain continued into Blythe. We kept north on US-95 to Needles under moderate rain.
At Needles we decided to change the route a little: instead of going up Kelbaker Road past Kelso and onto Baker, we decided to head directly west on I-40 to Barstow. We'd make up the lost mileage by heading north from Santa Maria for a while. At least that was the plan.
The stint from Needles to Barstow on I-40 started with light rain, and the rain got heavier with every mile we rode. By the time we hit Ludlow it was getting really heavy, and by the time we pulled off for gas in Barstow it was coming down in buckets.
It seems that all but the very best "waterproof riding gear" will soak through if the rain is heavy enough for long enough...
While Chris and Doug grabbed a bite to eat, I made a quick detour to the nearby WalMart for a fresh pair of socks. I asked for a couple of extra plastic bags at check-out, and put them between my fresh socks and my now-wet boots.
At this point we all new we needed a new plan. The reports for SR-58 over the Tehachapi's showed heavy rain, sleet, and fog, and US-101 from Santa Maria down into the L.A. area was going to be a steady stream (get it?) of rain. At this point, Chris wisely decided to end his ride, and headed back home directly.
Doug and I decided the best strategy was to stay as far east as practical, and the best way to make that happen was to head back to Needles on I-40. The IBA discourages that kind of routing on an SS1K, but under the circumstances we hoped they'd cut us some slack - plus we would have rock-solid documenation.
We bid Chris farewell, and headed back to I-40 for the run back to Needles under light-to-moderate rain. We grabbed a gas receipt in Needles, and headed back to Barstow. At Kelbaker Road, my helmet shield came loose, and we pulled off so I could re-attach it. When we got back on, we hit an 8-mile wall of fog, and Doug used his auxiliary lights to good advantage as we struggled along at 25-30mph.
We didn't stop in Barstow the second time, and continued south on I-15 towards Cajon Pass. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves when we reached the Cajon Summit with only light rain, but were soon reminded of our folly. On the downhill side of Cajon Pass, we hit the heaviest rain we'd seen all day – Doug called it 'car-wash rain' (copyright pending) – with the added fun of sleet and 30-foot-visibility fog. We put on our four-way flashers, and fell into formation behind a small car that was creeping down the highway at about 15mph. We considered pulling over to the shoulder, but were concerned about getting rear-ended by a big-rig in the heavy fog, so we plugged away.
Our initial plan was to head down I-215 into San Bernardino, but a lighted message sign told us that the 215 was closed at 6th Street. The workload of piloting the bike in those conditions prevented me from pulling up details on where 6th Street might be, so instead we headed down I-15 to I-210, and went a couple of exits east to a known gas station in Fontana.
We arrived there just after midnight, about 18 hours into the ride. As you might expect, we were cold, tired, and wet. We had reached that point where conditions are so miserable for so long that you start to consider it perversely fun to be out riding in the rain. (Please consult Old Michael for other examples of 'perversely fun'.) We had some interesting conversations with the other patrons of the mini-mart...
We put our heads together, and came up with a plan to get the necessary mileage. The ride from Fontana directly to Doug's home base in El Segundo would put him at 1005+ for the ride. I rode with him to the junction of I-105 and I-710 in South Gate, grabbed a turn-around documentation receipt, and then headed back to Temple City for my finishing receipt with just over 1009 miles on the GPS odometer.
Here's the final route. The heavy blue line on I-40 shows we made multiple passes over that section.
Last edited by a moderator:
