Wow! What a great ride! The scenery was amazing, the roads were in decent shape and the company was top-notch. Rides can't get much better than this one.
First, the players. From FJRFORUM, we had
ZZKenoman, FJRME, bigdolma, and SoCalMike to start off. At the Paradise cafe
Dkirk went through and at the Casino
03SilverBullet came and chatted with us for a bit and joined the return ride for a bit. From Orange County, ZZKenoman brought a great group of guys riding a variety of bikes. Along with the FJR riders, each and everyone of the OC group were very personable and were the kinds of guys that make riding fun. I’d definitely ride with any of the guys on this ride anytime.
Now for the ride (or I should say "Festivities"). It starts off for me at the 74 & 15 meeting location. FJRME was there first with bigdolma arriving shortly thereafter. We did the usual farkle examinations and spent time standing around admiring bikes that looked - well just like our own.
Soon after our arrival I noticed a group of bikes heading our way lead by a jolly fat fellow in a red suit. It was Santa - and he was riding an FJR! In one of those moments that makes you do a double-take, ZZKenoman was leading the group in a bright Santa Suit complete with a red hat taped onto his helmet and a big "toy sack" strapped on the backseat of his bike. All you can do is smile when you see it because it really does catch you off guard.
So we begin our ride heading East on the 74. As we begin heading up in elevation the temperatures (obviously) started to drop pretty quickly. Pretty soon, I learned that my new gloves with 3M Thinsulate just weren't going to cut it (time to rethink those grip warmers!). I was pretty happy when we pulled into the Paradise cafe because I was sure my fingers had turned an unnatural shade of blue. A side note: check out Liz behind the counter at Paradise Café
So we leave the café and also leave behind FJRME and bigdolma and we head out on the Palms-to-Pines highway. I’ll leave the detailed description of this road to
Pashnit but I will say this was one of the best roads I’ve ever ridden. Definitely a must-do for anyone in the SoCal area. I would just pick a warmer time of year next time.
After dropping down from the 10,000 ft elevation the temperature increase was quite welcome as we entered Palm Desert. There were plenty of smiles and waves as “Santa” cruised through town.
We eventually arrived at the Fantasy Springs Casino and Larry (ZZkenoman) whips out red Santa hats for everybody. As we head towards the casino you would have thought we were arriving with royalty. The Player Services Manager from the casino greets us at the door and says “Larry your table is ready”. We go to the buffet and Larry had picked up the tab for the entire group! As we get seated Larry pulls out Christmas cards for everyone and tells us to open them. To my surprise I open mine and there is a $50 gift certificate from CycleGear! Others also received gift certificates, hand warmers and other items!
As we’re sitting there shocked by his generosity we all start making jokes about never missing another ride organized by ZZKenoman!
Thanks to all, the whole day was a lot of fun!
