SoCal: Ride the Crest in June?

Hey Mark - I got home fine, you guys left me in the dust splitting lanes through the tunnel, I was blind in the dark. Anyhow I got off the 210 at the 605 and shortened my ride home :laugh:

It was a GREAT ride today - too bad Angeles Crest doesn't go through all the way --- who'd a thunk? --- maybe next time we check the route first :side: :S It was an awesome ride, a little workout trying to keep up with Mark on his nicely set-up 650, that thing rips through the canyons.

I posted about 60 pics on my gallery, enjoy!
WARNING: Gallery may contain images that are offensive to some. (one Harley Chopper)
jekgraphics.com/gallery/angeles

.

My favorite pic:



See the rest at:
jekgraphics.com/gallery/angeles

Just checking in after a long day. All I can say is wow, what a day for a ride in the mountains. It was a shame that John's ride wasn't cooperating, but that happens sometimes with 30 year old bikes.
So, about the ride.
After about 6 turns going up the canyon, Mark and Chris were gone--out of sight. They eventually turned around and we passed them, us going up, them riding down. Most of the group were stuck following a cage going somewhat slow. Some punk in a Subaru WRX made an A$$ of himself by tailgating our group then eventually passing two of us, then barging into the middle of the group. He then spent several miles tailgating Tim until he finally turned off onto a side road.
The Crest is one of the best roads for riding bikes I can recall riding. The corners are smooth sweepers (very few had rocks or sand) that you can set the bike up for nice controlled acceleration from the apex onwards. I saw a couple of decreasing radius corners that almost caught me out, but I managed to get through them without looking too foolish. If you are not careful, you can get into trouble fast on this road, so I found myself concentrating totally on trying to get the bike slowed enough to be stable in the corners so that I could accelerate smoothly coming out.
After a brief stop at the Bar/Bike Stop, we did what seemed like a total banzai run up to the top of the canyon a distance of maybe 10 to 12 miles. I rode way too fast trying to keep up with Mark Wing, but Man--what a rush. We stopped at the end of the road to take pics (I needed a cig after that run) and also to check out the outstanding view. We then made another banzai run back down to the restaurant where some of us had lunch, others just snacks. Some idiot on a Harley dropped his bike in the parking lot (right after he rode past the restaurant and rapped his throttle to get everyone's attention.) It worked, just about everyone there saw him drop his ride. After we had rested and BS'd a while, it was time to pack up and head back down the canyon and head home. I had a great time today riding with some good friends. I hope we all can get together and enjoy a great ride again soon.
Regards,
Grant.

KZJohn, I hope you got home OK, and that there's nothing seriously wrong with your bike.
I personally had a great time. Angeles Crest is a terrific road for motorcycles. A good confidence builder for the less experienced canyon riders, like me.

Sorry about the faulty research about the road to Wrightwood... you'd think I would've noticed a little thing like THE ROAD'S BEEN CLOSED FOR THREE YEARS.
But the ride was still good, and I made it home without using reserve.

Grantl, Chuck, Baldy110 and I took the fork to Palmdale on the way down, and that gave us a few more mile of twisties before the road finally straightened out, and dumped us onto the 14 fwy.

Good ride, good friends, good stories. Good time.
Here's my pic:

Thanks again to Tim for setting it up and everyone who answered all my KZ newbie questions. I have ridden several spots around So Cal in the past and that has to be my fav.

OMG Joe, nice photochop work. I looked and looked and I can't see anything wrong with you or Tim. You should be doing feature compositing work. It pays very well:ohmy:
Also, I hijacked a few of your other photos for my desktop.

Looking forward to the next one.

Great pics guys!
And I really like the black and white on JoeK posted, IMHO it suits our old steeds perfectly.

I didn't get much sleep the night before the ride, so I was totally wiped out by the time I got home - I walked in the door and aimed for the couch, and didn't move from there until this morning. :whistle: :laugh:

I had one heck of a time trying to keep up with Mark on his 650...his bike LOVES the twisties! :woohoo:
Following him on the freeway ride over to the beginning of Angeles Crest Hwy, I was totally amazed at how well the suspension on his bike sucked up the bumps/potholes/etc.
I'm sold! My bike's getting a set of USD forks and mono-shock rear when I finally tear it down for it's resfreshing.

Riding either towards the front or mid-pack, I didn't get a chance to see how well everyone elses bikes did through the turns until the decent down the mountain on the way home. Everyone did great!
And I wouldn't have thought it possible if I hadn't seen it for myself, but Chuck rode his Goldwing like it was designed for the twisties.

I was bummed that KZJohn's bike decided to be tempermental and caused him to miss the ride, but I'm glad everyone else had a great time and that we all made it home alive and in one piece. Hopefully it's something minor with his bike, and he can make the next ride (beach area?) before he needs to do the engine rebuild.

Rather than gobble up a bunch of bandwith by posting all of the pics here, here's a link to them (and a few practise vid clips I shot with my new vid cam)....enjoy!
KZrider Angeles Crest ride

Please forgive the shakey vid and poor sound quality, I'm still trying to get accustomed to the controls on my vidcam and need to muffle the built-in microphone so it isn't affected by the wind.

Here's some good info regarding Angeles Crest.
Google Maps Route from Newcomb's Ranch to Wrightwood
A - Newcomb's Ranch
B - Islip Saddle (Gate)
C - Vincent Gap (Gate)
D - Wrightwood, CA

Google Maps Route:
maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=1...987&ie=UTF8&t=k&z=11

Wikipedia on Angeles Crest Hwy:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angeles_Crest_Highway

OK, so I should of had this post last week, but if I did we probably wouldn't have made the ride...

JohNLA wrote:

OMG Joe, nice photochop work. I looked and looked and I can't see anything wrong with you or Tim. You should be doing feature compositing work. It pays very well:ohmy:
Also, I hijacked a few of your other photos for my desktop.

John - Thanks for the compliment, I've been doing Photoshop since Version 2.5 - Hmm I think CS3 is now Version 10, too many years. You guys are welcome to use my photos any way you wish, just if you sell them, I want a cut.

I'm loving my new Nikon D-40 camera, anyone who wants more out of a digital than their point-n-shoot gives them should check out the D-40 or the new D-60. The D-40 is a consumer level D-SLR and sells all over for $499.00 with an 18-55mm zoom. Thats not much more than many point-n-shoot cameras. I'm not a salesman, just a huge fan.

Did I tell you guys I really liked that ride. That was a blast and thanks to Tim for setting this one up. What a great day of riding, company and conversation. Need to do that again. Oh and did I tell you guys I really liked that ride.
Who took all the great pics? I knew people were taking pictures but wow there are some great ones in there. I really like the group black and white one.

I goofed up.:blush:

I posted the link to the pics and vid clips in to my p-bucket account in my post above, but forgot to add the pics to it...D'oh! :pinch:


Here's the link again, now with actual pics (imagine that :laugh: ) added:

KZrider Angeles Crest Ride

And I'm SO looking forward to our next ride!