| Author | Message | ||
     Redshiftquasars |
The wife and I took a ride up to Santa Barbara this weekend spent the night on Saturday and Sunday morning headed up the 154 to Lake Cachuma then down into Solvang for the Danish Days Festival. It was fun but realized it was time to start on home. We filled up in Solvang and headed back down the 101. We stopped in Oxnard for lunch at our Favorite spot(when where in that part of town)'Cabo Seafood Grill and Cantina'. Up to this point everything was planned and we had a great ride, good lunch and were ready to head back home. The wife and I decided to enjoy one more drink, just then an Old Timer rode in on a Pewter 2009 Street Glide. He sat outside, a couple of tables away from us, put in his order and just soaked in the sun. The wife and I looked at each other and simultaneously said, "He's done this before". I started some small talk with him, the usual, how many miles to the tank, is all that chrome original, is that a 2009 color, wow a 180 rear tire….. We all lost track of time, we had some good eats and great conversation. We were ready to head off when he asked us what direction we were going, I replied with Glendale, he responded with have you ever ridden down the Old Potrero rd? “Why no”, I responded. His next response was, “Follow me, its on your way home, just more scenic”. This is where the ‘Unplanned’ portion of our trip took place and the only reason I writing this. This guy more or less about 65 or 67 years old rode in to the Cabo Grill, like he has been every Sunday for the last 20 years or so, broke bread and celebrates the day with a ride through some of the most beautiful parts of SoCal. We followed him down Oxnard(PCH1) to Hueneme then onto Potrero Rd. This is where the magic started, old tractors, green fields, no cars…. As we followed him, his hand jestured with over the head to the left(left turn), then a couple of miles then another hand jesture pointing down into a canyon(old burnt out rig deep in the canyon). There were several miles of twisties until we got to Lake Sherwood. Man……..few words to describe the area. Just as quickly as we rode into Lake Sherwood we were out of there and pulling some steep ascents back up the mountain. We made a right onto the 23, just a couple of miles into the 23 is when the real magic started. Huge horse ranches, great California Oaks sitting in the middle of dust fields with the sunbeams and shadows streaming from the very top of the Oak to rich soil below. We strolled on to Mulholland Hwy a couple of miles later then onto Kanan Dume. We weren’t sure what the Old Timers name was but once we got to Kanan we stopped and he asked if we wanted to continue on to the Rock Store(in the Santa Monica MTNS). I was running low on gas and explained my situation and said I was going to take Kanan Dume down then back onto the 101 home. He said he would cruise with us down that direction. We made it to the the intersection where the 101 was exchanged some words, good riding with you……. and finally asked for his name, he responded with Pete. Pete Thanks for the great ride. | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
Some of my best rides have been unplanned. What a great story, Envious. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Great article - thanks for posting. Personally, I prefer to leave my fate in the hands of the motorcycle gods when I travel for relaxation. I don't like weeklong vacations per se, but rather enjoy leaving for a few days here and there. This past summer I took off just about every-other weekend on the bike, and had a routine that I followed, religiously. I would pack both dry bags full of clothes and rain gear for the weekend and head to the Cracker Barrel or Quaker Steak Wings for lunch on Friday, where three major interstates connected. After I finished my meal, I then flipped a quarter twice; the first flip was for north or south, the second for east or west. It worked well for me (but that's just me, I guess), and I had some nice weekend trips and great experiences and met a lot of interesting people ... none of the trips planned, and all of them very different. I usually had three or for options for each quadrant, but often ignored them completely - it was fun. John H. . | ||
| Redshiftquasars |
I'll head backup that way pretty soon and take some pictures and post them to this thread. Thank both of you for the responses. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Very cool story. I find that the thing I like about riding the best is realizing I'm on a road I've never ridden before. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Given the title, thought you found out you were expecting  | ||
| Redshiftquasars |
nope.... got that taken care of last year. Sat on a bag of peas for a week. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Most september babies are new years eves mishaps... All you virgos go home and ask your parents about that new years eve party the year you were born. Mistle toe and champagne, its a very dangerous season. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I didn't have to ask my folks...they volunteered that little tidbit (9/17 birthday). Ever wish you could "un-hear" something? | ||
| Froggy |
I wish i could unsee most of the pics that got posted in that association picture thread! The ladys on cycles thread is another story.  |
