Last Rides

[Mad4TheCrest]

Great ride, DFat! Love that bike of yours.

If you like curves that will put gees on your butt, man do I have a few for you to sample out here. There's one in particular that would stamp a month/long smile on your face. It's a fast uphill sweeping left with positive camber that  minimizes the need for lean angle while still feeling like you are over on your ear. Think of it like a mini section of Daytona banking. You can't linger in the enjoyment too long though, since you have to swing back over to make the right loop - if you doze you might rocket up the hillside and take off like Evel. (Sadly, there are no pretty rivers or green fields, or cool taverns nearby to stop at to recover.)

[oldironnow]

Damn, ffb....
That is a beautiful story! Written so well!

Thank you!

I learned so much about your area and DNT/Feed Mill. The cool flow of history. The excellent roads. The arc of your life.

The Canvas and the power plant - "Pigs on the Wing."

Your story of that day, sitting here now, just makes me wish this could all go on forever.

[Allred]

Excellent ride report FatFat, and great accompanying pics, also love the route map!

If anyone cares, the power plant featured on Pink Floyd's album is that of Battersea Power Station, a well known London landmark. So the next time you are in that area FatFat you can imagine yourself looking over the River Thames when viewing those chimneys!

[Fatfatboy]

Mad4TheCrest wrote

If you like curves that will put gees on your butt, man do I have a few for you to sample out here.

 

I do hope to one day make it out to your area and ride some of the roads you have told us about. The Crest is one in particular that is on The Bucket list.

[Fatfatboy]

oldironnow wrote

I learned so much about your area and DNT/Feed Mill.

Your story of that day, sitting here now, just makes me wish this could all go on forever.

Something I learned about that TNT plant a few years ago was my grandfather was a pipe fitter there when it was being built and after it was in use.

Every few years he would get check for $10k because of a class action law suit from when the pipe fitters Union brought up a law suit against the chemical companies.
Another expense of war.


Yes, I too wish days like that could go on forever.
I had another of one of those again today.
I played hooky and went riding with Doughboy, AKA T-34 from the CW forums and friend Nate.
Took about a 400 mile route through the Ozark hills.
Got completely soaked but still had a awesome day.



That’s Nate’s beautiful Bandit and Doughboys seriously ready to ride black Sporty



A couple photos from Doughboy





Hey Walt,,, recognize the logo on my shirt?

 

[Fatfatboy]

Allred wrote

If anyone cares, the power plant featured on Pink Floyd's album is that of Battersea Power Station, a well known London landmark.

Great information. I never knew that was a real place on that cover.

Thank you.

[Mad4TheCrest]

Long ride into the heat today. Out the 210 to the 5 to the 126 West to Santa Paula.  From there the 150 to Ojai and then out the 33 to the 166, stopping at the Pistachio farm for a break before getting on the 166 then to backroads through a Condor Sanctuary (saw two) over to Pine mountain camp, then Frazier Park, then the 138 to Old Ridge route road, where my buddy and I had to tiptoe past two horses out for a free gamble sans owners, and dodge an enormous bear scat in the middle of the road, plus maybe 15 suicidal chipmunks. We eventually made it to Harley's Rock Inn near Lake Elizabeth, then taking our usual routes back home. About 295 miles for me, door to door. I didn't stop for scenic shots but did take a couple of snaps of the pistachio farm and pine mountain stops (sorry for the sideways pics - I guess I need to hold the camera sideways):

Pistachio Farm (on the 33)







Pine Mountain Camp (for a fuel stop, the village is at 5500 feet:

[oldironnow]

EPIC ride, Mad'!

[Fatfatboy]

A 300 miler. That’s a great day. Nice pics.

[Mad4TheCrest]

Fatfatboy wrote

A 300 miler. That’s a great day. Nice pics.

I am glad I did that ride, because a big chunk of the land I rode through near Lake Hughes is on fire ('Lake Fire'). Land on both sides of the road heading from the 138 to Harley's Rock Inn will be devastated and won't look like it did on my last ride for decades.

But loss of scenery is a selfish thing to go on about when people have lost or will lose their property.

Which brings me to the news about all those fires that cropped up in the past few days in Northern California. I heard from Allred and he's ok for now; what about you Oldiron? I hope those fires I see near Carmel Valley and Salinas aren't a physical threat to you, although I am sure they will mess up some of your favorite roads.

For everyone near the fires, be safe and well.  I am keeping a good thought for our old forum buddy Suzuki Jo; I haven't heard a whisper from him in years but be did live near Lake Hughes and I hope he is ok.

[Fatfatboy]

Yikes,, sorry to hear about this. To be honest I quit watching the news so have not heard of this.

Good thoughts for all that live near the flames. I hope you all are not affected.

[oldironnow]

Physically okay.

I was out and about for 16 hours yesterday, and when I came home, my hair was matted so thickly it was if I had managed a large biker bonfire all night.

I live in a city that's surrounded by large areas of plowed ag fields. That should keep us from going the way of Santa Rosa and Paradise.

The smoke has been relentless.  A lot of it down low, tight on the ground or even on the water over the bay.

This huge dome of high pressure is creating the heat and then the high dry lightning as the hurricane remnants went up and over the high pressure bulge. And around here, this high pressure has stalled the steady afternoon winds that surge in from the ocean to the Big Valley.

If that wind kicks up the Santa Cruz CZU Lightning Complex (imo) could blowtorch its way over the mountains to the backdoors of Stanford and Apple.

[oldironnow]

https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES/sector_band.php?sat=G17§or=psw&band=GEOCOLOR&length=96

[oldironnow]

The Mt. Hamilton Observatory made it.
So has the Junction Restaurant.

https://www.facebook.com/ucobservatories/videos/time-lapse-video-created-from-our-live-webcam-from-our-live-webcam-stream/305077770703107/?__so__=permalink&__rv__=related_videos


https://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=545307&highlight=Junction

The eastside of Mt. Hamilton is ashes, as is the run east from The Junction Restaurant on Mines almost all the way to Patterson.


https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=69fca73a82df4fefa7c0e48b66d0899d&extent=-123.2395,36.6849,-119.5618,38.1032

In Santa Cruz County, Empire Grade has been burned over, with the Valley that holds Highway 9 threatened from above. I took a case of water, two tents and a pile of my wife's hygiene stock to the evac center today. Tomorrow I'm going down there to try and be helpful.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f0121f7f2f0941afb3ed70529b2cee75

[Fatfatboy]

Jeez loueez,,, it looks like the whole state is on its way to becoming charred.
Stay safe, man. I hope some downpours come your way,, without the lightning.

[Mad4TheCrest]

Damn, Oldiron. I thought it was bad from watching the news, but not that bad! At least some landmarks for the riding community have made it through. I've lived in CA for more than 5 decades and I've never seen so many fires burning at the same time.

[Allred]

No fires threatening us right now, but everything is covered in white ash. I've given up cleaning the two vehicles that we do keep outside because the next day they are just covered in ash again.

We didn't used to get fires like this, a fire is only caused by:

1) Lightning strike (rare)  
2) Foolishness of human activity. illegal camp fires, mowing dry grass, discarded cigarette, downed power line, etc.  
3) Arson.

I blame the increase in recent years almost exclusively on arson.

.

[oldironnow]

Long story, short; I saw that lightning come in from the south.

The clouds were so high, I could see the huge strikes from 40 miles off.

I thought the storm would arrive soon, from my midwest upbringing, so i dashed up on the roof with a small bottle of whiskey to catch the show. But it was nowhere near me. The cells were marching north waaay out over the Pacific. Weather radar said they would land in the Santa Cruz mountains, and I had the fear the entire S.F. Peninsula would be set on fire. I was partially correct.

I was up there for nearly two hours. Dead still warm air, but was finally chased off the roof when the wind picked up and blew my glass away and down to the driveway below.



https://www.flickr.com/photos/14019225@N04/50257798426/in/dateposted/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/14019225@N04/50257799581/in/dateposted/


.

[Fatfatboy]

The whiskey glass leaving the roof video made me giggle.
Sorry.

What is it about hanging out on the roof?
It’s such a peaceful spot.  

[oldironnow]

Fatfatboy wrote

The whiskey glass leaving the roof video made me giggle.
Sorry.

What is it about hanging out on the roof?
It’s such a peaceful spot.

Oh I laughed, too. In fact, thought it quite hilarious.
Loved the accidental nature of the video. The pause in flight before the shattering.

I agree on the peaceful aspect. Maybe it's the rising above the everyday world of the house? Like a motorcycle ride, it expands the horizon and helps one think of 'further.'