Al's Pie Run (Courtesy of Leonard Lloyd):

Al lead the way south to begin on Baily Road and a brief stop at Uvas Lake before joining Watsonville Road to Hecker Pass.  Hecker Pass was so congested that Al took the group onto Summit and Mt. Madonna Roads, giving bikes and riders a good workout.

Back down on level ground in rural Watsonville, we headed to Gizdich Ranch and the promised pie for our late morning break.

With riders well fed, Al led the way through scenic farmland to highway one, which is a freeway all the way to our destination, Soquel.  After a brief brisk run among the cages we soon exited into Soquel and topped off the smaller fuel tanks.  And then it was uphill twists and turns through the redwoods all the way up the San Jose-Soquel Road to the summit.  What little traffic we encountered was very courteous, pulling aside at the first opportunity.  At the traditional stop at the Summit Grocery, plans were made for each rider's route home.  From Summit Road, a right onto the Old Santa Cruz Highway took us to Lexington Reservoir, where, by mutual agreement, the ride concluded and the group dispersed.  Thanks again, Al, for yet another great day of riding back roads in scenic treasures.

(click on thumbnails for larger versions of the pictures)

Angeles Crest Ride to Newcomb's Ranch (Courtesy of Gary Ward):

The morning started out with the typical "June gloom" we expect in Southern California this time of year, but the forecast for our ride up Angeles Crest was for clear sky and temperatures in the mid 70s.

We were not disappointed. A very manageable group of six riders and a guest showed up at Coco's restaurant in Sunland.  The group consisted of Dan Clark, John Paul Gray, Wayne Brenner and his friend Karuna (all from Orange County), Michael Sleeman (San Bernadino County), and Steven Broughton (San Fernando Valley). Since I live in Altadena, Angeles Crest is in my "back yard," so to speak, and I was pleased to have this first experience as ride coordinator.

After a brief but essential discussion of rider safety, mountain rode conditions and traffic enforcement (double fine for going over the double yellow line, etc.), we left Coco's at 10 a.m. as promised.

We took Big Tujunga Canyon Road out of Sunland and rapidly gained elevation through the still green mountains. The air was fresh and the scenery beautiful, but since the road was rather twisty our main focus was on negotiating the curves.  At Angeles Forrest Hwy we turned left, then after a number of miles, right onto Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road. This road is about 9 miles of well kept tarmac with numerous "sweeper" curves that just seem to encourage a "twist of the right wrist." At its terminus we made a left turn onto the famous (or is that "infamous"?) Angeles Crest Hwy for the final leg of our trip for lunch at Newcomb's Ranch. There we had a leisurely lunch on the outdoor patio overlooking the bikes of all the other riders who also decided to take advantage of the great roads and weather.

After lunch, Dan and John Paul had to return to Orange County, but the rest of us continued about another twelve miles on the Angeles Crest to the point where it dead ends due to a landslide from the heavy rains of 2004. We then back-tracked on the "Crest" for about 45 very twisty miles to La Canada, where we all proceeded to nearby Montrose and the Pro Italia Ducati/MV Agusta shop. There we looked (or should that be drooled?) over all the fine Italian bikes and accessories on the floor.

After discussing some upcoming HSTA events we all departed from Pro Italia at about 3:30.  Everyone commented on what a great ride this turned out to be - friends sharing a ride on great roads. What more could we ask for?