Courtesy of Brian Wood...
So,
I finally got someone else to pony up and lead a ride! Yeah! Brian Tinkler put together a nice little ride covering Ortega Highway and
several of the roads to the east side of the fun, twisty part or Ortega
Highway, south
of Temecula. We initially had seven bikes join us for the start
(at the Chevron at the intersection of I-5 and Ortega Highway) -- four
ST1300s, a V-Strom 1000, a FJR1300, and a BMW R1200RT. In addition
to MSTA members (Brian Tinkler, Blake Anderson, Lon & Pam Larsen,
Tim Shevlin, and myself) we had three guests, Tom Porter, Ritzo Muntinga and his
passenger, Rebecca.
The start was a little slow as we headed east through a populated and heavily
patrolled section of Highway 74. Just as we thought things would
open up a bit (and the speed limit relaxes), we got stuck behind a car
that thought it was perfectly acceptable to go 10 mph under the speed
limit and not use the pullouts to let bikes around. Oh well, so
much the better to enjoy the scenery.
It's only about 24 miles from I-5 east to The Lookout (our second
starting point), but we enjoyed the cool temperatures (at least it
wasn't raining) and beautiful canyons and vistas -- the clouds and
periodic sunshine providing dramatic effects to the views.
At
The Lookout we were joined by a surprise guest, John Button (host of our
upcoming Paso Robles gathering). The wood burning stove and hot
coffee provided welcome relief from the cold. We ogled bikes and
told stories and generally got ready for the next leg of the ride
Heading out from The Lookout we went down to Lake Elsinore and south to
Clinton Keith Road and a maze of well over 15 roads and connectors to
get us to our lunch stop. Brian earned Brownie Points for briefly
getting lost (simply missed a turn), but then lost them by getting us
back on track rather than getting further lost and finding another way
to our lunch destination. Oh well. Kudos to Brian for
figuring out all the roads that led us through some beautiful country.
As it turns out, the road Brian initially missed, Couser Canyoun Road,
was a great little stretch of curvy asphalt with dips and tight turns
and dirt in the corners and all sorts of fun. John, on his R1150GS
was probably the most comfortable in the dirty stuff, but we all enjoyed
it and made it safely to our lunch stop.
Lunch
was at the Rainbow Oaks Restaurant in Rainbow (right off Old Highway 395
as it parallels the I-15 freeway). Food was plentiful and there
were all sorts of bikes and odd vehicles to admire (including a
double-decker "bus" with a Volkswagen mini-bus fitted onto the top).
After lunch we all headed our separate ways. Tom, on his V-strom,
and I headed up I-15 to the 91 freeway where we were caught by Lon & Pam
(on their ST13000 making a bit better time than we were!). From
there it was long stretches of freeway until we all got home.
Many thanks to Brian for putting together this ride. While the
formal ride was only 92 miles, I put in over 300 miles for the day
getting there and returning. Makes for a long day. Next
time, I hope to squeeze in Mount Palomar and other local sights...
I'm looking forward to Paso Robles next month!
Brian
If you're interested in more pictures or a video, point your browser to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/calif.msta/20110326MSTARideOrtegaHwy
-or-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-BZXeey7hk
