WrightWood
April 2011
The more we rode, more of the sunshine came out until blue skies found us in the deserts. In stopping for gas, Ken suggested that we try another place for breakfast once we arrived up there. The roads were in perfect condition for us to work our way up the mountains. A lot of variety to ride on today. Twisties and such through the mountains. While making good time up there, we sat down shortly before 11:00 and a new place called the Evergreen Cafe. VERY Friendly people served us some VERY great food. It is a small place but we were shocked to see just how much decorating they had done for the Easter Holiday. In asking about the decorations, they said it is that way for all the holidays. Once we chowed down, it was decided that we wanted to see some of the neighborhood. So off we went driving the roads to check out the different houses in the area. Everything you would want to see, log cabins and such. Then we turned onto one street and found what I will say is a castle in the works. This under construction Castle in Wrightwood will be quite unique.
At this time we decided it was time to move on. Both Ken & Rodney decided to leave out the back way because it would be less time to get home and I decided to head out pretty much the way I came in, back the 138 to home. I only had some cross wind to deal with, but the sunny skies made it nice. I found out that the others had June Gloom all the way home with a side of light drizzle. I got the better deal I would say. But it was a wonderful ride. Thank you guys for making it happen.
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Julian
Overnighter
September 2011
by Ken Aasved
Best ride I’ve been on. The only bad part was the taking the slab to Banning. Weather was perfect all weekend. We were only four – Dave, Brent, Bob Beaver and myself with Lynette. The small group made for an easy ride, PLUS I didn’t get us lost once during the 480 miles (amazing!). And Dave gets a lot of credit for helping to plan this very scenic and interesting route.
The West LA contingent met the Valley contingent in Pomona; then we slabbed on to Banning. Immediately south of Banning on Hwy #243, we were in the mountains – had great views of the valleys around, and at 5,000 ft. it looked/ felt like the High Sierra. Those twisties, with little traffic on the road, invited one to challenge himself and his bike.
In Idyllwild for lunch, there were so many bikes we thought it must be a rally, but was just normal for a weekend. The roads up from the South, #243 and #74 are very popular cuz they enjoy fantastic views of mountains, BIG valleys so the roads were crowded with bikes - this was the best riding part of the whole weekend.
We went south on #74, to #371 thru Anza Valley, still with great views. At Aguanga (I never heard of it, either) we took #79 through Warner Springs to Julian. What a disappointment! We went to try Julian’s famous apple pie, but the town was so crowded we could barely park. We squeezed three bikes into a space for two, and parked one bike in a semi-legal spot. The sidewalks were so crowded it was difficult to walk, even. After 10 minutes of this crowding, we decided to buy a whole pie and take it to the motel for after-dinner desert. To ditch the madding crowds, we backtracked to Santa Ysabel and bought a whole pie at the Julian Pie Co. outlet. It was much more civilized than Julian, and Bob Beaver couldn’t wait and had a piece of apple pie there.
In 20 minutes via #78 we were in Ramona, where our motel The Ramona Valley Inn, was 25% cheaper than any in Julian. It was quite adequate and boasted a heated pool but they must have heated it with matches only, so we didn’t go swimming. We sat by the pool and gained respite from the afternoon’s warmth with help from Bud Weiser, compliments of Brent. That evening and the next morning we dined at the Ramona Diner which has been featured on “Diners, Dives and Drive-ins” (or is it “Dives, Diners and Drive-Ins”? Or is it, well, whatever). The Diner made a big deal out of its having been on TV, but the food was typical diner food, hardly four-star, but was fine nonetheless.
Sunday morn we headed up #76 to road #S6 up to Palomar Mtn. to visit the Palomar Observatory and museum. From the Vista Point we could see most of San Diego County – an amazing panorama. We took another route down, #S6, which was REALLY twisty, and loaded with racers screaming up the mountain. (So, stay off of #S6 and take #S7 up and down.) #S7 is a very nice drive, scenic with moderate twisties.
Starting to head home, from Aguanga we took #R3 through the low desert to Hemet. The road was very interesting, but kinda warm. After a lunch in Hemet, we went west on Hwy #74 to the I-215 and the slab home.
