Sorry, Mark.
The LONG wordy narrative is below. It's actually not that long, believe it or not...
Good ol' Mike on his beautiful blue Harley. That is an awesome color.
After meeting the group at the Chevron station, we're on the way through some REALLY pretty terrain. I was 5th in the line of 8, really nice to kick back and not lead, not worry about what the riders behind me think, that I'm too slow/too fast/too far behind/too close/too 'slap-dash' in my riding/too cautious, yada, yada, yada.
Yeah, there were a LOT of stop signs. Oh, well. You gotta pay a price for pretty views, and I didn't mind at all.
We get to a potty stop, Wendy's. It's nice to stop every hour or so to kick back, yak, etc.
Hi, everybody!
This is a nice line of bikes. You see the two Strats' in front? The first one is Don's and the second one is Hannah's. I'm SO jealous. There's Cal and Hannah to the right.
Bub and I are going to hook up with them and maybe just the four of us go riding. You don't often see couples who ride and I think it'd be really great.
Still ANOTHER high!
We hit some pretty routes going back roads. I wish I could've gotten pics when we were in Elfin Forest. NEXT time for SURE. It was beautiful.
Ok, you're probably wondering HOWINTHEWORLD I got this pic below...and the other scenic ones?
Um, well....
1. Had camera around neck. 2. Group going at easy pace 3. Could see pretty far ahead
4. Had camera powered on anyway just in case 5. Picked up camera with clutch hand
6. Trusted to luck and aimed it slightly over my windshield and ahead 7. Voila! Lucked out.
The picture above is the one I feel is the most amazing, and this is the one I entered in the Costco Photo Contest today.
These pics were stopped at a light. I took the pic of Don and Roy by facing my camera backwards and pushing the button. Again, trusting to luck. It worked.
Below, notice that you can slightly see Hannah in her rear view mirror, you can see her license plate, BUT you can also see Cal in HIS rear view mirror as well! I didn't plan that, just noticed it when I was washing these pics thru PhotoEditor.
Parking in La Jolla Village is at a premium...thank God for bike parking!
Above, view from the restaurant.
Group shots-we ate on the patio.
Parking in La Jolla Village is at a premium...thank God for bike parking!
Above, view from the restaurant.
This is where we put on the feedbag.
Group shots-we ate on the patio.
The Cruisin' 101 Cafe looks like a cool place to stop sometime.
Below, it only looks cold-it was actually quite nice, perfect riding weather.
Final end stop, Oceanside Harbor for iced coffee (notice that AGAIN we get the great parking!!!) while I check Sigalert.com and warned everybody that between Pendleton and San Clemente it was around 25-37 MPH, but only for about 8 miles, until the OC county line. It was doable.
Final end stop, Oceanside Harbor for iced coffee (notice that AGAIN we get the great parking!!!) while I check Sigalert.com and warned everybody that between Pendleton and San Clemente it was around 25-37 MPH, but only for about 8 miles, until the OC county line. It was doable.
And here's the narrative:
It was low to mid 80’s, slightly overcast, beautiful riding weather.
This group that Gregg turned us on to This Week’s Ride in Yahoo Groups. Mark’s the moderator, he picks out a ride destination and sends out an email to everyone in the group to vote and tell him whether they’re coming or not.
Very cool idea.
They meet up at 10 AM and leave at 10:30 from various points, but I usually can’t get there at that time, so I asked mark if we could meet them and he they’d stop at Chevron in Carlsbad around 11:30-11:45. We made it 5 minutes before they did. WHEW!
Great group to ride with, no pressure, just ride, kick back, everybody professional, everybody EXCELLENT riders, these guys know their stuff.
Don Hannah Cal Roy Mark Mike Us
Mark is a great leader, very smooth, varied terrain and scenary, knows where he’s going, plans nice stops to enjoy and potty if necessary. Nobody was in a hurry, it was the ride AND the destination both going to and coming back. Hannah his wing read him perfectly. Unfortunately, CAL was right in front of me.
I really enjoyed this ride and these folks.
Of course I honed in on the couple riding together-there’s just not enough of we riding pairs around!
I KNOW it’s not the safest thing in the world, but I had 3 guys behind me who were ok with me going slower to take a pic then playing catch up, so I used their amiability to practice taking pics of riders ahead. They came out GREAT. Next time, though, I’m gonna try to be in the back so that I can get more of the riders in my pics.
They met at Ortega hwy 74 and the 5 freeway, continued down the Coast Hwy to La Costa and met us at the Chevron Station. From there…well, let me have Mark tell it:
“The route for this ride will be south on the 5 frwy to PCH , south on PCH / Carlsbad Blvd to La Costa Ave. left on La Costa and just before crossing over the 5 frwy there will be a Chevron Gas station & we will be stopping there ( around 11:30 / 11:45 am ) . From there we will continue out La Costa to San Elijo Rd to Elfin Forest to Harmony Grove to 11th Ave to W Valley Pkwy which turns into Del Dios to Via De La Valle to Camino Del Mar to Torrey Pines to Prospect to The Crab Catcher ( 1298 Prospect ) where we will have lunch.
I gotta remember this route, because we had some beautiful scenery. Elfin Forest sticks out in my mind.
We went by Morgan Run and Torrey Pines Golf Courses, went by Del Mar, on the beach, just wonderful.
After lunch we took the coast route back thru Leucadia and Encinitas (there was the NEATEST ‘Encinitas’ sign up over the road but we didn’t hit a stop, so I couldn’t take it.)
I hit a sign with my left rear view mirror that was on one of those construction poles going to Del Mar. It said “Keep Right”. Yeah, maybe I shoulda READ THE DAMN THING.
Cal was making some sort of a 'sign' at a Chippie and accidentally popped his clutch and stalled and luckily didn’t run into Mark even though it was downhill. I DIDN’T GET A PIC. Next time, Cal.
I loved the way that the one side of riders would go over and secure a lane when one lane ended (happens a LOT on Coast hwy and in La Jolla!!) vs. just the tailgunning person do it. This group moves so fluidly.
This group that Gregg turned us on to This Week’s Ride in Yahoo Groups. Mark’s the moderator, he picks out a ride destination and sends out an email to everyone in the group to vote and tell him whether they’re coming or not.
Very cool idea.
They meet up at 10 AM and leave at 10:30 from various points, but I usually can’t get there at that time, so I asked mark if we could meet them and he they’d stop at Chevron in Carlsbad around 11:30-11:45. We made it 5 minutes before they did. WHEW!
Great group to ride with, no pressure, just ride, kick back, everybody professional, everybody EXCELLENT riders, these guys know their stuff.
Don Hannah Cal Roy Mark Mike Us
Mark is a great leader, very smooth, varied terrain and scenary, knows where he’s going, plans nice stops to enjoy and potty if necessary. Nobody was in a hurry, it was the ride AND the destination both going to and coming back. Hannah his wing read him perfectly. Unfortunately, CAL was right in front of me.
I really enjoyed this ride and these folks.
Of course I honed in on the couple riding together-there’s just not enough of we riding pairs around!
I KNOW it’s not the safest thing in the world, but I had 3 guys behind me who were ok with me going slower to take a pic then playing catch up, so I used their amiability to practice taking pics of riders ahead. They came out GREAT. Next time, though, I’m gonna try to be in the back so that I can get more of the riders in my pics.
They met at Ortega hwy 74 and the 5 freeway, continued down the Coast Hwy to La Costa and met us at the Chevron Station. From there…well, let me have Mark tell it:
“The route for this ride will be south on the 5 frwy to PCH , south on PCH / Carlsbad Blvd to La Costa Ave. left on La Costa and just before crossing over the 5 frwy there will be a Chevron Gas station & we will be stopping there ( around 11:30 / 11:45 am ) . From there we will continue out La Costa to San Elijo Rd to Elfin Forest to Harmony Grove to 11th Ave to W Valley Pkwy which turns into Del Dios to Via De La Valle to Camino Del Mar to Torrey Pines to Prospect to The Crab Catcher ( 1298 Prospect ) where we will have lunch.
I gotta remember this route, because we had some beautiful scenery. Elfin Forest sticks out in my mind.
We went by Morgan Run and Torrey Pines Golf Courses, went by Del Mar, on the beach, just wonderful.
After lunch we took the coast route back thru Leucadia and Encinitas (there was the NEATEST ‘Encinitas’ sign up over the road but we didn’t hit a stop, so I couldn’t take it.)
I hit a sign with my left rear view mirror that was on one of those construction poles going to Del Mar. It said “Keep Right”. Yeah, maybe I shoulda READ THE DAMN THING.
Cal was making some sort of a 'sign' at a Chippie and accidentally popped his clutch and stalled and luckily didn’t run into Mark even though it was downhill. I DIDN’T GET A PIC. Next time, Cal.
I loved the way that the one side of riders would go over and secure a lane when one lane ended (happens a LOT on Coast hwy and in La Jolla!!) vs. just the tailgunning person do it. This group moves so fluidly.
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