Where did you ride your Super X today?

[Donkey Hotey]

It's been a few months since a post. Much of the country is probably still experiencing some form of winter. In the southwest, we are just coming to the end of a brief heatwave that gave spring-like temps in February.

There's an annual National Parks Pass slowly expiring in my wallet. Zion National Park happens to have a very popular 'scenic drive' in the park. It's so popular and so narrow that parking is extremely limited at popular spots along the 6 mile Zion Canyon. That limited parking means the park service had to close it to public traffic about 18 years ago. Trams now provide free service around the park and they encourage you to leave your vehicle behind. That's very nice but hardly in the spirit of riding a motorcycle.

On a hunch, I checked the Zion website on Thursday. It seems that during the few brief, slow winter months, the trams are suspended and public travel is again permitted in the canyon. As it turned out, the heatwave we were enjoying in southern California did indeed spread to southern Utah. Friday was forecast to be a clear and sunny 69 degrees in Zion National Park.

Winter will return in a few days so making a full-blown bike trip out of it was out of the question. Zion is luckily one full tank of gas from home in my minivan. I could load a bike on the trailer, leave in the middle of the night and be in Zion by mid-morning. Ride the park all day, load up at sundown and drive the 425 miles back home without worrying about retreads and animals on the road.

And so it was, Friday morning. I've been trying to get pictures of each of the bikes at a different national park. Babe the Blue Ox had not been to a park yet. The cool blue and silver paint was thought to be a nice contrast to all the red rock colors of Zion so she got the nod. I overslept and didn't get out until nearly 5:00 AM. 6.5 hours later and losing one time zone, we rolled into the parking lot at Zion: 12:30 PM local time.

Here is the start to the forbidden canyon and the mechanical gate that normally blocks access to private vehicles.

[Donkey Hotey]

The canyon is reportedly nearly 3,000 feet deep in places. It's also very narrow. It makes the place extremely challenging to convey in photos. Even the wide-angle GoPro lens struggled to capture it all. Of course, our headlight buckets provide a flowing visual experience as we ride. This is how much of that reflector was consumed by the looming canyon walls all around.


The road ends at The Temple Of Sinawava. This is where hiking trails continue along the Virgin River, up to places like the narrows.



Riding back down the canyon toward the rest of the park, the light changes and the cliffs take on a different look.



Of course, there is more to the park and it is accessible to a private vehicle year-round. This is part of the landscape on the east end of the park, beyond the Mt Carmel tunnel.


Despite the canyon road being only 6 miles long and the main road less than 12 miles from west entrance to east entrance, I managed just under 90 miles. I lost count of how many times I rode back and forth in Zion Canyon and did two trips through the tunnels. The van and trailer got 850 miles for the day.

[wytfut]

You've got some beautiful country out there Greg..... very envious at times...

I've been riding on and off this winter, as weather permitted. I don't volunteer for cold weather riding much anymore, so you know it was nice. I'm not much of a photo bug as you.... sometimes I wish I was, but mostly I just don't want to bother.

Monday here it was hi 40's, Then Tuesday it was 91. That night 33. Very irregular weather this year.
So Tuesday I rode into Lincoln to watch my grandson run in a track meet. With that heat we had 50 mph gusts. Honestly on the highway I hadn't minded it much. But once into Lincoln at the traffic lites I really had to watch my balance.

I'm very proud of my state (lived here my whole life) and don't mean to make it sound so desolate. The most popular ride in this area is call the Louisville run. Most bikers who will actually get out on the road from Lincoln or Omaha know this ride. For the flat lands its a dandy down on the Platte River, buttes, curves....    70 mile round trip.

Out west is my favorite when I used to travel to Sturgis out in the sand hills. Over whelms me everytime. Commercially, my thoughts everyone is used to either mountains or oceans to appreciate our planets beauty. Sand hills are spectacular. Miles of curvy roads with nothing but maybe RXR tracks.

sorry got carried away.. LOL

[Donkey Hotey]

Haha, to point out the obvious: Zion was a 416 mile tow before the bike even got unloaded. For another hundred miles you could tow a bike to Rocky Mountain National Park, somewhere in the Black Hills or a bunch of other places. Man, that was a long day (but worth it).

[wytfut]

I’ve road RMNP... it’s nice, especially for scenery.
Black hills are great. Scenery AND a bit technical riding.

[Donkey Hotey]

Day one of the California Spring Super X Rally is now in the history books. Here are Mike Locklear and Doug Hoffelt discussing the meaning of life outside the now-closed Newcomb's Ranch on Angeles Crest Highway (California Route 2). Doug ordered nice weather for the weekend. The snow drifts, low 70s temperatures and heavy traffic here in the mountains didn't dampen our spirits.

[Donkey Hotey]

Day two is now complete. Remember kids: adventure begins when your plans fall apart.

Mike Degrood braved the vast California desert only to ride his old stomping ground. First stop today was Willow Springs Raceway. The Mikes take turns insisting that their lap times would be at least a second and a half faster than his.


Later north, we stopped in the middle of the Tehachapi Wind Farm. Ever wonder where wind comes from and how it's made? It turns out that Mike Degrood is a specialist. He explained how much wind this farm makes every day. Thanks to his dedicated work, it was a cool, sunny day with a nice steady breeze.


Beyond the wind farm is the Tehachapi Loop. The railroad grade climbing through Tehachapi is so steep from California's central valley that trains actually have to make a large loop part-way up the mountain to gain extra elevation. We stopped at the vista point. You often have to wait 15-20 minutes for the next train to come through. Doug again delivered on the entertainment. Just as we pulled up, a train was beginning it's lap over itself, right on his cue.
Further north, we continued the zigzagging over the Tehachapi Mountains. Here, Mike Degrood takes in the view from one of the last switchbacks on Caliente-Bodfish Road, high above Lake Isabella.

[Donkey Hotey]

The day began with a plan of less than 300 miles; many of those were going to be fast miles. Knowing we'd have time to burn, Mike Locklear arranged for his front brake caliper drag link to come off, allowing the caliper to clank into the moving front fork leg. He had some problems with this on his way to the start of the rally and it had returned.


Luckily, he arranged for this to happen less than 2 miles from the shop of a good friend of mine. We made it down the remainder of the mountain and rolled into his parking lot. I had literally been texting him from the vista point above, to tell him to wave and I was sorry we couldn't stop. Mike made sure that I at least stopped to say hi. Remember kids: you're never too busy to stop and say hi to your friends.


The brake link repair took some time and meant complete removal of the front wheel. Thanks Jon!

We got a late lunch and headed east on California 178. After cresting Walker Pass, we dropped back into the Mojave Desert. From there, Doug took us south. Highway 14 all the way back to the hotel? Nah. Doug? He knows someone everywhere we go.

We dropped off the main highway and onto the old road through the area: Sierra Highway (US 6). We stopped by the closed business of car customizer Gene Winfield. Doug spent a few minutes pointing out some of the creations parked around the lot.



Eventually a guy comes out to talk to us, opens the gate and steps outside. Doug starts talking to him and--of course--they both know some guy and have stories about him. Can't take Doug anywhere. He knows everyone (Not your aunt Ethel, huh? I'll bet he knows the neighbor next-door to your aunt Ethel).

[Donkey Hotey]

Three days in a row, three of my Super Xs got a turn to go to the rally. Saturday was Babe's turn. The remaining four won't talk to me now. Beulah was up at dawn this morning, waiting to go for a ride. Poor Beulah.

We met at Doug's house. The bikes got their daily buffing and dusting and we were off. After a 20-something mile smattering of Los Angeles traffic, Mr. Locklear assured me that they have rush hour traffic in Ohio. I reminded him: "Yes but, it's Saturday morning."

After Doug and I's super-secret route, we stopped at the first of the less well-known vista spots on the backbone of the Santa Monica Mountains. Behind them is all of Los Angeles and the pacific coast sweeping south toward Palos Verdes Peninsula.




Following more boring vista points, we made it to the famous Rock Store in Cornell California. We were passed on the route by literally dozens of old British sports cars who were very possibly there. Someone must have told them the Excelsior-Hendersons were coming and they got out just in time. I'm convinced that Doug called ahead and made sure they had enough pulled pork to make two sandwiches for Mike and I (we got the last of it).


With lunch done and daylight burning, we dropped down to the pacific coast and headed north toward Oxnard and Ventura. One of my tired and much-used photo spots in Malibu.



The ride continued north, Point Mugu visible in the distance.

[Donkey Hotey]

Pacific Coast Highway veers inland at Port Hueneme and doesn't return to the ocean until beyond Ventura. That would have to wait for another day. We rode inland, through the farm fields of Oxnard and Camarillo. At a stoplight, Doug tried to explain to Mike how they get the manure smell off the strawberries growing in all these fields.



A few miles later we entered the old town of Santa Paula, California.



Blocks into town, Doug spotted two motor officers waving to us. They were frozen in time (left side of the picture), riding their Harley and Henderson motorcycles. We stopped for a visit.



The Mulholland Water Project was to build an infrastructure to supply water to Los Angeles. Numerous dams and aqueducts were built over the years. One of those was the Saint Francis dam, built in a narrow canyon, 37 miles from this spot. We visited that location earlier in the day. Two minutes before midnight, March 12th, 1928, as the dam neared it's first complete fill, it failed. The dam broke free from one of the footings and the entire canyon full of water was released. It was the largest single loss of life in California history.

The water traveled down the Santa Clara riverbed toward the ocean. Two police officers--one on a Harley and the other on a Henderson four, rode through the small farming community with sirens blaring and horns honking, trying to wake the residents and get them to higher ground. This monument was erected in their honor and on this day, the road club paid a visit.



Short video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDWUKfBf3bA

[Donkey Hotey]

After a fill-up, it was the final leg toward home. We used Bouquet Canyon Road, full of more tired photo spots of mine. It was a brisk pace back to Lancaster and Doug's house.




Doug's good friend George (also an avid rider) had smoked an entire barnyard of animals for us to feast upon: beef, pork and chicken. The lamb and goat escaped and he won't say what happened to the duck. He didn't ride with us because he said he'd rather hang drywall than be seen with the three of us on these bikes. At least he returned for stories and dinner. Doug's wife prepared sides and had things waiting when we arrived. It was the perfect end to three great days.

The lame dad jokes in this ride report are all based in things that actually happened over the past three days. Only those of us who were there will get them. There is always the next time...

Crown jewel indeed.

[Donkey Hotey]

Part of our route on Saturday was the obligatory ride past the https://highwayphotos.net/ camp on Mulholland Highway. Jon has always delivered mind-blowing quality on his photos. I made a call from the last vista point before we were going to pass his spot. He asked us to space out and he'd get a full set of each bike as we rode by.

We also did a second pass where Doug and Mike practiced drafting off of my wake. I wasn't nervous. Both guys are great riders (not really, Jon does this for customers using Photoshop trickery, trained riders on a closed course, do not attempt to duplicate).



Mike also got to be the honored thumbnail shot on the website for all the photos that morning.

[bobbybhb]

Thanks for the great update and photos.

[wytfut]

Very nice job Greg...
Love any and all reports of any X event.
Jumper did this great. Greg, you are right up there..

FlatlandersupportingXworld
Bruce

[Donkey Hotey]

Thanks guys. I kept wondering if Doug or Mike were going to post here. I'll have to post for them. 

The photographer knew we were coming but, didn't know when we would show up. As the lead bike, I didn't get these artsy shots of me coming up Mullholland Highway with the spring flowers around me.