I'm on two wheels
Friday, September 28, 2007
Trip to Big Bear 9-27-07
Jim from Azusa and I met up at Polly's Pies in Yorba linda at about 8:30 am to get ready for a trip to Big Bear Lake. Jim was on his new Kawasaki 900 Tourer and it's always fun to see and gawk at a new motorcycle. He has an air horn attached to the engine guard and boy is it loud, I want something like that but smaller. We decided to go through Carbon Canyon to get to the 71 Fwy and then head over to San Bernardino-Mentone on the 10 Fwy, to go through the "Back Way" to Big Bear.
Carbon Canyon has a sharp downhill "S" curve that I dislike but we went through it with no problem and on to the 71 and then the 10 out to University Drive in Redlands and on up to Big Bear.
Stopped at a ranger station just outside Mentone and took a couple pictures including map of the Rim of the World highway.
We started at about 2,000 ft elevation at the ranger station and went to over 8,000 ft level and the lake is at around 7,000 level. The trip up was smooth and not real fast but we did good and I really was leaning (felt like it to me)in the curves. Speed varied from 30 to 45 in some curves and sweeps. Any good sport motorcycle rider would have blown us off the road, even Goldwings would have passed us I'm sure, but we stayed ahead of the light traffic.
Arrived in Big Bear and went to the Discovery Center on the north side of Big Bear lake just to stop and take a look, took a couple more pictures and then headed to the commercial side of the lake to find the Grizzly Cafe for a hamburger. Jim has a Garmin GPS mounted on the handle bars making it easiy to find different locations and road maps. Jim is on the left.
Grizzly Cafe is on the lake road and is in a small (tiny) cabin near the turnoff for ski area. Amazingly good hamburger or we were starving, but it was good. $10.00 for hamburger-no cheese, potato salad or fries and a drink, not cheap but friendly place and good food.
That's My new Tourmaster luggage strapped on the back, it's empty but it was a trial run to see how it fit back there, and it came through with no problems, I just have no place to put the helmet at a stop with it on the back.
Now it's about 12:30 and we start to head out back the same way we came. I thought that when we got up to the lake we would just put the motorcycles on a tram and take the shuttle back to where we started, but apparently that was not the plan. We had to ride back all the way. Trip back was smooth and trouble free as well. Stopped at the ranger station again on the way back and then gassed up and headed back to home. total trip about 200 miles started 9:00 ended 3:30 pm. tired but another successful trip accomplished. ¶ 12:52 PM 0 comments
Carbon Canyon has a sharp downhill "S" curve that I dislike but we went through it with no problem and on to the 71 and then the 10 out to University Drive in Redlands and on up to Big Bear.
Stopped at a ranger station just outside Mentone and took a couple pictures including map of the Rim of the World highway.
We started at about 2,000 ft elevation at the ranger station and went to over 8,000 ft level and the lake is at around 7,000 level. The trip up was smooth and not real fast but we did good and I really was leaning (felt like it to me)in the curves. Speed varied from 30 to 45 in some curves and sweeps. Any good sport motorcycle rider would have blown us off the road, even Goldwings would have passed us I'm sure, but we stayed ahead of the light traffic.
Arrived in Big Bear and went to the Discovery Center on the north side of Big Bear lake just to stop and take a look, took a couple more pictures and then headed to the commercial side of the lake to find the Grizzly Cafe for a hamburger. Jim has a Garmin GPS mounted on the handle bars making it easiy to find different locations and road maps. Jim is on the left.
Grizzly Cafe is on the lake road and is in a small (tiny) cabin near the turnoff for ski area. Amazingly good hamburger or we were starving, but it was good. $10.00 for hamburger-no cheese, potato salad or fries and a drink, not cheap but friendly place and good food.
That's My new Tourmaster luggage strapped on the back, it's empty but it was a trial run to see how it fit back there, and it came through with no problems, I just have no place to put the helmet at a stop with it on the back.
Now it's about 12:30 and we start to head out back the same way we came. I thought that when we got up to the lake we would just put the motorcycles on a tram and take the shuttle back to where we started, but apparently that was not the plan. We had to ride back all the way. Trip back was smooth and trouble free as well. Stopped at the ranger station again on the way back and then gassed up and headed back to home. total trip about 200 miles started 9:00 ended 3:30 pm. tired but another successful trip accomplished. ¶ 12:52 PM 0 comments
