First GZ250Bike Group Ride: Ortega Hwy, CA

[alanmcorcoran]

Moedad and I finally hooked up this morning. I'd mapped out a loop of some of the best motorcyle roads in Orange and Riverside County, including Santiago Canyon, Live Oak Canyon, Ortega Highway, Cajalco Expressway and Carbon Canyon Rd.

[pbss:18yz412v]http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/alanmcorcoran/Ortega/?action=view&current=df8b378c.pbw[/pbss:18yz412v]

We met up at the intersection of Jamboree and Santiago Canyon. About a minute into our pre-ride chit chat, a red miata(?) came roaring over the hill (third photo), made a sharp left turn across the left lane, and caught a little air before coming to rest in the adjacent field. Guy just missed two bicyclists grinding their way up the shoulder. Not sure what caused him to careen into the field, but we saw a yellow sports car a few minutes later and there was a chopper (the flying kind) that might have been in pursuit. I thought we'd better get going before the road got cordoned off for the accident investigation.

We stopped at Cook's Corner and again, after Ortega, at The Lookout, both popular biker stops. Moe had some chores he had to do so we split up in Lake Elsinore, he headed to the 15, I continued on 74. Eventually I re-united with Cajalco, took that to Corona, and then made my way towards Chino Hills. I got a little turned around on that part, but using the basic Boy Scout navigation system (mountains, sun, etc.,) I was able to connect up with 142 (Carbon Canyon) with only one U-turn, back-tracking about a quarter mile. This ride included many segments from previously reported rides, including the Cook's Corner, Farmer Boy's Hemet, Seventh Street Theater and others.

Total mileage was about 140 miles. I made a third stop at Starbucks in Corona, for a total elapsed time of about 4 hrs and 20 minutes. Butt is a little fatigued, but nothing compared to my bicycle days.

Moe's not a big talker, and I guess I'm not either. In any case, there ain't much opportunity for talking anyway. We seemed to be a good match on the road - I think our total mileage ridden is pretty close - I'm a little over 1800 at this point - and we seemed compatible speed wise. We went either staggered or straight followon. A few times on Ortega we let some impatient tail gaters pass, but for the most part we were at the posted speed limit or better. There is some pretty hairy stuff at the end of Ortega - I was in the lead for that and took it pretty conservatively.

The weather was just about perfect. No wind, not too hot, not too cold. A really beautiful day. I don't stop for a lot of pictures and there's none of the actual Ortega ride, but it is one of the most scenic roads I've ridden on. Hard to believe it's only about an hour or so from my house.

[Moedad]

No, I'm not a big talker. Next time maybe we'll have more time for longer stops. Good ride! For those back east, Ortega hwy is about as close as we SoCal riders get to a Dragon's Tail sort of ride. I got to split lanes for about 8 miles going up the 15 before the 91. There were 4 accidents and traffic was crawling, so it was a good opportunity. Good times!

[BusyWeb]

Finally, You Mr. Alan and Mr. Moedad got ride together...
Strange...I got a ride today (yes, by myself) and it was 140 miles.. O_o )
This is the first time I'm seeing "TWO GZ250" were on the Photo... :cool: ha ha ha.
Hope see more later on..

[Moedad]

Here's some of my pics. First me and Alan and our bikes. Alan's is sort of blocked but the next picture will show it better. This is Cook's Corner. Alan's mentioned it in previous ride reports, but this was my first time stopping here, or at any other biker place. In my understanding, it's quite tame from what it used to be. Before the suburbs moved in on it, it was way out in the middle of nowhere, and outlaw bikers used to frequent the bar. Now it's guys more like us. :skull: We bad.


Here are both our bikes without us in the way.


Here's a glimpse of the Ortega Highway switchbacks on the east end of the 25-30 mile run. This is about the twistiest part of the ride. Some parts of the ride go through a narrow canyon with drops into a rocky streambed. Several speed freak knucklehead bikers/cagers are killed (or kill somebody by being a knucklehead) somehwere along the highway every year.


And lastly, here's a picture of the water tank sign for The Lookout, the second biker place I've ever stopped at. Don't know if this place was as notorious as Cook's Corner was.


This was a fun ride. I would've enjoyed ending up at Starbuck's to relax a little at the end, Alan. Maybe next time.

[Graydog]

Great pics! I made a ride today also. To Wally World and back for light bulbs.

[alanmcorcoran]

Nice pictures Moe. Thanks!

[BusyWeb]

After seeing your two.s ride report, I got a feeling that I would go Orange county roads sometime.
Nice pictures.... :rawk:

[CMS]

Great report and pictures, please do more so we can enjoy your rides during our winter season. I really envy your good weather. I was in winter gear this wk end and will be in future rides, and the snow will be here faster than I want. MoDad ,nice jacket. Ride safe guys. CMS :biggrin:

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

Nice pictures Moe. Thanks!

Indeed. Good story.
I can't help but notice that neither of you has a "real" bike; as we all know, real bikes come only in black!! :biggrin:

This may be in some of the later messages but a quick scan doesn't show anything obvious:
What do you think of the windshield, Alan? Did Moe trust you enough for a short test ride??
It does look to me like it could go a couple of inches higher.

[Moedad]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

What do you think of the windshield, Alan? Did Moe trust you enough for a short test ride??

I'm a doofus. I thought about it on the way to meet him, then I forgot until I was on my way home. Then again, he'd have to trust me to ride his bike.