We got Terry his gun parts, totally underwhelmed with the whole ‘Black Friday’ sales thing. There are about 10 things on sale in the whole shop, we went to two different shops and it was the same deal in both. Mind you, there were zillions of people and they had shopping carts piled high of things that were not on sale, so, once again, I am left baffled by this country and its citizens.
As threatened, Amy and I went for a ride.
As usual, she requested corners.
As usual, I suggested Palomar.
As usual, she said no. (Her reason was that she had done that one already).
We ended up going the 60 miles (96km) to Palm Springs.
At the end of the desert run, there are some absolutely gorgeous corners as you descend into the valley floor where Palm Springs gulps water and pretends to be livable.
The run out is not so bad, had totally forgotten that you spend a lot of it on a plateau, as a result, its not exactly warm. To say we froze our butts off, is a major under-statement.
Anyway, other than heaps of traffic, the run out was fine. As you get near the decent, the view perks up remarkably. I need to take some video of the ride, or photos from the bike, there are very few places to stop safely and take photos.
Its a like a moon scape, there is almost nothing growing, there are huge rocky mountains as far as the eye can see. In the distance there was a huge mountain that had a cap of snow, below the peak was the cloud line, it was one of those WOW moments.
The bike, as usual, was super smooth. Both Amy and I commented on how quite and smooth it was at different times. I have no idea what a ‘magic carpet ride’ would be like, but I suspect that the bike is a pretty close first.
The trance was pumping out the speakers, Amy and I really like listening to it that way. We have the intercom on, and the CD playing out the speakers. Amy tells me that she gets a nice thump thump in the arms and back from the beat from the rear speakers. (Speaking of speakers, Opto are going to give every one a $100 gift voucher. I am going to get one for Wal Mart (its there or Cost Co) and buy the speakers I have been eyeing off for a while. They are Pioneers, should be a really good upgrade from the standard Honda ones. Im pretty excited about it as I was not expecting it, and it means I dont have to spend any of the money I have been saving for the lights. I am really looking forward to getting a garage, and over a few nights swaping out the speakers).
Its really hard to describe how nice it is to be floating along, trance music blaring, chatting to your daughter while passing through some of the most amazing senary you have ever seen…… Pitty we were both shivering from the cold…… Like Amy said, we had a great ride and learn’t something (I already knew, but had dismissed).
So, the corners. Yes, it was worth the run out. We slipped past the last car, and let the bike have its head. Oh wow. Its like its on rails. Cranked over, but still doing about 60mph (95kph) it just floats around the huge sweepers that take you down to the desert floor. They almost go around 360 degrees, so you get time to really feel and enjoy the corner. A very short straight, and you are into the opposite sweeper. There are tight ‘S’s between rock cutouts and fish hook turns that have you down a gear. Its about 7 miles of face splitting smiles.
Amy really loves the corners, shes hooting and laughing as we flip from corner to corner. She knows to sit still, so you can dial the bike in and not have it do anything unexpected as the weight on the back does not wiggle around. Its a pleasure thats hard to compare with anything else.
We got to the bottom. Stopped and stretched our legs for a bit, tried to get warm, gave up, got back on the bike and did it all again.
120 miles, (193km’s), every one of them a joy. I really do need to get out on the bike more often (I have ‘missed’ three months of after work rides (AWR), and it shows, I need to set myself the clear goal of going once a month no matter HOW I feel (cause no matter how I feel, I can be sure that it will be a lot better when I get off the bike after a few hours)).
Thanks for saying ‘No’ to Palomar Amy. It was a fantastic ride. Thanks for sharing with me and the still as yet un-named bike.