When you add people to a group, you never know what’s going to happen. Though she lives less than 100 miles from me and Fiona, we’d never met Unleaded’s sister Jessica before, much less ridden with her.

If I had any worries, they disappeared immediately. Her easy smile and quick wit made her fit right in. Jessica is definitely one of the gang, part of the group, one of the family. And, the girl can ride the hell out of her Ninja. Welcome aboard, Jessica! Don’t worry, your nickname will come…

I’ve had this idea in my head for a long time, and I was about to subject this motley cast of characters to it. My idea? I want to write an article for a motorcycle magazine. With that idea in mind, we headed back into the San Gabriel Mountains for the ride that would become the story for the article.

And, of course to take the pictures that would accompany that article.

As I said earlier, all the cliches about motorcycle roads have been beaten to death. Keith, knowing my plan for the day, decided to help me with a few new road and riding cliches:

The peaks and valleys of the canyon dipped me in and out like a potato chip into some delicious French onion dip, while the road threw endless ‘S’ curves at me like an overwhelming can of alphabet soup.

And

I continued to accelerate up the incline while the wheels of my trusty metal steed lovingly massaged the crooked spine of this rock and asphalt beauty.

Ah… what can I say but thanks for the help, brother!

Our thundering triumvirate rumbled along the sinewy single track with singleminded sense of purpose. Glistening remnants of snowfall lined the roadside as our metal mounts made short work of the undulating surface below, carrying us further and further toward our destination. The miles rapidly ticked by, when suddenly, the unsuspecting and sleepy town of Mt. Baldy, nestled deep in the crook of Mount San Antonio appeared, awaiting our ragged band of riders with open arms; the Mt. Baldy Lodge restaurant our reward for a long day in the saddle.

Damn. That cliche crap is actually hard work!

The food at Mt. Baldy is excellent, and they have the most unusual heater I’ve ever seen.

I don’t know for sure, but it looks to me like the mad scientists over at the Morris Dam Naval Ordnance Test Station might have had something to do with this heater’s design.

Full of chili, burgers and pie, we waddled outside for the obligatory ‘Bikes-In-Front-of-a-Restaurant-Sign’ picture.

The rest of the day was spent doing my second… err.. well.. maybe third or fourth favorite thing.. well.. OK… definitely top ten anyway; taking pictures!

And so on.

The ride was great, the day was spectacular, and all too soon, the giant, life providing orb in the sky dipped lower, finally kissing the horizon, and it was time to go home.

We returned from slaying the… oh whatever.. what I mean to say is we pulled into the driveway, had a few laughs over some plank grilled salmon and Macallan, and made some more plans for some more rides.

And yes, in case you were wondering, it was the Best Day Ever!

The post script to this saga can be found here.

Author: frenchy

One Response to “Marathons, Milk and the Rest”

1. Anonymous says:

   March 5, 2009 at 12:10 PM

   Sounds like a wonderful day ! And the pics are super ! They were so brilliant that I felt I was there with you.

   BTW, I have started a blog ! Yeah, me can you imagine

   The site is Seagu22@blogspot.com

   When you have time, let me know what you think … Any advice would help !

   Love, Aunt Connie

   Reply