Yep....I know. It seems like I haven't been going on too many moto adventures lately. The truth is that I have been working full time for the last three months (thank God....it's been painfully long overdue), and so I haven't had that empty time to fill with such things as motorcycle rides....or even fishing excursions. Actually, I have been doing a lot of singletrack over the winter, but the powers that be have gone in and f-....er I mean mucked up the trail area with all sorts of windmill (giant bird swatters) construction....and associated collateral damage of the environment and trail system out there. The last time I was out there, I managed to forniskew (yup, I didn't invent the word. Super Hunky did and I just remembered it) my right forearm on a manzanita tree. I had a young charge (coworker/friend) that I was supposed to looking after while I was training her to ride a trail bike, but she ended up having to look after me instead, because of my carelessness. Almost healed. Anyway, I'm a little tired of that riding area for a little while... Bloody owie, all bandaged up. You can always count on an epic friend to look on with a slight smirk, after they cut off their own shirt hem to finish off the bandaging job. Sooooo....I started off with a nice long street ride about two weeks after the injury. The following weekend found me wandering the lower desert on the Green Slug. After that, a bit of trail riding the same green slug at Corral Canyon....and then finally, I pulled out the Italian Stallion for a nice moto walkabout yesterday. The weather was a bit chilly and gray to start the morning off. Winds kept at it for the course of the day, but at least the sun came out around midday. I staged at Anza. Anybody who knows me, knows that I like to start and end my ride as close to ice cream as humanly possible, so I was parked next to Dairy Queen. I originally planned on taking Tripp Flats road up to Red Mountain road, then heading down Hixon trail, but I spooked myself out of this section because I was riding the big heavy bike, and I was all alone. I've ridden Hixon MANY time all by myself...but I'm not getting any younger....or taller....or stronger...and maybe not even any smarter....but I was wise enough to heed my gut feeling on this one, and just take a safer, more well traveled route this time around. So, up Cahuilla trail I motored, enjoying the crisp air...at least until I was working too hard and began to perspire. Snake stop.... View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TFhK6hklYo Once I was up in the trees, there seemed to be a lot of 4X4 traffic, and campers at almost every yellow stake camping spot on the mountain. I decided to head for the summit and some premium views. View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qWCB_E5pHI View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbBZqmo_Qm0 At the summit. Lake Hemet just below the San Jacinto mountains in the background. After I stopped there, I headed down to Garner Valley, but again decided to forsake an out-of-the-way route for a safer one, and did some slabbling...more than I really wanted to...but oh well. Bautista Canyon road would be my route back to Anza. This was the first year in many that there had been enough rain for the creek to actually run across the road. There were actually two places that there was a water crossing. I'm fond of most water crossings....and wished that I had actually come down Bee Canyon and done the San Jacinto river crossing....but there's always next time, and warmer weather coming up too. So, as I neared Anza, I decided to go ahead and take a side loop up Tripp Flats after all, and at least do the trail that runs down to Reed Valley, before hanging it up for the day. After all, I needed a LITTLE adventure.... The pace was lively, and this was some of the last moments that I had any friskiness left, so I added lots of commentary on this stretch.... View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1aFzaqCh7A Now I was thoroughly and properly pooped out, with about 85 miles on the odometer, and really looking forward to that ice cream waiting for me as soon as I loaded the bike back onto the carrier. I had a good and safe day....maybe not too exciting, but to quote GHTE, it was "compelling". Thanks for climbing into your arm chair and joining me.
