G19Tony
Well-known member
I was what they referred to on the Scooter Cannonball, as a tourist. That label is correct. I collected the Control Points and Bonus Points, because that was part of the fun. But my main reason for doing the SCB, was to see my country at 40mph on my Honda CT125.
I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the help of my friend, Larry. He drove my truck for support, and had my back on the faster roads, where he told me saw unique hand gestures from motorists not accustomed to going 35 in a 65. Fortunately, we only had to do that a few times.
The days were long, with 12-15 hours in the seat each day. It was ride, eat, sleep for 8 days. Since I was on one of the slowest bikes in the field, I thought we should start at 4am. Sometimes, I didn’t start getting passed by other bikes until 6 or 7. We would get to the next day’s hotel around 8 or so, go to Denny’s, and go to sleep for 3 or 4 hours, and start again.
The trip started off a bit rainy and a bit foggy as we set off from San Clemente. After the group photo, everyone started drifting out toward the route. After a couple hours of twisting through the mountains, the sun came out and the scenery came out with it. My best memory of that first day was coming out of the mountains and descending into the Coachella Valley. The view was like from an airplane. It was my first trip through Joshua Tree National Park. Great view, and hot. My bike started losing power at the bottom of the park. As we climbed into the park and the temp went down a degree or two. The bike was back to normal. Too hot for the fuel, was our only guess. The funniest part of the park was when we got to the end. I pulled up to the booth and was ready to was ready to whip out my Military Park Pass, and the Ranger just waved me through and told me not to worry about it, as she saw motorcyclists fall over, trying to get their pass out or pay the fee.
Other than a couple of Burros in the road, and a giant truck turning left in front of me, the rest of the trip into Lake Havasu was uneventful.
San Clemente-Lake Havasu 372 miles.
Larry and I at the Lost Winds taproom before the start. I'm on the left.
Descending into the Coachella Valley.
I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the help of my friend, Larry. He drove my truck for support, and had my back on the faster roads, where he told me saw unique hand gestures from motorists not accustomed to going 35 in a 65. Fortunately, we only had to do that a few times.
The days were long, with 12-15 hours in the seat each day. It was ride, eat, sleep for 8 days. Since I was on one of the slowest bikes in the field, I thought we should start at 4am. Sometimes, I didn’t start getting passed by other bikes until 6 or 7. We would get to the next day’s hotel around 8 or so, go to Denny’s, and go to sleep for 3 or 4 hours, and start again.
The trip started off a bit rainy and a bit foggy as we set off from San Clemente. After the group photo, everyone started drifting out toward the route. After a couple hours of twisting through the mountains, the sun came out and the scenery came out with it. My best memory of that first day was coming out of the mountains and descending into the Coachella Valley. The view was like from an airplane. It was my first trip through Joshua Tree National Park. Great view, and hot. My bike started losing power at the bottom of the park. As we climbed into the park and the temp went down a degree or two. The bike was back to normal. Too hot for the fuel, was our only guess. The funniest part of the park was when we got to the end. I pulled up to the booth and was ready to was ready to whip out my Military Park Pass, and the Ranger just waved me through and told me not to worry about it, as she saw motorcyclists fall over, trying to get their pass out or pay the fee.
Other than a couple of Burros in the road, and a giant truck turning left in front of me, the rest of the trip into Lake Havasu was uneventful.
San Clemente-Lake Havasu 372 miles.
Larry and I at the Lost Winds taproom before the start. I'm on the left.
Descending into the Coachella Valley.