The Songdog Ranch Ride May 1-3, 2010 By Catfish
Photos in this report were shamelessly borrowed from Bob-O, Pat McCrystle, and Catfish. GPS tracks in GoogleMaps.
Saturday — Day of the Dog Saturday morning was clear & cool. The weather forecast for the weekend was wonderful. I was early enough to the coast to stop at the beach for a photo and an appetizer.
Parked in front of Duarte's next to Scott Flores' FJR1300. Next came Jim Cairnes (Versys) with Alison on the back. Pat McCrystle (R1100RT) & Mark Wurtzel (R1) arrived as we were finishing a great breakfast.
Earl was heading down I5 mid-day with the Z50R in the back of the truck. Bob-O (CBR1100XX) & guest Gary (old Concours) were going to meet us at the Chevron in Carmel. Mark's guest, Doug (Duc SS900), was riding up to Songdog from the Malibu area. We headed east from Duarte's and then south on Cloverdale & Gaza Creek Roads to the coast. Gaza Creek is FUN when there's no traffic. Down the coast next on CA-1 and a left on Swanton Road. A sign said road closed ahead mumble miles. We continued. Passed some bicycles along the way, so I figured I could go anywhere they could. A bridge appeared to have new concrete abutments at each end. There was a couple of slots through the barriers for people & bicycles to cross. I only scraped a saddlebag on one barrier to get through! Finished the twisty Swanton loop and back on CA-1 though Santa Cruz, Monterey, and to the Chevron in Carmel. We passed Bob-O & Gary on the freeway.
There were a few cars on CA-1 south of Carmel, so we patiently picked our way through. South of Big Sur, the traffic was lighter, but not near as sparse as it used to be. We stopped at Nepenthe's (Cafe Kevah actually) for a coffee break and the beautiful view. Yuppie coffee prices, but its a favorite place to stop on a gorgeous day down the coast.
Its been a few years since we traveled down CA-1 past the Nacimiento-Ferguson Road to get to Songdog. CA-1 is usually closed and under repair every spring near Lucia. Today it was OPEN with a couple of signaled one-lane construction areas. Traffic was light, with an occasional string of 3-5 cars to pass. Other than the construction zones, the road was in good condition. Its a slice of twisty heaven down to San Simeon, then civilization & traffic start picking up again. Somewhere along the twisting Pacific Coast Highway, I got my 2nd-annual French-electrics-on-an-Italian-motorcycle failure on a Songdog ride. Thankful it was only the turn-signal switch this time. It flops from side-to-side, but no blinkie. I had to give dorky hand & arm signals for the rest of the ride. We had a 1:30PM reservation at The Galley Restaurant on the water in Morro Bay. A large section of Morro Bay was closed off for a street-scene type car show. Many folks walking around looking at some cool cars. Mark & Scott decided to forego lunch and head straight to the dog for libations & to play with the arsenal that was sent down in Earl's truck. The rest of us sat down to a gorgeous view of the bay and the best seafood in town. When the Andersons retired in 2004, the new owners tore the place down and built a smaller restaurant with a 8-room motel on top. Its a nice popular place, so don't forget the reservations. I had the Fish Tacos (Blackened Salmon) and they were fantastic! Next we droned with traffic down CA-1 to San Luis and CA-101 to Santa Maria. From here, we headed east on CA-166. Its a nice, fast, wide 2-lane backroad where all traffic usually moves pretty fast. Even the trucks. The first part is big sweepers through the river canyon through the mountains. The second section is straighter with less curves, but with hills for sneaky CHP to hide from view. The last part is straight across the high desert valley. The 166 sweepers were fun & the canyon was green. As we got into the hilly part, we slowly caught a fast-moving car. He slowed a bit until he was sure we were not cops, then sped up to stay ahead of us. I was a good 100-120 yards behind the car & we were all moving about 80. About 2 miles later, I spot a black & white appear in the other lane over the hill in the distance. No radar signal initially. As I stepped on the rear brake, the radar detector lit up for 2 seconds. I know he got the car's speed, but I think I was down to 65 (10 over) when the CHP cleared the car. The car never showed a brake light. After the CHP cleared our group in my mirror, I saw him slow & turn around. We continued at 60 and watched our mirrors. The rabbit slowed a little, but was now pulling away from us. Next thing I know the CHP is in the other lane with lights a going and he's hauling ass in my mirror! We slow further and pull to the right as he whizzes by. He catches the car in the next straight and pulls him over. The CHP never looked up as we rode by. Saved by the rabbit! We cruised into New Cuyama for gas and on to Songdog. Met one more CHP with radar on 166, but detected him long before he was near enough. Rode up to the mesa about 5:30PM. Set up camp, watched the shooting for a while, and started helping Earl with dinner. Discovered that Pat is an Italian cooking fool! He quickly too over the grilling duties as he told us about his 40 feet of basil in the garden. Seems he's a pesto-FREAK! Who knew?!? The Herradura was used to lube the cooks and anyone else that happened to walk by. Many "flavor nuggets" were sampled to ensure everything was cooked juuuuust right!
We heard what sounded like a CANNON go off behind the lodge! WTF was that?!? Wurtzel had also brought his 44 Mangum. My GAWD that thing is LOUD!!!
Alison, apparently never shot a gun before, was properly indoctrinated in the fine art of shooting. She's a quick learner and had a big smile on her face!
Dinner was ready before long as we setup to eat in the lodge. BBQ-ed tri-tip steaks, grilled marinaded chicken, and a few side dishes made a GREAT dinner.
It was a bit windy Saturday night, so we skipped a fire and stayed in the lodge for the evening. Yea I know, what a bunch of pussies! Much drinking & story telling. The pussies started fading about 11PM with only a little bit of Herradura left. In the first bottle. We still had a fresh one in the ice chest for Sunday night.
Sunday — Hair of the Dog The birds in the big juniper next to my tent started chirping at dawn, ~5:30AM. I found my ear plugs and went back to sleep. The SUN woke me next. I stretched and felt pretty darn good. I was looking forward to a fun day.
Earl make some hot coffee, sausages, and scrambled eggs to go with the muffins, bagels, & fruit for breakfast. I think he needs to be President of the Northstars more often!
Finally rode the Z50R before it got loaded up. Fun little toy to wheelie around camp on. Apparently Alison took a liking to it later in the morning. Earl later left for home, while Jim & Alison hung around the mesa & lodge for the day (I think). Mark was returning home on Sunday also, but not before riding CA-33 to Ojai and back.
We (Bob, Scott, Pat, Gary, Doug, Mark, & Catfish) headed south about 9. 33 was fast & fun. The mountains & canyons were green with little blue & purple flowers along the road. At the gas station in Ojai Mark waved good bye and returned to Songdog to pack & ride home. We took Hermosa Rd to Creek Road and followed its curves until it came back to CA-33 south of Ojai again. South to 101 south, and then we headed towards the Pacific Coast Highway east of Oxnard. We waved good bye to Doug as he continued down CA-1 and the rest of us turned left on Deer Creek Road. This tight little twisty ribbon climbed to the top of the coastal mountains, where it changed names to Pacific View & then Cotharin Road. Some sections had a center line & narrow lanes, others were a wide single lane. A tight technical road that required your attention if moving fast. The left on Yerba Buena Road brought more twisties, but less technical & faster. At Mulholland Highway, we turned left and rode the best part of this road to the Rock Store.
What a Moto-ZOO! Pat found some parking on the opposite shoulder of the road, so we parked and wandered through the poseurs & their steeds. What a collection of everything! Took a few photos and got bored.
We headed back to the west on Mulholland, then left on South Kana Dune Rd., and left on Latigo Canyon Road. This is my favorite Malibu-area road down to the beach. The incredible canyon road, the canyon views with the ocean in the distance, the BIG expensive homes & estates, and the spring flowers on the green hills.
Pat & Bob led us east to Malibu for lunch. Somewhere on the other side of Malibu we stopped at the Country Kitchen. Greasy burgers and my turkey sandwich were pretty good. While we ate, a guy with a Ducati-team shirt and no helmet arrived on a scooter. He looked vaguely familiar. Scott went over and talked to him as he ordered & waited for his lunch.
After this guy left, Scott came back over & told us he was Jeff Jensen. A stuntman who had a 150Hp Duc S4 Monster built to climb Pikes Peak. He did a film ("The First, Last Race" IMDB) about riding the Monster to Colorado, raced the mountain course, and rode it back to California. Scott had met him at a screening of the film in Tiburon last year. Apparently Jeff lives about half a block up that street and just invited us up to see the Monster! "Cool Beans!" McCrystle shouted! We rode up the hill and parked next to his box-van. Nice place with a great view of the ocean. Oh-MY, look at the Duc and the other cool toys in this garage! Jeff gave us the nickel tour.
We thanked Jeff for showing us his toys. He said the Duc was going for sale soon. Said he was a dirt rider and didn't like riding on the street anymore. Jeff recommended a couple of roads to take back to Ojai. Pat plotted a route that way on his Zumo and off we went. We rode west to Malibu Canyon Road and took it north to CA101. North on 101 to North on 23 to west on 118. Then we turned north on Balcom Canyon Road. Nice backroad through the orchards and away from the so.cal traffic. Left on South Mountain Rd. to Santa Paula and then Ojai-Santa Paula Rd to Ojai. Fun roads when we didn't have traffic. Filled up with gas in Ojai and took a break. We were making great time and would get back to the lodge in time to relax before dinner.
North on CA-33 was heaven again. Very little late afternoon traffic, and my favorite direction through the canyon. Back to the mesa, we had a little tequila and appetizers for dinner. Jim & Alison joined us for the ride to Sagebrush Annie's.
Sagebrush Annie's looks like an abandoned shack from the outside, but its a cozy, wonderful place for dinner on the inside. Our table of seven were the only reservations for the evening. We had private service from Larry & Karina, the owners.
Larry told us about their award-winning wines and which ones were available this evening. We sampled a couple and ordered two bottles for dinner. Larry ages the steaks they serve himself, and they are the best! The Cowboy Taters were excellent also. We sampled two of Karina's desserts; the three-berry apple pie, and the berry creme brulee. Both were outstanding!
Afterwards, Larry led us on a tour of the Wine-Tasting Clubhouse out back. What an amazing place. Larry laid every brick and stone in the building and the walls around the garden & elsewhere.
Larry is 76. What an amazing couple with such a cool place in the middle of nowhere. I mean Ventucopa. We finally paid the bill and wandered back to the mesa about 3 hours later. We had a mess of firewood that needed burning. With a little gasoline for kindling, we promptly had a nice BIG white-man fire to enjoy. Then we started on the rest of the tequila. What a great day and a wonderful evening. The songdoggies howled at midnight and slipped away to the darkness.
Monday — Yelp of the Dog The sun & my bladder woke me around 7. No hangover again. Herradura (& no wine) is the best! Broke camp & packed up. Pat made some cowboy coffee and the troops converged. Jim & Alison were wanting to get home early & stop for a good breakfast. There was some cord showing on Gary's back tire, so he and Bob-O were going to limp home at a leisurely pace. They all rode to Tina's in Maricopa for breakfast, and then various ways home. Catfish, Pat, & Scott headed south on 33 a few miles and turned left to follow Lockwood Valley Road east into the mountains. Fun curvy road with a few water crossings to spice up the climb to Frazier Park. We stopped at the Market & Deli on the left at the stop sign. Ordered sandwiches, snacks, and drinks to go. We then turned left on Cuddy Valley Rd and northwest along the ridgeline. We turned right on Mil Potrero Highway to continue up the ridge and followed the twisties through Pine Mountain. Next came Cerro Noroeste Road. We stopped to eat our food in a nice spot and enjoyed the mountain views. This road has nice banked curves, all designed to be taking at the same speed. Once you get in sync, its fast and FUN! The view to the north of CA-166 as you descend the ridgeline is the Carrizo Plain N.M. Right on 166 to the high-speed sweepers over the ridge to Maricopa. Left on 33 to the Chevron station in Taft. We snuck out of town the back way and played on Midoil road. Its a crazy blind roller coaster that tests your faith in yourself. WICKED fun when you learn its character. After a short run up 33 again, we turn left on CA-58 towards Paso Robles. 58 has many different sections with their own character and rhythms. The early foothills and the climb through the box canyon are divine. The high-speed roller-coaster hills had little side wind, so landing where you had planned after flight was rewarding & addicting. I kept speeding up a little more for the next one! The last three before the farm house are the best. Wheee... The high-speed sweepers through the foothills led us the BIG oak tree we usually stop for a break at. I finished my sandwich and gawked at the 3-4 feet tall grass by the side of the road. California has had a nice wet spring. CA229 followed 58 and tightened up nicely. What a sweet little one-lane paved MX track, up a ridge and down the other side! We snuck through Paso Robles on Creston, Neal Springs, and River roads. We didn't need more lunch or fuel, so we continued north. Indian Valley Rd. was green, technical, and fun as always. We stopped for a break in the shade. Gorgeous day! Peachtree led us to 198 & CA-25 to Hollister. We stopped for gas, ibuprofen, and an ice cream at the Chevron. Afterwards we droned in traffic up 25 to Gilroy, and then 101, and home by 7:30PM. Interesting that the cameras never came out on Monday. It was a GREAT three days, & 1054 miles of fun. Catfish ... PS: Bob-O sent photos of Gary at the last gas stop before home.
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