San Diego 2023 Trip Report

Decided to keep the unemployment riding going and head to San Diego. The S/O was dog / apartment sitting so after a nice week by myself I'd head down.

Initially I'd considered just riding all the way down in one day on Monday. Once a neighbor offered to watch the cat however, I decided to take off on Sunday. Of course I'd been out Saturday and needed to finish packinng, but I'd hit the road by 2.

Got to the garage and noticed the chain needed adjustment, no problem, 2:30 departure it is. Then the bike seemed unstable on the side stand, back to the garage so see if can remove any side to side play, not really, but at least I confirmed it won't fall off. Little after 3 I am finally on the road.

I kept a good pace to get out of the bay area, as I got into Gilroy and started working my way towards 25 things started getting scenic.



Plan was 25 - Coalinga Rd - Los Gatos Creek Rd

The route didn't dissapoint and riding through that are in the evening made for some very dramatic views.







At some point along the way, at the point where I didn't have enough fuel to turn aroiund I saw a sign stating now through traffic despite not finding anything about Log Gatos Creek being closed. Given I had no option, I just pressed on. I never did find anything stopping me. One water crossing just below the pegs and plenty of loose gravel here and there of course, but all the potholes I remember were patched so the bumpy road was still a hoot without worrying about denting my wheels.

I rolled into Coalinga at Dusk and gassed up. I considered stopping there, but decided to keep on going.

The sunset was pretty



I didn't take any more pictures after this because it was dark and I was being reminded I can't see crap when there is oncoming traffic. I kept the route simple and took 33 - 41 - 46 and decided when I hit Paso Robles at 9pm I'd stay there.

I found a proper spot for dinner, tied by Burrito to the handelbars, stopped by a liquor store to stuff my pockets with beer and water and dinner was served,







Short day at only 260 miles, but not bad for such a late start.

I should note, the burrito was pretty damn good.

N4teTheGreat said:

I should note, the burrito was pretty damn good.

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so was the sunset!

we’re all waiting with bated breath for a report on whether the stalling/limp-mode issue was wrestled to the ground?

SFMCjohn said:

so was the sunset!

we’re all waiting with bated breath for a report on whether the stalling/limp-mode issue was wrestled to the ground?

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Spoiler alert, it wasn't so against my better judgement it'll probably go back to the dealer for another round of head scratching arty

On that note, the goal for day two was to get to San Diego since it was already Monday the S/O was flying back Wednesday there was no time to waste, well, ok a little time to waste, as I wasn't going to ride the freeway all the way there.

So I gassed up in Paso Robles and made my way to Santa Maria to pick up 58. I have had gas problems in this part of the world before and I began to regret not having spare fuel right away.

It was a beautiful morning despite my preoccupation with running out of gas.



I made it to Taft about 25 miles after the fuel light came on, but assuming the bikes MPG calculation is accurate that meant I had a good 15 miles to spare. Gassed up and I was off again. I considered stopping for breakfast in Maricopa as Tina's Diner is always good for some greasy spoon eatin' and local folks bantering, but it was early and I wanted to keep making time.

Shortly after Maricopa on those uphill sweepers on 166 the bike decided it'd behaved long enough and dropped into limp mode. I powered it off and back on and took off while uttering a few choice words. Thankfully this was the only instance of bad behavior, though I did notice the bike would miss here and there when running at lower RPMs not gonna turn around now.

Hudson Ranch Rd was a minefield of rocks and gravel and of course, views.





I continued on through Frazier Park and hopped on I-5 briefly but was soon back on rough roads heading towards the Old Ridge Route.



Lots of crows out enjoying the heat (triple digits as I'd find out later). Does this constitute a murder?



The loose gravel sign at the start of the Old Ridge Route would prove to be a bit of an understatement.



In many places the road is more gravel than pavement.



Overall the road surface wasn't terrible, though street tires and sand do make for excitement if one's line isn't great when entering the sandy bits. Only lost the front briefly though and the bike stayed up.

At this point it was hot, and my pace was pretty slow and I started regretting not buying water to carry with me at the last gas stop. A few miles later and I can into another rider at the Tumble Inn.



He was on a big ol' Tiger 1200 with knobbies and all the accouterments and was suitably impressed to see me rolling up on street tires. He was also nice enough to hand me one of the bottles of water he had in his tank bag. We chatted for a good 30 minutes during which I learned it was 102 degrees, he worked in the movie industry and as such was enjoying being on strike and riding as he pleased, and that I had about 20 miles of road to go. He's also on Instagram which I guess means I really should sign up for that. I think I am in one of his videos now.



I thanked him for the water (hose water btw, he warned me and I was pleased to note that hose water was my primary source of hydration as a child) and off we went. The road did get a bit worse at points, so I was glad to have talked to him as I knew it wasn't going to be impassable on street tires.



The Old Ridge Route dumped me onto the Templin Highway, though I could have continued further south knowing what I know how. I managed to go the wrong way on I-5 since my route though I really wanted to go back and do the Ridge Route again so I got to do a fun 20 mile u-turn. I took I-5 to Santa Clarita where I stopped for food and gas, opting to sit down for a meal and take in some air conditioning.

Both the AC and the food were well worth it



I was running out of fun at this point, but I had one last section to hit before I got all slab-happy and headed towards Sand Canyon Road. I saw maybe three other cars on that road and very much enjoyed having it to myself.





Once that fun ended I had a grind out a few hours through LA traffic to get to San Diego. I let maps choose my route for me so I'm not sure exactly how I went about it, but I sure was glad once the route got closer to the coast and things cooled down a bit. I got in around 6:30 or so which left plenty of time for a few drinks and dinner. We took a walk through Balboa Park at night for our enjoyment and to wear out the husky being dog sat, and then we grabbed dinner to eat back at the apartment over a movie. My butt was happy to not be on a moto seat for a bit. Total mileage for the day was around 380.

Pretty awesome stuff N4te!!!

That old road looks... like a hella old Ridge route road!

Neat you got to meet a rider on the ride on the road that few travel.

Your reports are always great and always make me hungry

N4teTheGreat said:

The Old Ridge Route dumped me onto the Templin Highway …

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wow, that’s an awesome pic …

sorry to hear head-scratching is still required.

I thought the Old Ridge Route was closed (I should say "more closed"), I thought it was gated off.

I rode that long ago coming back from a rec.moto Joust.

Thanks, on both accounts. Ridge Route is cool, lots of side roads to explore, as long as they haven't closed the gates. There are some good turns to be had too, I just didn't stop to take pictures of the clean roadway.

As for the bike, not sure if I wanna spend another $400 on "diagnostics" before the dealer uses the warranty to replace parts and see if it fixes the issue. When the bikes runs well it's awesome.

Anyway, after a few days of lazing about San Diego it was time to head out. I helped pack and prep the S/O for the airport along with a quite bite before heading out. I was on the road around 12:45 or so, with this apparent good luck charm stuck to my pants.



With no real time frame to be home I had big plans for the ride home, one of which was Sherman Pass. I decided Tehachapi was a good target for the evening and figured I could always stop early if I got tired.

As I made my way East things got more scenic, and also hot. I'd considered Palm Springs, but it was supposed to be 105 there so I passed, turns out it was hot everywhere.



I made my way towards Palomar Mountain, because twisty roads. Turns out that was a good choice. Minimal weekday traffic and lots of fun turns.





But wait, I'm still in San Diego technically (the backcountry I guess)? This is gonna take a while. Not to be helped by my, once again, missing a destination point and letting pas route me back the direction I came. So I got to see ALL of Palomar Mountain. This turned my 360 mile route into a 400 mile route, oops.

Good thing it was scenic



This turned into a bit of a slog to get through the valley and climb up to into the San Bernadino Mountains. I kept finding myself parallel to them wishing to be up high and out of the heat.

I'm not clear how it happened but I figured out later that maps "helped" me and cut out a section of good road I'd targeted out of Valley Vista got skipped which is why it felt like I spent forever in the valley. I eventually climbed out of the valley outside of San Bernadino, happy to be done with my tour de suburbs.



While less time in the mountains than I'd planned, this whole section was rewarding, and traffic was light enough being a weekday.

Back down to the valley for a moment to connect to 2, lots of fun looking OHV stuff off of 138.






I descended 138 and picked up 2 and things got much cooler. In Wrightwood it had just rained and the air smelled great, but after a day in 100 degree temps, the mild 65 degrees there felt almost chilly.



I continued on to the Big Pines Highway and it was a treat, corner after excellent corner descending to the valley, and spectacular sunset, and almost no traffic.





I was running out of daylight but I decided to push on to Tehachapi. Backroads evventually gave way to desert highways as I made my way through Palmdale and Lancaster. I peeled off on Willow Springs Tehachapi road and it was pitch black. Riding in this are at night was a bit surreal. I saw several lit up shrines along the roadway, I crossed through a massive wind farm where all you could see at night was their red lights blinking in unison and on top of that I saw one of those star-link satellite chains for the first time, it was a trip.



By the time I made it to Tehachapi and got to the Santa Fe inn (I'm a sucker for neon) not much was open so I dropped my gear and made a b-line to the Pilot truck stop off of I-5 for pizza and water which I tied to my bars for the quick jaunt back. Who needs a top box?



Dinner is served



I considered popping into the VFW as it seemed to be poppin' but I didn't know if civilians were welcome so I stuck to my beer and cable tv in my room. Not a bad day despite some navigational missteps. Ended up around 330 miles for the day.

And yes, that is a real band-aid fix on the nightstand there!

Looks like a nice ride!

I too am curious about the Old Stage Road. I was up there a few years ago and the gate was locked just past the Tumble Inn. I admit to not having done any recent research but I didn't think it was ever open from there south.

According the guy I can into the gate is often locked, but can be ridden around if you are bold. I guess I got lucky because there was power line work in the area so all the gates were open. Google maps routed me through so I foolishly assumed, as I always seem to do, that it was a through road. Too bad it's not, they should leave such a cool historic route open.

Wow Nate. The roads, the skies, the narrative, all spectacular! Thanks for the vicarious ride along!

-Bill

Great stuff Nate! Really taking advantage of no work schedule to get in your way of riding.

Thanks for taking us along!

The Sandy Eggo Ducati Diagnostic Tour, Multi Strada Route.
I hope the factory rewards you for your due drudgery of Beta Testing your ignition system.
Back charge them for travel expenses.

I suspect my only reward will be the joy of paying more diagnostic fees.

N4teTheGreat said:

I suspect my only reward will be the joy of paying more diagnostic fees.

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It's always those little things the make life special.

Did I mention that, aside from the occasional miss and lower RPM / lower throttle the bike performed perfectly Wednesday and it was one of those days where I felt perfectly connected to the bike. Well, it was a good day.

Thursday was Sherman Pass day, I'd been wanting to bag this pass for a while but every time I tried previously it had either been closed due to snow, or closed due to the threat of fire. Today, neither of those things were the case.

I took my time checking out and cleaned and oiled my now very dirty chain while giving my ever thinning rear tire tread a quick glance. No route but home at this point.



First things first, I needed to get to Kernville and the only way I was going was via Caliente Creek Road.



It was darn hot out and I figured that was probably how the town of Caliente got it's name. Despite the heat, the road was enjoyable as I remembered. Due to poor mapping I ended up taking a detour to Twin Oaks, and only then realized I should have done that counter clockwise if I'd wanted an efficient route. I turned back and was quite pleased to see Lake Isabella and the promise of gas.



The rear tire was looking suspect, but the shortest was home was in front of me, so I crossed my fingers mentally and continued on.



I stopped to top off my tank in Kernville and headed on towards Sherman Pass, looking forward to getting out of the heat.



As I turned right to head over the pass, I had a momentary pang of nerves which would prove entirely unfounded. The road had may a pothole, but that and the gravel just added to the fun, keeping me at attention and slowing my pace to where I could also enjoy the scenery.









The view from the summit was pretty spectacular, I parked the bike and walked a few yards from the parking lot to sit and take it in.








Still plenty of wildflowers up there...



I stopped in Kennedy Meadows at the general store and decided to get a burger, nice to see the place when it wasn't smoked in by fire. The burger and fries definitely hit the spot.



As I got closer to 395 the heat ramped up notably, beautiful view, but boy it was hot!



Once on 395 I pointed the bike north targeting Lone Pine for the night. I stopped for gas, but not pictures, it was just too hot. I got into lone pine and found a motel, where I was promptly warmed about the cricket infestation going on in Inyo County. I shrugged it off, bought some earplugs from the local grocery store and went to dinner, then grabbed a few drinks at Jakes Saloon.

There weren't kidding about the crickets, they were everywhere.



Dinner at the Grill was great, and they were slammed which was nice to see. The portions were massive, but I wasn't taking any prisoners.



After the bar I kicked about 5 crickets out of the room, to no avail. I woke up from a dream where I was chasing crickets and took advantage of those ear plugs. The following morning I noticed there were 3 of them in the ceiling lamp. I'm sure everyone down there is looking forward to the first freeze to kill them off.

wow wow wow, so awesome! read and enjoyed this post thoroughly- thank you Nate, good times for sure

Cricket story, Dunnigan, where 5 & 505 hit. It seemed the whole town was infested, for years, with them. IDK how Bill & Kathy's stayed open from the '60's Crickets everywhere

Circadas are "singing" now in Sedona, Cottonwood, not too bad, I remember way louder, all nite long.

Critters add to travel fun, around a blind corner, three huge bison

Amazing picture and an awesome journey. I read it all the way through. You are living a good life sir!