SoCal: Route 33 and PCH Malibu Sunday October 4, 2009.

[Ken]

Riding on Route 33 again and heading to Neptune's on PCH in Malibu for lunch. If you just want to meet up at Malibu for lunch that's fine too.


Edit: Took Lockwood Valley Rd on 9/29 from Frazier Mountain Park Rd. Very dirty. Will take Cuddy Valley Rd -> Mil Potrero Hwy/ Forest Rte 95 -> Cerro Noroeste -> 166/33. Arrive at Neptunes Malibu for food. There's a couple of spots to stop for a break just before Los Padres. We'll need it because it's a long ride til the twisties.

Below is a map of the revised entire route. The route from Jay's Shell to Neptune's in Malibu is now about 210 miles.



From there we'll part and head our ways. I'm planning to take route 23 north off PCH and enjoy some more twisties before hopping on the 101 fwy back home.



If you want to ride along, please make sure to let your loved ones know your route and bring a backpack/tankbag with water and snacks, give your bike a once-over to make sure all the bolts are nice and tight, chain freshly clean & lubed, and tires are properly inflated before you leave your home.

Start time will be 8:05 am at Jay's Gas station.

[SlowCheetah]

I'm down for this ride (as always), but this time lets exchange numbers so we don't repeat the last "ride" . Send me a PM with your number or something .

And oh yea, I'll be having two tacos and a Jumbo Jack BTW.

[Ken]

No problem on the Jumbo Jack. There's a Jack in the Box next to the Mobil I stopped last time.

PM Sent.

[andrewexd]

can't promise anything yet but i'll probably go although I may just meet you guys at neptunes

[zev42]

Wow that looks like a really long ride

[Alex]

Me = jealous. Great roads. Have fun!

[Ken]

Andrew: No worries if you don't show. Unless that Fillmore fire advances west nonstop to Los Padres I will for sure be there!

Michelle: It only seems like a long ride on the way back. Heading towards there and going through the twisties was fun. I'm trying to make the ride back home as entertaining as possible for myself.

Alex: Fun is guaranteed

[Angel-be-Good]

Decker Canyon is awesssssssome. I really want to do 33 next time I ride down there. Those Malibu canyon roads are so good.



^ Mulholland Highway

[Ken]

C'mon guys I know it's a long ride to get there but pretty soon it's going to snow there so you'll have to wait until next spring/summer to experience and enjoy this route so give it some thought!

[SlowCheetah]

Yea for being so many SoCal riders on a motorcycle forum there isn't much interest in group rides. One day Ken, one day.



On a side note, if there are no others coming along would you like to meet somewhere before Jay's? I'm in Pomona now close to the 57 and the 10 intersection, lemme know.

[Ken]

Hey Art,

Jay's is still a good location to meet since we're taking the 210 til it hits the 5. There's a lot less traffic and little to no fuzz patrolling on that freeway. If you don't mind we'll just meet at Jay's Shell. There might be "lurkers" who don't respond to these rides online will roll by and maybe join us.

[andrewexd]

im still down to go if nothing comes up.

also do you mind if I cross post in another site ? It's not a 250 exclusive forum but i'll note to take it easy.

[Ken]

Originally Posted by andrewexd

im still down to go if nothing comes up.

also do you mind if I cross post in another site ? It's not a 250 exclusive forum but i'll note to take it easy.

Go ahead and promote the ride.

[Ken]

It's going to be cool the morning and it shouldn't exceed 70 degrees throughout the ride, so wear something to keep you warm during the morning like your jacket liner or extra layers.

[andrewexd]

yeah tomorrows like the coldest day in a while

[andrewexd]

see you guys there, just got up.

[Ken]

Getting ready right now

[Ken]

I've been up Angeles Crest Highway when there's snow on the shoulder and it didn't feel like today. We were caught totally off-guard. The 70 degree temps felt way colder.

Strike 1: I rushed out so I was a little bit unprepared for the coldness, even though I knew it was going to be cold. I just recently bought my Cortech Latigo leather jacket and pants, both of perforated. I forgot my jacket's thermal liner. I was wearing a Joe Rocket windproof liner from my mesh jacket, but I had an Under Armour Heat Guard shirt on. This was fine in my Joe Rocket Speedmaster 5.0 Jacket during last winter, but not in the Cortech gear. The new jacket felt great during summer temps, but today I was felt locked inside a meat locker. My jacket is white so it did not absorb any of the sun. We were cold from top-to-bottom. It sapped a lot of my energy.

We rode all the way to the Jack in the Box on Frazier Mountain Park Rd. I almost lost it on the off ramp because I was too rigid from the coldness to counter steer. The Jack in the Box provided little warmth for me. We ate our food, recouped, and head out for the gas station a block away.

Strike 2: My BRT CDI started to act up after our fill-up at the Shell station. I always prepare for the worst and my tank bag is usually full of stuff I don't even use. The CDI gave me starting/running issues lately and luckily I brought my stock CDI with me. Andrew and Art witnessed how my bike struggled to start and how it kept wanting to die. I had to swap out the CDI at the gas station. I knew I was going to have issues again because I had to downshift to 5th and even 4th at times to climb up I-5 when Andrew and Art stayed in 6th the whole time. At any rate, standing in the direct sun didn't help me warm up because of my white jacket, so this little setback caused us about 20 minutes and a lot of frustration to me.

Plus, based on how much gas I put in vs the trip meter, I averaged 32 mpg til I arrived at the Shell station in Frazier Park. Since I already pumped 91 gas prior to my BRT CDI crapping out I ran in the lower gears to burn as much gas as possible. Even with that I calculated a 52mpg average when we filled up at the Malibu Chevron. (!)

Because we were so cold the ride felt longer than the past times I've done it. Heading to Neptunes via PCH was challenging. We dealt with the Sunday lunch crowd from the 33 after Los Padres National Forest til the 101. Since it's mostly one lane each way we were held back quite a bit. When we got on the 101 to the 1 we encountered strong onshore flow and we were getting blown around quite hard. There's always something to make the ride interesting, whether we enjoyed them or not.

Strike 3: We pulled over again (yes because I got tired again) 6 miles before Neptune's and we rested. Stupid me for not opening my visor when I placed my helmet on the clip-on to slide it through. The wind blew my helmet off and it landed on my shield. I have to look through a bunch of scratches! Even though my helmet landed on the shield I don't trust my helmet and unexpectedly I'm in the market for a new helmet.

We arrived at Neptunes and it was packed. The crowd is definitely different from Newcomb's on Angeles Crest. Other than a weirdo popping wheelies in front of the restaurant over and over and over and over and over again, the highlight there was seeing a girl in leathers riding away in her green 05-06 636
.
After we left we dealt with the departing beach crowd. PCH was crowded up til I-10. Good thing we can split lanes aka filter. That was part was fun too. It was too tired to think about going up the 23 to the 101. I just wanted to go home.

All in all due to the coldness it became a punishing ride. I had to stop several times to take breaks because I was shivering too much to the point it affected my riding. Thanks to Andrew and Art for their patience. I think we left Neptunes around 2:45-3:00pm. This may be the last time I go to Route 33 until next Spring/Summer...unless I can convince myself to wear my winter textile gear for canyon riding.

Will post vid of myself following Andrew on Cerro Noroeste after it finishes uploading.



Nice seeing you again Art, and nice meeting you Andrew.

[andrewexd]

yeah, it was freezing yesterday. Still, nice ride and next time I won't wear my mesh jacket... oh yeah I'll post the pictures I took when I get home.

[andrewexd]

[Ken]

Link to original page on Vimeo.

[andrewexd]

Thanks for the Video Ken although I think that was the least interesting part of the ride as far as curves go (too much straigt line riding). I'll get a mount by next time so you can see youself

[Alex]

Originally Posted by andrewexd

although I think that was the least interesting part of the ride as far as curves go (too much straigt line riding).

I'm seeing plenty of interesting curves in that video, just as I remember Cerro. It is one of those roads that is interesting at slightly elevated speeds, and perhaps doesn't have the same thrill nearer the speed limit, but even then it looks fun to me.

[andrewexd]

Originally Posted by Alex

I'm seeing plenty of interesting curves in that video, just as I remember Cerro. It is one of those roads that is interesting at slightly elevated speeds, and perhaps doesn't have the same thrill nearer the speed limit, but even then it looks fun to me.

Not that it wasn't fun but you know, relativley speaking Right here was our stop before going up the mountain and this part was alot more twisty, I went over the double lines a couple times (barely) good thing the place was nearly empty, only saw a few other people.

btw, Ken what kinda of mount do you have ?

[LazinCajun]

I'm jealous of those roads (and the views)! Thanks for sharing.

[ninjabrewer]

Cold. Reminds me of our ride on ACH in June, I wasn't prepared for it and froze. So I know the feeling.

nb