Daily Commute

SoCalR1150R · Post by **SoCalR1150R** » Fri May 13, 2005 6:03 pm

Since I am a new member I also posted this under the R1150R messages.

Hi All,

It's great to find a place to share the Beemer experience. I live in Carlsbad, CA which is about 30 miles north of San Diego on the coast. I commute daily on my new R1150R to La Jolla about 25 miles south of Carlsbad on the 101. Every day I come to an intersection where I have a choice to make, turn left and get on I-5 and get to work in a hurry (I mean a REAL hurry), or go straight to the coast for a left turn on 101 and the most beautiful 40 minute commute you can imagine. You guessed it, I always seem to go straight to the coast to see what the ocean looks like this day. It's amazing how different the same water can look from day to day. One day it's dark and menacing, and other's the sun is just coming up making the wave breaks look like bright shiny foam. I then cruise at 35-40 miles an hour for a mile or two past the powerplant letting the engine warm before I start to open her up. The new Remus exhaust I put on makes this baby sound and perform at slow speeds like a big cat stretching getting to ready to leap. The stretch between Carlsbad and Leucadia/Encinitas is the first place I get to open her up just to tease the engine, along this stretch are several beaches where the water is merely meters away from the road and a couple of campgrounds where if I'm lucky someone will have started an early morning campfire providing that delicious aroma of burning wood.

The slow down through Leucadia/Encinitas lets the exhaust rumble a bit with a few blips to enjoy the gurgle. The stores are not yet opened except for the custom coffee shops, Pannikan in Encinitas is always a worthwile pitstop for great expresso and homemade scones, muffins and other delights.

The next stretch of beach between Encinitas and Solana Beach is where you start to see black gliding objects in the water, these are the early morning surfers catching some waves before they head off to their day jobs. It's not unusual to see men and women alongside the rode wrapped only in a towel as they change into or out of their surfing wetsuits. I've seen some pretty hilarious sites because of this habit. This is also the second sprint of the day but not as fast as the first because it is more populated with people and cars. Always welcome are the red stop lights for in California we can go to the head of the line and get clean air when the tree goes green. Wink

A small beach between Solana Beach and Del Mar is always a favorite place to take an ocean peak because it is open to dogs off leash. Take a look here and you will know what pure joy is when you see all kinds of dogs running and playing in the waves. There is a small river that feeds into the ocean at this point and the water is warmer for both the dogs and the dog owners that sometimes have to wade in to get them out. If you were to look to the left here you will see the Del Mar race track where part of SeaBiscuit was filmed.

The next little town is Del Mar, where I occassionally meet the VP of my company for coffee, he rides a new HD Deluxe. Good side story here, one day we were sitting having coffee and a guy walked by, looked at our helmets, looked back at the bikes. The VP started to stand up to tell him about is bike when the guy said, "Is that your BMW over there? That is a really cool bike!". When he saw the look on the VP's face he added, "The other bike is really nice too, but tell me about the BMW". I was smiling all over, on the inside of course.

Dropping out of Del Mar to Torrey Pines State Beach and up the hill through the park is where the fun really culminates. First the view down to the beach is oustanding as you see all the bay and La Jolla. The topper is when you start to go up the hill as the road is temporarily at this point down to two lanes because of bridge reconstruction, but going up the hill it opens up to three lanes which makes the traffic dissappear and the hill is approximately one and a half miles long made up of 4 long sweeping curves, at this point you can really open it up. It is the safest 100mph you can hit on the streets and fun to boot. At speed the R1150 R is rock solid and leaning in to the sweeping turns is just a dream. Very Happy

That's how I start my day everyday, the trip home isn't to shabby either.

I'm currently looking for a helmet cam that I can record some of this beauty and post. It may not be soon, but when I can I'll get pictures of this ride and post. I am one lucky dude.

Cecil

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Fri May 13, 2005 7:01 pm

Great report....I'm looking forward to the pics.

You better get used to people asking about your bike...I get it all the time.

It's a great feeling when strangers say 'wow..what a nice bike'

DJ

Post by **Biff's R** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:19 pm

You do not know how many people are jealous of your commute. It sounds liek a great way to have a good attitude when you arrive at work, and when you return home.

marko · Post by **marko** » Sat May 14, 2005 1:26 am

Wow, great stuff.
Must put you in a good mood to start the day like that.
Look forward to the vid or some pics of the area you described if you get a chance.

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Sat May 14, 2005 7:52 am

Marko...just think...you could ride to work across the Dandenongs and then down Canterbury Rd...not many could top that for a great commute to work.

I might meet you after you finish work one day and I'll follow you home...just for the heck of it.

DJ

Capt. Blackadder · Post by **Capt. Blackadder** » Sat May 14, 2005 11:11 am

Brilliant report. Keep it coming!

marko · Post by **marko** » Wed May 18, 2005 6:37 am

I might meet you after you finish work one day and I'll follow you home...just for the heck of it.

...You do and I'll call the cops........there are stalking laws you know!':

Post by **beekstersocal** » Wed May 18, 2005 5:38 pm

i run that route a couple of times a week my self just for the hell of it so i know what you meen, i live in oceanside ,not to far fromm ya ,maybe we,ll hook up for lunch someday . once in a while ill take the 5 all the way to lajolla splitting lanes , preety intense sometimes , kinda like a motocrosser looking for a jump [know what i mean]

Post by **UHGORDO** » Wed May 18, 2005 9:41 pm

Beekstersocal,

I don't know what you mean...my posts are no where near this long!!!

UH--ER--RRRRR---GORDO!!

Great havin' a stogie and one too many brews with ya!

Dave

Post by **beekstersocal** » Thu May 19, 2005 9:12 pm

dont ever change baby

BobFV1 · Post by **BobFV1** » Mon May 23, 2005 12:18 pm

Cecil - lived in SD in my youth (Navy) and did that route on my bicycle often. I had an old (new at the time) 750 Suziki in those days but usually blew through that area on I-5 on my way to Los Angeles - sounds like I missed a lot of beautiful scenery.

Great report!

SoCalR1150R · Post by **SoCalR1150R** » Sat May 28, 2005 12:40 am

Thanks to all for your comments. I finally got my digital camera working and plan on stopping at all the good views some morning when the sun is shining. Unfortunately it may be awhile because the morning marine layer of fog has set in which around here is commonly known as June gloom.

BTW - does anyone have any suggestions for bullet cams hooked into a digital camcorder? The sony with 480 lines of resolution looks like the most bang for the buck. Any comments?

BeeksterSocal - That would be great to hookup for a ride in. I know what you mean about the I-5 madness, I guess on Wednesday there was a nasty accident somewhere and I couldn't even get down Tamarack to the coast, so I flipped a U'ey and split lanes on the 5 which was also really slow. I even had a cop splitting lanes with me for about 7 miles before I pulled off at Rancho Santa Fe and back to the coast which was clear at that point.Another time this week while on 5 I had a squid blow by me at an amazing speed and was weaving in and out of cars while splitting lanes at 80+ miles an hour. Let me know what your schedule is and maybe we can ride as schedules permit. Are you a member of the local Beemer club? I signed up a couple of weeks ago after a chance meeting of a club ride at Dudley's while on a trip with another couple that to Jullian. Wound up at a really nice house in Rancho Santa Fe with free beer and Argentinian BBQ.

BobFV1 - If you rode your bicycle you know how long that Torrey Pines hill is, on a Beemer it's a couple of minutes of pure joy, on a bicycle it is a bout 15-20 minutes of pain. Last year I rode a bicycle to work a couple of days a week and it took me a month before I felt good enough to not be in pain at the top of the hill. Did you ever ride up through the park? It's shorter but much steeper, but quiet with no cars and really beautiful overlooks from the park. Too bad you can't ride a motorcycle all the way through. If you ever get back in the area let me know, I have an extra bike and would be happy to ride through it again with you.

Post by **beekstersocal** » Sat May 28, 2005 9:03 am

hey so cal we will definatley hook up here in the near future. i have tons of work ,but i always have my weekends. i did sign up to join bmwoc of san diego. if you ever want to ride on a saturday e mail me at [email protected]

Post by **r1150rider** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 12:28 am

Try these: http://www.helmetcamera.com/
http://chasecam.com/

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Thanks for the comments - note foe Beekstersocal and BobFV1