Beautiful day here in LA, about 75F at home with light clouds. My wife Tracie & 2 daughters, Victoria (10) & Erika (16) are seriously into horses & were very capable of keeping themselves busy.
Erika on her horse Badger, a Hanovarian.
Victoria on her pony Charm, a British riding pony / paint mix.
My 14yo son Jon & I decided to take the dirt bikes up to Hungry Valley Offroad Vehicle Recreation Area (otherwise known as Gorman), a bit less than 60 miles away.
Here are our 2 bikes on Powerline Road (a dirt road).
Gorman is in the mountains between the LA basin & the Central Valley. Elevation is probably around 4,000 ft., and it was colder there, about 60F, just perfect for a day of riding.
Here's a pix of Jon with our bikes.
My dirt bike is a 2005 Honda XR400 with rejetted carb like a non Californian bike (so it starts easier) and a nice aftermarket exhaust kit that makes it wheelie easier. Jon's bike is a Honda CRF80, which is the smallest bike with a clutch & 5 speed trans. We had the stator rewired & a headlight kit put on his bike for those times when we don't make it back to the truck before dusk.
Hungry Valley is more than 10 square miles, & even though it was supposedly "crowded", we didn't see too many other riders.
Here's a shot of Jon at the top of a hill climb. He's really starting to hold his own riding & I sometimes have to work to keep up.
Here is about the extent of my wheelie ability. They seemed easier in my teens.
We rode all around & even saw a deer. All in all, a great day (as is any day without an emergency room visit). Riding with Jon is a great way for the two guys in our family to get some together time.
Sunday night we got a fair amount of rain, until about 9 AM this morning. The sun came out and mostly dried things off, & it warmed up into at least the 60's. It has been along time since I took a ride up Angeles Crest, and finding myself with about 3 hours on my hands at 3:30 PM I took off.
Here's a shot of Jon on his new Ducati 1098
Notice the squidly riding gear. Typical of the younger set. Well, if thats what he's wearing, I guess he's not riding with me today.
It was a great day to ride up the crest, as on any day with overcast there are very few riders. I only saw one rider on my 28 mile ride up to Newcomb's Ranch. Here is a shot of an overlook with snow dusted mountains in the background. This is about 20 miles from my door. I'd guess I'm at elevation 5,000 with damp pavement spots, a bit of snow chunks in shade, but no apparent ice.
I rode up to Newcomb's, & seeing not a single bike there, rode on 3 or 4 miles more until I came around a curve, saw a fair amount of snow near the road & 2 big deer run across the road in front of a car I was trailing. First deer I have ever seen on Angeles Crest, dead or alive (that makes 3 deer I saw this weekend, an all time high in SoCal for me). I decided it was time to turn around, & headed back to Newcomb's where I grabed a cup o' joe & as I came out to the parking lot a rider by the name of Steve on a year old Triumph ST (1050 triple) rode up. We jawed for some time (my ticket experiences in Cali always seem to come up). It was probably 5:00pm or later by the time I started down, with falling temps. Aways down there were some interesting clouds drifting over the road.
I rode back down Angeles Crest Highway to Upper Big Tujunga Cyn Rd (AKA 9 mile), which in fact is a nine mile long road that meanders through a high altitude east/west valley. I was travelling west into the sunset, the road was dry, & it was just a beautiful ride. 9 Mile hooks up to Angeles Forest Road, which heads down the hill to Big Tujunga Cyn Rd. Along the way is a large bridge built during the depression, with a neat rock viewing area built on the side of a cliff. Thinking of DJ, I road my bike down the 50 ft. or so pathway, with just enough clearance for my side cases. Lucky for me at the end of the path it was just wide enough to turn the bike around.
The sun was fading quickly, & it was time to head the rest of the way back down.
By the time I got to the bottom of Big Tujunga Cyn Rd it was pretty much full dark. A short 8 mile ride on the freeway completed my 80 mile or so ride.
..and that Hungry Valley looks like a great place for dirt bike riding.