The Chronicles of a Moe.ron

Damn skippy!!

And I probably got the wrong boots, but they are waterproof, should be warm, and definitely better protection than I had yesterday.


http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/gaerne-gking-boots

I'm in!! You are already cracking me up!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Welcome aboard!!

that's one epic ride....

hey chris and brian, you guys are still up for another ride on the 19th. there's about 40 PPs on the list but we surely want your company and see couple of shiny bikes....

if not, see you in dv.

It was an Epic Cherry Busting 20 whole miles Hoping to get out and at least double those miles on dirt tomorrow, but moe.ron's commitments may have him house bound

As far as Carrizo Plains goes...I might make a day ride out of it, but I have to spend time with our brand new little one....:eek1 I have that sorted if it comes down to it

aww, they look so much better after they dry out a bit.

nice pics chris!...congrats on the new addition.

what else will you want?

tell brian just to relax, maybe take a riding lesson from jimmy lewis, and he'll be back with a vengeance.

Life is good there, Chris. You deserve the good stuff.

Gonna miss out tomorrow...


I like this guy...

Thanks Mike, so do you

I have everything a man could ask for and more, but do you have a time and place to meet on Saturday for the ride?

Thanks JJ! Same to you bruddha and a Big Salute for your service in Sandy Hook

Gotta do whatcha gotta do and I gotta ride without ya next weekend will be better weather anyhow...we are locked in the coldest ice age SOCAL has seen in decades!!! The temps will be in the 50s tomorrow!!! :eek1

Next weekend we will find something good! How fast did you say you can ride across Carizzo Plain?

It will WARM UP to the 50's! I will be outdoors freezing my ass with my father in law pretty early in the A.M, could be as low as the 30's, friggin brutal...

I should be home by noon, I am sure it wont be possible, but I will see if I can track youse guys down on the spot gizmo and with text messages.

Baby in the side case is pretty damn cute!

Part Two (No Moe.ron)​

Unfortunately, moe.ron had commitments that would keep him from riding today

I have to ride today, tomorrow is rain and its back to work after my paternal leave period on Monday.


So, it’s off to Santa Barbara today. Close to the coast, so temps are milder overall. Warmer in winter and cooler in summer than the inland stuff, it also means the weather can be hit or miss, mainly the fog. Last time we were here, it was raining lots, clouded in and moe.ron never knew what he was riding by. That ride was miserable, but it was definitely memorable and a great test of gear….which mine are not even close to waterproof anymore.


Yes, this is moe.ron, wearing cotton jeans during a rain storm :eek1, any gear suggestions?

I know you froze your ass off that day :eek1:eek1

I followed the weather from Thursday till now, it didn’t look good…but I was still willing to give it a try, I’m kind of stupid like that…I never want to sit home and look at radar screens wondering what could have been. What’s the worse that happens?




I get a little wet or cold or both…let’s stow the mangina and get into this shit

The ride today was going to Refugio Pass Road to West Camino Cielo onto East Camino Cielo to Aqua Caliente and home…roughly 200 miles, @ 75 on dirt..

Butler Maps call these PMT..Paved Mountain Trails, no guard rails, one vehicle wide, no real signage and beautiful views (just don't get caught looking for too long)


First it’s droning up the 101, which is quite the hair raising adventure in and of itself.:eek1 Richey Rich’s with their 100+ sports car, white collars with 80k SUVs, silicone princess in their Euro Convertibles all doing 90mph to get to the SBUX, Country Club, Godknowswhere..Would not look up long enough from the Eye Phone to even notice the thump that was moe.ron or myself..but we have a place to be and the highway is going to our quickest way...


gifs

Exit on Refugio Pass, great road, cow country with green rolling hills, lemon farms, honey farms, horse ranch, and pot holes, lots of pot holes



free gif animator







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Signs suggest that things will be getting interesting soon



Camino, translates to Path

Cielo, translates to Heaven

Camino Cielo..Path to Heaven…finally brother moe.ron!! We are on the road to Heaven!! 2

With translations like that, West and East Camino Cielo Roads ought to be pretty fucking spectacular

Let’s just hope the road conditions aren’t too wet, muddy or icey…I am not ready for that.​

Part Two continued&#8230;still No Moe.ron​

Onwards and upwards, temps dropping as I climb to the top of the Santa Ynez range.






On to the first stretch of dirt and not too bad, little wet, little slick, certainly a go



Climbed the peak to get a closer look at the towers, a good view of the surrounding mountains, Lake Cachuma and the ocean

















It wasn&#8217;t long after that I arrived at
my first set of challenges&#8230;snow and ice covered roads:eek1



Where there was shade, there was snow. Where there was shade and tire tracks there was ice. The sun brought mud, nasty peanut butter like mud&#8230;.clogged my completely insufficient tires and made going slow






I need studded knobbies right about now, if not sooner

Sure, I could&#8217;ve just turned around tucked my tail and gave retreat, but&#8230;..I love this stuff! The adrenaline goes up, the concentration goes up, the senses tingle and I am truly living in the now. push on



I learned a few things about traction and line selection that never occurred to me prior to riding a big bike on snow and ice. First, on snow&#8230;I always try to choose a path with fresh snow..it seemed to freeze to ice wherever a truck had already passed. Second, turn off traction control&#8230;but keep ABS on..it helped me keep from sliding too much. Third, there is no shame in shutting the bike down and using the clutch as a brake while slowly pushing through a particularly icey section. Fourth, the smoothest line may not be the best line&#8230;I had times where there was just more traction down in a rut with baby heads than on the smooth stuff. Fifth, then I&#8217;ll shut up and just post some pics&#8230;.when possible I just rode straight and slow

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Now, my thinking may be way off and if you have different experience or technique by all means please share


OH! and when possible stay to the uphill side of the road..so if shit really hits...putting her into the side of the mountain is so much better than off the long drop side of the road..

Way I see it now&#8230; the least amount of traction is ice on pavement; followed by ice on dirt, then mud and then snow&#8230;I was getting more traction on fresh snow than the mud


About 3/4s of the way through the road really began to dry out and become really fun





I still slowed and spider senses tingled when I got into shady sections. Rightfully so, you could see the dirt had a dull shine to it from the frost.
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Nice!

Looks like proper tires and pants will be next for me. I may go do the 20 mile stretch previously mentioned in this thread again tomorrow. I could definitely use some more practice...

UpST8, was there a cell signal out there? I dont remember.

The pictures in the last post were not there before I wrote this and just appeared, WOW. Looks worth risking life and limb!

Camera Batteries ran out halfway through the day (rookie move)...so it was Eye Phone HDR for a bit...



















Coming down off West Camino Cielo has some pretty good paved sections
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Don't think so..I had a couple bars at Santa Barbara Pistachio before in Ventucopa

Then I will take my time and throw out a short prayer first!

All I want to know is what happened to the rain? Meteorologists have to actually predict weather 3 days a year in SoCal, they never get it right. I am surprised they can predict daylight!

Part Two for the last time and still No Moe.ron

Down San Marcos pass after my little adventure for some fuel in SB. No pics

Back up the pass to the East side of Camino Cielo. This is a great section of twisty, narrow paved trail with outrageous views.




Little slick


It turns to dirt at the end, passes Divide Peak OHV, some primitive campgrounds and Aqua Caliente!






Dirt road was in fantastic shape compared to her Western Sister road.



The only ice to be found was in the standing water crossings. There was one in particular that was super sketchy. 12”x12” blocks of inch thick ice on the approach and departure of a rather deep, slippery puddle.
I admit I used the friction zone of the clutch, some landscaping and walked along the side of the bike…my legs are just too short to do a proper duck walk





Final Destination for the day…Caliente Hot Springs



I wasn’t the only one with plans to soak here today


Someone did a really nice job on the lower spring, diggin it out, fully tiled, benches, little jewels here and there, even a snake designed into the tile, scrubbers and skimmers, a lot of pride was put into this one. I didn’t hike up, but the locals told me of two more springs up top of the hiking trail. I wanted to stay longer, but with the sun dippin and a promise to Mamma Bear to be home by dusk I had to roll..



Back out onto the pavement, I was pounding miles to get home


Till next time...


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