| Author |
Message |
    
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 08:58 am: | 
|
FBRAT, Sat 9/10/05:
for the tenth day in a row, the Ferris Bueller Rides Again Tour was up and motivating well before daybreak:
this is from the mouth of the Lion's Trail, looking due north over the Kern River Valley and Isabella Lake, with BBstacker and Fireman Jim as co-pilots for today's initial stage.
if you squint REAL hard, you can see the ThunderDome way up at the other end of the lake.
if you squint just a little harder, and use your imagination a bit, you can see Mt. Whitney. ok, ok, not really, but it's pretty close.
did i mention it was early?
did i mention we got to bed late??
did i mention my head hurts???
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 20, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 08:59 am: |
|
sunrise from the Lion's Trail with the Paiute Mountains providing part of the drama. 
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 20, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:00 am: |
|
 |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:00 am: |
|
 |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:01 am: |
|
 |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:01 am: |
|
taken at the exact moment Madduck's Uly received a 1,000,000,000,000 gigajoule nose hit of quark-like quantum energy from the rising sun, enough to power the mighty XB12X thru yet another day of epicerocity.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 20, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:02 am: |
|
BBstacker's XB soaking up the morning rays.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 20, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:03 am: |
|
ah, daylight, and with it comes the blessed warmth.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 20, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:03 am: |
|
still on the Lion's Trail, this time near Caliente, California as an eastbound freight prepares to take on Tehachapi Pass.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 20, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:04 am: |
|
FMJ trying to walk off the back injury he sustained a few minutes before when he hit some sand in a tight corner and had to "stiff arm" his bike with his leg to keep it from going down.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 20, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:04 am: |
|
meanwhile, we wait.
this is where Mark and i said our goodbyes to Fireman Jim, as at the top of the hill he would head right on Hwy 58 and aim for the general direction of San Francisco, and BBstacker and i would turn left, pointed towards Tehachapi and beyond.
FMJ, we've known each other for nigh on a decade now, and once again i thank you for your passion of the ride, and for your friendship.
thanks for making the trek all the way to Las Vegas for FBRAT, and your fine company for the last 36 hours.
see you in a couple of weeks at Oktoberfast.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 20, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:05 am: |
|
there are photo ops aplenty in the windmill farms above Tehachapi, but we (me 'n BBstacker) were running late and kept it to a minimum.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:05 am: |
|
the hills above Tehachapi are nearly constantly bathed by wind, and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of wind generators up here.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:06 am: |
|
couldn't resist sticking my nose up this dirt road and checking out the view.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:06 am: |
|
perfect terrain for the Uly.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:07 am: |
|
BBstacker and i hooked up with the SoCal Squadron in Wrightwood, about an hour behind our target time.
every day of this trip had entailed marks i wanted/needed to hit, and up until today i'd done a pretty good job, but i got us on the road a little behind schedule this morning (even tho it was still dark when we launched), and i underestimated the time it would take to blaze the Lion's Trail and get across the Mojave Desert to Wrightwood.
we were SO slow, in fact, that i blew off stopping at Willow Springs Raceway for a photo op, even tho we were within several miles of the track, to try and keep the damage up the line to a minimum.
as i said, we rolled into Wrightwood behind the 8 ball, with a VERY aggressive day ahead, and the rest of the day was spent, in part, in a futile attempt to "catch up."
my bad, sorry guys.
that said, it was a warm, raucous welcoming committee waiting for us in Wrightwood, Al Lighton from American Sport Bike on his new Uly, Tom "Reindog" Reiner on HIS new uly, Don "The Godfather" Sabatino on HIS new Uly, and Eric "EBear" Barrows on HIS new...
...Aprilia Tuono.
moments later we were in the wind, headed for Rim of the World, Big Bear and beyond!
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on January 08, 2007) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:07 am: |
|
this road traces the San Andreas Fault, and is pretty entertaining.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:08 am: |
|
 |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:08 am: |
|
the Mormon Rocks.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:09 am: |
|
doin' the wave.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:09 am: |
|
we lost BBstacker for a bit, then shortly thereafter were stopped down yet again, taking care of a flat on the Godfather's Uly.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:10 am: |
|
here Al is looking for the wound. several minutes later the hole was plugged and air was going back in.
i was carrying a complete tire repair kit, including a couple dozen CO2 catridges, but the little 12-volt compressor that Al carries is a much better way to go, and i will be getting one for Christmas and giving the CO2 cartridges to anyone who wants them.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:10 am: |
|
cutting off the excess plug.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:11 am: |
|
shaking off the excess plug.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:17 am: |
|
the four founding members of the UlyBoyz Gang: Reindog, Al, Ferris and the Godfather.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:18 am: |
|
out first victim? a gang molestation of EBear's Stallion d'Italian.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:18 am: |
|
deflowering EBear's bike was all the Godfather's idea.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:19 am: |
|
this is a nothing pic, but it really hit me at the time just how far from Appleton, Wisconsin i was.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:19 am: |
|
well, we lost even more time this afternoon as Al and EBear got tagged at speed by a CHP-in-hiding. I slammed on the skids, grabbed the rest of the group, turned around, and we all scurried under rocks like the bad little cockroaches we are.
last year on the way back from Laguna Seca on my VFR i "gave" a Chippie a ticket because i didn't make him work hard enough for it (it's a long story for another time), and i was positive that the same radar that painted Al and EBear, who were just ahead of me this afternoon, had painted me, too.
we had all been cooking along upwards of a ton at times, and altho there was nothing i could do to save the boyz in FRONT of me, there WAS something i could do to save myself and the boyz BEHIND me: RUN!
we hung a quick u-turn and rode the other way for several miles, doing our best to look inconspicuous and innocent. Reindog and i even went so far as to peel out of our UlyBoyz shirts, so that if the Chippie DID pull us over up the line somewhere he'd be less likely to realize that we had all been riding together.
the Godfather did that one better. he needed to bail at some point and get back to work ANYWAY, and decided that THIS was the time! see ya, Don, it was an absolute pleasure riding with you again, just like the old days.
me 'n Reindog and BBstacker burnt a LOT of time hiding out, then they finally launched altho i hung around for at least another ten minutes or so. i KNEW the Chippie had clocked me, and i was hoping to let enough time go by that he'd be too busy popping someone else to nab me when i finally came by.
well, all of this, combined with flat tires and a wayward son and me getting us out of the 'Dome a little late this morning conspired to keep up entirely off the sides of legendary Mt. Palomar, which had been one of our big targets on the day.
at this point we needed to put our heads down and get to Ocotillo Wells. we gathered up Scott "USRoute66" Page at the base of Palomar (who was waiting for us in his pickup with a load of supplies), collected Charlieboy and Eliz in Julian, and beat feet for the desert.
so thus and verily, after yet another epic day of Hooliganliness, we arrived at this evening's digs:
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:20 am: |
|
welcome to Ocotillo Wells.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 22, 2005) |
|