HP2 Sport central Cali adventures

[SergioK]

Last Friday I started off on a little two day jaunt from the LA basin to the Paso Robles area to hang out with some of the Z-rated boys and check out their stomping grounds since it had been a good number of years since I'd been up there. I started by going up Little Tujunga, then over to Bouquet Canyon (what a gem!, even in a car it'd probably be nice, haha).



Then on to Francisquito Canyon.


From there I did the only freeway riding up the 5 to Frazier Park, Lockwood Valley then back south to Maricopa Hwy. They had just finished repaving it. It's racetrack smooth, better than Buttonwillow!!! I took a break and grabbed an iced tea at the Deer Lodge.


After Ojai I cut across to lake Casitas then Foothill Blvd then to San Marcos Pass.




Grabbed lunch at Cold Spring Tavern...


Then up to Los Olivos to pay my respects to Jeff Williams.


I then took Foxen Canyon to Tepesquet Rd (wow!) then the 166 to the 101 to Paso Robles.



Total tally came to 388 miles in one day, not bad for ten and a half hours of riding.

On Saturday I woke up early and headed to Kreuzberg Coffee shop in old town Paso Robles. Wheelie Boy met me there and he took me on the standard tour. Central Cal's scenery is matched by no other place.
After a short loop we made our way back to the coffee shop to meet the rest of the Z-Rated crew. We sat and chatted for a good while and finally nearing 11am geared up to ride a bit more. We were maybe 20-30 minutes in to the ride when one of the bike's suffered a mechanical issue. We limped it back to town and from there we headed back south toward Creston and the famed 229!!! Oops! We forgot to fuel up so we headed back to town, fueled, then again back to Creston. I had forgotten what an amazing road 229 was and was relishing the turns. Of course, having a local 'guide' run lead made it easier and much more enjoyable. When we got to Hwy 58 we headed due East and that's where the high speed fun began. The HP2Sport really shines at speeds approaching and past the ton mark. The 95+ degree weather meant I was losing perspiration as fast as my body could make it. We reached a pair of perfectly planted oak trees in Santa Margarita for a break.
Had the standard bird gathering party for our departure...


This was the point where I'd continue on solo towards Taft then south to Maricopa. We said our goodbyes and departed. Not much later it dawned on me that the shutterbug had fallen asleep and I had not one photo of me with Wheelie Boy or any of the Z-rated guys/gals!

[SergioK]

I relished every single turn of the Hwy 58 then on through Taft and in to Maricopa...


A few miles due west of Maricopa is a small road called Hudson Ranch which snakes its way up in to the Los Padres National Forest.


Through Pine Mountain and in to Frazier Park I welcomed the slightly cooler temperatures. Interstate 5 greeted me shortly thereafter but we parted company after just 5 miles, existing Lebec / Pearblossom Hwy. And just two miles later I peeled off to Old Ridge Route Road. I missed the sign stating the road was 'closed' but pressed on. I saw the sign stating 'End of county maintained road' but thought, 'how bad could it be?' When the pavement disappeared I put my tail between my legs and headed back. I then made the correct turn heading due east on Pine Canyon Road. When I arrived at the Lake Elizabeth Road turn off I found a nice patch of concrete to finally take a break and have a couple snacks. For lack of a better term I'd call it lunch but it was just shy of 5pm. Extreme heat and continuous sport bike riding had diminished my appetite, severely. Turning right on to San Francisquito Canyon led me through Green Valley, a quaint little mountain town. Shortly there after I turned on to Spunky Canyon which led me back to Bouquet Canyon, a true gem of a road in either direction apparently! With civilization rapidly approaching so too were the number of cars, houses, businesses, etc until I landed in Sand Canyon. A couple streets over and I'd find myself at the north end of Little Tujunga Canyon Road. I soaked up the turns and the experience on this last road as it dumped me out at the 210 freeway and the end of my two day extravaganza had arrived. Arriving home not much longer I marked a total of 787.7 miles since departing the day before. I had traveled so many roads and seen so many sights that my journey felt much longer.

[bradzdotcom]

deer lodge is where i had my first brush with this gaggle of lunatics, numerous moons ago.
awesome route, great pictures.
only part i don't like is that i didn't get to go.

[Dr. Curve]

I am so jelly-ossus of you three, sitting here on this electronic gadget, rain coming down in droves, while you are out there sweeping the corners, with clear dry sky above, and almost no, if any, traffic. Those roads just look too good and we would all love to be there, trying to stay with you, keeping a close eye on the pavement, and trying to not even notice the sheer beauty of those beautiful "garden of eden" landscapes. MPTU........

[speedyhp2s]

Nice write up and ride. I done many of those roads. All really awesome. The 58 is probably one of my favorite roads. The roller coaster section can be pretty wild at high speed!

We should do a ride sometime? I took the HP2 to the track two weeks back, awesome day at Willow Springs big track. Spent most of the day riding so forgot to take hardly any pictures pictures. Also rode up to Newcoombes Ranch on Sunday. Really enjoying the HP2, put over 2,000 miles on her now and slowly starting to gel with the bike.

[speedyhp2s]

Couple of pictures from my first day back at the track for a couple of years, and NO that's not me wearing the cowboy hat!

Had a few issues with the rear tire getting chewed up at the beginning of the day, was able to clear it up with some help from the Dunlop guys. Made some suspension changes and tire pressure adjustments. Although to be honest I don't think I would buy the Bridgestone RS10 rear tire again. I really like the front tire though. I think I will go with a S21 on the rear for a little more tire life and use a RS10 on the front for grip. Track day was a blast. Still pretty rusty and slow. Max speed on the dash VMAX was only 147MPH, I have a feeling that was hitting the limiter in the top of 5th gear? but I could be wrong. Quick shifter works really well at speed on the track Plus brakes were awesome too. Bike handles really nice and neutral. Very stable in the fast corners. Rider just needs to up the pace a little!

Also, no need to switch of the ABS at the track, it never kicked it once all day. Gas mileage. This bike drinks fuel at full rev's! think 20MPG! still real fun bike to ride, with lots of torque and very user friendly power.

[2wheelmike]

Hey Sergio,
Nice ride report. Too bad I didn't see you at Cold Springs or I'd have likely tagged along at least through Tepusque. Did you guys happen to discuss Triple Crown?
Mike

[wiggledbits]

Thanks!

[Jozef Schumann]

Well, it's been a while since I've visited. Life, ya know.

Sergio! I should have stopped when I saw your gorgeous HP2. That was me who passed by you and your friends at Cold Creek Tavern when my brother and I went for a spin up to Los Olivos. I was on my bumble-bee 11S and beeped you twice as I went by.



.... we spotted this as we were putting around Los Olivos!



(Yes, I made an inquiry and the 79 year old owner will be calling me)

Anyhow, The whole pictorial of your tour here is my stomping ground and actually when you cruised up Bouquet past 'The Oaks' on up to Spunky Canyon Rd once you got to San Francisquito, make a right to the top of the hill and down the other side - That's Petersen Ranch property where Robert E. (Pete) Petersen used open up the ranch to all sorts of activity. Brad knows, he's been there plenty-o-times. My ranch is across the road and up the hill from there. Had I known you were up here we'd take you on a seriously fun sortie, though obviously you had a great time! Your route took you through areas me and my friends/family do probably twice a month. Heck, its no use being retired if you don't take advantage of the time off!

Perhaps we can hook up sometime in the future. We're planning on hitting up Sherman Pass this weekend, grabbing a fabulous McNalley's on-the-kern bacon cheeseburger the way. If anyone is game, feel free to join us.

jozef

[SergioK]

Originally Posted by Jozef Schumann

Sergio! I should have stopped when I saw your gorgeous HP2. That was me who passed by you and your friends at Cold Creek Tavern when my brother and I went for a spin up to Los Olivos. I was on my bumble-bee 11S and beeped you twice as I went by.

jozef

Jozef! It never occurred to me that it was you on that 11s! My first was the same color scheme... I do miss that bike. The last time I rode Sherman Pass was a couple years ago when Kerry came out from TX with a couple of buddies. We made it from Yosemite to the LA area in just about 9 hours. I'll see if I can get another day off but with a 2 and 4 year old it's tough finding free time!

Mike, WheelieBoy & I did discuss reviving the TC rides. JW was really the instigator in that regard. Heck, almost every TC thread was started by him. I mentioned this to Heidi when I stopped by to visit.

I couldn't ride past JW's favorite breakfast spot and I just had ride by his place. As luck would have it she happened to be outside as I pulled up. Just the sight of me on that bike most definitely brought back memories for her... we chatted, reminised, and I departed shortly after the waterworks started up.

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

deer lodge is where i had my first brush with this gaggle of lunatics, numerous moons ago.
awesome route, great pictures.
only part i don't like is that i didn't get to go.

Brad, yes, I was part of that gaggle of loonies you met over ten years ago!!! This is ride, right??
SoCal ride Oct 22.

[ckcarr]

Great write-up & ride report Sergio!

I know it's a lie, but the pictures give me hope that not all of California is jam packed with people like sardines in a can...

[SergioK]

Originally Posted by ckcarr

Great write-up & ride report Sergio!

I know it's a lie, but the pictures give me hope that not all of California is jam packed with people like sardines in a can...

Early Friday morning there were stretches where I saw perhaps one car. Heck, after I left the Z-Rted guys and headed east on Hwy 58 I saw two cars in a 30 mile stretch.

There was also one almost close encounter with a CHP SUV but I'd rather not write that one up.