Carving 98 miles of canyon

[Jack Olsen]

What a great afternoon.



I'm starting this thread as a way to prompt some of the local Southern Californians into organizing another Saturday-morning canyon run.

It was about 80 degrees here in Los Angeles today. I had a big stack of work in front of me, and the sun was just catching the black paint on the 911 as I looked out the window of my office.

Still, there was no time for a drive today.



Southern California has some of the worst freeway congestion in the country, and weekends usually don't bring much of a break. But you can check the current freeway speeds online, and for some reason, I took a look. There was a green line of dots along the 10 to the 405, and then all the way along the 101 to Topanga Canyon.

Still, there was no time for a drive today. Too much work to do.



The Porsche 911 is probably the most famous and victorious sports car of the 20th (and 21st) century. It was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show in 1963. It is a car that combines the Porsche 356's somewhat ill-advised power train layout with a more performance-oriented suspension, and the improved power of a six-cylinder air-cooled boxer-type engine. My particular 911 has a 250-hp motor in the back of a lightweight chassis with an improved suspension and some very wide wheels. This gives it tremendous cornering capability, as well as torquey bursts of power that make navigating tight, twisty roads a whole lot of fun.

These were some of the thoughts that were going through my head.

There was no use resisting.



I fired the engine up, and headed down to the Shell station for $40 worth of Supreme. ($40?! WTF? Didn't we blow half of the middle east up recently? Shouldn't that entitle us to some cheap oil? But I digress.) Then I followed that line of green freeway dots out toward the Pacific, up through the Sepulveda Pass, and then along the north end of the Santa Monica Mountains to the exit for Topanga Canyon.

23 miles of freeway. Did it in about 15 minutes.

Nice.

It was about five in the evening, but the days are getting longer, and there was still plenty of light. I probably should have put the video camera on, but you can believe me when I say that the route from Mulholland Highway, to Stunt Road, to Saddle Peak, to Piuma Canyon, to Las Virgenes, back to Mulholland Highway, past the Rock Store, all the way to Decker Canyon, and back to the 101, was pretty freakin' excellent.

Very little traffic.

Hundreds of turns.

No blips on the Valentine One.

One question, though, for you motorcycle guys: What's the deal? I always try and leave a generous amount of space between me and bikes when I come up behind them. But unlike cars, motorcyclists seem to never want to move over and let faster guys past. Is it a pride thing that bikes should be faster through these kinds of roads than cars? Should I get closer? I want to be polite, but damn: either speed up, or wave me by, okay?

But the bike train delay was very short. Virtually all of the trip was wide open, with spectacular views down into the Valley, and also out over Malibu and the Pacific.



Both windows down the whole time. Warm air washing in with the scent of evening and the approaching Spring. I got back a couple hours after I left with 98 new miles on the odometer.

I'll be up late with work, but it was definitely worth it.



I stopped twice to shoot some pictures of the car, including this trademark Jack Olsen self-portrait. I'll mix the pictures into the text of this post.

So guys: when's the next canyon run? If not for ourselves, then for the roads. Twisty pavement is really a terrible thing to waste.

[GrindingGears]

i'm ready to run.

[Sonic dB]

Today, I went down to the beach. It was nice. I got some excercise on my roller blades. The sun was out and I got a tan. I saw some boobies and booties too.

Id like to do one of those runs sometime.... Keep us posted. Thanks for the traffic link too. Thats gonna be a morning staple for me.

[campbellcj]

Nice writeup and pics, Jack!

I went on a bit of a drive yesterday too. Kanan->Muholland->Stunt->Piuma-> Mulholland->Cornell.

This was after finishing my AN-6 braided fuel line and Weber fuel bar project, or at least the engine compartment portion, and filling up with $25 of 76 100 octane.

Surprisingly, even though it was a gorgeous weekend, weather-wise, I too did not see any law enforcement, very few bikes or motorcycles, and really no traffic at all. I followed a nice early Mustang for a while, but clear roads otherwise. Sort of freaky, but I am not one to complain

[911boost]

Jack,

What kind of motorcyles were they? I think that makes a difference. When I am on my GS if someone is faster I have no problem letting them pass, the last thing I want is someone right behind me.

With that being said, the GS is a great canyon carver, so it doesn't happen too often.

Great pics and thread...

Bill

[Porschekid962]

I like driving the canyons right by my house, Angeles Crest (Highway 2) and encounter plenty of guys on crotch rockets. Some are pretty darn quick but for the most part they are not as fast as one might expect. A good number of my friends ride some darn fast bikes and I followed them up about two weeks ago, I own them through almost all the corners but they definately have the drop on the straights. We pulled over for a little break and I asked why they wouldnt let me pass when I crept up a little and flashed my lights. They all replied rather vehemently that the way cars pass bikes on twisty roads scares them. OK so they hold us up for the most part and blah blah. There was an article in I believe it was road and track a while ago comparing a 2002 Yamaha YZF-R1 to a 2002 Porsche C2. It was a comparison held on Angeles Crest to see what vehicle is faster. The Pcar came out on top by a rather comfy margin, so if they dont let you pass just know that if you did you could leave them rather easily. Happy motoring! Jack how come you and Tyson didnt come to Fontana today? I saw Magnus and he said you guys came out yesterday just to watch?

[bob tilton]

great write up with pics jack. i know it was said before but what brand/model camera is responsible for those nice pics? really like the last "worm's eye" view pic. got cameras on the brain since visiting the mac store and spying the canon digital SLR.

[89turbocabmike]

Nice prose Jack, better than a Peter Egan story(can't remember last he talked about Porsches!) and great pics as usual. Count me in on a weekend morning run. I know you guys like to sleep in, but the malibu canyons are really deserted if you start at 7-7:30 and I'm willing to get up early enough to get there from south OC.

[Matt Holcomb]

Jack,

Is that a skid plate attached to the underside of your front spoiler?

[Raymond]

this was a SoCal weekend for the ages. Unbelieveable weather. My adventure took me south on PCH from Newport Beach to San Clemente. thanks for sharing your story!

[dickster]

Jack

Well, we aint got roads anything like that where i live - drive for that long and you're in another country.

we also dont have quite the same climate - pissing down with rain now for as long as i can remember, and pretty windy as well.

oh, and you mention the price of petrol, ours is at least what, 3 times more expensive?

You make me sick.

ps still, we dont have your smog laws

[Jack Olsen]

Originally posted by BSiple
What kind of motorcyles were they? I think that makes a difference.

They were the slow kind, apparently. I don't know. I don't know bikes at all. They were the lean-forward kind. Probably guys who just didn't feel comfortable going very fast.

Originally posted by Porschekid962
Jack how come you and Tyson didnt come to Fontana today? I saw Magnus and he said you guys came out yesterday just to watch?

Neither of us was signed up for the event. We're gearing up for the OTC, currently, and Tyson's rebuilding his motor.

Originally posted by bob tilton
i know it was said before but what brand/model camera is responsible for those nice pics? really like the last "worm's eye" view pic. got cameras on the brain since visiting the mac store and spying the canon digital SLR.

My digital camera is crappy and old, I'm pretty sure. It's a Kodak DC4800, and a quick visit to the Kodak site reveals it's been discontinued. I keep meaning to talk to SWBSAM about a better model to get. The SLR ones look cool. I have no photography skills. My secret is to take about 80 pictures at a time, with the hope that 8 of them will turn out okay.

Originally posted by Matt Holcomb
Is that a skid plate attached to the underside of your front spoiler?

I've got the wrap-around bar for the front AC condenser, and then an ABS splitter that attaches to the underside of the front spoiler. We made it out of ABS because we didn't have any fiberglass on hand. I keep meaning to re-do it in fiberglass, for the weight savings.

Here's the story of my car's underside:

[Matt Holcomb]

Originally posted by JackOlsen I've got the wrap-around bar for the front AC condenser, and then an ABS splitter that attaches to the underside of the front spoiler. We made it out of ABS because we didn't have any fiberglass on hand. I keep meaning to re-do it in fiberglass, for the weight savings.

Did TRE fabricate the splitter? If so, do you think they could make one for my '74 RS bumper/spoiler?

[speeder]

I can't answer the question of how to get around motorcycles in every instance, but definitely, under no circumstances should you ever tailgate a bike. At the very least you will foster hatred for Porsche drivers, and worse case is the reason they are slow/not yielding is because they are inexperienced riders and you could scare them and kill them. (Fostering hatred for yourself in particular).

I am not the most patient driver in canyons, I always want to haul ass, but sometimes I just need to chill for a minute 'cause they're not pulling over. Passing them is OK, as long as you are not "buzzing them", for same reason as above.

People who cockblock in the left lane in SUVs/trucks/cars on the freeway are another story, you are free to terrorize them.

[Jack Olsen]

Originally posted by speeder
under no circumstances should you ever tailgate a bike

That's how I've always felt. I know that riders feel (justifiably) vulnerable.

I ended up pulling over and taking some pictures to put some distance between me and the bikes. Worked fine. But it's happened enough, now, that it's got me thinking about it. You'd think they'd be more aware than most when they're holding up traffic.

[dickster]

i wouldnt want to rely on that advice being taken by all motorists. i have met all sorts of ****holes on the road while i'm on my m/bike and you either speed up (thats the usual option i take) and get the hell away from them, or you make space for them to get past.

i had a lorry take out one of my rear indicators while i was on the bike (he was travelling in opposite direction) so i dont take drivers for granted.

i agree with jack, if you hold up traffic you gonna irritate someone.

[Rufblackbird]

awesome writeup and pictures, Jack. Unfortunately there's no 98 miles of canyon road here...

[atlporsche]

jack, your car makes my pants feel funny.

sigh...it was 80 here in atlanta too...my car is still in the air.

sjd

[hardcharger]

looks like a fun run in the sun,ran thru the desert out hrer this weekend and came across a caravan of new vettes heading for the proving grounds.they didnt want to play...but had a great drive.got to give bikes a lot of room. ive seen to many riders with bikes that way exceed there ability.take care head for the valley of the sun

[Rick Lee]

I'll be there soon enough!