Premium Member pgeldz Posted July 13, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted July 13, 2015 So I've been wanting to go to Angela's Crest Hwy (ACH, or Hwy 2 as the locals call it) in Southern California for quite some time now. I used to ride that road just about every weekend when I lived just up the hill in Victorville a long time ago when I was in the Air Force stationed at George AFB. Have so many good memories of those times, and vowed one day I'd be back. Here we are 25 years later, and once again I find myself just up the road, albeit a little bit farther away in Vegas. I had a chance to do the road once in a car, but I only went to Newcomb's Ranch to have lunch and didn't continue all the way down to Glendale. I knew from that day on I'd be back soon, on 2 wheels. Fast forward another year or so and I have my FZ-07, all prepped like I want, just itching to make the trip up there. My schedule is, for lack of a better term, "dynamic"...so something would always conspire against me to make the trip. That, and I'd rather not go alone on a road like that - never know what can happen so I think it's important to use the buddy system especially since it's far from my home. I finally convinced two of my buddies to make the trip, and they were both genuinely excited to go see what all the fuss was about, despite the near 4 hour long boring interstate drone on I-15 to get there, lol. The trip was over as soon as I got there, so it was bitter sweet for me. My buddy crashed not more than 10 min up the mountain (just past the first ski resort) and was banged up pretty bad. He has an FZ-09 and the bike took a pretty good shunt, as did he. It was me, him , and another buddy of mine. He took out all the lights on his bike, left side air intake scoop, both mirrors, seat was torn, license plate had a hole in it (how I have no idea), control switches broke off, etc. Somehow the bike started right up and was mechanically fine. A bunch of people stopped and offered help, and we took one guy up on it in the form of some zip ties to secure his hanging headlight and turn signals. He wanted to go straight home, and told us since we came all this way (almost 4 hours to get there), we should go enjoy ourselves. Well, I never, and I mean NEVER leave someone in my group behind, so my other buddy and I looked at each other and immediately said no, we're escorting you home, and we did - presidential style, making sure he was in the middle of us the whole trip back since he had no lights or mirrors. The crazy thing is that none of us were speeding or doing anything crazy as far as I could tell. The FZ-09 brings out the inner 20's hooligan in my buddy (who's 64 years old btw), so I wanted to lead to control the pace, and also to gauge the road conditions, etc. My mirrors make it look like they are way behind me so after the first few corners when I didn't see either one of them behind it seemed normal. But when the road opened up a little, they still weren't behind. I slowed down to like 10 mph and then pulled into the next ski resort parking area and STILL didn't see them even though I was stopped. That's when I knew something was wrong. I immediately turned around and hauled ass back and sure enough, there he was a few corners up on the side of the road, talking with my other buddy, having a smoke. He said he didn't really remember what happened, but thought he got target fixated on a rock in the road, and before he knew it, he went off. I got to hand it to him tho, he is one tough SOB. He rode back to Vegas 4 hours straight with us on a banged up bike, and bruised body at 64 years old. When we got to his house, he could hardly walk. I'm sure the Adrenalin and shock wore off and he was feeling hurt pretty bad. I snagged his GoPro footage and didn't see a rock as far as I could tell. Didn't look like he was speeding either. I did see a Red Corvette coming the opposite way and it's possible he got fixated on that and when he looked back at the road it was already starting to turn and he was still going straight - that's my guess. I'd post up the footage but I don't think it's appropriate without his permission. So all in all, it was bitter sweet for me. An 8 hour trip to experience literally a few corners before we headed back. But like I said, I'll never, EVER, leave someone behind. A big public thanks for all of those that did stop. Angela (Crest Hwy), I've waited 20 years to re-experience all your twists and turns, scenic beauty, and comradery amongst fellow motorcyclists. I can wait a few weeks more. I'll be back soon...you can count on it. - Paulie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member so1102 Posted July 13, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted July 13, 2015 Good to hear he survived and is (mostly) OK. Bummer for your shortened trip. Maybe next time have someone follow you guys in a truck with a trailer -- just in case. Think of it as a support vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member motomeek Posted July 13, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted July 13, 2015 Glad your buddy is ok! That's mad will power to get back on the bike and ride back to Vegas right after. Good on you and your other riding buddy for getting him back home safely. Whenever you're back here again, let us know! Hopefully I can join you. Instagram: @meekmade | You don't need to flat foot a bike to ride it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeisan Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Damn Paulie, that's a bummer. Glad your buddy is relatively OK and that you guys all made it back safely. Kudos for staying together - I'd have done the same for one of my buddies. Karma will reward you with an extra special visit the next time you make the hike. You can count on it! Life is good on 2 wheels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member n2shotokai Posted July 13, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted July 13, 2015 Maybe next time we can meet up with you at Wrightwood and ride West with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member pgeldz Posted July 14, 2015 Author Premium Member Share Posted July 14, 2015 Karma will reward you with an extra special visit the next time you make the hike. You can count on it! I sure hope so @aeisan Maybe next time we can meet up with you at Wrightwood and ride West with you. That sounds like a wonderful plan! - Paulie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 This explains why we never saw you at Mulholland. Very happy to hear your friend made it out ok. As far as us waiting for you, no worries at all. The cell signal sucked up there too. And in your situation, I'd of done the same thing. No way in hell anybody's getting left behind. Hopefully next time you give it a shot it'll be a much happier/safer experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member pgeldz Posted July 25, 2015 Author Premium Member Share Posted July 25, 2015 This explains why we never saw you at Mulholland. Very happy to hear your friend made it out ok. As far as us waiting for you, no worries at all. The cell signal sucked up there too. And in your situation, I'd of done the same thing. No way in hell anybody's getting left behind. Hopefully next time you give it a shot it'll be a much happier/safer experience Thanks for understanding... Next time, we'll pre-coordinate so everyone will be on the same page ahead of time.. - Paulie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.