Help with the winter time blues

I have noticed shorter tempers around here lately so I thought maybe some two wheeled therapy was in order. I closed my laptop. Donned my leathers, cranked up my tunes, and headed out for a short local ride to get some pics and some fresh air. Temps were in the low 60s acc to bike but it felt slightly cooler, but not bad by any means.

First stop was at Chevron where gas is below $3 a gal for the first time in a while. It's times like these when I'm glad my primary transport is a 35 mpg cycle instead of my F350 which gets about 6.

I headed down south to Santa Margarita and onto Hwy 58 for a bit. Got one pic before turning off to las pilitas. Here's the snap with the mountains in the background. The sun was over that way so the quality isn't great. Also, the iphone isn't known for great pics.


Up the road a few more miles and I made a left onto Las Pilitas. This is a country road that's maybe 7-10 miles from where I live, but it seems like you are in a forgotten part of Cali for a bit.

Notice the mossy oaks in the background. They are very cool. In lots of places they stretch across the road.


The road surface isn't wonderful and it's pretty narrow, but it's not bad. If I'm not taking pics, I'll roll through here at a brisk but not fast pace. Even though it looks like it's in the middle of nowhere, people still live out here.



Any of you guys missing the body from an old VW bug? I might have found it.


It was actually pretty sunny, but my pics seem foggy. I'll just say it was the phone again cause it couldn't possibly be an error on my part.



It's weird how here it's all green right now except for some of the deciduous trees, but when it's all green everywhere else, it's usually brown here. By the end of summer, we'll be on fire again.



Here's an old out of service bridge that looks pretty neat. You can still get to it, though. There are a couple mailboxes right by the end of it where someone's drive ends.



The other angle...


And the frame...


On down the road, the rocks crept closer to the road so I snuck over by them for a pic...


Then there was a little creek crossing a bit further on. It's kind of hard to see, but the water was kind of a rusty color. Not sure if it was from the rocks or what, but it was unusual...


After this, I headed on down the road to the end and then hung a left onto Park Hill Rd where I only snapped one shot. The terrain was pretty much the same but it was harder to stop as there were 2 or 3 cars on the road with me. On Las Pilitas in all the time I was stopping and snapping pics in the middle of the road, I only saw one other vehicle on the road.



At the end of Park Hill we were back on another part of hwy 58 where I turned right and headed up the hill and through the curves.



And one more snap from Hwy 58 before cresting the top of the hill.


From there I headed up and over then took a left on 229. It was time to open it up a bit so no pics, but I dug up this old video of VFRWorld members riding on 229 when they came to visit me a while back.

[video=youtube;H7GZh9yB3k4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7GZh9yB3k4[/video]

From there, I headed back through Creston then left on Hwy 41 to take me back home. All totalled it was about 50 miles, and umpteen curves. It was good. It was nice to get out and breathe and forget about things for a few minutes.

Now everyone all together, just breathe, relax, and remember it's just the internet.

 

well, I know a good time to make the trip... Our resident crazy canuck coming from the UFRR will be coming through your state on his way here...

http://vfrworld.com/forums/general-vfr-discussions/27206-coming-soon-2010-slo-odyssey-aka-reggies-roadhouse-roundup.html

 

what is all that white stuff you guys have in your pictures?

I seem to remember it from my childhood...


Oh, yeah, it's that stuff we put in the mountains so we can ski of we feel like it. I don't understand. Why don't you guys keep it a couple hours east of you like we do, then if you need it, it is over there and if not, you stay around home and ride your motorcycle. It works well for me...

 

It's not too far. I live maybe 115 miles north if you go up the 101, but who would do that when you could take the 33 to the 166 to the 58? Now that's an awesome ride!

That's true. I end up leaving a lot of things undone on my bike since I ride year round. I get to see all the mods you guys come up with and I think that would be neat, but I never seem to find the time. It's hard enough just taking the time to keep the chain clean and change the oil.

It's winding down, though, isn't it? The other day when I was riding to work, the sun wasn't coming up, but it was getting lighter so I figured winter would be gone before long... It was already about 40 degrees which seemed warm compared to 37 which is what it was a couple days before when I left for work. Even though it gets warm in the winter here, at night it's still cool so leaving early for work means cold riding...