The entire ride to get to California was perfect. The roads were perfect, the weather was perfect, and the bike ran perfectly. What more could you want on a 3000-mile road trip?
Fort Worth, TX To San Diego, CA- Day 2
Day 2 started out at 5 am from Payson, AZ. I have a habit of getting up early and that was no exception on the trip. My first order of business was fuel, then food. At that time of the morning, there isn't much open in a small town like Payson, AZ. I rode down the street from my hotel to fuel up and saw a motorcycle at a small diner. To me, it was a sign to stop in and have breakfast. I couldn't have been happier!
I walked in and there were five local guys all my age group talking with the waitress. She looked around the diner and said I could sit where ever I wanted. I looked at those guys and said "they look like a lot of fun, I'll sit with them if they don't mind"! They all laughed at me and welcomed me to sit with them. I probably stayed there for almost two hours talking to them and listening to their stories while sharing a few of my own. It was great and they were all incredibly hospitable. The meal was huge, so huge I couldn't even finish it.
Country Road 89 Out Of Prescott, AZ
Now we were getting into some really good twisted road action. I didn't know what to expect. The country road 89 coming out of Prescott, AZ was wonderful. It was paved very nicely, with no potholes, no tar snakes, and embanked corners, and made for the perfect twisty road. May corners were so sharp there was a 20-mile-per-hour speed limit. Along with the great riding were the great views. I had to pull over many times just to have a chance to take in the scenery. While riding I had to pay attention to the road.
Eventually, the wonderful curves ended at an overlook down to Peoples Valley. I took a break at the overlook to remove some heavier gear that was getting too hot. I was sunburned pretty badly from the day before so it gave me a chance to put on some sunscreen as well. Then it was off again!
Aguilla, AZ To Yuma, AZ
Two roads in particular along my chosen route are worth mentioning. In Aguilla, AZ I took US-60 to Quartzsite, AZ and from there I took US-95 to Yuma, AZ. There wasn't much exceptional in the way of twisties but if your looking for those long hauls out into isolation these roads are for you. Both roads for almost 80 miles each went completely straight through the desert. The 2 lane roads also didn't have much traffic which made for an even better desert ride. You could crank up to 85 or 90 and set the cruise control and listen to the roar of the bike. It had rained recently so the desert was in bloom. Cactuses had flowered and there was a large amount of green foliage instead of the dried-up sandy look you would normally encounter.
Yuma, AZ to San Diego, CA
This part of the ride was not really all that special. It was beautiful but it was interstate. I took I-8 all the way to San Diego, CA. Because this was a 500-mile day in itself I wanted to spend the last part of the day getting to my destination in a timely manner. The desert was nice to see though. The highway took me through the southernmost portion of the Glamis Dunes which was an incredible site. it reminded me very much of the Sahara Desert from when I lived in Egypt. The mountains to the east of San Diego, CA also provided some interesting rock formations and some great riding.
It was late in the day when I got to those mountains and it was hot! The temperatures were now in the low 100s and it was getting to me. There wasn't any shaded road like you find in the mountains so you're just getting blasted full on from the sun. At one point as I was trying to get comfortable, I pushed on my wing board footpeg and it spun on the engine guard as it came loose. I had to pull over and pull out the tools to secure it back into place. This was to be the only incident with the motorcycle on the entire trip. While stopped I went ahead and filled up. To my surprise super unleaded was over $7 a gallon!
El Cajon Harley Davidson
I did well on time the entire trip, arriving early to each destination for the day. On day 3 I landed in San Diego, CA about 3 hours ahead of schedule. That gave me a chance to visit a local Harley-Davidson dealership. It was here I met Sergio who is a salesperson at the dealership. He approached me and said he recognized my patch from somewhere but couldn't remember where. I let him look at it closer and he then saw it was Ride It Wrench It, pulled out his phone, and showed me he followed me on social media. That was really awesome and led to a great time and conversations with him.
He had a house across the border in Mexico and was the founder of a motorcycle club called Soberanos in Tijuana. He also wrenches on his bike and has used some of my videos as assistance. I keep small Ride It Wrench It vests patches with me and gives them out to people that say hello to me so I gave him one. What a great situation to fall into just by visiting a dealership to take a break! I hope all is well Sergio! Thanks for the hospitality, it was much appreciated!
The Final Miles
From the dealership, it was only about 20 miles to my Uncle and Cousins house. The short end of a long 1600-mile ride came to a close. I pulled up, hopped off the bike, and spend some incredible time with them while making memories I will never forget. I want to thank them all, my Uncle, Cousin, and 1rst Cousin and his wife for welcoming me and taking me around San Diego, CA to see some of the sites!
Ride Strong Wrench Proud
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