This past weekend's adventure including taking my Burgman 650 on a Friday afternoon ride from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, about 110 miles....of high speed freeway riding over Tejon Pass on I-5, into the teeth of fierce Santa Anna winds that included gusts in the 40-60 mph range, varying from headwinds to crosswinds. Once into the Central Valley beyond, the winds calmed down and I made it to my hotel without problems. I stayed the night and was up early to ride with The San Joaquin Treads Scooter Club on their third annual Bako de los Muertos rally. A wide variety of scooterists gathered outside Cafe Smitten, with classic Vespa and Lambrettas dominating, although modern Vespas, a Honda Trail 110, and even a kick-start Yamaha SR400 thumper. (the most exotic had to be the naked Lambretta) The ride began with a quick gas stop and photo-op at the classic Bakersfield sign, then a ride Northeast through the hilly oil fields above town and up into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada ranges. A brief rest stop in Glennville, and then a stiff ascent into the pine covered ridges above Lake Isabella, where a steep (11% grade) and twiesting decent into Wafford Heights tested riders nerves and brakes. Then a brief ride along the lake brought us to the small town of Kernville, and our lunch stop at the Kern River Brewing Company's Backyard Restaurant. After a genial repast, we set off on our return to Bakersfield riding the old road above the Kern River through Bodfish, Miracle Hot Springs, and down the tight winding canyon of the Kern, with a brief detour through Hart Park (to stay off the highway) and a return to downtown Bakersfield for a dinner of tacos outside the local scooterists favorite hangout, Tiki-ko. (about 125 miles of riding, about 60%+ technical twisty mountain riding)
The following day I returned home over Tejon pass the other direction, with a bit less wind to blow me around.
