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Through a work colleague I was invited on a Sunday ride to Palomar Mountain road with about 18 other riders. Mostly twenty something guys with the latest greatest sport bikes. Then there was me on a bike older then some of the riders on this trip. Most of these guys seemed to be seasoned riders, talked to a few and found some beginners in our ranks as well. This always is cause for pause, almost every time I’ve been riding with new guys someone eats it or almost does.
We gathered up at a gas station near by and made the long hour plus run to the road off ramp on the 15 freeway. It’s hard to keep such a large group together, when we stopped for gas we took the place over.
Never been on this road before I was told it was short but sweet. The best part was about 7 miles. After the first few turns of full on sweep to the opposite direction with a closing radius twist on the end I knew our new guys are in for trouble. These turns were making me work hard and had me at my limits real quick. I could feel my boots touching pavement and the adrenaline kick the heart rate up. Took me a while to get into the zone and relax although I was making more mid corner throttle and brake adjustments then I prefer but then it was my first time here and the corners are blind with a few surprises mixed in. Very challenging.
After the seven mile run, the first 6-8 of us pulled over and was re-capping the ride much time had past and no other riders made it to the top. I was concerned that someone crashed, more time past and we sent one of the more faster riders down to have a look. More time passed then some riders finally showed up and someone did go down. Lucky no damage to him or his new R1. It slid out from under him on the right side only scratching the pipe and crash bars. You could see the loss of traction slip marks on the edge of his tires. If I had to guess it was caused by over braking while under full lean but who knows, he said he lost the rear and it seems about right. Better that then to run out of road. He was in good spirits and was laughing about it, I asked what happened to some of the beginner riders turned out they turned around and went home. I was glad, this was no ride to break your cherry on.
Look at the old GS go....She was working hard. LOL
These are the guys in are group always way out in front of me.....
From Wikipedia on the road to Palomar Mountain :
South Grade Road, the stretch of San Diego County Route S6 to the summit, is popular among motorcycle riders and sports car drivers due to its challenging nature (over 20 hairpin turns over the distance of less than 7 mi (11 km)). According to fire department records, there have been 26 reported motorcycle injury accidents on the mountain this year. In 2004, the figure was 23. In 2003 there were 26.
We gathered up at a gas station near by and made the long hour plus run to the road off ramp on the 15 freeway. It’s hard to keep such a large group together, when we stopped for gas we took the place over.
Never been on this road before I was told it was short but sweet. The best part was about 7 miles. After the first few turns of full on sweep to the opposite direction with a closing radius twist on the end I knew our new guys are in for trouble. These turns were making me work hard and had me at my limits real quick. I could feel my boots touching pavement and the adrenaline kick the heart rate up. Took me a while to get into the zone and relax although I was making more mid corner throttle and brake adjustments then I prefer but then it was my first time here and the corners are blind with a few surprises mixed in. Very challenging.
After the seven mile run, the first 6-8 of us pulled over and was re-capping the ride much time had past and no other riders made it to the top. I was concerned that someone crashed, more time past and we sent one of the more faster riders down to have a look. More time passed then some riders finally showed up and someone did go down. Lucky no damage to him or his new R1. It slid out from under him on the right side only scratching the pipe and crash bars. You could see the loss of traction slip marks on the edge of his tires. If I had to guess it was caused by over braking while under full lean but who knows, he said he lost the rear and it seems about right. Better that then to run out of road. He was in good spirits and was laughing about it, I asked what happened to some of the beginner riders turned out they turned around and went home. I was glad, this was no ride to break your cherry on.
Look at the old GS go....She was working hard. LOL
These are the guys in are group always way out in front of me.....
From Wikipedia on the road to Palomar Mountain :
South Grade Road, the stretch of San Diego County Route S6 to the summit, is popular among motorcycle riders and sports car drivers due to its challenging nature (over 20 hairpin turns over the distance of less than 7 mi (11 km)). According to fire department records, there have been 26 reported motorcycle injury accidents on the mountain this year. In 2004, the figure was 23. In 2003 there were 26.
in front. Looks like a great ride.
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