Places to ride around LA

[Steve Little]

Hi. I will be in the States later this month and am thinking of renting a late model Harley "a wedding bike" for a day or two.
Can anyone recomend a nice day ride around LA.
20 years ago a local guy and I rode to some Bar that was well frequented by bike people up CPH.
I think it was well past Maliboo and up in the Hills.
There was a trailer park near it and Spider "Easy Riders" fame lived there.
Directions to the bar if anyone knows of it or any other suggestions on a nice ride?
Regards Steve

[Chris Haynes]

That sounds like The Brothers Club, owned by Easyriders. It is no longer in existance.

[aka HAWG]

chris

by your limited response I take it there is no good riding around LA or is it you are afraid people will " flock in groves" to live in california

aka HAWG

[Rooster]

Yeah that's it, "there's no good riding in California".

[Steve Little]

Thanks Chris.
It was a few years ago.
As I remember, it had big slab tables and benches outside. Thinking back it wasnt 20 years it was 1994 which would make it 15 years ago.
You Cal guys are guarded on your spots.

I seem to remeber a suburb called Whittier that was interseting/scary after dark.

We'll find somewhere to cruise.
Regards Steve

[Rooster]

Steve, I am not a California native, but I've spent some time in Santa Barbara. Beautiful place, far removed from the city of Los Angeles, yet just a short 1-1/2 hours away. There's an old stage stop up on San Marcos Pass called Cold Springs Tavern. There's also some great riding up around Ojai, North of Ventura a little ways. Great scenery, nice windy roads, beautiful weather!

But Hey--- I'm a Washington native. If you want to come up here, I can really show you some sights!

[Tom Lovejoy]

Steve, lots of good riding - if you dont mind alot of traffic as the norm. Mid and northern Calif coast is super good, good ol PCH. Might that place you talked about be the Rock Store? its a nice short ride, agree Ojai is very nice area. Hwy 2 is close and all the twisting curves one could ask for. Down south has some nice one day rides, Borrego Springs and the mountains around there are awesome riding. The little town of Julian is real neat, Laguna mountain range area is very nice. The coast right around L.A. is ok and can be pretty, but on nice days its a parking lot. If you've got a whole weekend, Yosemite and some of the other parks are fantastic, with good roads and great views. If you got an hour or two Palos Verdes is a nice little run, just stop and have a drink over looking the Pacific. Or the ride will be over before you know it. I do it on my antiques all the time, good luck.

[Steve Little]

Tom and Rooster.
Thanks for the ideas.
I will check out some of the roads and destinations you have suggested.
I dont remember the name of the bar.
From memory we went up that road that runs along the beach past Maliboo "I thought that was part of CPH" heading in the direction of San Fransisco and then we turned right into the hills. The bar was either across the road or not far from the trailer park that Spider lived in.

I will be flying out to the Davenport swap meet the following week.

[Chris Haynes]

The best motorcycle road in Los Angeles County is Hwy 2 between La Canada and Wrightwood. Elevation changes fro 1,000- 7,000 feet. Gentle curves and long straightaways. Lotsa eateries in Wrightwood and Newcomb Ranch is about 1/3 of the way there from La Canada. Beware of the crotch rockets.

[Chris Haynes]

The best motorcycle road in Los Angeles County is Angeles Crest Highway, Hwy 2 between La Canada and Wrightwood. Elevation changes from 1,000- 7,000 feet, so bring a jacket. Gentle curves and long straightaways. Lotsa eateries in Wrightwood and Newcomb Ranch is about 1/3 of the way there from La Canada. Beware of the crotch rockets.
http://angelescrestscenichighway.com/road-guide.html

[darrylri]

I can't believe how little response you've gotten, Steve.

I lived in LA for 33 years and my family is still there. There are lots of great little roads to ride in the Santa Monica Mountains. The further west you go, the less traffic you'll see. Check out the roads that branch off Mulholland Highway, like Stunt Rd., Encinal Canyon, Decker Canyon and Deer Creek Rd. Just a couple miles east of Kanan Rd. is The Rock Store, a very popular biker spot on the weekends.

While CA-2 (Angeles Crest Highway) is a great ride, it's very busy up there on the weekends, and the CHP patrols it on the weekends. The hangout spot up there is Newcombe's Ranch. Personally, I prefer to get away from the traffic and ride some of the quieter roads in this area, such as Angeles Forest Rd. and Little Tujunga Canyon.

If you want to enjoy the ride to Ojai, here's a route: Look at a map and get out to the town of Moorpark, where the CA-23 and CA-118 freeways meet. Unfortunately, this is now a booming suburb, but The Cactus on the old main street is a good restaurant for breakfast. Take CA-23 north out of town and follow it through "the notch" and down into Grimes Canyon, past an old quarry. Rather than following CA-23 to its end at CA-126 in Filmore, make a left at Bardsdale Ave. (in the middle of a right hand turn) and wander through the citrus orchards until you get onto South Mountain Rd. This will take you into Santa Paula, under the CA-126 freeway. Just on the north side of the freeway, make a left, then a right on the next street to put you on CA-150. This a is a nice ride in the country and will take you into Ojai. The last few miles down the Ojai grade are very twisty. From Ojai you can stay on CA-150 out to the south end of the Santa Barbara area, or you can take CA-33 for a great ride up to Lockwood Valley Rd., and then back to I-5 at Frazier Park and the Tejon Summit.

Another fine area to go riding is in Canyon Country, also along I-5. If you take the Lake Castaic exit and head north, you'll be on Lake Hughes Rd. Make a right onto Lake Elizabeth road and then another right onto San Franciscito Canyon Rd. The remains of the St. Francis dam is near the bottom of this; when it broke in the early 30s, it killed hundreds of people. Boquet Canyon used to be another good road in this area, and I believe that there's a biker spot towards the north end, but it has mostly been swallowed by suburbia. You can make your way down Boquet and over to Placerita Canyon, which can link up to Little Tujunga Canyon, that I mentioned above.

[KNUCK]

Steve, If you are going to come all the way from Australia to ride a Harley in Calif, LA may not be my first choice. I just came back from a trip to Lake Tahoe. I went over Sonora Pass and returned through Tioga Pass in Yosemite. I do this same trip almost every year and it never gets old. It runs about 800 miles and takes 2-3 days cruising like you are retired. This year I think I will do it twice!

From LA you can drive to Fresno in 4 hours and rent a bike, then you are good to go.



http://wackyiraqi.com/wtf/pashnit/Highway108.htm

http://www.visitinglaketahoe.com/

http://www.nps.gov/yose/

http://www.yosemitefun.com/glacier_point.htm

[Steve Little]

Thanks for all the posts. I have a nice range of rides. If any of you come to Oz feel free to ask for some neat rides around Victoria.
Regards Steve

[Jerry Hatfield]

Another good ride: From I-5, north on Antelope Valley Freeway (14) to Sand Canyon exit. Sand Canyon Road to Siera Highway (about one mile). Right on Sierra Highway; 1/2 mile to Vazquez Canyon Road; left on Vasquez Canyon Road, 5 miles to Boquet Canyon Road; right on Boquet Canyon Road; winding road follows river, so stop and soak your tired hot feet wherever you like; 8 miles to Boquet Resevoir; continue 5 miles toward Elizabeth Lake Road; stop to take a picture of delapidated windmill; ride last mile or two to Elizabeth Lake Road; right on Elizabeth Lake Road; 1/2 mile to Godde Hill Road; left on Godde Hill Road; enjoy steep winding road for about a mile or mile and a half; stop at summit; on your right, everything is green but on your left is the basically beige Antelope Valley -- take pictures!; continue one mile and you're in southwest Palmdale, then return to Antelope Valley Freeway and ride to your chosen end point. In 1982 and 1983, from April through September, I rode this route five days a week. My daily motorcycle commute was 156 miles roundtrip between Lancaster and El Segundo. When I retired from the air force in 1984, the Los Angeles Air Force Station motorcycle club gave me a trophy inscribed "Commuter Champ."

[Steve Little]

Hi Jerry.
I'm staying in Costa Mesa which is about 10 minutes drive from the old Zepplin hangers in Santa Ana.
Thanks for the ride info.

Regards Steve