The summer of 1969 gave us four of the most talked about news stories since, let’s see, the summer of 1968?  The fact that all four happened within 30 days of each other during July and August is especially remarkable.  And that we are still consumed with Chappaquiddick, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Manson “family” murders and Woodstock speaks to the significance of these events that happened during that long ago summer.

Perhaps not as newsworthy was the release of a low-budget “hippie movie” called Easy Rider.  The film starred Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and a not-yet-well-known Jack Nicholson.  But the real stars were two custom built Harley Davidson motorcycles – a raked out chopper with a stars and stripes gas tank (Wyatt’s bike), and a slightly more pedestrian panhead Harley with orange and yellow flames (Billy’s bike).

Easy Rider became the third highest grossing movie of 1969. 

Hollywood had done motorcycle movies before – from the 1953 original outlaw biker film The Wild One (Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin) to cheesy drive-in-movie, bike-sploitation offerings such as The Wild Angels, Angels From Hell and She-Devils on Wheels.  But Easy Rider was different – it continued the boundary pushing started by Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate and Midnight Cowboy.  By the summer of ’69, sex and drugs in films were no longer taboo.

As Easy Rider turns 50 on July 14, a lot of attention will once again be paid to this ground breaking film including limited engagements in movie theaters this summer.  In his original review of the film, Roger Ebert suspected “many members of the Hollywood older generation believe, sincerely and deeply, that Easy Rider doesn't have a story, and doesn't mean anything, and that the kids are all crazy these days.”  Roger was right about the older generation’s opinion.  But the fact that we’re still talking about it 50 years later says something about a story and some crazy kids whose lives were changed forever by a movie.

Much has been written about the recurring  subject of “freedom” in Easy Rider.  Jack Nicholson’s freedom monologue around the campfire is the film’s narrative theme.  Jack’s character, George Hanson, tells Billy people are afraid of him not because he has long hair, but because what he represents to them is freedom.  And seeing a free individual scares them.  In a 1969 Rolling Stone interview, Peter Fonda said:  “My movie is about the lack of freedom, not about freedom.  My heroes are not right, they’re wrong. The only thing I can end up doing is killing my character.  I end up committing suicide, that’s what I’m saying America is doing.”

Much has also been made of Wyatt’s anti-hero statement to Billy at the end of the film:  “We blew it . . . “   Wyatt says it twice.  Billy protests with:  “I mean you go for the big money, man - and then you’re free . . . “   Nope, Billy didn’t get it.

New York Times movie critic Vincent Canby wrote “Easy Rider is a motorcycle drama with decidedly superior airs about it.  How else are we to approach a movie that advertises itself - A man went looking for America.  And couldn’t find it anywhere.”

In a recent interview, Peter Fonda mentioned that people often ask him, is the film still relevant today?  His response?  “Well, look out the window and tell me we haven’t blown it.  We keep blowing it worse.  So yeah, it’s relevant.  50 years later, I’m still looking . . . ”

​
RIP Peter Fonda 2/23/40 - 8/16/19
"At the end of Easy Rider, it’s Fonda’s Wyatt who rides back for help when those gun-crazy rednecks blast Billy off his bike. The final image of the film is Wyatt and Captain America going up in flames.  Fonda never saw the ending as hopeless. 'It’s a bonfire,' he said. 'Still burning.' That’s the attitude that makes the memory of the personal and public Peter Fonda an everlasting flame."  Excerpt by Peter Travers/Rolling Stone magazine


No biker deserves to be bored . . . 

Close to the top of the list of the most boring rides ever has to be Los Angeles to Laughlin. Especially the 144 miles along Interstate 40 from smelly Barstow to the scorched earth city of Needles. There are however freight trains to look at off in the distance.  But going 80+ miles per hour on a bike, the eyes can't wander too long.

Hey it's Laughlin, and you do what you have to do. 

At this year's River Run (the 37th consecutive year), everyone seemed to be talking about how much the attendance was down, why Harley Davidson didn't bother to show up, and rumors about the 2019 edition being the final year for the River Run.  The event has been promoted since 1993 by a California corporation called Dal Con Promotions. 

Rumor has it Dal Con has decided to pull out of Laughlin.  We did however see these flyers circulating over the weekend:

Dal Con Promotions' name does not appear on the flyer.  The Edgewater and Colorado Belle hotels are simply assuming there will be a 38th River Run happening in late April 2020 with or without Dal Con in charge. 

Reasons we heard over the weekend as to why attendance is down:

(1) Price gouging by the hotels.  A river view balcony room at the Colorado Belle normally goes for $119 a night on weekends.  This rate doubles during the River Run.  Here's a quote from a 2019 River Run participant:

It's simple price gouging $300 a night, 3 night minimum stay any other time the hotel rooms are $29 to $49. I can't remember the last time I saw big-name entertainment. Can't remember the last time I saw vendors that didn't get their prices doubled for their spaces.  The greedy people here in Arizona that drove most of the vendors away and won't pay for the big names to come in.  That's what killed the rally.

(2) Increased police presence.  For the Run, Las Vegas sends a small army of cops to keep the peace.  Mostly just annoying and clogging up South Casino Drive with their vehicles and horses.  Also sitting in front of hotels with their lights flashing for no apparent reason.  Here's a quote from another participant:

This year, the cops were in more force than I've ever seen.  My ol' lady works security at the Riverside casino and she told me the same thing. I've been going to this event for years and watched it go down hill in the last 4 years. The cops pull over people for no reason. They are bringing metro from Vegas now and are harassing people on foot. 
It's become so g rated you might as well be at Disney World.  

Although the flashing LED lights on the horses' tails were kind of cute. 

​(3) Complaints that The Run today is "less of everything." For example: fewer vendors, not enough bands/entertainment, clubs closing earlier, etc.  One thing we really missed this year was the outdoor stage on the patio behind the Colorado Belle.  The patio is right on the river walk and has a nice view to the east.  The music would start in the late afternoon and go until late in the evening.  This year an eerie silence replaced the festive atmosphere of past years.  The patio bands had been relocated to the large white tent out in the hotel parking lot, where the temperature on the asphalt was somewhere around Mars. 
​
You know what makes this Country great, you have the choice to do whatever you want to do. So either go or don’t go, it’s a CHOICE for one to have fun or NOT. So quit your fucking crying!!!   ​quote from 2019 River Run participant

I know a lot of us will always make the pilgrimage to Laughlin on the last weekend in April.  I don't know if riding for a very long time across the Mohave Desert in a 30 mile an hour crosswind with the temperature hovering around 100 degrees changes you.  But it sure makes you appreciate an over-priced, air-conditioned balcony room at the Colorado Belle. 

But, now I am alone. And, I do not care. I head off across the desert alone. All I care is that I am finally out of El Lay. And, like Byron in the desert, for an hour or two, “I might forget the human race . . ."  quote from Donald Charles Davis

Update June 2019 - we made our Colorado Belle reservations for next year.  The balcony room rates are around $50 a night less.  Still too expensive, but oh well . . . some things you're just willing to overpay. 


​No biker deserves to be bored . . . 

Not wanting to risk a slow ride with lots of lane splitting on the Four Oh Five during Friday morning rush hour, we spent Thursday night in Del Mar at an overpriced hotel.  At least we were close to the Fish Market and had some amazing clam chowder for dinner. 

​The run started Friday @ 12 noon at San Diego Harley Davidson, the one that now occupies the original Price Club building on Morena Blvd.  I lived a couple of miles from there umpteen years ago. 

​Deja vu all over again. 

​Riding the 27 miles on Interstate 5 to the Mexican border resembled something from the movie It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Getting into Mexico isn't usually a problem, unless you're on a motorcycle.  Rows of what looks like upside down mixing bowls stand between you and Tijuana.  A bike close to us went down, then another one.  We were very careful. Once across, we got behind about 10 bikes and figured they would get us to where we needed to go.    They did.                                                  Safely across the border in TJ

Opened to the public in 1924, the Rosarito Beach Hotel was a favorite haunt of Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner, and Kim Novak. A sign above the lobby entrance states:  "Through This Door Pass The Most Beautiful Women In The World."   Still holds true today. 

​While waiting in a very slow line to check in, hotel employees brought out trash cans full of beer.  The guy behind me looked thirsty too.  Turns out we knew each other - sort of. He and his wife live close by in Simi Valley.  And he and my wife have the same bike - crushed ice pearl Street Glides.  Simi Valley Harley Davidson only sold two bikes in that color last year. 

​So there we were in Rosarito marveling at the coincidence.  He, his wife, me and my wife got to hang together all weekend - plus another couple they are good friends with. 

​I love being lucky.

Saturday - we almost missed the Toy Run. 

​My wife forgot her gloves, so I had to fetch them back up in our room.   The elevators at the Rosarito Beach Hotel are agonizingly slow.  Our apologies to the two drivers whose mirrors we hit trying to get through traffic to where we needed to be.  Luckily we barely made it and were able to cut in the line of bikes already under way on Blvd Benito Juarez.  Whew . . . 

It was quite a noisy spectacle inching our way through town.  Lots of folks taking pictures and videos of the bikes.  By the way, fishtail pipes are really fucking loud.  My ears are still ringing. 

Hundreds of children and their families jammed the parking lot at the Toy Run site.  Several MC's formed what looked like a Bucket Brigade and passed down box after box of soccer balls and boogie boards.  

Dozens of bicycles that had been pre-assembled adorned the stage in neat rows. 

​Anxious faces looked on. 

​Then one by one, the children were called up to claim their treasures.  

​For more information about the annual Rosarito Toy Run, go to https://www.rd4c.net/ and https://www.facebook.com/RD4C.net/
​

After the Toy Run, our new friends invited us to join them for a late lunch in Puerto Nuevo.  Turns out, Puerto Nuevo is the "Lobster Capital" of Baja and a gorgeous 20 minute ride south.  Guzzling pitchers of margaritas and scarfing down lobster with friends all while overlooking the Pacific Ocean is something I want to do again, and again.  Street vendors offering free shots of "homemade" tequila completed a perfect afternoon.  Although I suspect their motive$  were not entirely gratuitou$.             12 lobster tails plus shrimp, fish, scallops and calamari

Papas & Beer on a Saturday night looks sort of like a scaled down version of Times Square on New Year's Eve.  A couple of blocks from our hotel, Papas & Beer is known for being the Spring Break Capital of the West Coast.  Hundreds of wasted 18 year olds must be a sight to behold. 

​A big thanks to Charros MC for letting us hang in their area at Papas & Beer.  After we parked our six butts on some unoccupied stools, we realized our mistake.  Finally one of their members came over and asked where we were from.  When I responded "Los Angeles" and then added we had attended the Toy Run earlier that day, the ice was broken.  Thank you Pyro and Charros MC for the hospitality. 

When the promised "escort to the border" didn't show up at Papas & Beer on Sunday morning, the six of us headed north on our own (luckily, our friends had done this before). We learned the secrets and shortcuts needed to get back into the US on a motorcycle on a Sunday in around 30 minutes. 

Not wanting the fun to end, we all stopped for lunch at the always crowded Old Town section of San Diego. 

​We found parking for our bikes right in front of a Mexican restaurant.  I love irony.   

​And ​I love being lucky . . . 

Ozzie, Marlen; Jose, Patty - we had a blast!


​No biker deserves to be bored . . . 

​Photo taken from the Colorado Belle hotel - Full Moon Fever

Looking east from Laughlin, Nevada across the Colorado River to Bullhead City, Arizona.  

The t-shirts we bought at the Laughlin River Run a couple of weeks ago have "36th" stamped on them.  I guess that means the River Run started in 1982.  Back then Ronald Reagan was still in his first term as President, the Cold War was very hot, and the infamous "River Run Riot" was 20 years off in the future.  

Laughlin is about 100  miles south of Las Vegas and could easily be labeled "Vegas Lite."  There is a Strip that has around eight major hotels, all with casinos.  Large banners advertise upcoming shows and concerts featuring artists such as Pit Bull, Willie Nelson and George Thorogood.  For homesick hungry southern Californians, there is an In-N-Out Burger right across the street from the Colorado Belle that is open until 1:00 am. 

A sea of mostly Harley Davidson motorcycles along with hundreds of vendors take over the parking lots along the Strip during "Bike Week."  The vendors are very cool.  My wife upgraded her amplifier and speakers on her Street Glide; now she can actually hear music at 80 mph on the freeway. Thanks to J&M Motorcycle Audio.  Then after having a few too many vodka and cranberry juice cocktails, she went over to the LED lights vendor, Glowride Custom LED's (yes, she walked over), and bought an LED light system.  Given her condition, they were nice enough to ride her bike over to their space.

Not to be left behind in the bike upgrades department, I had the Vance & Hines folks install headers on my Fat Boy.  Gone are my slip ons and headers with catalytic converters. Most after-market pipes and FuelPaks cannot be legally sold in or shipped to California.  And I got a great deal.  Two good reasons to buy shit in Nevada.  I read that River Run amounts to 10% of the Laughlin economy. No wonder everyone is so nice.  

One of the big attractions of the Laughlin River Run is the nearby "old Route 66."  This refers to the remnants of the Mother Road that still exist and can be ridden safely.  The Route 66 town of Oatman is a short 45 minute ride from Laughlin.  Today, Oatman is part ghost town, part tourist attraction and part wild burro rescue.  Oatman was a gold mining town until 1941 when the mine was ordered shuttered by the US government.  The burros are descendants of the pack animals used by the miners and are a big part of the charm and history of Oatman.  Most of the shops have bags of "Burro Food" that cost $1.00.  But the day we were there, the burros didn't seem very hungry for the dried food cubes.  Of course it could have something to do with the fact there were around 10,000 people in Oatman that day, all of whom had a bag of burro food.  But then a shopkeeper told us they actually like carrots.  She also mentioned carrots give the burros the runs, so tourists are discouraged from the practice.  Maybe next year I will smuggle some in. 

​Our take aways from Laughlin are the constant rumble of bikes on South Casino Drive, the outdoor bars with endless amounts of alcohol available while you listen to tribute bands doing Guns 'N Roses, Alice In Chains and AC/DC songs (really good bands, by the way), midnight runs to the hotel gift shop for Advil and ice cream, hot engines idling at traffic lights in Bullhead City with the temperature hovering around 105 degrees and loving every minute of it (well, almost loving it), resisting the urge to buy one more "River Run" t-shirt, and being around some very cool people. 
​
I overheard an "old timer" commenting to his friend that Laughlin "isn't what it used to be."  I'm sure it's not.  For one thing - since the River Run Riot, the major hotels have a strict "no colors" policy.  River Run has been called an over-policed swap meet. I can attest that Las Vegas cops are everywhere (we talked to one of them for several minutes; he was very nice too.)  Bike Week in Laughlin usually averages around 25 arrests and one stolen motorcycle.  My neighborhood probably fares worse over any given 4 days. 

But the gatherings give us permission to be loud and crazy, and as Donald Charles Davis put it: "to chase the American dream of being an outlaw. It seems that everyone here is at one with the Hells Angels, Mongols and Vagos and all these civilians differ from patch holders only in the extent of their commitment to this alienated identity. They did not join. So their lives did not spin off in radical new directions. So they may not quite belong.  But they are here . . . "  

Well said Rebel. 

No biker deserves to be bored . . . 

Here is an update on how Harley Davidson is doing nine months after the 2018 models launch:   Beyond management's happy talk, it's hard to make out a reason why investors aren't punishing Harley Davidson stock. Despite U.S. sales continuing their sickening slide -- down 12% year over year -- CEO Matt Levatich says his team is cobbling together a strategy that'll turn things around. What that strategy will be, we don't know, but, boy, it's going to be awesome!

It'll have to be for Harley to hit its goal of bringing in 2 million new U.S. riders over the next 10 years, delivering 100 new bike models in that time frame, and increasing its international volumes so that foreign markets account for half of all Harley Davidson bikes sold.  From The Motley Fool at www.fool.com 5/18/2018
​
Harley Davidson recently launched their 2018 new models advertising campaign. Their ad slogan for this year is "All For Freedom, Freedom For All." Of course, the word "Freedom" has been used in most Harley Davidson advertisements and commercials for as long as most of us can remember. 

Along with the hype of the Fall sales push came the pessimistic announcement from the Motor Company that it expects deliveries of bikes for the year to decline by 6% to 8%. Weak sales will mean a cut in production and some job cuts.  One news outlet suggested that millennials don't "live to ride" like their parents and grandparents did.  

Recently, the Aging Rebel stated the issue a bit more cynically: Wow! Who could resist going right out and spending $35,000 for a 900 pound motorcycle with an EPA approved, 126 cubic inch, 47 horsepower engine? And, then taking a three day course on how to ride it? 

Maybe this whole freedom thing is slightly overrated?

Recently a non-riding friend asked me if I feel "free" when I ride. I was tempted to answer with Will McAvoy's quote from "Newsroom":  Out of 207 sovereign states in the world, like 180 of them have freedom . . .   

Freedom isn't limited to Americans or Harley Davidson customers. 

I answered my friend this way:  no, riding my bike doesn't make me feel free.  What it does make me feel is a sense of existing totally in the moment, in the present. If I find myself thinking about work, bills or what I need to get at Trader Joe's - I probably won't remain upright for very long.  

One rider put it this way:  As those of us who ride know, being on a motorcycle removes distractions and focuses you like a 1,000 pound brick of Adderall.  There simply isn't room for other thoughts when you're reduced to a chunk of meat sitting on top of a few hundred pounds of machine moving at a hundred miles an hour.  

Well said. 

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose . . .   ​lyric by Kris Kristofferson

No biker deserves to be bored . . .

The first R rated movie I ever saw was Easy Rider. This took place at a drive-in theater in Florida with my girlfriend - the distinct pungency of pot filled the night air. Easy Rider was life changing for me, although the changes didn't come for quite some time.  A paperback book/screenplay of the movie was published in 1969, the same year the film was released.  

​In the "Introduction To Easy Rider" at the beginning of book, Frederic Tuten says - "In Easy Rider the bikes are incidental, they might as well be horses . . . "  

That might be true.  But to me, those bikes were the coolest thing I had ever seen.  I of course went right out and bought the paperback book/screenplay, probably at the same bookstore where I had found Hunter Thompson's "Hells Angels, A Strange and Terrible Saga" a few years earlier. I showed it to my best friend on the night of our Senior Prom (I don't think our dates appreciated the distraction).  

​I read him the part towards the end where George and Billy are arguing about freedom. George tells Billy - "I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace.  'Course don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are.  Oh, yeah - they're gonna talk to you about individual freedom.  But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em."  When Billy responds that it doesn't make them "runnin' scared."   George replies - "No, it makes 'em dangerous . . . "

The Pine Breeze Inn was/is on old Route 66 in Bellemont, Arizona just outside of Flagstaff. This short stretch of Route 66 is easily accessible by bike and car, but the road ends just a few feet from the old Inn. This exact location is featured at the beginning of Easy Rider.  It's Wyatt's and Billy's first night on the road, so they pull in on their choppers to get a room for the night.  The proprietor comes to the door, takes one look, slams the door and turns on the neon "No Vacancy" sign.  Billy flips him off as they ride off into the night.  Then like real bikers, they end up camping and singing around the campfire - "I'm goin' down to Mardi Gras; I'm gonna get me a Mardi Gras queen . . . "

I couldn't tell if the original building is still in use, although I could see some scattered furnishings through the window.  And a cool Easy Rider movie poster is taped to the inside glass of the front door.  There's a small RV park behind the building, presumably where the cabins used to be that made up the Inn.  Almost 50 years later, it was really cool to ride to the Pine Breeze Inn using the route from LA that Wyatt and Billy would have taken.  And to reflect on the impact that film eventually had on my life.

You can barely make out the words "Pine Breeze Inn" on this side of the building.

​No biker deserves to be bored . . . 

When I learned to ride six years ago, the instructor in my Rider's Edge class asked us to write down 5 or 6 goals we wanted to achieve after the class. These could be short term or long term goals.  The last goal I wrote down was "Ride Route 66."  Or at least what's left of it.  I finally achieved that goal a couple of weeks ago with my wife and 10 other bikes from our HOG chapter (Simi Valley, CA).  The early sixties TV show by the same name was my first awareness of the "Mother Road." And also my introduction to Corvettes.  I've never owned a Corvette, but I can now say I've ridden a good portion of Arizona Route 66 on a Harley Davidson motorcycle.  

In his book "Ghost Towns Of Route 66," Jim Hinckley says it this way:  "The old highway is more than a 2,291 mile (according to a 1936 map) ribbon of asphalt line with dusty remnants, ghostly vestiges, and polished gems manifesting more than eighty years of American societal evolution.  To drive Route 66 is to follow the path of a new nation on its journey of westward expansion."  As I rode along the mostly deserted highway, I thought about all the people who got in their cars in Chicago and made their way to Santa Monica.  Especially the families taking the obligatory summer "road trip," which probably took around three weeks (both ways including a week at Disneyland).  The peak of such unhurried vacations would have been the late 1940's and most of the 1950's.  Post-war prosperity had put roomy station wagons in garages and money in people's pockets.  What better way to put both to good use than to pile the family in the Ford Country Squire and head West.  

But as I rode along, I also thought about how different travel was back then.  Much of Route 66 in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California goes through a very desolate and hot part of our country.  Cars were not air conditioned.  Cell phones were still 40 years away.  Credit cards were nonexistent. The 2,300 mile journey took a week of driving in sweltering air with cranky kids in the back seat asking "are we there yet?"  I'm not sure how those people did it.    

The construction of Interstate 40 bypassed most of the towns along Route 66 that depended on these midwestern folks to buy gasoline and souvenirs. One of those towns that seems to have survived is Williams, Arizona.

​If you want to know what Route 66 was like in 1955, go to Williams.  It was the last town to be bypassed by I-40 (construction of I-40 began in 1957 was completed at Williams in 1984).  Besides lots of Route 66 nostalgia around, Williams prides itself on being the gateway to the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon railway takes visitors there every morning.  Our group spent the night at a very cool motel called The Lodge On Route 66.  The property was a condemned vintage motor court when the current owner bought and renovated it. Guests can still park in front of their rooms in the classic motor-court tradition (which is exactly what we did!). There was even a vintage car show in town for the weekend which added an extra touch of nostalgia, not that Williams needs it.

One more thing . . . a must stop along this stretch of Route 66 is the Hackberry General Store in Kingman. This little spot may epitomize the Route 66 culture more than any other.  Or at least it has one of best selections of cheesy double six souvenirs that we ran across.  If you're on a bike, be careful. The parking lot is all gravel and very slippery. 




Perhaps telling you about the coolest stop we made on Route 66 should be reserved for its very own post.  Here's a hint . . . "Hey, you got a room?"  Proprietor turns and exits back into office.  ​"Hey, man!  you gotta room?"  Another neon light goes on over the first "Vacancy" sign - it reads:  "NO" Wyatt exits as he backs the cycle.  Billy gives "the finger."

No biker deserves to be bored . . . 
​

​Mulholland Drive was officially opened in 1924, built by various real estate developers of the Hollywood Hills.  It was named for William Mulholland, the person most responsible for transporting much needed water to a growing city via the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The idea behind the road was to traverse the top of the Santa Monica mountains from east (at the Cahuenga Pass) to west (at the Sepulveda pass).  During the 1950's and 1960's, the famous road became even more famous as kids in cars discovered various "lookout points" along the route where they could stop, take in at the breathtaking city lights, and "make out."  Mulholland Drive became known as a veritable Lover's Lane.  Then in 2001, David Lynch's movie by the same name was released; the late movie critic Roger Ebert's review called it a "a surrealist dreamscape in the form of a Hollywood film noir, and the less sense it makes, the more we can't stop watching it.

West of the Sepulveda Pass, Mulholland Drive becomes an unpaved road not open to motor vehicles.  It opens again just east of Toganga Canyon Boulevard, then splits into Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Highway.  Mulholland Drive terminates at the 101 Freeway in Woodland Hills (close to our house). Much more well known for its breathtaking vistas, sweeping turns and white-knuckle twisties, Mulholland Highway is the much preferred route of bikers and fast cars over Mulholland Drive.  There you will find The Rock Store, originally a stage coach stop and a favorite hangout of Steve McQueen.  You will also find "The Snake" - three miles of hell that will test the mettle of any rider.  

Yesterday, our group of bikes set out to ride Mulholland Drive as far as we could go.  Then slab it to the Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas for lunch before setting off to ride Mulholland Highway all the way to to its  terminus at Pacific Coast Highway.  But due to the recent "rainmageddon" in southern California, parts of Mulholland Highway were strewn with rocks and dirt - making it too dangerous in the lower sections of the road.  So right after surviving The Snake, we made a left on to Kanan Dune and then took Latigo Canyon down to PCH.  Latigo is always a fun roller-coaster ride. 

I had driven Mulholland Drive in a car a few times, but never ridden it on a bike.  It's a very fun road, although a little chewed up in spots and crowded with cars at the Runyon Canyon trail head.  But it has some nice turns and spectacular views.  Here is a lookout point we stopped at early on in the ride.  This view is looking northeast towards Universal City (yes, that's the new Harry Potter castle in the middle-right of the picture) with beautiful downtown Burbank in the distance. 

The Santa Monica Mountains are a part of the only east-west belt of mountains in North America. Comprised of rocks nearly 200 million years old, the mountains were formed in many series of ruptures between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. If you live where I do in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Monica Mountains might be viewed as a hindrance in quickly getting from the Valley to Malibu and the beaches along Pacific Coast Highway.  

​But if you ride, these mountains provide some of the most challenging, fun but also dangerous roads to be found anywhere.  

Deals Gap, North Carolina is the official address of the highly publicized "Tail Of The Dragon," otherwise known as US Highway 129.  The Tail of the Dragon website boasts "with 318 curves in 11 miles, is America’s number one motorcycle and sports car road" (although most of the 11 miles is actually in eastern Tennessee).   Just north of the Tail is the malevolent sounding "Devil's Triangle."  The DT website states "the tight twisties are as good as the Tail of the Dragon but there are even more dangers here; deep rock strewn gullies just off the pavement, ragged steel guard rails, steep drop offs and rock cliffs leave no room for error."  Hmmmm - sounds a lot like the road Elisa and I rode yesterday.  

 I was born and raised in middle Tennessee.  So I do have a certain fondness for the Volunteer State.  While growing up, my family made several trips to the Great Smoky Mountains, mainly a tourist trap called Gatlinburg.  We happened to be motel people, not camping people.  I became intimately familiar with all of the souvenir shops within walking distance of our motel.  So while I've been to eastern Tennessee many times, it was long before I learned how to ride.  And it was also long before the Tail Of The Dragon became a "motorcycle resort" (around the early 1990's).