What Happened To September?

Well, it got away from me. Here it is, the last day of September, and I haven't posted all month. The post for the Angelus Crest Highway Ride was started as a "draft" in September, but was not completed and published until October 4, though it appears in the list of September posts due to the arbitrary way that the blog editor handles such things.

Between work projects for a few days, I rode out toward "Indian Country" on the sixteenth, to the area near the Four Corners. I was going to take this one easy: Stay on secondary roads as much as possible, and ride through parts of Arizona and Utah that I hadn't seen before.

It was a good ride that ended on the following Monday. I have the photos sorted out for a post, but haven't had the time to write it.

Look for it in October...

Angelus Crest Highway Ride

During the winter of 2004-2005, storms closed down Route 2, the Angelus Crest Highway, a 66 mile stretch of mountain road between La Canada ("La Can -Ya-Da") and Wrightwood, California. In March of 2006 another storm caused more damage to the roadway, washing out a large stretch of the highway, and further delayed its repair.

On May 20, 2009, after four and a half years, the Angelus Crest Highway reopened. For Southern California motorcyclists, it was like receiving a bonus birthday. For those of us who had travelled the road before its forced closure, it was a chance to once again ride the road whose sweeping curves and alpine scenery made for an experience that was both relaxing and invigorating.

Cell phone reception is at best spotty due to limited cell towers along the route and the mountainous terrain. You're truly "off the grid" for the majority of the ride.

Sport Bike enthusiasts race along one of many sweeping curves on Route 2.

Newcomb's Ranch parking lot provides a natural rest stop for motorcyclists and sports car clubs roughly halfway between La Canada and Wrightwood.

The ranch, largely a restaurant and bar has good food, excellent draft beer, and comforatble seating for whomever turns up on any given day, though the service could benefit from improvement.

During the late summer fires of 2009, Newcomb's Ranch was reported to have been burned down. The reports, unsubstantiated rumors at best, circulated on the internet for a couple days, before being proven wrong.

"Tunnel Sitting" has developed into an occasional pastime by some members of the River City Riders, an informal motorcycling association based in the Inland Empire. Pictured below, Danny Underwood and Frank Fernandez watch a sport bike emerge from the double tunnel.

The yellow blooms of Spanish Broom against a view of the northern blue sky.

The photos above and below show hazy background views of the Mojave Desert to the north of the Angelus National Forest.

Bypassing the heavily-travelled Route 138, Lone Pine Canyon Road runs between Cajon Junction and Wrightwood, extending the ride through relatively undeveloped mountainous terrain for several miles. The map below shows Lone Pine Canyon Road.

The two maps in this post are courtesy of and copyright by DeLorme.