Mothers Day Ride

Question: What do bikers do for Mothers Day?

Answer: Ride their bikes, of course. Without mothers, though.

Sunday (May 14) four of us did about 200 miles of riding taking us to Pioneer Town, through the Mojave Desert, up Big Bear Mountain, into the alpine scenery of pines and lakes, to the Screamin Chikin, and finally to Tom's Farms.

I met up with Drifter and Big Red at 8:40am on Highway 79, just north of Murrieta, CA. We headed up to Hemet to pick up Doc. From there we continued up the 79 to Interstate 10 east towards Palm Springs.

Just about into Palm Springs, we turned off onto Highway 62 headed north into Yucca Valley. For the most part, Highway 62 is a straight shot taking us from the northern edge of the Colorado Desert up into the mountains and into the Mojave Desert. Once in Yucca Valley, Doc stopped at a liquor store in search of some Red Man chewing tobacco. No luck. We turned left on Pioneer Town Road and followed a twisty road through hills and boulders until we reached Pioneer Town.

Pioneer Town was actually built as a movie set for the old westerns of the 1940s and 1950s. Many of the buildings are still there. The main attraction is Pappy & Harriets, a bar and restaurant known for live band and big burgers. We didn't go in, however. We instead rode on to find the place where I wrecked my first Ultra Classic, last January.

We found the place, at the bottom of a dip with water running across. There was still water running, though not as much as when I wrecked. Big Red actually found the rock where I hit my head, marked by the back streak from my helmet. He also found a couple pieces of my bike still there.

Yeah, that's a photo of me at the place, taken Sunday.

We continued on, taking a road that hooked us up with Highway 247, going north. 247 takes you through some wide open desert and mostly straight road running for miles. We did stop at a place along the highway for a cold drink and some shade. Doc walked in to see if they had some Red Man. He said he would kiss my ass if they didn't, because this was the kind of place that would definitely have it. They didn't have any, and he took back his offer.

We kept going up Highway 247 enjoying miles upon miles of desert scenery and hot temperatures. We came upon Camp Rock Road and turned left. The road ascended up towards the San Bernardino Mountains and connected up with Highway 18. Highway 18 becomes very twisty at this point and temperatures cool down. Suddenly, pine trees start showing up, and the next thing you know you're on top of a mountain.

Highway 18 eventually takes you along Baldwin Lake for a very scenic view and then into Big Bear City and then finally into the town of Big Bear Lake. It was there that we had lunch at this place on the beach. I think it was called "Beach BBQ", they served up some mean double-cheese burgers. Folks here brought their dogs and entertained us by tossing tennis balls into the lake and sending their golden retrievers after them.

Doc stopped in at a gas station and tried to find some Red Man. Still no luck. Big Red found a liquor store nearby, but they didn't have any Red Man either.

We jumped on to Highway 18, which takes you out of Big Bear along the side of the San Bernardino Mountains with a spectacular view of Southern California and twisty winding roads. Doc led us towards Lake Arrowhead and into the tiny town of Blue Jay. He found a gas station and wandered inside in search of Red Man. Nada. We moved on into the town of Twin Peaks and Crestline, finally running along Silverwood Lake, and finally to Interstate 15.

Just before getting onto Interstate 15, we stopped at another gas station. Ahh! Finally, some Red Man. Doc took a pinch of chew and was able to calm down his nerves. We stood in the shade resting.

We continued on to the Screamin Chickin. The Chickin is an old gas station converted into a biker bar. On the outside, it looks like a dumpy rat-hole. Inside, it also looks like a dumpy rat-hole. But the place always rocks-n-rolls with the most hardcore of bikers. Famous for their bikini-bike washes, you'll never find a lack of 1%er clubs here. However, for some reason, the place was dead today. I guess everyone else was visiting their moms.

We had us some beers and chatted it up for awhile.

Then it was on to Tom's Farms by way of Interstate 15. But before we could get on the freeway, we got stuck at a railroad crossing when two lines going the opposite direction passed by each other. Each line of cars must have been a mile long.

Tom's Farms was unusually packed with people that day. For a Sunday, it's normally busy, but it just looked REALLY busy today. I ordered up a chocolate shake, and it took them something like 20 minutes to make it. It was that busy, and the workers were that slow.

The four of us hooked up with G-man, a local rider from another group, and sat at a table, talking it up, enjoying our drinks and the shade of an umbrella. A great way to cap off a day of riding.

See all the photos here.