Stories about the places I travel.
Posted by Teddy Osuch on February 24, 2012
12FEB2012 – Michael H. in Santa Cruz on his BMW R1200GS. Michael has a deck full of motorcycles in a community that doesn’t allow motorcycles. There was a gunpowder factory where his community now stands but it blew up and they didn’t rebuild it. Compared to his brothers Mitchell and Matt, I think Michael is the most stable.
Posted in Friendship, Motorcycling, Travelogue | 2 Comments »
Posted by Teddy Osuch on February 23, 2012
I charted my course to Santa Cruz via San Bernardino. First because I wanted to avoid Los Angeles. Second because I wanted to drive a scenic loop through the San Bernardino mountains that was shown on my Mad Map. I ran into a nice couple, Don and Jeanne, on Harleys (one each) at a gas station on the way. I wanted to take pictures and they were just leaving so I said would catch up with them. Don told me I was in for a beautiful ride and wished me warmth. I found out later why. I think I got lost because I didn’t see them again.
So I started up Route 18 from San Bernardino. It was indeed a beautiful ride with very, very tight curves and quite a few switchbacks. It was a steady climb to about 5,000 feet altitude. I arrived about half way through the ride at a small town called Running Springs and stopped at a small café that served simple but good food.
As I moved on, I connected to Route 38. I noticed yellow caution signs that showed a car skidding out of control. Snow became visible on either side of the road. The road surface was still dry. At about 8,400 feet, pockets of ice appeared in the shade in the ruts that car tires leave on the road surface whenever water collected in them.
The winding roads continued so I slowed to a crawl because of the blind curves. I hit ice a couple of times and the rear tire broke loose but I was going slow enough to keep control.
The inhospitable driving conditions cost a lot of time. So, sure, soon it got dark.
The temperature dropped about 25 degrees (to 40 degrees)
I put my warm stuff on and continued my crawl down what had become a terrifying twisty mountain road. Imagine my surprise when I discovered there is not a single rest spot on the way down the mountain. I almost wet myself. I reached San Bernardino mentally and physically exhausted. I need to do more homework before I ride in the mountains in February.
Posted in Motorcycling, Travelogue | 1 Comment »
Posted by Teddy Osuch on February 14, 2012
Well, I’m way behind in my posting so more will come quickly after this. I neglected to say that between Yuma and San Diego, I happened upon a jolly little restaurant that has very good food. Its called the Manzanita Diner. You can’t see it from Interstate 8. So get off at the Campo (94) exit and go south to old highway 80 and turn left. Its about a mile down on the left and you won’t miss it. Boulevard’s population is 315 so its hard to get lost there.
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Posted by Teddy Osuch on February 8, 2012
Just outside of Yuma, I met Stan Umlauft. Stan runs a business out of Bay Point, CA called “A & Bee Swarm Removal and Honey Farms”. Stan was really interested in my motorcycle because he had just looked at one like it. He is a very friendly and kind man.
Posted in Travelogue | 2 Comments »
Posted by Teddy Osuch on February 7, 2012
I left Tucson February 6. I really enjoyed my time with Robert. I met some of his best friends: Matt, Mary, Mitchell and Elizabeth and their children. We went to the giant annual gem show and saw Howard and Nancy Shapiro there. I bought two Buddhist wrathful deity masks and some tiny African skulls carved from bone. I changed my mind about going to Austin to see Opie now because the weather through New Mexico is foul. I am in San Diego, CA now heading for Davis, CA to visit, Michael, Mitchell’s brother and then Nancy Shapiro.
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Posted by Teddy Osuch on January 30, 2012
I drove back down to Tucson this weekend to take a ride with Robert. We drove to Parker Canyon Lake in the vicinity of the Santa Rita Mountains and Canelo Hills. To get there, one drives a wonderfully twisty road that is full of deep potholes and severely eroded edges. It is a two way road that narrows to one lane at times because of the edge erosion. This narrowing occurs usually at the beginning of blind curves. This is where Mr. Ram 5000 hangs out until he sees you coming. Then he pulls out suddenly and heads swiftly in your direction swerving to miss you at the last moment possible. This is an excellent ride for people who want to practice not dying. For the most part, a jolly time was had by all.
Being with Robert was even better this time. He still has his anti-social edge but a heart of gold to go with it. He strongly resisted letting me take his photo but he has agreed to let me do a photo portrait of him next weekend. I will stop there on my way to El Paso.
Posted in Friendship, Motorcycling, Travelogue | 4 Comments »
Posted by Teddy Osuch on January 30, 2012
While we were out in the middle of nowhere on our way to Parker Canyon Lake via Death-Wish Highway, we happened upon “THE STEAK OUT RESTAURANT & SALOON” in Sonoita, AZ. This place has been serving steaks here for 50 years although its a mystery to me to whom. You can get a steak there the size of a toilet seat. However, what was most notable for us was the parking lot which was full of motorcycles. They were mostly Harleys, two BMW’s, a couple of trikes. The ladies were driving the trikes. The black flags you see on two of the motorcycles belong to an organisation of Vietnam War Veterans. Beyond that, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
Posted in Friendship, Motorcycling, Travelogue | 1 Comment »
Posted by Teddy Osuch on January 17, 2012
I completed the first leg of my journey, Seattle to Phoenix, on January 16, 2012 in my 16’ rental truck. My motorcycles and other freight traveled without harm. Now the unloading and I will be done with the truck.
Motorcycles on the Truck - Phoenix, AZ - January 2012
The weather was brutal all the way from Seattle to western Utah. Snow, slush, ice, blizzards were everywhere. I saw at least a dozen accidents between Ogden and Salt Lake City. Every mountain pass was treacherous except one in Yakima, WA. I was naïve to think this might be a route I could take with my motorcycle this time of year.
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Posted by Teddy Osuch on December 26, 2011
I’m going to start my trip by trucking my motorcycle and Adrienne’s motorcycle to Phoenix. This is because the Cascade mountain passes can frequently be risky to negotiate by motorcycle during the winter. Also, this is the quickest way to get Adrienne’s motorcycle to her.
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Teddy on the Go 