dirtdad
1 kW
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2008
- Messages
- 309
Yesterday was a fabulous ride, I must post a ride report. Sorry, no pics. I promise from now on I will take the camera. Locals will appreciate the details of the locations nonetheless.
I left San Clemente at about 8:00 bound for Cook's Corner. Cook's is a local motorcycle hangout/roadhouse and a great spot. Once a rural destination, it clings to the edge of urban sprawl and remains a gateway to some nice rural roads which are full of cyclists, motorcycles, sports cars, etc. on the weekends. Locals line up their motorcycles in a row in front of Cook's for all to see and it is customary to walk down the row looking at all the awesome bikes, talk to the owners, etc. There is also good food, live music on weekends, etc.
As I rode to Cook's I continued my fruitless search for outdoor outlets at any business in Orange County. There must be some kind of code or liability concern that prohibits them. Even when I find them they do not work. My only luck has been parking structures. Maybe vending machines might work, but the outlets are made very hard to reach. When I arrived at Cook's they had a large extension cord hanging in the back and they happily let me use it to charge while I ate breakfast.
After breakfast I cruised the row of motorcycles while riding my bike and got to explain it to many interested motorcyclists. I am happy to report that many motorcyclists at Cooks were friendly and seemed to like EV technology as much as anyone.
Santiago Canyon is a beautiful as ever. It is recovering from the fires quickly. I have ridden the Canyon many times by bicycle and car, but I enjoyed it on my eBike the best. You are open to the outdoors like on a bicycle. But the canyon is hilly and hard work on a bicycle. On a eBike the distraction and veil of pain is lifted and I was able to look around a little more and take it all in. And there is no beating the silence of an eBike. I took a side trip to Irvine like, following the dirt road around the west side of the lake as far as it went and making a huge mess of my bike. Oh well. I took the Canyon all the way to Jamboree where I stopped for a soda and met another motorcyclist and we talked bikes for a while.
I doubled back and rode the canyon back to Cook's where I charged again. I have 2 3 amp chargers, I figure in 1/2 hour I should get like 5AH of charge. A light snack, more hanging out with motorcyclists and I was on my way back home. When I got close to home I still had some battery capacity, so I doubled back along Doheny State Park a bit and visited the San Clemente Pier Bowl area. Unfortunately I overestimated my battery capacity and had to push the last 2 miles home. I even got off early to allow the motor help me push rather than ride, but eventually I even ran too low for that.
All in all I rode 75 miles, including over 4000 feet of climbing. My batteries are 40AH @36V, and with the two recharges I got 53AH total. I am liking Justin's ride, maybe by next spring or fall I will do a Canada to Mexico via PCH ride.
I left San Clemente at about 8:00 bound for Cook's Corner. Cook's is a local motorcycle hangout/roadhouse and a great spot. Once a rural destination, it clings to the edge of urban sprawl and remains a gateway to some nice rural roads which are full of cyclists, motorcycles, sports cars, etc. on the weekends. Locals line up their motorcycles in a row in front of Cook's for all to see and it is customary to walk down the row looking at all the awesome bikes, talk to the owners, etc. There is also good food, live music on weekends, etc.
As I rode to Cook's I continued my fruitless search for outdoor outlets at any business in Orange County. There must be some kind of code or liability concern that prohibits them. Even when I find them they do not work. My only luck has been parking structures. Maybe vending machines might work, but the outlets are made very hard to reach. When I arrived at Cook's they had a large extension cord hanging in the back and they happily let me use it to charge while I ate breakfast.
After breakfast I cruised the row of motorcycles while riding my bike and got to explain it to many interested motorcyclists. I am happy to report that many motorcyclists at Cooks were friendly and seemed to like EV technology as much as anyone.
Santiago Canyon is a beautiful as ever. It is recovering from the fires quickly. I have ridden the Canyon many times by bicycle and car, but I enjoyed it on my eBike the best. You are open to the outdoors like on a bicycle. But the canyon is hilly and hard work on a bicycle. On a eBike the distraction and veil of pain is lifted and I was able to look around a little more and take it all in. And there is no beating the silence of an eBike. I took a side trip to Irvine like, following the dirt road around the west side of the lake as far as it went and making a huge mess of my bike. Oh well. I took the Canyon all the way to Jamboree where I stopped for a soda and met another motorcyclist and we talked bikes for a while.
I doubled back and rode the canyon back to Cook's where I charged again. I have 2 3 amp chargers, I figure in 1/2 hour I should get like 5AH of charge. A light snack, more hanging out with motorcyclists and I was on my way back home. When I got close to home I still had some battery capacity, so I doubled back along Doheny State Park a bit and visited the San Clemente Pier Bowl area. Unfortunately I overestimated my battery capacity and had to push the last 2 miles home. I even got off early to allow the motor help me push rather than ride, but eventually I even ran too low for that.
All in all I rode 75 miles, including over 4000 feet of climbing. My batteries are 40AH @36V, and with the two recharges I got 53AH total. I am liking Justin's ride, maybe by next spring or fall I will do a Canada to Mexico via PCH ride.