Being a bachelor is great during the holidays - no long X-mas dinners, gift sharing, etc. So I packed my gear, called a friend and off we went. Direction was East, first to Yuma and then Tucson AZ, thinking it’s going to be warmer than heading North along the California coast. Also it gave us a good reason to shoot the two Yamaha’s loaned to us: an FZ1 and an FJR1300. So far, it was a perfect day, it stayed about 65 to 75 degrees most of the ride.
We started on Hwy 74, Ortega Hwy in So. Cal. I was afraid it would take too long, because of the ongoing construction, but it was mercifully clear. I guess even Cal Trans workers have holidays off.

On the other side of 74 is a town called Temecula, a small historic Western town, where lots of Harley guys ride to on the weekend and hang out drinking at the local bars. Yeah!! right.

Day 2, on the road searching for the shot that could define this trip, reflecting the vast emptiness of the desert.

Day 3, a thought from our friend Kim,

“Safely tucked away on the mountain roads, we were able to open the throttles a bit and the FZ-1 did not let me down. I also felt more confident than I ever did before while threading through Gates Pass, a squeezed two-lane road that winds up and over a mountain. I was already feeling pretty impressed. But the real test came when we were looking for areas to take some photos and had to make a number of u-turns in a heavily sloped parking pull-off. Tight u-turns are my worst and most dreaded maneuver and on this slope, I would have been in trouble on my regular streetbike. But the lightness of the FZ-1 made the task much more manageable.”