It's been a while, finally here is another ride report worth mentioning. Just two of us, John (Cuyo) on his Royal Star Venture and Me on the Road Star, on a spur of the moment ride to the Rainbow Oaks Cafe on Old 395 in Rainbow Valley off the 15 Freeway. Zoom in on the map to get a better idea of the whole route. Breakfast was good enough to take a couple pictures of and I did.
View Larger Map Point "A" is our meeting point on Green River and the 91 Freeway at 10 AM, from there we head south on the 15 directly to the Cafe for breakfast. John, always very particular about his menu choices, made it through the ordering process with minimal damage to the server and ordered the "BIG" steak breakfast ($13.95), I got the french toast, bacon and eggs ($7.95). I was impressed with the experience and would recommend the Rainbow Oaks Cafe for at least breakfast. It is pricier than another favorite- Tip Top in Carlsbad for instance. There was a dinner steak on the menu for $26 and I have to assume it is pretty good sized-the steak not the menu. By the way the pace maintained by John while heading south on the 15 Fwy, was very steady and pleasant and it set the tone for the entire trip.
John can't wait for the steak to be served.
From there, we continue up 395 to intersect with Highway 79 where we stop for breakfast for the motorcycle and some gas, heading toward Warner Springs and the Town of Ramona. What I noticed on the road to Warner Springs is that the curves have gotten much straighter and a lot wider, the hills more level and generally much easier to handle. probably due to being a much better rider than a year or two or three ago. Route 79 was one of my first big rides on the original 650 V-Star and the difference is like night and day, as back then I was terrible when I first started out.
We hit some real wind going past Warner but not enough to change our ride. As we pass the turn off to Highway 76 toward Palomar, I take the lead and head up to the Santa Ysabel Casino just off the road To Santa Ysabel junction. John had never been there and we had to try our luck which was a waste of time, but a refreshing stop on the way to Ramona. They do have a $4.95 Prime Rib dinner, if you are interested, weekends only I believe.
From the patio of the Casino overlooking Lake Henshaw
From there it's on to Ramona and the wind dies down considerably. Again this road also has been straightened and leveled, and it feels good to be in control and keep up with John and even in a couple places I could have passed him, but no need as his pace continues to be steady and consistent with road conditions. In Ramona we turn right onto the continuation of Hwy 78 but it is virtually unmarked and luckily we know it's the correct road. We continue on toward Escondido past Wild Animal park to reconnect with the 15 Freeway and back home.
This segment of the ride from the Casino all the way to Corona is non-stop except for lights, no refueling, and I make it 157 miles before the low fuel light comes on as I turn onto the 91 Freeway. Pulling off on Main Street in Corona turns out to be a bad choice but I do find gas, so it's head for home.
Got my very first police escort with red and blue lights to the nearest parking lot to explain why I pulled into the opposing traffic turn lane to get to the left turn lane at the railroad crossing. He was very pleasant and after checking my license, off I went...dodged a bullet on that one.
Total trip is about 235 miles door to door. Back home near 5:00 PM.
2 comments:
Don't you just love it when they don't write the ticket?...What a nice feeling! Nice report also, and your WARM WEATHER!! Sweet!
Thanks for the comment. It was fairly cold at 4,000 ft level, but did warm up in lower elevations. The Tourmaster jacket came in handy nevertheless.
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