Bouquet Canyon/Leona Valley

On almost any Sunday you can find me at the Big Oaks in Bouquet Canyon. The quickest (and least creative) way to get there from L.A. is to take I-5 North to 14 North to the San Fernando Rd. exit and go left. Stay on San Fernando road until it turns into Bouquet Canyon. When you get there, tell Dee behind the bar that "Tommy" sent you and if you're brave, try one of Jeanie's barbeque cheeseburgers or polish sausages.

Bouquet Canyon

Big Oaks Lodge

Note: Dee (Diana) sold the Big Oaks Lodge and it was reopened in January of 2007 under new management (see link). The above information is left for posterity's sake.

The Rock Inn in Lake Hughes is another popular place to stop and eat while you're in the area. To get there, continue North on Bouquet Canyon and go left on Spunky Canyon. Take Spunky Canyon through Green Valley until it ends at San Francisquito Canyon and go right. At the end of San Francisquito Canyon go left on Elizabeth Lake Road. From there you can't miss it.

Spunky Canyon

As an alternative to taking Spunky Canyon after there's been some wet weather (trust me, you don't want to go there), continue North on Bouquet Canyon until it ends at Elizabeth Lake Road and go left. As an added bonus, at the first stop sign you'll find the Casa Gutierrez which serves some great Mexican food and killer Margaritas. From there you can continue West to the Rock Inn and beyond.

Lockwood Valley/Ojai

The Camp Sheideck Inn in Lockwood Valley and the (remodeled) Deer Lodge in Ojai. One of my favorite day rides. Beautiful scenery and hardly any traffic. I start from Frazier Park and go South to Ojai and then on to Santa Barbara (below) via 150. Not a good choice during the winter months!

Lockwood Valley

Camp Sheideck Inn

• For a good description of the ride with directions, check out Highway 33 to Lockwood Valley and Return from Joe Beautz's Heaven on two wheels. Note that Joe's ride begins with Highway 33 to Sondog Ranch and his alternative ride Highway 33 and on to Lake Hughes will take you all the way back to the Rock Inn (above) where I begin.

Santa Barbara

The Cold Spring Tavern North of Santa Barbara is kind of interesting. Be aware that the MapQuest map is wrong. Stagecoach Road is on the West side of 154 not the East. To get there, take 154 (also known as San Marcos Pass) North from the 101 out of Santa Barbara. After climbing the hill, if you cross over the bridge you've gone too far. Turn around and make a right on Stagecoach just before it.

If you have the time, continue North on 154 and take 246 West to Santa Ynez where you'll find a funky little bar called the Maverick Saloon. From there you can continue West on 246 through Solvang and back to 101.

• The official Cold Spring Tavern site.

• Check out Jeffrey Donovan's Rides of Santa Barbara County for lots of nice pictures of these and many more roads to explore in the area.

Sagebrush Cantina

The Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas serves an expensive all you can eat buffet style breakfast on Sunday morning. I usually like to stop here first for some refreshments before I hit the Rock Store (below).

• The official Sagebrush Cantina site.

Rock Store

The Rock Store in the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains. Overrated and overcrowded but definitely worth the ride.

• The MotorWorld Online - Rock Store Photo Essay pretty much tells the whole story.

• Check out Malibu Mountain Twisties also from Joe Beautz's Heaven on two wheels for some alternate routes.

Pacific Coast Highway/Malibu

The Malibu Inn on PCH makes excellent burgers and sandwiches and they have a ton of pictures on the walls from the stars and surfers who've been there. The bands that play in the Saloon are usually pretty good too.

Malibu Inn Restaurant

Continuing North of Malibu, be sure to check out Point Dume State Beach just South of Zuma Beach. Depending on the season, you may have to pay to park, but the view from the top of the point has to be one of the best in Southern California (be prepared for a short hike).

Pt. Dume

Neptune's Net across from County Line Beach is a another popular place to stop but I hate seafood!

Carlsbad

If you ever find yourself headed South towards San Diego, check out Jay's Gourmet Pizza & Seafood on the corner of Carlsbad Blvd. and Carlsbad Village Dr. in the village of Carlsbad (between Oceanside and Encinitas). Sit down outside (too crowded inside) and watch the world go by while you enjoy some pretty good Italian food. Also, the Boar Cross'n across the street on Grand Ave. is a great place to rock out and play pool.

Big Bear

The ride to Big Bear through the mountains and around the lake is awesome. I like to take 138 East from I-15 past Silverwood Lake and on up through Crestline to 18. You'll find very little traffic and a lot of nice turns and scenery along the way. When you get there, Chad's Place in the village usually has reserved parking in front for your scoot and they hire some pretty good bands on the weekends. At the Tail of the Whale you can take your drinks out to the shore. While you're in the village check out Big Bear Tattoo and ask for Jerry if you're looking for some fresh ink. He's done all of mine.

Big Bear Tattoo

Kennedy Meadows/Kernville

The ride through Kennedy Meadows and Kernville (300 miles/10 hours round trip from Palmdale) is another one of my favorite day rides. The variety of terrain and challenging roads you'll encounter is incredible.

To get there from Palmdale, take 14 North through Mojave to 395 North. About two miles north of Pearsonville (fill up your tank!) you'll see the sign for Kennedy Meadows (J41). This will take you West up Nine Mile Canyon from the desert floor to over 6000 ft. in a hurry!

Nine Mile Canyon

Eventually you'll reach the Grumpy Bears Retreat on the left in Kennedy Meadows where you can stop for refreshments before the long and very twisty 60 mile ride (make a left at the General Store) over 9200 ft. Sherman Pass. When you get to the bottom, make a left and go South along the Kern River into Kernville and Lake Isabella.

Just before you cross the bridge in Kernville, if you're not too early (the bar opens at 3), make the last right up to Ewing's On The Kern overlooking the river, or continue on over the bridge where you can have lunch at Cheryl's Diner on the left across from the park. Probably the best time to visit Kernville is during the annual Whiskey Flat Days in February when the whole town reverts back to it's old name and a time when the only way into town was on your horse (you can still ride in on your chrome horse). Beware, the road over Sherman Pass and up Nine Mile Canyon is usually closed once the snow starts falling.

Trading Post

From Kernville you have several options for your journey back to civilization. My recommendation is to continue South on 495/155 around the West side of Lake Isabella and make a right at the first light (onto Lake Isabella Blvd. not 178). Eventually this will turn into Caliente Bodfish Road. Continue South through the twists and turns and valleys (along the way you'll find the trading post pictured above) until you come to a stop sign where you can make a left onto Walker Basin Road which turns into Caliente Creek Road. This will take you the long way to 58 through some beautiful pastures (watch out for cows!) and tight canyons. Eventually you will meet up again with Caliente Bodfish Road. I then take 58 East to Tehachapi and take the Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road exit and go South. This is the back (short) way into the Antelope Valley through the wind farms. From there you're on your own.

• Check out Tom's 1st Non-Annual Kern Run and the 1st Annual SoCal Netscum Grumpy Bears Run for more pictures and ride reports.

For more information...

• Check out California Motorcycle Roads for a lot more info on most of the roads I mentioned and even more I didn't.

• Check out Sunshine's favorite places to hang for some more info on many of the stops I mentioned and a few others I didn't.

• One of the best print sources I've found is the Southern California Harley-Davidson Dealers' Motorcycle Touring in Southern California (ISBN 0-9639927-1-6) from Black Ball Publishing. It's a little red book filled with maps and descriptions of all the best places to stop organized into rides by region. Highly recommended if you can find it.

• Check out some more of my motorcycle related links.

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