TEHACHAPI LOOP
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Milling around in front of the shop, waiting for the coffee to kick in: Always a good time to covet thy neighbor's ride. We set a pretty relaxed pace -- well before we actually left.Christa Neuper was the only passenger, this time. Three of us got stood up. Ho hum; more room for hitchhikers, I suppose...
We made our way more or less north through Moorpark. The weather was great; just a little on the cool side, with patchy clouds. The air smelled of oranges as we made our way through the agricultural areas.It was a busy morning on Hwy 126; we were examined more than once by well-dressed gentlemen in black and white vehicles. I expect they too were simply coveting thy neighbors' rides...
They eventually chose to pick on someone their own size, and a few minutes later we were sidling into the parking lot at a coffee shop in Castaic, while the more small-tanked members of our pod visited a nearby fuel depot.
"Zeev... Wake u-u-u-p... Your coffee is ready..."The coffee worked: After a quick forty winks, Zeev and the rest of us began the first and funnest paved section of the day; Lake Hughes Road.
There is no reason to hurry on a Two-up ride -- which explains the 5-minute gap between riders by the time we arrived in Lake Hughes: There is no reason not to either. Here's the group that enjoyed catching bugs in its teeth more than taking in the scenery.
The road beyond Lake Hughes passes through beautiful southern California mountain country. We passed under oaks and fir, waved at horses in meadows, and finally, as our canyon descended and opened out into Antelope Valley, stopped to smell the poppies. It was a surprise to find them still in bloom so late in the season.
From our stop, we could see where our road became unpaved, and lead up the far side of the valley. We crossed Hwy 138, and climbed up the wide sandy road beyond, finally turning northeast where a buried aquaduct begins to follow the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains.
We gathered up once we reached the aquaduct road, and then began crossing the high desert. We lucked out; the weather was supposed to be in the 90s, just about everywhere. It must have been in the 70s; beautiful desert riding.
Part of the Pacific Crest Trail follows this aquaduct. We passed a backpacker, just before reaching a good rest stop. There is a marked cistern a short way off the path, providing water for those traversing this desert section of the Trail. The stop also provides sweeping views of Antelope Valley behind.
Miles later, a power pole line crosses the aquaduct, heading more directly toward Tehachapi. We departed the aquaduct road on this, and in a few minutes found ourselves on Tehachapi Willow Springs Road, climbing into the mountains through a field of windmills.
Tehachapi is rural, rustic, and fairly small. We stopped for lunch at the Apple Shed, a bakery / confectioner / restaurant with a sprawling, tree-shaded deck overlooking --once we got there -- some rather nice dual sport bikes... Lunchtime awed us with his hollow leg, as usual, as we relaxed in the breeze with cold drinks and some surprisingly good food. The possibility of fudge for dessert put this place on my must-return list.
After lunch, we refueled and headed east, looking for a little-known unpaved road that passes through Tejon Ranch.
The scenic countryside surrounding Tehachapi provided short twisty descents leading to long straight valley crossings.
The road we were looking for appeared rather suddenly at a bend in the slab, and we veered off. There were a few gates to pass through, but for the most part, it was clear sailing on well-graded dirt.
On the Ranch, oak tree savanna stretched away to where the hills suddenly disappeared, revealing great agricultural plots in the San Joaquin Valley, far a way and below. Beautiful even when dry -- and we will definitely revisit this area in the springtime.
Finally, we began to descend toward the Central Valley. We were high enough up, and far enough away, that small towns could be seen intheir entirety.
The road finally left the hills. We found ourselves wandering along roads through vineyards and orchards. We made our way basically southward, and eventually found a paved road that lead us past miles of fruit trees and farm plots, and dumped us off at a shady gas station near the base of the Grapevine.
We refueled and began the climb toward Gorman. It seemed like there were more of us than there had been earlier...
In fact, several of us opted to head home, to see wives, girlfriends, or a good ballgame... Most of us stopped in Castaic again, however, for something cool to drink, before calling it a day.Another day seized! Its hard to beat a good day on the road together. Until next time!
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