MAMBA Encounter

The GLA Victory Riders’ late August ride started with a breakfast meeting at the Ranch Side Café and ended with a MAMBA encounter at the new Victory/Indian/BMW/Slingshot dealership, Mamba Motorsports in Santa Clarita, geographically desirable for a number of us, me included. The alleged purpose for the ride was to support the new dealership but we all know ‘because’ was the real reason; because we like to ride, like to eat, like to hang out with riders, and like new bikes and dealerships.

I pulled into the parking lot at the café a few minutes early for our civilized breakfast time of 9am and found all but one of the mealtime participants there; Bev Hope and Tim Robertson, Jed and Sue of JSPriders, Greg Brown, and Joe, a breakfast only, Harley riding friend of Jed’s. A new-to-all-of-us rider named Dave joined us a few minutes later on his red Victory Cross Country Tour; once he slid into his seat after the requisite introductions it was like he’d been with us for years, both at breakfast and on the ride to Mamba. I have to declare that he has the old soul of a rider that belies his three years in the saddle. I hope to ride with him again soon.

Seven of us rode out and up into the Angeles National Forest. Joe left us in the parking lot for a Saturday of unpaid teacher duties. I give Joe the Iron Side Up Salute for the extra work and extra care he gives his students. Kudos Joe!

On the run through Little Tujunga
Canyon

JSP took the lead with Dave and Greg following, then me, and finally Bev and Tim sweeping our group. We took Little Tujunga Canyon Road and then I think over the Santa Clara Truck Trail though I can’t be sure of leg of the route. I just rode it with a fine riding group. I had the four riders out front of me and there were a couple of nice ess-turn sequences where my Falcon Basketball days flashed in front of me. As I looked down the canyon road and had three or four quick turns completely visible the weave of the four riders was so tight and choreographed that I remembered watching and running a three-line weave drill where the ball never touched the ground, none of the players traveled with it as we wove down the middle of the court for a layup or slam dunk. The riders did their weave and it was seamless, effortless, and we all had one thing in mind – don’t break the rhythm. I was exhilarated. 

We kept our rhythm up very nicely, nothing edgy in terms of speed, that’s not our style. We maintained a nice pace until we found ourselves backed up behind a PT Cruiser that was frustrated behind a line of rangy Harleys that were out of synch, out of tune, and out of touch. It’s the first time I’ve heard horns from our group and the derisive tone made me chuckle. JSP got to the point that we took advantage of a scenic overlook and let them crawl ahead so that we could finish up our ride the way we like. We were in a Tango, they were doing chopsticks at piano practice.

Video of our run through Little Tujunga Canyon: GLA Victory Riders run through Little Tujunga Canyon

Video of the group the rest stop where it was reported that the other rider group added ten minutes to our run: https: GLA Victory Riders at scenic overlook

When we arrived at Mamba Motorsports we were directed to park opposite the Grilled Cheese truck that would later serve us a complimentary gourmet sandwich. We were greeted by an energetic Mamba employee who gave each of us a helpful push back into the parking stall. It turned out that this ‘employee’ was Bronco, the General Manager. He was all over the place; gracious, helpful, attentive, and infectious. Everywhere we turned in the shiny new dealership the Mamba folks followed his lead. Kudos to Mike Bell, owner, for putting together such a stellar team. I’m stoked to have this outfit close to me.

GLA Victory Riders arrive at Mamba Motorsports: GLA Victory Riders arrive at Mamba Motorsports - LINK  

We were serenaded by two bands throughout our visit; Red Roses opened up the live set and Veronica Grim and the Heavy Hearts closed it up in fine fashion. I recommend either of both for any event you’d like to see livened up.

New building, new bikes, and a new maintenance area that you could eat off of the floor on. I saw bike after bike that I was saying “I could do that, and that, and that…” A nice line up for any rider to choose from. We’d have liked to have seen more Victories but understand that the 2016s are not through EPA yet. For sure, I would love to see the new 2016 Empulse TT, the all-electric motorcycle. I want to test-ride one and see how badly I want to try to squeeze one into my garage for something new and edgy and cool next to my Cross Country.

I found this to be outstanding. When you look at the MAMBA logo, notice that it is all caps. Bronco told me that it is an acronym for Mathew, Ashley, Mike Bell, and Annie; the owner’s kids, owner himself, and his wife. I love cool acronyms.

Best wishes to Mamba Motorsports. Here is the link to their site:

http://www.mambamotorsports.com/

Know your capabilities and keep the iron side up.

jerry

PS: Regarding the videos that I have in this post. These were taken with my new Sena 10C and I’m just now getting the hang of it. Key learnings from my first event with the new device:

• ·  Keep my head still unless I really need to look around or want to highlight something
• ·      Do something about my need to clear my throat, it’s distracting on the soundtrack
• ·      Double check the lens cap. I had it on as I left the dealership and really wanted to show how the scene livened up while we were there and missed it. On the bright side, I figured out how to have my iPod add sound and have I a nice black video with Credence playing
• ·         Close my face shield when recording to knock down the buffeting
• ·         Learn how to edit videos on some sort of platform for a more finished product
• ·         Hire a voiceover person because I hate the way my voice sounds

Transport Potpourri 1

Random thoughts on different transport modes (from motorcycling):

Credence in a Cage - I was in mourning for another ride put on the shelf and sharing the road with so many people at 5:15 in the morning didn’t make it any better. Putting up my Pandora Credence Clearwater Revival while driving the cage through the mess that was the Grapevine seemed to get me a little worked up and, being in the cage (read Honda Civic) rather than on the back of my bike which I’d prepacked only the evening before, only seemed to exasperate the situation. I was heading north out of L.A.; where were all these other yahoos going? It was Monday and they should have all been at work.

Going up the backside of the Grapevine (or would that be the front side? I suppose it depends on your point of view) I was in a less than benevolent mood and the folks who generally don’t understand the principle of keeping to posted speeds or being in the proper lane when they don’t crawled deeper under my skin. What was I thinking? Being in the proper lane requires thought and purpose, two things that too many drivers/riders are want to do too many times. Too much.

Sitting here now and looking in the rearview mirror for the run up the state I think listening to Handel’s Water Music would have been better than “Born on the Bayou” and “Fortunate Son”.

My original plan had been to ride all the way to my folk’s place in Merlin OR, set my personal record for a long-haul day, and then spend several days there along with my daughter, son-in-law, and two grand-kids. I was then going to ride over to the coast and hug it all the way to Mexico thus completing California’s PCH in one ride of several days. I’ve already done most of it over different rides but this would have put it all together and earned the patch I bought a couple of years ago. Alas, the patch must wait for another time. I needed to be home for a most important date with the love of my life and the ride down the coast doesn’t hold a candle to that. Soon though, I will put together a ride on the coast from Canada to Mexico.

Making my way to daylight was a little problematic when it would have been so simple on the Cross Country. Nevertheless, I eventually found daylight. People don’t seem to get it that they need to increase pressure on the accelerator to keep to speed up the grades. It’s not that difficult, even in a Civic. Fear not, they make up for it on the downhill side topping eighty when a more sedate speed is recommended – the physics of stopping while going downhill requires more time and distance. Simple.

Once I found open lanes I was able to settle back for my stroll up the gut of California to Merlin where I would be rewarded with dinner with my sister, her husband Bob, my parents, and the Cornelius clan. ‘Green Onions’ by Booker T and the MGs played and I settled into the drive, resigned to a long haul.

Old Man River – I love being on the river and could be pretty happy finding a way to get guide-certified and take parties on rafting trips. The only downside to that would be seriously cutting down on good riding-weather opportunities. On this just completed trip to Oregon I made two short floats down sections of the Rogue River, varied in style but both worthwhile enough that made the drive over ride decision more than acceptable.

Matt, Ashley, and I took Bandit Singles (inflatable kayaks) from Hog Creek to Galice, the same trip I did with my son Daniel in June. The river is rarely the same twice and these two runs were proof of that. In June the water was high and running fast but smooth with many of the riffling rocks submerged enough to flatten out the run. This past week the water was down to more normal levels (in spite of the drought) and the rapids required more attention to safely navigate. The Bandits are made of superior materials to the Yahoos that we’ve used in the past and are more maneuverable and nimble, and as a result, are less forgiving than the Yahoos if you get a little sideways in the whitewater.

The next evening we took out a twelve-foot non-self-bailing raft big enough to carry five adults including my mom Betty, sister Denise, daughter Ashley, son-in-law Matt, and my two grandchildren, Teya and Jeremiah. That made for a raft full of love and four generations. It was very cool. Evening floats are generally on calmer sections of the river, almost a lazy section except that with a little headwind we had to work some to continue to our pullout spot before it got too dark.

I was in the guide seat on the back of the raft and feeling in my element with the others sitting on the sides and ready to provide some power when needed. Almost absentmindedly, I paddled most of the way down in a nice and easy rhythm, happy to have the kids with us and excited to be rafting as only the young at heart can get. We got them both in paddling positions, they caught on fast, and they have all the makings of real water kids. It’s a genetic thing. The wildlife for the evening was mostly aviary material; Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Mergansers, Canada Gooses, and more Belted Kingfishers than we generally see during a river run. We were treated to several Osprey, two of which flew around to show off their fresh catches.

LCPC Whitewater Trip on the American River
The section of the Rogue that we raft doesn't have this
extreme water, I just like the photo. And the people.

Whatever mode of travel you find yourself using, keep the iron side up and enjoy the journey of the day.

jerry

PS: Pedestrian – just finished a gimpy walk around the Rose Bowl with our dogs. In spite of my run-in between a knee and a lag bolt we were able to maintain our 3.0 MPH pace on the 5K course. Curmudgeonly observations: People who don’t have the energy to pick up after their dogs or get the bags to a trash can should leave the dogs at home. Pedestrians need to walk against the flow of vehicular traffic and stay off of their digital devices. Drivers and bicyclist alike (all motorcycle rides are cool) need to remember that pedestrians are numerous in the bowl area and have the right-of-way. They need to plan their parking and routing accordingly and be ready for walkers to abuse the crap out of their right-of-way.