First off, thanks for stopping by my "house of rant" and- for all of you that do not live in, or have visited lately - sunny southern california, you have been missing an incredible season of varying weather patterns. We have had a few frontal storms of rain (badly needed of course) and then spread in between these cold, wet days- it has been 78 and blissfully sunny.
Take this weekend as an example. I got off the phone- mid last week with my long time friend and true example of a best friend, Darren Dickey. He and I grew up next to each other, our families ranch property lines met and therefore, in the area- we collectively had the most area- so we were the neighborhood kings. Not really kings, but we certainly thought we were...
Anyway- fast forward 25 years and... Darren and his family are now residents of the ultra ritzy and swanky village in the San Bernardino Mtns known as Lake Arrowhead. (picture of a portion of their house is attached below). Darren tells me that the National Forest trails are now open for dirt bike riding and that we should go early saturday morning as the trails are fresh and the creeks are running deep.
Who can resist this, right?
So, 5am saturday morning- and I am sitting in his driveway awaiting the homes interior lights to come on. And of course, by 5:15- we have action... So, the morning hello's & hugs take place, a little breakfast, vitamins and a cup of coffee in the great room overlooking the lake that is now starting to shimmer of the golden sunrise and boy- we have ourselves the making of one incredible day...
Fast forward a bit to 8am- and the thumping of the four stroke motors begin to warm up and the riding and protective gear was being drawn like suits of armour. (for those of you that are off-road riders, you know this morning and it gets no better- right?) We take off from the 14' roll up garage doors of Darrens mcMansion and meander through the small quaint neighborhood on the steel horses that will carry us throughout the forest trails this day.
Darren is on his race bike, a Yamaha YZ 450F, and me, I am on his ultra customized desert race bike- a Honda XR650R, a completely tricked out, polished and anodized beauty with more power than will ever be asked for, or needed this day. (Side bar note here: this bike is the same model that consistently wins the grueling Baja 1000 year after year by the Honda factory teams. And the truth be told, I am interested in buying a similar bike for my off road photo shoots, the Honda XR400R, and Darren has offered to let me try his bike for the day before I make the somewhat expensive leap of no return).
Anyway, off we go on these incredible machines in to the forest trails. Our day carries us nearly 80 miles through the winding trails of the SBNF and our encounters with other riders are rare, but there were a couple. As we pass by, the casual nod of acknowledgment from the tilt of the helmet and within seconds, we are yet again- in the peacefulness of the serene forest.
Below is a local lookout point that many riders gather and have a quick snack, drink a bottle of water and briefly rest the weary legs...
Now- trying to explain the sheer excitement and jubilation of this morning is a difficult one- but lets just say- it was like a non-stop roller coaster ride of dirt trails that went up, down, twisted left - twisted right, and on a few occasions, we were even called upon to grab more throttle and blast through the three foot deep creek beds that are full of running water from the seasonal melting snow. This adventure had it all, and many times Darren and I looked at each other as we were blazing through the trails, eyes squinting through the sun glazed goggles and only as two best friends of nearly 35 years could, acknowledged that we where doing what we did as children and this day could NOT be any better. Under my helmet, as with Darren's, was an ear-to-ear smile that we all need, but usually only desire.
This day, this glorious day of tranquility, friendship, fun and peacefulness in the national forests near our homes- offered us both her majesty and her beauty, and then delivered us home safely filled with great energy- and quite frankly- this wonderful story to share....
I do hope that this journal entry finds you all well and that you're exploring your own adventures and have the means to share them with everyone you come in contact with.... And of course, I hope I have put a little smile on your face, or a warmness in your belly by sharing my good times with you...
Work wise, the next up for us are a couple of commercial projects that are in pre-production right now and hopefully, many more days of riding my new Honda XR400R with friends in the deserts and mountains of my beautiful home state of California....
Cheers and good health to you all...
Shawn
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