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Family Reunion at the Dawg! A couple of years ago the folks who run Songdog Ranch received a rude awakening from the Santa Barbara County planning and permit office. A visit from the local law enforcement officer ended up blossoming into a serious conflict with the county. The end result was a shutdown of operations and a permanent state of limbo for Jim and family. Not to worry, the battle is far from over and though the ranch is no longer operated as a campground and meeting place for motorcyclists they still own the property and intend to return it to it's former glory Those of us who are considered family (The SF Northstars MC) were invited to ride down and enjoy an evening BBQ and campout at the ranch. Since the place is pretty far away we decided to make it an organized ride with route sheets and everything! We even had an official looking ride leader (in the guise of our Dirty Steward, Mr. Catfish Sir). The meeting place and time were set, the bikes loaded up with gear and Herradura placed on ice! Whoo hoo! Our serious Spring weather threatened to put a damper on things and even scared away a few riders but the brave ones showed up at the seriously early hour of 7:30 in the morning at Duarte's in Pescadero. After some grub and talk we saddled up for the long ride south. Thanks to the rain there were several roads closed and our route had to be massaged a bit to allow us progress in the direction of the dog. Rather than ride down the coast and then inland on Naciamento/Fergueson road we had to instead cut inland on Carmel Valley Road. No worries, we were still able to sneak back over toward Hunter Liggett and have some fun out West of Paso Robles.
Lunch at McClintock's was tasty and though there were several tasty and tempting entrees on the menu we all chose to eat light in anticipation of the Tri-tip and chicken on the grill scheduled for that night. After lunch a couple of us snuck off to play on Highway 229 just south of Paso. This is one sweet piece of street! No centerline. No potholes. Just smooth, clean, pavement with lots of twists, turns and roller coaster hills. You gotta love it! Then it was off to Taft on fabulous 58!! The threat of rain was entirely overated and we enjoyed an afternoon of wide open sweepers under an amazingly blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. I nearly fell off my bike when I encountered my first field of wildflowers. Yeow! Mellow Yellow indeed! We all took turns pulling off the road, snapping photos and then shooting up further to see more. Once we were in the box canyon it was all over. Swooping the corners and cranking it over onto the sides the Tiger ate it up like candy. There's nothing better than a clear section of twisties to clear your head and put a shit-eating grin on your face.
Somewhere along the way Paula and I became separated from the rest of the folks. We had been riding with Matt and Pete who were practically joined at the hip on their matching beemers. I took Paula on the scenic loop around Taft following Mid Oil Road around the edge of town. What fun! We finally rolled into the ranch around 5:30 and hooked up with the rest of the gang. I couldn't wait to break out the party toys and setup the shooting range out back. In fact I was in such a rush I didn't notice the fact that I had parked the Tiger in a soft patch of dirt. About ten minutes later Kari walks up and tells me the Tiger is taking a nap. What??? Running back to my campsite I was greeted with the sight of Pete passed out on the ground with my beloved Tiger laying there next to him. Damn slut of a bike! We enjoyed an evening of large caliber fun, delicious outdoor cooked food, tasty beverages of both the single malt variety as well as the cactus juice typically favored by the club members. Once the sun disappeared below the horizon a fire was lit and then so were the guests. At that point Earl broke out the Duckbill Platypus and then mayhem ensued. Matt got a demon look in his eyes and took off into the night, cigar tip glowing in the wind. At some point in time pretty much everyone had a ride on the little monster with some folks leaping over the neighbor's campfire while howling at the moon. It was great fun! Sometime in the night, after I had retired to my comfy sleeping bag, I recall my tent being buzzed by some clown on the little fitty. Hmm, turnabout is fair play so I rolled out at the nice early hour of 7am and fired up the little monster and did some buzzing of my own! Unfortunately it turns out the clown buzzing my tent was Matt and he was already up. Rats! We enjoyed a slow morning filled with French toast, juice, bacon and brisk morning air. It had become slightly overcast that night and the morning was a touch on the chilly side. After chatting it up with our hosts and then cleaning up our mess from the night before we finally loaded up the bikes and hit the road. The dirt contingent consisting of Kari, Paula and myself took off for a run across the Carrizzo Plain on Soda Lake road. It was a perfect morning with moderate temperatures, no glaring sun and incredible views in all directions. The dirt was in great shape and the mud holes I had been dreading never materialized.
We stopped often to enjoy the various sights and lack of sounds out on the plain. One info board told us that there are six separate species of bat found here. A couple of them are endangered so the authorities are doing their best to provide habitat for them including keeping some of the old abandoned structures in tact so they have a nesting place. We stopped briefly at the entrance to the Indian Petroglyph site but unfortunately this time of year access is restricted due to the mating birds of prey. Ah well, we'll get there another time... Back on 58 we wicked it back up to a comfortable pace and wound our way back up to Paso Robles. Some of the gang were chowing down at Senor Sanchez' place. We soon joined them and enjoyed some tasty fish tacos and salsa! Whoo hoo! Matt, Pete and Gary had apparently disappeared off toward the Parkfield grade. All that were left by this point were the ladies (Lisa, Sue, Paula and Kari), Catfish and myself. We chose to ignore the road closure warnings and head for Indian Valley Road. Whups! Just East of San Miguel the road was indeed closed. Seems a stream that's normally not much more than a trickle was now running pretty high and pretty fast across a low point in the road. We stopped to contemplate things for a bit. I volunteered Kari and her KLR for a test run. Silly girl took me up on it! Off she went blasting through the water getting sideways in the middle and then popped out onto the pavement on the other side. Lisa and Sue cheered her on and then looked in horror when it was suggested they try it. Instead they joined Catfish and Paula for an end around on the highway. I motored on across the creek to join Kari for a pre-emptive strike on Indian Valley. Imagine beautiful green hills, a snarly-snaky road with a perfect mix of fast sweepers and tight curves. No cops. No traffic. No BS. Just fast, fun open road. That's Indian Valley/Peachtree. Kari and I had a blast whooping it up all the way up toward 198. We stopped short to enjoy a moment in the sun with a great view of the canyon. In time we were joined by everyone but the Fish. He blasted by like there was no tomorrow and continued out to the end of the road. After a nice break we soon joined him for the final romp up Highway 25. Lisa was in heaven as was Sue. Me, I just notched it back a bit and enjoyed the view. In too short a time we reached Hollister where we had our last stop for gas and prepared for a now rainy ride home. It was great fun. The people, the food, the scenery, the ride. It's no wonder this is an all time favorite for Northstars and friends alike. Thanks to Mike for putting together the "reunion" and making arrangements at the ranch. We definitely have to do this again.... Craig The entire route (Google Earth View) The Carrizo Plain route (Google Earth View)
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