Southern California Motorcycle Tour: Day 3
Once our guests felt comfortable on their bikes, the second day was a long one, but showcased all the beauty and geographic diversity that Southern California has to offer.
Dave also led the group to the mountain town of Julian, well known in Southern California for its apple pie, cider, and actual seasons compared to the coast. The Pacific Crest Trail goes near here, and thru-hikers like to stop in the town for refreshment as well. The roads to Julian are twisty and very popular among motorcycle riders in Southern California. I do this loop almost weekly on my own, either on my 2015 BMW G650GS or on the 2018 BMW 1200GS, just for fun- and for pie at the end! Along the way, near Lake Cuyamaca, they encountered snow drifts several feet high that had been plowed off the road from last week’s storm. Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is home to San Diego County’s second tallest mountain, so it makes sense that the area received a lot of snow the previous week.
Because of the snow, they skipped a fun gravel road that twists through the hills and goes by Three Sisters Falls before letting out near Lake Cuyamaca, and has spectacular views of Cuyamaca Peak and many other SoCal mountains. Given a few more days, I’m sure that snow would have melted and the path would be clear! Because of the snow, the group also skipped Palomar Mountain, which reaches taller than 5000 ft and can get snow during those cold winter storms. Palomar Mountain is a favorite of motorcycle riders and sports car drivers in Southern California for its twisty road with hairpin turns that steeply ascends a mountainside, vaulting the drivers into cool mountain air in no time! However, those sharp turns are no place to encounter ice in the shade. There are dirt ways up the mountain as well if you’re feeling adventurous. There is an astronomical observatory on top of the mountain that can be seen for many miles around, and it also has many hiking trails in pine forests.
From Julian, they proceeded down Banner Grade into Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Anza Borrego isn’t just a barren desert like you might imagine, like what I-10 and I-8 go through to get to Arizona. It features mountains over 5000 ft tall that get snow in the winter with gnarled pines clinging to life on their summits, canyons carved into the sandstone by flash floods, mud caves that you can explore, and oases of palm trees with streams spilling out of them that nourish bighorn sheep, coyotes, deer, mountain lions, and other animals. We absolutely love traversing Anza Borrego Desert State Park from fall-spring, whether we’re hiking, offroading our 4×4 trucks, camping, or riding motorcycles.
Edge of Adventure Tours also runs desert offroad truck tours in Anza Borrego, leaving from San Diego and including hotel pickup, for visitors or locals to San Diego who may not have a 4×4 vehicle but want to explore the desert. This is a great option to bring the family to explore the area- no experience necessary and family friendly, customized to what you want to see or do.
The offroad trails in Anza Borrego get sandy quickly, and are best suited to dual sport motorcycles like my 2019 KTM 350 EXC-F (not available for rent- you probably wouldn’t like it anyway, as it’s lowered several inches), but the paved roads are still so twisty and enjoyable. The group rode S-2 and several other windy routes that parallel creek beds and twist their way up mountainsides to stunning drop-offs, which conveniently have pullouts so you can stop and take pictures of the landscape stretching away from you.
After ascending back into the mountains from Borrego Springs, they visited Montezuma Valley Market, a veteran owned small business that is owned and operated by a longtime friend of Dave’s from the Navy. This market is the only general store around for quite a distance in Ranchita, CA. It is a favorite of PCT thru-hikers, who can stay there in some of the hostel-like lodging, or resupply their camping gear and food. We always bring our riders by for a cold beer, hot coffee, or snacks, and to enjoy their beer garden atmosphere. Adventurers from all around enjoy the large iconic Yeti statue.
From Ranchita, it’s still a long ways back to San Diego, but windy and enjoyable the whole way, especially once you’re fueled up with some food and coffee.