Saturday’s Ride: Biking To See More Bikes

The routine should look very familiar to many a cyclist: Set out on a ride and end up back where you started from.  Occasionally, it can even be a point-to-point jaunt, and, sometimes, the destination is the point of the adventure, with the ride itself just the icing on the proverbial cake.  Well, that is exactly what a recent Saturday ride had in store when a friend and I set out to attend a motorcycle show.  Yes, you read that right: A motorcycle show.  See, I was riding motorcycles long before I even had a car, and before I got seriously into road biking. 

The route itself was a semi-short, hilly ride over to Southern California Ducati/Royal Enfield/Triumph/Suzuki/Victory (I call it SoCal Ducati, for short) in Brea, California.  Run by a gentleman named Tom Hicks, it really is a destination unto itself.  And, in addition to all of the fine bikes for sale, they hold an Open House every summer to welcome back old friends, and to make new ones.  So, looking to break out of the regular training ride routine, a trip to a motorcycle shop/bike contest seemed like a pretty good idea to us.  And, we were not disappointed.  

After tearing up and down a few climbs, and a spirited ride down Brea Canyon Road, we arrived at SoCal Ducati.  I immediately ran into some old motorcycle riding friends, and the owner, Tom Hicks.  Keen to meander around the dealership, the Parts Department staff was kind enough to put our road bikes in the warehouse for safe keeping whilst we enjoyed all the festivities.  While Tom’s “P-51 Band” played some great music, there was a complimentary BBQ, test rides of new motorcycles, great schwag raffles ever hour, and of course, the aforementioned “Bike Contest.”  We even tried to later sneak into said “Bike Contest,” but alas, we were both disqualified for obvious reasons.  Dang you, Judges!

 

Overall, the ride there and back was awesome, and Mr. Hicks, plus the entire SoCal Ducati/Royal Enfield/Triumph/Suzuki/Victory staff put on a first-rate Open House.  The food and music were great, the raffles were a hit with attendee’s, and all of the motorcycles, from the one’s for sale, to the bikes customers rode in on, to the rides entered into the Bike Contest were all a joy to be a part of.  We even managed to win some raffle prizes ourselves, and we will definitely be back to the next Open House at the SoCal Dealership.

And, finally, in regards to this ride adventure, there really is quite a connection between cyclists and  motorcyclists.  In addition to my riding partner and I both being caught red-handed owning motorcycles ourselves, there are a lot of members of the bicycling industry which are motorcyclists or were professional racers before turning from throttles to pedals.  I myself have been riding motorcycles for over thirty-years, have worked in the motorcycle industry, and did not even have my first car until seven years after purchasing my first motorcycle, a Honda MB5.  That first motorcycle was followed by a Suzuki GS450L, a Honda CB450T, a Suzuki GS500E, a Honda CBR600F4i, a Ducati 750 SS, and now a Honda Goldwing. 

Seems the “N+1 Rule” applies to motorcycles, too.