The weather forecast for Sunday was typical for LA, sunny, low 70s, and we
were looking forward to a beautiful warm sunny run into the hills Sunday
morning.
But Saturday night the rain moved in, the temperature dropped, and by Sunday
morning there was snow on the mountains ringing LA, the very mountains we
planned to visit. What the heck, we decided to go anyway and three of us met
at 9
AM in the Valley. Victor in his topless 2000 solex, with a heater, Arthur in
his topless turbo conversion, without a heater, and me, in a topped 2000
solex, with a heater.
We soon were in the hills, driving up Bouquet Canyon to Green Valley past a
hillside dusted with snow, and then to the Rock Inn in Lake Hughes where we
holed up with a motorcycle group and shared a fireplace and hot coffee. After
restoring our circulation we remounted and continued north, blowing by a parked
CHIP who waved at us as Victor hit 85. Soon we were on an empty country road
where my speedo indicated 90, Victor's 115 and we figured we were doing about
100 or so, taking the wind chill factor to minus 45 for Arthur.
When we got to Frazier Park at about 4,500 feet near the grapevine Arthur had
to leave to keep a lunch date and he headed back to LA, 65 miles away by
freeway (even though it had taken us 110 miles to get there, such is the power
of
fractals). Victor and I had lunch at Los Pinos Mexican Restaurant and then
made our way back as well, it being too cold to continue through the national
forest to Ojai. Passing through a snow squall at the summit, we exited for one
last blast through the twisties at Templin highway before returning to the 5
for the trip back to the LA basin where, to Victor's relief, the sun was
shining again.
I hope we can do this again this spring when the sun is shining and the days
are longer, and perhaps more Roadsters will join us for some serious canyon
carving.
(Our run to Frazier Park was less than half of what we did each day in the
Iron Bottom last April.)
Gary Cohen
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