Tehachapi News

Easy Riders

Early risers who pass by Tehachapi’s Burger King about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday mornings typically see a colorful variety of motorcycles in the parking lot outside the south entrance. Walk inside and you’ll see a convivial group of coffee drinkers gabbing animatedly about motorcycling and any other subjects that strike their fancy.

Come eight o’clock or so, they all get up, don jackets, gloves, and helmets, start their engines, and head off into a new day’s riding adventure. Recent day-trip destinations have included Frasier Park; Kernville; Sherman Pass, from which you can plainly see Mount Whitney; and Creston. First stop is usually about 10:30 a.m. for a hearty brunch to ready the soul for the miles ahead. Distances covered on typical Wednesday rides have ranged from 180, to, if everybody’s game, such 400-mile round trips as to Solvang’s Motorcycle Museum or Cambria on the coast. Most of the expeditions get riders home by mid-afternoon, but anyone can peel off early, as individual circumstances require.

It’s all very casual and easygoing, yet there’s sensible organization at work too. Stan, a founder, always rides “cleanup” at the tail end, in continual radio contact with J.R., who nearly always leads. Some other riders are tuned in as well, monitoring and contributing chatter en route. Stan misses nothing, and gives us all the feeling that there’s a higher…well, make that a rear-end power looking after us.

When one of us dropped it on a low-speed traverse of tricky graveled asphalt high in the Sequoia Forest, help was immediate to get him out from under, the bike upright, and the bunch back on the road again. (Confession: I wasn’t hurt —just embarrassed.)

So who are the Wednesday easy riders, what do they ride, and why do they ride? In their own words, here are some typical responses:

Stan, 72, truck driver, off-road racer, and bike mechanic, whose stable includes two Honda ST1100s, a 550F, and a Yamaha 550, finds the socializing great. “The riding is also fun.” Besides, he likes the last-minute suspense of choosing each Wednesday’s destinations.

J.R., 77, equipment operator, straddles his two Gold Wings “for the riding.“
Gene, a cement worker, rides a Honda 1500 Gold Wing for fun, socializing, and to get riding input from others.

Joe, 50, who works for BNSF, rides his Honda ST1100 or his CB750 to enjoy the scenery and “to get away from the phone and the Blackberry. And to find out where we’re going to have breakfast.”

“Beemer Dave,“ 60-plus and retired, rides (what else?) his BMW 1200 “for the fellowship. Just as some people play golf.

Dennis T., 65, teacher, rides his BMW 1150 for the good company and to learn from and interact with others. “Nothing ventured,” he says, “nothing gained.”

Pat, 63, CHP officer, rides his Honda 1800 and BMW 1150 “for the riding. Hey the worst day on the road is better than the best day at work.”

Dennis P., 75, sales, mounts his Gold Wing “to look for interesting places to eat and for the camaraderie of fellow riders.”

Lee, a retired 73, enjoys riding his Gold Wing 1800 “with a bunch of good guys.”

And I, an editor who won’t see 80 again, ride my Kawasaki 1000 and Suzuki 850 for the company, the scenery, and the chance to have two breakfasts once a week.

A pretty eclectic group. Definitely not, as one rider’s wife affectionately joked, just “A bunch of old farts who sit around and drink coffee,” although admittedly that’s part of the fun. Over the near-decade that this loosely knit gang has been venturing the highways (mostly the byways) of California, people from many walks of life have taken part. Current ages range from upper 40s to pushing 81. Show up on a sound bike, and you’re welcome, is the informal rule.

“Every Wednesday?” I asked Stan early on. “Every Wednesday, if it’s not snowing,” was his smiling reply.

Some rides are more exciting, weather-wise, than others. Our Oct. 17 trip involved cold, thick fog, rain, and strong gusty crosswinds over the “Lion’s Trail,” a twisty but well-paved road from Caliente to Lake Isabella. But it was an experience that worked up appetites for a hot breakfast at Cheryl’s Diner in Kernville, where the weather was fine.

A few of the riders are dedicated “iron-butt” enthusiasts. For example, Pat just returned from a 1,000-mile rally in New Mexico, and Ron was recently gearing up for a trip to Minnesota. But other participants are content to ride within a 250-mile radius.

If you think you’ve been seeing more motorcycles on our roads lately, you’re right. There’s been about a 48 percent rise in registrations since 1995, and ridership nationally, even among now-mature baby boomers, has increased by over 40 percent, a figure that California, with its bike-friendly climate, easily exceeds.

By now almost a local institution, Tehachapi’s Wednesday morning easy riders have become one of the fascinating features that make our community representative yet unique. I consider it a privilege to participate.