Southwest Adventure on an R18 – Day 1

Ok, flying with full riding gear is not too enjoyable. TSA was also amused by the armored pants and jacket. Mostly, it’s tough to get comfortable in a seat with everything. It is doable, but anyone trying this will need to be mentally prepared for a lack of comfort on the way.

I spent the flight studying the weather and possible routes. Even though I knew the west coast was having some severe rain, I was still hoping a that things would work out and the coast might work. There is simply no good route to get past the central coast other than I-5 or 99. I am not spending vacation on those roads. Too much of my life has been going up and down the Central Valley on them and I am just not going to do it.

So, I decided to heat towards Arizona instead. I don’t have any firm destination in mind, but it might be nice to go through Tucson, then head towards Meteor Crater in New Mexico. I’ll be making a new plan each day depending on what comes. Today, was mostly getting familiar with the R18 and seeing how far I can get.

The R18 is an easy bike to ride. It’s large and heavy, but very easy to control. I’ve been on several BMW boxers in the past and am very comfortable with the torque and lean situation they bring. The larger 1800cc motor is all of that taken to 11. A hard pull from a stop is going to include a bit of a weave from the torque lean. It was a little alarming how much that surfaces on my first good launch from a stop. I got over that immediately, largely due to the ear to ear grin from the amount of torque. This bike feels like you can tow a boat if you wanted. Just glorious amounts of torque.

It also has a magnificent road presence. In spite of it riding lower than all of my bikes, its size and power give it a road posture that everyone notices. It’s hard to overlook this bike in traffic. Making my way south towards San Diego, I stayed close to the coast for much of the ride. This sent me through a good mix of freeway, highway, and surface roads during the early LA rush hour. Nobody cut me off and after a while, I was comfortable with some lane-splitting. On the way, I was able to get some good views of the Pacific and a sense of the bike’s power and comfort.

I can’t go to San Diego without making a stop at Cotija’s in Lemon Grove. We lived here in the 90s and this was our “go to” Mexican place. In the years since, I tend to get lucky with the parking when I visit. Most of my visits, I find this spot open.

I’ve been getting this meal here for a few decades. It has never changed and is always excellent Southern California comfort food. Two fish tacos and three rolled tacos. I’ve never found this style of Mexican food outside of Southern California.

After dinner, I headed east on I-8 and made it to El Centro before stopping for the night. Traffic was heavy, but moving the whole way. Lots of folks are headed out to the dunes for some fun this weekend, and they are in a hurry. I did have to stop at a casino to get warm. It was 29 degrees going over the mountains east of San Diego. I brought layers and my warmer gloves in case I needed them as well, but I think it would take heated gear to be comfortable at that temperature. Once I got into the dessert, it warmed up to the mid-thirties. I have found that the motor is a good place to rest my legs for warmth.

Time for sleep.