Old Biltwell Blog: Bromantic Get-Away

Rich's one-piece tool kit came in handy.

Balls on his ironhead.

JD's bike rules and Joel's Pizzagetter slabside ran flawlessly.

We deviated from this a bit, but this is basically the route.

Keith had the idea last month for a quick trip on bikes and left the destination up to me. I'm sick of riding into the desert, so this time we hit the beach. McGoo and I left early yesterday morning and rode over Ortega to Laguna Beach where we met most of the guys. Up PCH to Costa Mesa where we grabbed a couple more. From there, Long Beach, over the bridge into San Pedro and finally had our first trouble. Balls had just put a new gennie and battery in his bike the night before, but the high-end gel battery was junk out of the box. Luckily we were close to Tim's shop, Century Motorcycles on Pacific, so we popped in there. I've wanted to visit this shop for a long time, so this was a good excuse. Awesome place, and Tim was super helpful. The generator tested out OK, but the battery just wouldn't hold a charge. Tim gave Balls some scrap jumper cables and off we went. Thanks Tim! Lunch in Venice Beach with JD, Caleb and Matt getting added to the mix was cool. Only in Venice would you watch a dude dressed like a tree walk across the street on stilts. We tried to jump the ironhead with a massive body builder's SUV. That was fun but wouldn't get it going, so Balls finally had to break down and pop for a new one. Once that was in, it was up the coast for a lane-splitting marathon through afternoon traffic. Caleb knew the best route up through the hills on Kannan and back down to the beach. I love riding with this dude! I swear he can bunnyhop that shovel. Leo Carrillo campground was sweet. We loaded up a bunch of beer in town, ordered pizza delivered (roughing it!) and just when we ran out of twigs and twelve pack cartons to burn, Moeller showed up with a truck full of firewood and a fearsome thirst. His bike broke a few miles from home, but he wasn't giving up, and I'm glad he came. We needed the wood and his fireside chats are legendary. Anyway, thanks to Keith for having the idea and shooting these pics. And thanks to all my bros who put their knees in the breeze with full outlaw spirit!