Despite the leader's brain fart on the directions for where to meet (sorry everyone), we had a good turnout for the "Mystery" ride (not so much of a mystery).  We had eight bikes show up for the start (a VFR, couple of FJRs, a ST1100 and two ST1300s, a GL1800, and a Ducati M900) and after a brief get-to-know-you we headed off for Little Tujunga Canyon and very twisty start for the day.

We had a great run up Little Tujunga (Mike had difficulty keeping his feet on his pegs), then headed back down toward Sand Canyon and a quick gas stop for those who forgot to fill-up before the starting point.  Despite the air temperatures not warming up much (more on that later), we had a nice ride up Soledad Canyon to Sierra Highway and Elizabeth Lake Road.  We took a quick detour down Bouquet Canyon to Spunky Canyon (tightest twisties around) before heading back up San Francisquito Road to Elizabeth Lake Road again.

The original plan included heading up to Lancaster Road and the Poppy Preserve, but concerns about heavy traffic and cold, windy conditions encouraged us to skip that and simply head up Pine Canyon through Three Points and up to the Old Ridge Route before briefly taking highway 138 into Gorman for lunch -- and to warm up.  The air temperatures were hovering around or below 42°, so we needed warm food and drink.  Unfortunately, time constraints and concerns about the cold forced four of our riders to peel off after lunch and head home or to other obligations.  The three remaining riders soldiered on through the cold (so we though) to Frazier Park and Lockwood Canyon.

That's the funny/odd part!  As we ascended into Frazier Park, the temperatures actually got warmer, and as descended into Lockwood Valley, it was positively comfortable.  Great!  Lockwood Canyon and Highway 33 offer some great views, sweeping curves, and beautiful scenery.  While we did get stuck behind some slow moving traffic at times, it was generally clear sailing and great riding all the way into Ojai and the semi-official end of our "mystery" ride.

So, we arrived at the combined Taggart/Webster museum -- only to find it's closed (later correspondence revealed that they did indeed close unexpectedly early)!  So, the mystery remains... what's the museum like?  Well, one promise of the ride was that one non-HSTA attendee would be randomly awarded a free HSTA membership.  Funny thing, only one non-HSTA rider remained, so congratulations to Wes O'Dell who got the membership (and I'm sure we'll see him in Paso Robles next month).

Disappointed, but having had a great ride nonetheless, we headed out (quick stop for gas) and and headed back home.  I later got in touch with the museum proprietors who promised they will arrange another date/time for us to visit so we can find out what it's like after-all... 

All-in-all a great ride and a long day (that thankfully warmed up!) -- BW

More pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/rydred/20080420GroupRideMystery