Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Weekend street rides: Volume One Big Bear Lake By Terry Whytal 00 (j) With the temperature soaring into the 90s at the Cycle News building in Long Beach, our choice of destination for the weekend ride was a natural: Big Bear Lake. Located in the San Bernardino National Forest east of Los Angeles Big Bear sits ~t , d . 6,000 feet above sea level an IS cooled by the breezes blowing off many small town oddities including a restaurant that looks like it was lifted from the pages of Hansel and Gretel and an antique shop that resembles a cross between modern sculpture and the 10,000·foot peaks that surround the Smithsonian. Turning left onto Highway 18 near the area. Inevitably, one must travel on free· the northeast end of the lake, we pass south of the water's edge and turn in· ways to reach the more interesting land towards Moonridge and the ski roads in the outlying areas, and aft.er a resort of Gold Mine. This narrow valley quick Saturday morning breakfast, we wound our way through LA's'maze of that looks down upon the lake features a small golf course, a tiny herd of rein· concrete and onto the Interstate 10 freeway heading east toward Palm deer, a mountain slide (like toboggans without snow) and a gift store and Springs. With nearly 75 miles already regis· sandwich shop inside a true Montana· tering on the odometer of my Suzuki style log cabin. 75Occ, we reached the downtown sec· We couldn't resist picking up a few tion of Redlands where California State small tourist items in the gift store, and sandwich shop has one of the Highway 58 cuts off the Interstate IO at the Orange Avenue off.ramp. most clner menus a half-starved motor· A short ride through town and cycle rider has ever salivated on. Hundreds of small cabins and can· Highway 58 turns onto Lugonia Avenue, heading for the massive San dominiums are used for rentals in the Gorgonio peak rising in the distance. Big Bear area, and we answered an ad Millions of years of erosion have left in a local SoCal newspaper for a small the landscape below San Gorgonio lit· unit near Goldmine. For $28, we got tered with football sized rocks, and the two bedrooms, a kitchen and a roaring local inhabitants have built homes and fireplace in the living room. (Prices are higher in ski season.) walls using the rocks in place of brick. Early Sunday morning, we rented a -A few of the structures are quite inter· small five· horsepower fIShing boat and eating in appearance and well worth slowing down for a carefullook. took a tour of the lake. We observed other boaters pulling a few medium· Lugonia (58) finally reaches the foothills near Morton Peak, and the sized fISh from the water, so if you like road runs alongside Mill Creek. In the fIShing, you may want to take your tackle along. If not, we still recommend spring, Mill Creek is filled with the runoff from San Gorgonio's melting a cruise; the scenery is be.autiful. snow providing a pleasant scene to ride B k 1 d ed b'k 10 ac on an , we tum our I es down. Hi~hway I~ for the ride back to a ;:ft"een miles into the hills, the road the bIg City. Crossmg ~ small dam on narrows and begins to climb steeply over the westernmost edge of San tb,e western en.d of Big B,ear Lake, Highway 18 climbs a1ongsld.e 8,5~7Gorgonio. The next 20 miles l1ash past . kl h I f foot Butler Peak before droppmg swiftqUlc y as t e pace acce erates rom I d h S Be d' 11 sedate cruisin~ to canyon rac~r. One I~n~ar t e an mar mo at word of cautIon - traffic IS often This' f h .. d heavy on weekends, and you may find . sectIon 0 t e tnp 15 custo~ eSIgned for motorcycles - few straIghts ourself swee in throu h a blind Pdd gnl nfg . h and many curves. We allowed oury d . . curve an su e y co rontmg t e lYes to m d u Ige m a I' Ie Kenny Itt · se re~ end 0f a motor h ome gomg one· Roberts. I knee dra' then settled ~, third your speed. sty e Soon we are in Barton Flats, with back for a pleasant nde through the San Gorgonio rising 11,502 feet to the woods . All h th . too soon, owever, we are at e h sout, and Sugar Loaf Mountam 18/550 . . R' S' looming overhead to the north at a JunctIon at unnu.lg pnngs, · I 9 and we must turn down Highway 350 I h . beh' d su bst an tIa , 952 f ee t . N ear th e Barton Flats Visitor Station is a small to eave t e mountaIns m. nature trail that offers a good place to Total mileage, including side trips, was 292 miles with less than half 'the stretch the legs while learning about the locall1ora, fauna and geology (in. distance accounting for the scenic parts cluding interesting bits like: the bark of the excursion. Our route could of the Jeffrey pine smells exactly like easily be duplicated in one day's vanilla, reallyl). riding, but the area is so scenic and the Back on 38, we reach Onyx Summit, recreation opportunities so varied that at 8,000 feet the highest part of our trip, we chOse to prolong the fun. If you and cruise around the northeast end prefer to sleep with the stars overhead, of Sugarloaf to reach Big Bear Lake. the U.S. Forest Service can provide inThis section of the highway offers a fonnation on the many campgrounds spectacular view of Lucerne Valley, in the area. the desert 1100r clearly in contrast to If that extra week of vacation isn't the mountain peaks. due for another six months, and the The two main communities of the Rockies are 1,000 miles away, we sug· gest a trip to Big Bear. It's cool, Lake, Big Bear Village and Big Bear scenic, and the road never goes City, have both grown quickly in recent years yet managed to retain _ straight. What more could you want? • me 13

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