Riding with the Boys : Canyon Lake - xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community

Carlitos · 06-08-2009, 08:57 PM

(As a backdrop to this ride….which happened to be my first real ride with my buddies…..i’d like to give you guys a sense of what was going through our minds on the eve or rather few hours before the ride….

We….Sharon ( Black 07 GSXR 600 ), Harsha ( White 07 CBR 600 RR) and me..Shantanu a.k.a. carlitos ( Yellow 08 R6 )..decided to go on a ride to Canyon Lake on Friday night, since our DSLR photographer buddy dropped out. We decided to meet in a parking lot close to the freeway at 8 A.M on Saturday. I for one, was psyched out of my mind about the ride. Couldn’t wait to hear my alarm go off in the morning ( now who thinks like that). Anyway I go to bed, and I was awaken at 4 AM in the morning by a phone call. Its Sharon, and he tells me….” Dude…someone tried to JACK my gixxer ….. Someone called the cops when they saw my bike lying on the drive way on its side with the mirrors turned in“ Yup someone tried to steal his bike….thankfully they gave up for some reason, and the bike was undamaged. Frame Sliders are a big savior. Anyway…apparently the COP that came down to investigate was a biker too. He owned an R6..

.. and gave it up because he couldn’t ride slow…LOL…..
I asked Sharon…”Dude..we are still riding right?” and he goes “Heck yeah man”
Later that morning we found out, that there was an attempt to JACK Harsha’s CBR too. He is Sharon’s roommate and his bike was parked right next to the Gixxer. The thieves had tried to break his lock open. Long story short…..the bikes were undamaged…both the guys were kinda edgy….but the ride was on.)

So we meet in the designated parking Lott, all gassed up and with our gear on. We headed out at 8:15 on to the US 60 E freeway. About 30 miles of freeway riding was in store. We decided to stick to the speed limit (65 MPH) because the 60 has a couple of speed cameras and lurking cops. We were riding in a file Gixxer <--- CBR ß--- R6 on the HOV lane, when I heard the blaring siren of a cop. I slowed down and was ready to pull over when he whistled by me..he was probably doing 90 mph. Anyway it wasn’t for us so we rode on. After about 30 miles we took the exit for Tomahawk road and then merged onto the Apache Trail (see map). The Apache trail is one heck of a scenic trail. Absolutely stunning and about 15 miles of twisties (see map) all the way up to the Canyon Lake. It’s a 2 lane road, one up and one down….you arnt allowed to overtake at all. We hit a lot of traffic on the way to the lake. People were towing speed boats behind their trucks. This was good in a way, cause it was our 1st time on the twisties and that made sure we dint get ahead of ourselves. There were so many bikers on that route…that it was an absolute stunner of a ride. From the insanely massive ZX14R to the Ducati hypermotard…..we saw almost every bike. It was like a biker’s paradise and the biker pride thing was over flowing. Anyway….we pulled over at a lookout point overlooking the lake to take a few pictures…. ( see photos ). Lined up our whips and went trigger happy. After the photo session we got back on our bikes and headed for the lake. The traffic was slightly less now and so we decided to fancy some speed on the twisties. Now these were serious twisties guys…..like double Ss with a climbing grade…followed by blind turns…..we were un sure how fast to take em…braking midway….etc….this one time Harsha went into a blind right twisty and ended up on the oncoming lane…..he braked and came back in….but I was right behind him and came in to the turn all leaned over and saw him right in front of me. I had to quickly straighten the bike and brake. It was close…but it gave us a sense of how far ahead of ourselves we were getting. Anyway we reached the lake….snapped more pictures…some spectacular ones…and talked about how to meet the twisties on our way back.

We headed back after about an hour. This time, there was absolutely no traffic….zilch…it was just the 3 of us heading back. We had the only lane going back to ourselves.

We gave each other a cushion of about 20 meters and headed back. IT WAS UNBELIEVEABLE GUYS. I CANT PUT IT IN WORDS. We forgot about our brakes and used the engine braking. Shifting down whenever we needed to slow down. Negotiating twisties is all about traction. As long as you slow down at the entry and roll on the throttle while in the twisty..you are golden. These bikes inspire so much confidence when they are cranked over on either side that it’s almost unreal. We did the entire route back at about 45-50 mph in the twisties and absolute crazy speeds in straights. There is this one double S section…which is absolute riding bliss. It’s an S sloping down and an immediate second S which is half way up and then down. We felt like it was a MotoGp track and we were flicking our bikes from side to side so fast. Just watching each other gave us such a rush. I was all charged up and screaming under my helmet “ Go boy…Go…..” and some other mushy lovey dovey stuff to my bike ;-). Once the twisties were over I was so elated, I stood up on my foot pegs and ripped the bike for about half a mile. Which was a lot of fun for me, but probably not at all for anyone behind me.

. Soon we hit the freeway again and headed back home. It was windy and made for some good and challenging riding back. We pulled over into the same parking lott and jumped on each other with joy. Couldn’t stop sharing our experiences and swore to go ridding again ASAP.

Anyway…I hope you guys enjoy the pictures. I got several complaints from my family members, that their arnt any people in most of the pictures..or pictures of the lake. All I could say to them was….”you arnt bikers” anyway….next time I ll make sure I take more pictures of other stuff too. Special thanks to Sharon for being the ride leader and keeping an eye out for cops…gravel…traffic etc.

Peace

P.S ( more pics..once the topic gets approved..can upload only that many)

Aryan · 06-08-2009, 09:59 PM

Topic Approved.

Wonderful stuff Carlitos. Nice to see you riding your R6 more often.

Carlitos · 06-08-2009, 10:16 PM

Thanks Aryan....here are a few more pictures as promised.

Peace

goatiguru29 · 06-08-2009, 11:22 PM

how in the world were ur buddies able to ride whn the bike was almost stolen....

arizona or india thieves(a****les)

just dont know whn to gv up....

SerialKiller · 06-09-2009, 12:48 AM

awesome man....i can only imagine what you mustve felt...i was remembering the time when my friend and i had rented cbr 600's in melbourne and went to great ocean road...it was something similar...ocean on one side and mountains on the other...and the twisties...dont even ask...almost went onto the wrong lane twice.....keep us updated on ur trips....cheers!

moeed · 06-09-2009, 07:10 AM

Superb pics and log dude. Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, you got em all.

Nirvana · 06-09-2009, 08:26 AM

Super cool stuff Carlitos and very nice log too. May the lord bless u with more beautiful twisties and good cornering skills. Will be looking forward to some cornering pics man. That white cbr looks sooo sweeettt. Ride hide....cheersss.

ken cool · 06-09-2009, 08:43 AM

Lovely reading through that one.

Much as we like going out and riding and leaning the bike, it is equally inspiring to see the one with whom you are riding lean as well; it is such a lovely sight to follow a bike like this and see it approach a corner lean through it and take on the next one! It is beautiful to watch it as well.

Now I think it is time for you to get yourself a tank mount and shoot outings like these. It would be wonderful to have videos of places and roads like what you have just described.

Sunny · 06-09-2009, 08:49 AM

Ah! Beautifully narrated. I could almost feel taking those turns myself. Beautiful choice of bikes too, that is the major difference between guys here in India and out west - they know what they can handle. Unfortunately we dont have the 600s legally here yet.

The only bike remaining in your group is the ZX6R. I rode one in NZ and its absolutely fabulous. My aunt lives in AZ, lets see if I can come over to check the bikes for road worthiness.

Shivanshu · 06-09-2009, 09:59 AM

wow.....

excellent ride and great pics man....and specially with the beautiful bikes you all had it would have been fun specially on twisties

And Carlitos your log is great its short and crisp man.....do ride more like this and keep them coming.....and R6 thats my dream so friends ride safe and yeah lock your bikes properly.......cheers

06-08-2009, 08:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
Carlitos Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Tempe, Arizona Posts: 363	Riding with the Boys : Canyon Lake (As a backdrop to this ride….which happened to be my first real ride with my buddies…..i’d like to give you guys a sense of what was going through our minds on the eve or rather few hours before the ride…. We….Sharon ( Black 07 GSXR 600 ), Harsha ( White 07 CBR 600 RR) and me..Shantanu a.k.a. carlitos ( Yellow 08 R6 )..decided to go on a ride to Canyon Lake on Friday night, since our DSLR photographer buddy dropped out. We decided to meet in a parking lot close to the freeway at 8 A.M on Saturday. I for one, was psyched out of my mind about the ride. Couldn’t wait to hear my alarm go off in the morning ( now who thinks like that). Anyway I go to bed, and I was awaken at 4 AM in the morning by a phone call. Its Sharon, and he tells me….” Dude…someone tried to JACK my gixxer ….. Someone called the cops when they saw my bike lying on the drive way on its side with the mirrors turned in“ Yup someone tried to steal his bike….thankfully they gave up for some reason, and the bike was undamaged. Frame Sliders are a big savior. Anyway…apparently the COP that came down to investigate was a biker too. He owned an R6.. .. and gave it up because he couldn’t ride slow…LOL….. I asked Sharon…”Dude..we are still riding right?” and he goes “Heck yeah man” Later that morning we found out, that there was an attempt to JACK Harsha’s CBR too. He is Sharon’s roommate and his bike was parked right next to the Gixxer. The thieves had tried to break his lock open. Long story short…..the bikes were undamaged…both the guys were kinda edgy….but the ride was on.) So we meet in the designated parking Lott, all gassed up and with our gear on. We headed out at 8:15 on to the US 60 E freeway. About 30 miles of freeway riding was in store. We decided to stick to the speed limit (65 MPH) because the 60 has a couple of speed cameras and lurking cops. We were riding in a file Gixxer <--- CBR ß--- R6 on the HOV lane, when I heard the blaring siren of a cop. I slowed down and was ready to pull over when he whistled by me..he was probably doing 90 mph. Anyway it wasn’t for us so we rode on. After about 30 miles we took the exit for Tomahawk road and then merged onto the Apache Trail (see map). The Apache trail is one heck of a scenic trail. Absolutely stunning and about 15 miles of twisties (see map) all the way up to the Canyon Lake. It’s a 2 lane road, one up and one down….you arnt allowed to overtake at all. We hit a lot of traffic on the way to the lake. People were towing speed boats behind their trucks. This was good in a way, cause it was our 1st time on the twisties and that made sure we dint get ahead of ourselves. There were so many bikers on that route…that it was an absolute stunner of a ride. From the insanely massive ZX14R to the Ducati hypermotard…..we saw almost every bike. It was like a biker’s paradise and the biker pride thing was over flowing. Anyway….we pulled over at a lookout point overlooking the lake to take a few pictures…. ( see photos ). Lined up our whips and went trigger happy. After the photo session we got back on our bikes and headed for the lake. The traffic was slightly less now and so we decided to fancy some speed on the twisties. Now these were serious twisties guys…..like double Ss with a climbing grade…followed by blind turns…..we were un sure how fast to take em…braking midway….etc….this one time Harsha went into a blind right twisty and ended up on the oncoming lane…..he braked and came back in….but I was right behind him and came in to the turn all leaned over and saw him right in front of me. I had to quickly straighten the bike and brake. It was close…but it gave us a sense of how far ahead of ourselves we were getting. Anyway we reached the lake….snapped more pictures…some spectacular ones…and talked about how to meet the twisties on our way back. We headed back after about an hour. This time, there was absolutely no traffic….zilch…it was just the 3 of us heading back. We had the only lane going back to ourselves. We gave each other a cushion of about 20 meters and headed back. IT WAS UNBELIEVEABLE GUYS. I CANT PUT IT IN WORDS. We forgot about our brakes and used the engine braking. Shifting down whenever we needed to slow down. Negotiating twisties is all about traction. As long as you slow down at the entry and roll on the throttle while in the twisty..you are golden. These bikes inspire so much confidence when they are cranked over on either side that it’s almost unreal. We did the entire route back at about 45-50 mph in the twisties and absolute crazy speeds in straights. There is this one double S section…which is absolute riding bliss. It’s an S sloping down and an immediate second S which is half way up and then down. We felt like it was a MotoGp track and we were flicking our bikes from side to side so fast. Just watching each other gave us such a rush. I was all charged up and screaming under my helmet “ Go boy…Go…..” and some other mushy lovey dovey stuff to my bike ;-). Once the twisties were over I was so elated, I stood up on my foot pegs and ripped the bike for about half a mile. Which was a lot of fun for me, but probably not at all for anyone behind me. . Soon we hit the freeway again and headed back home. It was windy and made for some good and challenging riding back. We pulled over into the same parking lott and jumped on each other with joy. Couldn’t stop sharing our experiences and swore to go ridding again ASAP. Anyway…I hope you guys enjoy the pictures. I got several complaints from my family members, that their arnt any people in most of the pictures..or pictures of the lake. All I could say to them was….”you arnt bikers” anyway….next time I ll make sure I take more pictures of other stuff too. Special thanks to Sharon for being the ride leader and keeping an eye out for cops…gravel…traffic etc. Peace P.S ( more pics..once the topic gets approved..can upload only that many) Attached Thumbnails __________________ " RIDE In Peace MARCO #58"

06-08-2009, 09:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
Aryan Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New Delhi/ Shillong Posts: 18,274	Topic Approved. Wonderful stuff Carlitos. Nice to see you riding your R6 more often. __________________ ...in search of that perfect world - My Travel Blog :)

06-08-2009, 10:16 PM	#3 (permalink)
Carlitos Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Tempe, Arizona Posts: 363	Thanks Aryan....here are a few more pictures as promised. Peace Attached Thumbnails __________________ " RIDE In Peace MARCO #58"

06-08-2009, 11:22 PM	#4 (permalink)
goatiguru29 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Calicut,TVM,Chennai Posts: 433	how in the world were ur buddies able to ride whn the bike was almost stolen....arizona or india thieves(a****les) just dont know whn to gv up....

06-09-2009, 12:48 AM	#5 (permalink)
SerialKiller You Gotta Kill To Survive Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 45	awesome man....i can only imagine what you mustve felt...i was remembering the time when my friend and i had rented cbr 600's in melbourne and went to great ocean road...it was something similar...ocean on one side and mountains on the other...and the twisties...dont even ask...almost went onto the wrong lane twice.....keep us updated on ur trips....cheers! __________________ Never Ride Faster Than Your Guardian Angel.

06-09-2009, 07:10 AM	#6 (permalink)
moeed The Addict! Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Hyderabad/On the highways Posts: 2,395	Superb pics and log dude. Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, you got em all.

06-09-2009, 08:26 AM	#7 (permalink)
Nirvana ADRENALIZED Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Aamchi Mumbai Posts: 175	Super cool stuff Carlitos and very nice log too. May the lord bless u with more beautiful twisties and good cornering skills. Will be looking forward to some cornering pics man. That white cbr looks sooo sweeettt. Ride hide....cheersss.

06-09-2009, 08:43 AM	#8 (permalink)
ken cool Super Moderator Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: New Delhi Posts: 4,677	Lovely reading through that one. Much as we like going out and riding and leaning the bike, it is equally inspiring to see the one with whom you are riding lean as well; it is such a lovely sight to follow a bike like this and see it approach a corner lean through it and take on the next one! It is beautiful to watch it as well. Now I think it is time for you to get yourself a tank mount and shoot outings like these. It would be wonderful to have videos of places and roads like what you have just described. __________________ The Wheel was a great invention; Two Wheels with a Motor in between was even better! BMW Motorrad Days 2011 Xbhp's Indo-French Kashmir-Ladakh Tour

06-09-2009, 08:49 AM	#9 (permalink)
Sunny SlowMotionInfinity Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Delhi Posts: 7,292	Ah! Beautifully narrated. I could almost feel taking those turns myself. Beautiful choice of bikes too, that is the major difference between guys here in India and out west - they know what they can handle. Unfortunately we dont have the 600s legally here yet. The only bike remaining in your group is the ZX6R. I rode one in NZ and its absolutely fabulous. My aunt lives in AZ, lets see if I can come over to check the bikes for road worthiness. __________________ Join xBhp On

06-09-2009, 09:59 AM	#10 (permalink)
Shivanshu The Devil RXrider Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 2,273	wow.....excellent ride and great pics man....and specially with the beautiful bikes you all had it would have been fun specially on twisties And Carlitos your log is great its short and crisp man.....do ride more like this and keep them coming.....and R6 thats my dream so friends ride safe and yeah lock your bikes properly.......cheers __________________ *Save the Earth - We are the one who are running out of time, as Earth will take it own time to heal but that time may not be enough for us.* http://www.ridesafewith.me *I dont just ride my bikes, I live with them.* Yamaha RX100 (1987) Yamaha YZF R15 (2010) GIRed 2012

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