I departed my house just before 6am. It was cold, dark, and as I was pulling out of my garage on this Saturday morning there was a smile on my face thinking about a friend of mine who says that I get up before the sun for only 2 reasons.... fire and going riding.  Being that my house was not on fire, I was awake this morning so I could meet several friends to go for a ride. Now, “ride” is a loosely defined word meaning “to go about on a motorized vehicle with a huge smile on your face.” Some of us “ride” a bit farther than most and we are usually referred to as “Long Distance” (LD) riders or simply “crazy.” Hey, we just “ride” a little more than the average motorcycle owner.  Ok, maybe a lot more.  I mean, would the average rider, or sane person for that matter, travel over 700 miles in a single day just to eat seafood for lunch?  I'm not sure who gets the credit for having a craving for fresh seafood and coming up with this idea but it really doesn't take much to get a LD rider on the road ESPECIALLY if it involves food or pie.  Just mention something like “I heard there's a new bakery in northern Wisconsin” and gas tanks are filled, GPS routes are plotted (by way of Florida or some other opposite state from the destination), and bags are packed.

The plan was to meet in Gila Bend, AZ at 7am for breakfast.  Since I'm neither a morning person nor a breakfast person I decided to skip the meal and join them for the 8am departure for San Diego.  My 45 minute ride from west Phoenix to Gila Bend on MC-85 was mostly spent watching the sun rise and reminiscing. The last time I was on this road was 3 months ago when I was starting my USA Four Corners ride (for full report click: HERE).  I remembered it was blazing hot (as in 105+ degrees) and as soon as I turned onto MC-85 I had passed a pair of BMW riders who waved enthusiastically to me.  I convinced myself that their waves were saying “GOOD LUCK, YOU CAN DO IT!” (I know, the heat can do weird things to you) and I used that as “M-O” whenever another rider waved during my 7,500 mile 18 day run.  Anyway, today's ride down MC-85 was indeed a trip down memory lane for me.

When I arrived the meeting location in Gila Bend everyone was geared and ready so we took off.

Now, I have found that when LD riders ride as a group they only stop for 2 things while en route... gas and law enforcement.  That's it.  No flower sniffin', no picture taking, no cold beer signs.  Yogi led the way while RTJohn rode his preferred position of sweep.  Ask RTJohn about leading and he'll say “I don't even like to lead when I'm riding alone.”

The ride on I-8 westbound was a blur ( I think I was still waking up) until we stopped for gas in Yuma. The stop also allowed me to make a gear change (basically took the heated gloves off) and meet Yogi's friend “Paul” who was on a cruiser and just joining us for part of the ride and would split off near San Diego.  Traffic was light and we made good time from Yuma to our turn off in Octillo, CA, specifically Exit #78/In-Ko-Pah Park Rd (which translates to “super twisties just ahead”) so we could hit Old Highway 80 to Hwy 94 then Otay Lakes Rd.  I highly recommend these roads if you are going to or through the San Diego area.  The GPS coordinates are as follows:

Old Highway 80: N32 38.523, W116 6.377

Hwy 94: N32 40.149, W116 17.405

Otay Lakes Rd: N32 40.075, W116 49.413

I also rode this section on my way to San Ysidro to start my USA Four Corner jaunt.  I pulled off at the same exact place today that I did then.  Today I only had time to take these 2 photos or else the guys would have been done with lunch by the time I caught back up:

I reunited with the guys shortly thereafter at the designated spot for soda/coffee where I was able to snap a rare photo of a group of LD riders stopped:

(L to R: Lowell,Yogi, Paul, Burk, John)

Remember I said stopping for gas and law enforcement?  This is for the latter... at a Border Patrol checkpoint on Hwy 94:

If you're confused why we're at a Border Patrol checkpoint put in these GPS coordinates and you'll understand: N32 35.333, W116 31.060

At the end of Otay Lakes Rd the plan was to hit I-805 towards the seafood.  Since I was the only lane-splitter in the group (and the hungriest since I didn't eat breakfast) I took off at the first stop light that had traffic, which was the second red light we hit (hey, we were in California ya know). I enjoyed a spirited lane-splitting jaunt to La Jolla, CA where THE seafood place was located.  I arrived and saved an on-street parking space almost in front of the El Pescordero, our chosen fish market destination.  I must say that I was glad to be wearing full armored gear since I was almost run over twice by cars who must not have understood my saying “tI'm saving this for the other bikes that will be arriving any minute” and continued to try and take the space.  That “any minute” part became several minutes actually, as in almost 30.  The gang arrived and as they were ungearing I heard discussions of Burk's GPS.  Seems it tried to route them into the ocean, backing over Lowell at a stoplight, and other strange directions to the fish market.  Since I run the same Garmin unit as Burk I'm thinking RTJohn secretly deleted the waypoints to the fish market since he likes seafood as much as he likes paying the maintenance bill on his BMW RT; both are nauseating.  Thankfully a “Jack In The Box” was just across the way to accommodate RTJohn's non-seafood tastes:

Here are the boys' bikes parked in front of El Pescador and ready to eat fresh seafood:

RTJohn kept his distance:

Inside we indeed find some delicious seafood as well as both employees and patrons alike who were simply astounded that we were riding from Phoenix, AZ and back in the same day just to eat lunch.  Comments ranged from “WOW!” to “You must really love seafood!” to “Huh?” Our consensus was that the grilled scallops and jumbo shrimp were just simply fantastic, the kind that would make Forrest Gump proud!  In fact, we decided to take some back to AZ with us:

Burk is anxiously awaiting his scallops so he can take his mind off his GPS:

Yogi and Lowell:

After we finished lunch we geared up and were ready to take off when someone voted I take the lead.  Yogi and Lowell claimed they had no idea where they were going, Burk was still trying to figure out why his GPS was sending him into the middle of the ocean, and since RTJohn has a permanent lock on sweep position that left me.  As I took the lead I thought maybe this is a “Ladies First” thing or maybe they had a secret meeting and decided their odds were REALLY good with me leading back to AZ since I have never been stop for speeding (yes, ZERO tickets ), or maybe it's because I have more miles in CA traffic than all of them combined.  It probably had something to do with the fact that I was riding the bike with the lowest fuel range so gas stops would be based on my paltry range.  As far as what bikes we were on: ST, LT, RT, FJR, DL... if you don't know what all that alphabetical gibberish is then just put “EIEIO” on the end, sing-along, and you won't miss a beat here.  If you're a motorcyclist, especially of the sport-touring variety, then you know those letters have something in common (other than 2 wheels) but there is one in the group that is, well, kinda the ugly duckling..  which happens to be the bike I'm on. My reply: DL stands for “Don't Laugh” .. and also add that it somehow racked up 56,318 miles in one year of ownership.

Being that I was in the lead I decided to do what I do best, take a detour.  I wanted to get a quick photo the ocean and thought since these guys have no idea where we are then they'll never know were going to stop for something other than gas and LEO (law enforcement officer)!  Yippee!  Here we are stopped for an ocean picture—you can't tell because of their helmets but I think they're saying saying things about following a chick on hybrid sport-touring motorcycle:

Burk was the only one who seemed like having his photo by the ocean might be a cool idea so here's his pic:

My DL:

The wind was kickin' up on I-8 especially as we passed through the Cleveland National Forest.  At one point I saw what I thought to be buzzards circling around a mountain peak.  As we rode closer it was a cluster of hang gliders.  I think I counted 18 total.  Not too far down the road in a canyon section on the north side of I-8 was a Border Patrol helicopter that was making aggressive circles.  They ought to rename I-8 “Border Patrol Parkway” since the guys are everywhere.  I have never been on I-8 that I don't see BP's in trucks, vans, cars, helicopters, jeeps, ATV, etc.

There was a stretch of I-8 that we picked up a hitchhiker.  No, not a person, but a rider that apparently decided he wanted to ride along with us.  He was on an older cruiser (Yogi thought a Honda 750) and he did fairly well until we hit the twisty section going down the mountain (near Jacumba, I think).  At one point I spotted an aircraft flying just above I-8 and was sure that it was speed patrolling; sure enough a few minutes later we passed a sign stating “Speed monitored by aircraft.” Several miles down the road I saw a CHP car traveling westbound (thus allowing me to, um, ensure I was traveling at a prudent speed).  I saw him before my radar detector went ballistic and confirmed his just ahead location.  When he passed he wasn't even looking in our direction so I wasn't really worried until a minute later the detector alerted a strong signal that was now directly behind me and getting stronger.  My next thought was “uh-oh” and my next sight was of blue and red LEO lights in the passing lane that quickly moved over behind what looked like motorcycle lights but I really couldn't tell what was happening.  Since RTJohn was running sweep with the same radar (V1) that I use I just couldn't believe he was the one stopped.  Less than a half mile ahead was an exit so I pulled off with high hopes that four motorcycles would be exiting with me.  I pulled into the gas station, turned around and indeed I saw an ST, FJR, LT, and RT!!  Woo-hoo!!  RTJohn explained that another motorcycle (he thought a sportbike) was blazing up behind him and that was the rider the CHP caught.  My guess is that the rocket bike was trying to catch up or pass us and was nabbed by the aircraft patrol which radioed the ground CHP.  See what happens when you try to overtake a bunch of LD riders that have fish to get back to AZ??

This was at the exit where I was glad to see 4 bikes pull in behind me!

While we were at the Shell sorting out what just happened this is what pulled up across the property: (they really are everywhere!):

We passed by the Imperial Sand Dunes National Recreation Area.  It's a big name for big time sand dunin' activities.  The place is covered with ATV, buggy's, bikes, big motorhomes, tents, and toy haulers.  Looks like ants running all over ant hills.  You can definitely tell this sport has a sub-culture community that reeeeeally gets into, well, life in the sand (GOT SAND?).  The dunes are an impressive site indeed.

Next and last stop was Gila Bend where we refueled and said our good-byes.  I think someone mentioned riding to Tucson for dinner.  We all agreed it was a great day and proclaimed it the FIRST ANNUAL SPRINT FOR SAN DIEGO SEAFOOD (and RTJohn's burger)!!

I had a great time and must say that these guys are great riders and great people.  Just solid to the core folk that I'm glad to call my friends.  I ended my day just like I started it... cold (heated gear on!), dark, and with a big smile on my face.  Here's the final GPS read in my garage:

Here is the route to and from San Diego plotted from GPS points:

And here are a couple from Google Earth Plus that show their (approximate) route over a 3-D image of the USA.  Both are viewed facing due east, the first as it would appear from about 78.5 miles altitude and the second as it would appear from approximately 10,000' altitude.

Webmaster Note: 165mph MAX SPEED????  No wonder they got there and back in a day!!!

Actually, while GPS systems are usually quite accurate it doesn't take much of a "Glitch" to cause an error in a maximum or minimum reading such as "Max Speed."  There are several causes of errors in GPS systems, and in most cases the errors are averaged out.  The bottom line is that when working with GPS data timing is EVERYTHING!

The 24 GPS satellites are orbiting the Earth at a distance of about 12,000 miles, and they continually transmit information about their exact location above the Earth as well as the exact time that the information was transmitted.  The GPS receiver takes this information from several satellites (a minimum of 3 is required for horizontal location information and a minimum of 4 is required for horizontal and vertical information) and computes the difference in the time one signal was received and the time the next signal was received.  Using this information as well as the information about where the satellites are in orbit above the Earth it can calculate exactly where it is on the Earth, and it can do so very accurately.

The GPS receiver does this calculation many times a second, however it is, at heart, a computer.  As we all know computers are very literal devices and have no imagination whatsoever.  Occasionally satellites will update their internal clocks by a microsecond or so which can cause some slight errors.  Additionally, there are certain errors caused by ionospheric delays, "Multipath" (reflections from nearby buildings, mountains, etc.) and other factors.  Since the satellites are about 12,000 miles from the receiver and the radio signals travel at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second in a vacuum and slightly slower in atmosphere) it will take about 6/100 of a second for the signal to reach the receiver after it is transmitted by the satellite.  To a computer accustomed to measuring things in nanoseconds 0.06 second is a long time.  If there are delays in receiving the signal the computer in the GPS receiver thinks it has travelled farther than it actually has.  If it takes only 1/100 of a second longer to reach the receiver that is already a 16.6% error in the timing.  Since computers are, as mentioned, very literal they view "Maximum Speed" as exactly that, the MAXIMUM speed.  They do not know whether that speed was caused by delays or other errors, they only know that for a period of time, a period that may well be only a microsecond in length, it calculated that speed.  Short-duration errors in position and distance traveled are "Averaged Out" by subsequent receptions and calculations, but to a computer "Maximum" means "Maximum" so that is what it displays.

In short, while the overall numbers generated by GPS receivers are very accurate the "Maximum" and "Minimum" values are always questionable.  I saw the "Maximum" speed on mine jump from 75 to 132 last week while cruising down the interstate.

For more information on basic GPS operations the Garmin Web Site is a good place to start.

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