BMW Owners Club of San Diego

Membership Renewal Ride

Feb 19, 2000

8:00 a.m. Saturday, January 1, 2000 we met at The Spice House for breakfast. This place seems genuinely happy to see us. The have good friendly service, a nice private area to meet, and good food at good prices. Maybe we should have breakfast there more often?… What do you think?

There seemed to be around 20 members present. A few looked as if they had been savagely attacked by the Y2K bug, but most seemed awake and aware of their surroundings.
After breakfast 11 of us (John Barnes, Ken Shortt, Tom Mooney, Don Francque, Ira Grossman, Tom Michna, Nanna Frye, John Hermann, Mike & Kit Lynch, Steve Moreno, and Stacy Silverwood) gathered in the parking lot prepared to follow John Barnes anywhere (almost). There was a lot of talk about the weather which looked pretty bad. But, after Tom Mooney assured us ?“there VILL not be any rain?” we headed east.

The route was Highway 94 southeast through Jamul, Dulzura, and Barrett. It got colder and colder, but it was dry (thanks, Tom!). There was almost no traffic. 94 from Barrett to Campo is a wonderful mix of gentle sweepers and tight twisties. John kept us all moving a brisk clip. At Campo the thermometer on the wall at the store read 41 degrees! That was enough to convince four of our group to turn north on Buckman Springs Road and head back towards San Diego. Stacy was riding the Honda 650 Hawk he had bought from Nanna the night before. After he filled up with gas at Campo, the bike would not start. It seemed that there was no electricity at all. This was finally traced to a loose battery cable. He was a victim of Nanna?’s famous ?“10 minute or the edge of her driveway, which ever comes first?” warranty! Then we were road again, heading towards Boulevard through the great tight twisties. At Boulevard, John led us up onto I-8 for the dash down to the desert at Ocotillo. We all stopped at the Union 76 station on the south side of the freeway for gas and potty stop. Then it was north on S2 through Sweeney Pass and Box Canyon. We seemed to be in the middle of the great Borrego Desert Hurricane. The wind was blowing 25 to 30 miles per hour. But, it wasn?’t raining (thanks again, Tom) and it was just a little warmer than up in the mountains. At Scissors Crossing the Road Captain decided to continue on S2 up to Lake Henshaw, rather than going over to Borrego Springs and up by way of Montezuma Grade. And there was an interesting conversation about whether the men should all go into the bushes to relieve themselves together or one at a time. This may require a high level ruling by the Road Captain and a revision of the riding rules. Then it was on to Santa Ysabel for lunch. Whoops! The cafe at Santa Ysabel was closed! Now a debate ensued as to whether we should head back towards Fat Ivor?’s for a late lunch/early dinner or what? When great minds get together?…. Anyway, we decided to head for Ramona and have lunch at the Sizzler. John Barnes turned off at San Diego Country Estates for a quick trip home through Wildcat Canyon. The rest of us continued into Ramona. The best thing I can say about the Sizzler is that they were open. Be sure to ask Stacy about the odd appearance of his rear tire that was noticed in the parking lot at the Sizzler. Boy oh boy, does Nanna know when to sell a bike! After lunch it was home by various routes.

230 miles! Another great ride organized and led by our Captain of the Road, John Barnes. Thanks, John.