A blog about motorcycles, motorcyclists, and motorcycle shops

Musings on riding and working on bikes, and observations as I travel and visits bikers, riders, motorcyclists, events and shops

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Friday, August 23, 2013

Ride report: Cycle Gear San Marcos Bike Night and light show on the long way home

I'll get back to motorcycle maintenance posts this weekend but wanted to post a ride report about the bike night I went to, parts on sale and then the good ride home afterwards.

The fourth Thursday of each month the San Marcos Cycle Gear hosts a bike night and our local Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA) chapter and I either set-up our booth or at least show up and shop, look at the "ride-in bike show" and generally hang-out.  Last night we had 5 CMA'ers and 1 family member show up, as well as a smattering of independent riders and a few sportbike clubs.  There was an interesting assortment of bikes-one classic Kawasaki Concours (hmm, wonder who's bike that was?  hee hee), some Harley's, some custom motorcycles and even two dirt bikes for sale that made the trip in the back of a pick-up!  One of the customs was a chopped Honda UJM that was clean, and another was a stretched Hayabusa with more chrome than all the bikes I've owned put together.  Sweet bike, but man I bet it's a hassle keeping it looking that good!

As usual Cycle Gear had door prizes up to a $50 gift card, but I didn't win any.  Oh well, can't win every month.  They also had the normal large amount of their products on 50% off sale, and one part I really needed-a 12 volt (aka cigarette lighter) outlet with wiring!  The replacement left inner fairing for my Connie had one in it, but no wiring, so for a whopping $9.95 I got a new plug, mounting accessories, and a wiring harness.  Will make that project much quicker when done sanding and painting the Sportster parts.

Near the end of the Bike Night we saw a cool looking cloud forming out to the east.  As the sun set, heat lighting started jumping across the cloud, and as I headed through Escondido to Ramona, the light show got better and better.  I could watch it pretty well, as I never cleared enough traffic to push my speed, and also I haven't ridden CA 78 after dark before.  I'm still slow in the twisties, so between traffic and nightfall I opted to go easily and enjoy the rare Southern California lightening.  Once I got to Ramona, a quick (well for a Connie gas tank, added 5.5 gallons!) stop for gas and then down 67 to Poway and the Poway Grade.

More riding this weekend, and probably sanding the Sportster fenders too.

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