Besides the great year-round weather, Southern California is also blessed with a mountainous landscape that surrounds both the Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas. This abundance of elevated and uneven terrain has created the perfect canvas for civil engineers to unknowingly paint a smorgasbord of serpentine tarmac masterpieces, each one with its own unique signature that appeals to different bikes and moods. There are so many that it's easy to lose count, and all of them are within easy reach of the aforementioned metropolitan cities.But the one that many consider the granddaddy of them all (construction began in 1929, but it wasn't opened until 1956) has lain somewhat dormant for some time. Angeles Crest Highway-technically known as California State Route 2-was the victim of an unusually fierce winter storm season in 1995. Continuous heavy rains caused a portion of a mountainside to give way, washing away several hundred feet of highway in a particularly steep area (portions of the slopes are as steep as 75 degrees). In order to avoid problems with errant motorists, Caltrans (the California state Department of Transportation, responsible for maintenance of state highways) decided to close off over half of the highway's prime real estate as it winds its way through the San Gabriel Mountain range, effectively neutering the road's appeal to many motorcyclists. And due to state budget shortfalls at that time, plans to rebuild the road were shelved (although there were plenty of conspiracy theorists claiming that Caltrans avoided repairing the road to force motorcyclists elsewhere).
But a budget surplus several years ago allowed Caltrans to begin putting all the pieces in place to rebuild the highway, and the road was officially reopened in May. Now back to its original 67-mile length, it was nice to know that "the Crest" had returned to its old self once again. The reopening was met with unbridled joy by motorcyclists, although the same can't be said about local law enforcement.
Anxious to once again experience the road that had become one of our staple testing grounds before it was closed, we ventured over to the Crest Highway during our BMW K1300S/Suzuki Hayabusa comparison, with usual SR guest testers Steve Mikolas and Jim O'Connor in tow. Before its closure, we could literally ride the length of the Crest Highway blindfolded, having traversed its undulating breadth countless times. But four years off the road had fuzzed out those formerly crystal clear memories of its many cornering facets, and it was almost like we were experiencing the road for the first time all over again. The word "fun" does not come close to describing the enjoyment we derived from riding over the twisting pavement we'd not seen in over four years.
It also reminded me just how deceptive the Angeles Crest Highway's dangers can really be. I have yet to experience another road with its smooth, loping cadence of turns that can lull a rider into a false sense of security. The highway's grippy pavement and friendly camber can lure a rider into continually ramping up the pace, and if he or she isn't careful and paying attention, that speed can elevate to skill-envelope-pushing levels (and actually, safety margin levels as well) without their knowing it. Entering a turn too hot has been the sole reason for probably 99 percent of the single-vehicle crashes on the Crest, a likely statistic that irks me to no end. We need to get more people to improve their riding skills, and soon.
The abundance of those crashes is what gains the attention of law enforcement, and there have been several high-profile dragnets of motorcycles on the Crest Highway over the years caused by clusters of fatalities in a given time period. I wish that these unfortunate byproducts didn't have to occur, and I'm hoping that the coming riding season will show a decrease in injuries and fatalities-both on the Crest Highway and everywhere else.
The law enforcement agencies serving the Crest Highway are certainly aware of its lure to motorcyclists. We encountered one while riding back down the road, and he immediately tagged onto our group, following us for miles like a predator looking to feed on the sickly and weak in the herd. Unfortunately for O'Connor, he was the tailing rider in the group, and ended up the recipient of the officer's diatribe on motorcycles, the Crest Highway, and a certain local newspaper journalist's story on the road's reopening. Thankfully, O'Connor didn't know how to get the seat off the BMW to show the registration papers to the officer, so he was let off with a warning.
We'll have to put O'Connor on diet and exercise regimen. We can't be having any sick and weak members of the SR herd.
UPDATE: Naturally, due to the recent wildfire that raged through the Angeles Forest, charring thousands of acres in the general area, the Angeles Crest Highway has been closed down and will remain closed for the foreseeable future.