Note: This blog will be published so that it is part of my personal journal for YEAR 77, but Subscribers will not be notified via their email address. The information in this blog is basically a duplicate of information contained in the previously published HOG $100 Challenge Ride, but is significantly reduced in order to meet the submission requirements of the HOG Magazine. I will include here the email I sent to HOG, the article submitted, and three images/photos that were sent to them (out of the many included in the original published blog).
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Date: April 28, 2018
To: HOG $100 Rides <hogmagazine@harley-davidson.com>
Re: $100 Rides
From: Ron <ronald@sigmazonk.com>
Gentlemen~
I’ve attached my $100 Ride story for your interest and consideration. My expenses were as follows:
Tramway Entrance Fee $ 5.00
Tram Ride to Mountain Station $23.95
Lunch at Mountain Station $29.21
Gas $24.70
$82.86
I’ve also attached my route map with elevation information shown (since I thought the changes in elevation were an interesting part of the route), a photo of one of the tramcars at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, a photo of me with one of the bikes at the Palm Springs Harley-Davidson Dealership I visited (I owned a 1994 Heritage Softail Special and this 2018 Softail Deluxe reminds so much of that bike), and a photo of my Street Glide Special at the highest summit I rode.
Thanks for your consideration - I had a great ride and much fun writing the story.
Ron Hadfield
PS - This background may be of interest to you. On 7/7/17 I turned 77 years of age. I thought with all those sevens I should do something special during what I ended up calling my YEAR 77. I updated my Bucket List, set up a website (ronaldyear77.com) to publish a blog on each item accomplished, and have been checking off activities from the list ever since last July. Doing a HOG $100 Ride was one of the items on my list and I believe the blog for it was the 86th published in the last 10 months.
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RIDE TO THE TRAM
By Ron Hadfield --- Member US0694467
Riding a motorcycle is always enjoyable, no matter whether it’s just a “spur-of-the- moment” ride, a work related commute, or a planned weekend get-a-way. At age 77, and a rider for over 25 years, I've been on my share of interesting rides. But, I think the most enjoyable rides are those that include a specific destination or attraction. Recently I planned a day-ride that had the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway as the specific attraction and I would like to share this ride with other HOG members. The route includes great scenery, winding mountain roads, significant elevation changes, quaint mountain towns and cafes, Mojave Desert vistas, and a Harley-Davidson Dealership, in addition to the Tramway attraction.
The ride began from our family cabin in Big Bear Lake, California, at 6:30 am with a temperature of 40 degrees. I rode Highway 18 north out of the San Bernardino Mountains, a scenic and curvy road with a drop in elevation of 3,800 feet, to Lucerne Valley in the southern Mojave Desert.
From Lucerne Valley I rode south on Highway 247, also called Old Woman Springs Road, to Yucca Valley, then took Highway 62 to the Palm Springs Harley Davidson Dealership where I arrived at about 9:00 am. The elevation had dropped another 2,480 feet and the temperature had increased to 90 degrees. The staff was very friendly and gave me a bottle of water to drink as I toured their facility.
I left the H-D Dealership about 9:30 am and went west on I-10 for about 20 freeway miles, then turned south on Highway 243 in the Banning area and rode 25 miles up a very twisty, scenic road to the little town of Idyllwild, an elevation of 5,413, in the heart of the San Jacinto Mountains. There are tall pines and cedar trees all around, and great views in every direction.
There are some neat, small cafes in Idyllwild - I really like the Red Kettle Cafe - but it was still early, so I decided the visit was worth it just for the great ride up the mountain. I turned around and headed back down the mountain and to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to have lunch in the Mt. San Jacinto State Park.
The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is a unique adventure attraction -- an engineering marvel featuring the world's largest rotating tramcars. It travels over 2½ miles up the cliffs of Chino Canyon, transporting riders up over 5,800 feet in elevation to the pristine wilderness of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park. During the ten-minute journey from Valley Station, the tramcar rotates two full turns slowly, offering spectacular views of the valley floor below and the surrounding cliffs.
When I arrived at Mountain Station, an elevation of 8,516 feet, I took a few minutes to explore the amenities there. Tourists can enjoy two restaurants, observation decks, a natural history museum, two documentary theaters, and a gift shop. There are over 50 miles of hiking trails, including a hike to Mt San Jacinto Peak, that has a summit of 11,833 feet. I enjoyed the view from several of the observation decks, then had a delicious lunch at the Peaks Restaurant, and caught the next tram down to begin my ride back toward Big Bear.
I left the Valley Station at about 1:30 pm and rode Highway 111 back to I-10 west, and went to the Beaumont area where I turned north on Highway 79. I rode through Beaumont, Cherry Valley and Oak Glen to the small city of Yucaipa. The scenery during this ride was wonderful - there were cattle and horse properties, forested hills, and orchards
From Yucaipa it’s about 50 miles back up to our mountain home and it’s a beautiful ride as you pass Angelus Oaks and go over Onyx Summit, one of the highest roads in Southern California. It passes by the San Gorgonio trailhead, the highest peak in Southern California, having a summit of 11,503 feet. Highway 38 is designated a Scenic Highway by the California Department of Transportation.
I arrived at our cabin in Big Bear about 4:15 pm with 291 miles on the odometer. It had been a relatively long day, but a wonderful day-ride with lots of interesting roads and scenery, and a great experience at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.
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Summary of Elevation and Temperature Changes
-Big Bear - elevation 6,752 feet - 40 degrees at 6:30 am
-Lucerne Valley - elevation 2,953 feet - 66 degrees at 7:45 am
-Palm Springs - elevation 472 feet - 86 degrees at 9:00 am
-Idyllwild - elevation 5,413 feet - 69 degrees at 10:30 am
-Valley Station - Aerial Tramway - elevation 2,643 feet - 90 degrees at 12:00 pm
-Mountain Station -Aerial Tramway - elevation 8,516 feet-68 degrees at 12:15 pm
-Yucaipa - elevation 2,618 feet - 81 degrees at 3:00 pm
-Onyx Summit on Highway 38 - elevation 8,443 feet - 68 degrees at 3:45 pm
-Big Bear - elevation 6,752 feet - 60 degrees at 4:15 pm
