Californication

Between LA & San Diego...

Oceanside, California. Borders Camp Pendleton, Marine base. Beach Boys got their start here. You couldn't be slighted for referring to this as the birthplace of surfing, and the west coast lifestyle. ABM rolled into town last Thursday, and found a brisk seabreeze, w/a high temp of only 72, fine, because to get here meant going through Vegas, then the Mojave Desert. More on that later. Oceanside's an "older" town, but to their credit, crime has been significantly reduced since '05. Any reservations I had about leaving the black bike in a local Motel 6 parking lot were dispelled by the end of the third day of my stay. Living in SoCal, for most people means, living within 20 miles of the beach. Florida is similar, but for every one person in my hometown, this area has at least 20. Just for the ride of it, one day, rode away from the coast, headed due east. After what seemed like forever, the surrounding hills were still blanketed with homes, the valleys filled with multi's & condos. To say this area is "built out", is an understatment of massive proportion. Build a new home? Buy an older one and raze to the ground, then put your home on the site. In spite of the home market, we saw dozens of new projects underway.

So Cal Bike Scene..

Rockets and V-twins are at a 50-50 parity. Mutual respect. We like.
Lane splitting is okay. Splitting a lane means moving between two rows of parked cages at an intersection.

Legalized Lane Splitting--Respect, Additional Safety for Bikers!

How this works, or if this is why cages treat bikes with respect, not for us to say, but lane splitting seems to create an "awareness" on behalf of cages, like they can no longer say "I didn't see him..." Allowing lane splitting should be a top priority in every state, especially those with mandatory helmet laws!

Beaches: California vs Florida..

Del Mar, Solana, and Escondito are graced with pure, blue aqua, not unlike you'd find in South Beach, or the Keys. Little rain means lagoons are full of ocean water instead of river runoff, makes for a real tropical feel around the inlets.

Final tally:

Sand quality, Florida beaches win, hands down. Too Many People quality? Florida wins again. Beaches in my town are virtually deserted nearly 7 days a week. You won't find that here, for sure. What's to like about SoCal beaches? Always blue water. Great surfer swell, every day, even on outgoing tides. People are mellow. Ultra-low bloodpressure atmosphere where everyone is into nature---don't know how they even sell any meat around here! Lots of people fishing, but it's really about the "beach" lifestyle; surfing, beach walking, jogging, and bicycle freaks. These people are everywhere, long parades of them--they start at daybreak & never quit. Want to feel guilty? Hang out at Hennesy's!

(who's up for a ride to L.A.? Is this Baghdad? Next American Biker Minute Blog!)