Lompoc - February 28-29, 2004
Chrome and Miniature Horses Ride to Lompoc and Santa Barbara County

Submitted by
Dave Palmer, Fliimore, CA
Photos by Josie Morris

The idea for this trip came up about a year ago. An overnight ride from the Los Angeles area up to the Santa Ynez Valley. For me as ride coordinator, this would be a simple plan as I had grown up in that area and explored the back roads of northern Santa Barbara County for many years. Some of my favorite rides are up there, and it would be a pleasure to show some good friends the area.

So a date was finally set. Saturday and Sunday, February 28 and 29. As luck would have it, here came the seasonal rains. The weekend prior to our ride was.... wet. Some areas of Southern California had flooding. Monday was clear and I at least got to ride my Venture to work. That's when I noticed the huge nail sticking out of the rear tire. Hmmmm..... could this be an omen? Tuesday and Wednesday it poured, but I managed to mount two new tires on the bike in this soggy weather. By Thursday things were looking up, including me. "It was a weather watch!" Forecasts were for possible clearing for the weekend. Could this be? Our planning for this ride started with six to eight bikes. But now, thanks to the MTA booth and volunteers at the Long Beach Motorcycle show, the group had exploded to 19 bikes for 28 people...... I think I got the count right! Reservations were made for the Saturday night stay in Lompoc’s Motel 6 and we were committed. Fuel tanks were topped off. Come Friday evening all eyes were looking skyward. The weather was.......clearing!

I took a detour home from work Friday evening to check out some back roads near my home. Fortunately only one was gooped up with mud slicks from the rain. So my Friday night was spent cleaning off a thick coat of mud and goo. However, e-mails indicated the everyone was up for the weekend ride. I actually slept well that night.

Saturday morning was the rendezvous in Sylmar at Denny’s. We planned a 9:00 start to allow some of the long distance participants time for breakfast before departure. True to the MTA Motto, we had a good variety of motorcycles and riders. Some new some veterans... touring, cruising and sport bikes.

Finally, we were off. Traffic this morning seemed to work well with this size of group. We toured the back roads off Hwy 126 and were enveloped by huge citrus groves. Heading north out of Santa Paula, we passed through a lower valley with running water to our right and rock formations to our left that have seeped crude oil since ancient times. Up and over the Hwy 150 we challenged some nice twisties before stopping in down town Ojai for a fuel and fanny break. The weather was cool, in the mid 60's and the ride was pleasant. Soon we were off and out past Lake Casitas. It was down the mountain and toward the coast, but we made a quick right on to Hwy 192. This took us all along the foothills of Santa Barbara, past Avocado groves, bedding plant growers, the Polo grounds and some extraordinary homes. North of Santa Barbara we took Hwy 154 back up into the mountains. Before we crested the grade we were treated to a spectacular view of the coastline below. Down the mountain and past Lake Cuchuma was a left turn into Santa Ynez on Hwy 246. Our next turn was on Alimo Pintado Road. Just two miles more and on the left is the Quick Silver Miniature Horse Ranch. Our stop for the day was to visit these true horses, not ponies. Bred over the centuries in England to be no taller than 36 inches they were used to pull carts in European coal mines. Today they are sought after as pets due to their gentle nature. All of the mares were pregnant but we were about six weeks too early to see the new foals, but that only means we need to return in the spring.

After the horse ranch everyone was free to do whatever they wished for a few hours, before meeting at the motel in Lompoc for the dinner ride. Most spent some time in Solvang, a Danish style village with many ethnic restaurants and shops for tourists.

Reservations for dinner were at Jocko's Steak house in Nipomo. This historic steak house has been around for about eighty years and although we had to wait an hour after our reservation to be seated, all eyes lit up when the meals were served. If you ever come to the California central coast, you must go to Jocko's in Nipomo. Believe me, you will not be disappointed. My huge steak was three..."yes three" inches thick. Cooked on an open pit over California Red Oak. Seasoned to perfection and as tender as my hear! .....WOW! My apologies to you vegetarians out there, but Mmmmmmm. The late night ride back to the hotel did not even seem like 40 cold miles, as my dinner was processing quite nicely!

Sunday morning we were ready to leave from the motel parking lot at 8:30. Breakfast was planned for Ellen's in Buellton. Great home cooking, but I was wondering if anyone really wanted breakfast after that dinner we enjoyed. I chose a back-country bypass called Santa Rosa Road, past walnut groves and wine vineyards for our wakeup ride to Buellton. A lot of early morning critters greeted us along the way as we twisted thought the back country. Breakfast? Well, if we keep eating like this we will all need another 500 cc's just to pull the extra weight!

After breakfast, we headed out in formation on an old original stage coach road before arriving at out Sunday destination, the Vintage Motorcycle Museum in back in Solvang. This is an extensive collection of antique and custom motorcycles. Many very old, all restored and even a 1978 Suzuki that was finally uncrated in 2001. It has only one mile on it. Many riders reminisced about their old 1970 Honda Four or Humpback 450 or BSA Lightning or BMW 69RS.

Timing for the return leg of our ride was going quite well, so back on Hwy 154. Our final stop would be Cold Springs Tavern. This historical spot is an original stage coach stop. Quite off the beaten path, but well known by motorcyclists and exotic car collector's who live in the area. The lodge and restaurant is absolutely original as it was 150 years ago. Stepping through the front door transports you back in time to the 1860s. This was the only part of our trip that we found a road washout from the recent heavy rains. But it was a great last stop before backtracking thought the foothills and mountains on our way home.

The sun was shining. the roads were clear and dry. The twisties were fun and the bikes all ran great. Monday morning the sun was hiding behind the clouds and by noon it was raining again.

Who could have asked for a better weekend? Life is good. Lets do it again! Can’t wait for our weekend in Death Valley at the end of March!