Hey all,

I did a big ride with the So Cal Norton Owner's club recently from St. Louis to LA on my 1960 Dominator 99. I'm still figuring out this whole 'blog' thing, so my website has several entries that are in reverse order. I still can't figure out how to do different pages and to reverse the order. But anyway, I think there's some interesting pictures here that you folks might be interested in.

http://kevinthegearhead.wordpress.com/

Kevin

That look fantastic Kevin, great pictures as well. Oh to have weather like that in the UK. We've had the wettest Summer and now a wet Autumn. I would love to get on a bike and ride in the sun for a change.

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

Hi Kevin..That looked like a great trip..How many miles did you do?..As well as the blue skies mentioned by Horror I'm envious of the wide open spaces as well ...I really enjoyed going through the photos, so thanks for posting them...I was also looking forward to the spectacle of a Vincent with a Sportster tank..but didn't expect to see it strapped to the back of the bike!.. ...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Thanks for the kind words, Ian and Horror.

I did about 2500 miles. My poor Dominator is still going strong! Though, it's doing its best impersonation of an MZ two stroke through the exhaust pipe and Exxon Valdez underneath! The head and barrel are going to come off, and I've already sent a spare magneto off to be rebuilt.

One of my favorite bits in the ride was the 40 mile stretch leaving Jerome AZ. It was twisty as all get out and I ended up passing a group of sportbikes and harleys. I led a group of about 10 commandos on that portion, and they couldn't keep up with the ol' featherbed. This is not to say I'm any sort of Mike Hailwood. I do have an unfair advantage in that I do happen to live in Los Angeles, and do have some great twisty roads in the mountains around here, so I'm used to riding in curves.

Next, I gotta get back on the ol' M20. It is so nearly there, it hurts!! Hope to be posting a video of its first run in a likely 50 plus years!

One more thing... I've got to say that the sun and heat can be a curse, too. Realizing you've been drinking water every day and haven't taken a pee since 6 AM is a warning sign you're on the verge of dehydration. And about that sun... Just at the border of Arizona/California, I met some brits that were going the other way on rented Harleys, and with only two days of riding had managed to give themselves blistering sunburns from their lack of gear. I ride eveywhere covered up and all exposed skin is slathered with zinc 50+.

I'd love to have a rainy day here, we're just about up to our Santa Ana wind season, with the associated hillside fires. Deadly!

Kevin

Ah yes, that is one extreme to the other. Ok maybe just a sunny week or two would be good

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk