California Dreamin'

Ever thought about flying cross-country just to ride? I did. I packed my gear, rented a bike, and rode with MotoJitsu and even hit some dirt!

Some of my favorite riding happens to be in California. I’ve done several riding trips there but let me tell you about the first time I did this. I went by myself in 2021.

About midway through 2021, I was sick of being holed up in my office and needed a change of scenery. I started to scan for flights and was shocked to see that I could fly roundtrip NYC to San Diego for 200 bucks! It would be a sin to ignore. Then I found an Airbnb that was $40 a day and I couldn’t pack my things fast enough.

I didn’t want to stow my gear (in case they lost it) and couldn’t figure out how to carry it onboard. I sent it by FedEx to my Airbnb, and when I arrived, everything was there. I’ve traveled several more times and I’ve managed to just wear my gear on the plane (you can’t wear your armor in the gear though—typically I remove it and put in my bag) and my helmet is my carry-on.

Some random shots from my time there.

I was working full-time remote and just took my computer with me. I maintained my NY hours with work and would finish my workday with plenty of daylight still available for fun. I rented a bike for the week--a Ducati. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

I’ve rented 5 different model Ducati’s over the years. I just don’t like how they handle in low speeds. Sorry Duc fans!

Each day, I’d finish working, hop on the bike, and tour the area. I reached out to a motorcycle enthusiast, instructor, and youtuber Moto Jitsu (aka, Greg Widmar) who was from that area and rode with him every chance I had.

We rode motorcycles and even bicycles! Thanks to his girlfriend who let me borrow hers.

We did the ride that he does on the regular in that area (follow his insta—you’ll see). It was intimidating to have an instructor say, “you ride in front of me, I want to follow your lines.” For many years I was simply a rider that had been taught how to ride in her teens and didn’t take any training post the first lesson of, “That’s the throttle and brake, this one’s the clutch, and there’s your shifter. It’s 1 down and 5 up... got it?” I wasn’t familiar with the bike, the handling was very different than my Kawasaki Ninja, and I wasn’t going to ride like a demon. Was he expecting me to ride like a demon? Was he looking for “street-Rossi”?

Since that time, I’ve taken many courses and suggest you do the same. Training is never a waste of time or money.

Once we arrived at our destination, we had lunch while sitting at a picnic table and he laid out where he saw areas of improvement. I asked a few questions so I could commit his responses to memory. He even said, “that’s all you want to ask me?” I nodded and thought, this is all I will remember…. so yes.

Lunch was over and it was time to go back down the mountain. He had a new plan for us and said he’d ride in front and would use hand signals as we approached corners. One signal was slow down, another maintain speed, another was to accelerate. It was a really great exercise and to this day one of my favorites. There were times I thought normally, I’d slow down here and nervously do what he said. After getting through the corner thinking, damn, he’s right.

Confession: I love coaches. It really helps so much, and I seek it out with just about any sport I do. If you’re in Southern California, look up Greg. He loves to help riders be better riders.

After we were done riding, I told Greg that I had booked a day of riding in the dirt with MotoVentures. I knew about MotoVentures as Greg had posted photos and mentioned them (along with many other great courses you can take for riding). He exclaimed, “I love MotoVentures! I’m going!” Later he texted me saying another friend wanted to go to MotoVentures and he’d swing by early the next morning and suddenly, I had a ride!

We arrived and they said that riding schedule was 9 to 3 and I remember screwing my face and thinking, “Only 3? I wanted to ride all day.”

Taking this class was just the BEST. The instructors are awesome. The riding was an absolute blast, and they don’t let you wus out on anything. It was tricky for me to not ride like I was on a sport bike. The positioning is completely different and it’s hard to not use instinctual behavior. But, if you want to do it right, you need to change your style. I fell. I fell a LOT. I’d get up, lift the bike back up, and climb on to do it again. On one skill I got SO frustrated. Why was everyone able to go up this little hill, stay in the path, turn, and come back down and yet I washed out every time and fell? The instructor saw my agitation. He explained what I was doing wrong in a way that I was able to really get it and said to me, “Just try it one more time. I feel like you’ve got it this time.” I was apprehensive and felt bad that the class was waiting for me to do this instead of moving on. But man, I’m stubborn and wanted to get this right! I approached the knoll, kept my body forward, leaned the bike in the opposite direction I’d normally lean and voila—I got around that corner and back down the hill. What an absolute rush.

At lunch, I sat inhaling my food and thinking, I’m never going to make it to 3pm.

The scariest skill for me was the hill climb. A very long and steep hill with a messy sandy trail. The instructor explained how we will do the climb, there are a couple rider examples, and then it’s time for us. One by one, we attempt the climb. Sometimes people go off the trail and have to get off their bikes, descend and start over. It looked daunting.

Finally, it was my turn. I cannot imagine what my heart rate was at that point from sheer panic. I was pretty tired. I wanted to make sure I hit the right trail, keep my throttle open and get to the top. As I hit the midway part of the hill, I remember slightly leaving the trail. No, no, no, no… get back on the trail! I hit the gas a bit more to get over to the right line. As I got closer to the top, the steeper part, I knew I had it. I just had to commit. When I finally crested the top you’d think I’d climbed Everest. I got off the bike to take a breath and we all were congratulating each other. That moment was short-lived though.

Everyone spun their bikes around in the narrow sandy space full of brush and went back down. I stood there thinking, “wait, I can’t get my bike back around” but no one cared--they were going. I flashed back to being a little kid on my bicycle with my older cousins who were like, “hey, you can stay here, or you could come with us. We’re leaving.” Gratefully, another guy was still up there, also struggling to turn his bike around, and we helped each other. Motorcycles! So many fantastic life lessons. Learning to rely on yourself and also working as a team.

I was leaving the very next day for NY and so disappointed. I wanted to do another day at MotoVentures. It really was one of the most fun days I’ve had. It was NOT easy and I wound up with some pretty spectacular bruises, but the instructors were just the BEST. What an empowering and fantastic program. I highly recommend it, but you should sign up for two days--one just isn’t enough.

Greg Widmar in the center, me on the right.