What did you do to your FJ-tracer-gt today?

[2and3cylinders]

Oh I miss San Diego!

[ItsRichieRich]

7 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Oh I miss San Diego!

I started the morning off in Temecula, riding down to Fallbrook/Escondido area off the 15 freeway. We road through Lilac Road to Pala Casino, arriving at Palomar. Rode up the back to Palomar Mountain, down the front. Back to Escondido for a fuel up, then back home to Temecula.

We joke around how sad it is here in California, but we're very fortunate to live here. The fact that we can go from the desert in Ocotillo Wells to the beach in Pacific Beach within 3 hours is amazing.

[angrygirafe]

4 hours ago, ItsRichieRich said:

I started the morning off in Temecula, riding down to Fallbrook/Escondido area off the 15 freeway. We road through Lilac Road to Pala Casino, arriving at Palomar. Rode up the back to Palomar Mountain, down the front. Back to Escondido for a fuel up, then back home to Temecula.

We joke around how sad it is here in California, but we're very fortunate to live here. The fact that we can go from the desert in Ocotillo Wells to the beach in Pacific Beach within 3 hours is amazing.

I lived in Temecula for 4 years while I was going to school, and averaged riding 20k miles a year down there. What a great place to ride! 

[ItsRichieRich]

6 minutes ago, angrygirafe said:

I lived in Temecula for 4 years while I was going to school, and averaged riding 20k miles a year down there. What a great place to ride! 

That's what I'm averaging as well. My commute is 80 miles round trip from Winchester to Escondido. If you're curious, traffic is getting worse here lol.

[2and3cylinders]

6 hours ago, ItsRichieRich said:

I started the morning off in Temecula, riding down to Fallbrook/Escondido area off the 15 freeway. We road through Lilac Road to Pala Casino, arriving at Palomar. Rode up the back to Palomar Mountain, down the front. Back to Escondido for a fuel up, then back home to Temecula.

We joke around how sad it is here in California, but we're very fortunate to live here. The fact that we can go from the desert in Ocotillo Wells to the beach in Pacific Beach within 3 hours is amazing.

The last place I lived in SD was Hillcrest.  Quiet, Victorian era buildings, a few blocks from Balboa Park.  I had a 2 slot carriage garage that had room for 2 sidehacks and 4 bikes.  I did not even own a car until 1979.  Every evening I rode somewhere around town, and often hungout at Sunset Cliffs with the other Cafe Rockers.  On weekends we hit up the mountains and desert.  The Rongbranch saloon in Julian after doing Mt. Palomar was a fav.  Anza-Borrego, Mt. Laguna, Cuyamaca Rancho SP, Eagles Nest, Hell Hole Canyon, etc..

I have 2 kids in Mission Valley or there about right now.

Hope to be out yet this autumn; I'll LYK...

[angrygirafe]

2 hours ago, ItsRichieRich said:

That's what I'm averaging as well. My commute is 80 miles round trip from Winchester to Escondido. If you're curious, traffic is getting worse here lol.

I believe it 😂

[2and3cylinders]

When I lived in San Diego in the seventies there was no traffic just a sleepy little navy and aircraft town

[1moreroad]

22 hours ago, ItsRichieRich said:

That's what I'm averaging as well. My commute is 80 miles round trip from Winchester to Escondido. If you're curious, traffic is getting worse here lol.

I lived in Long Beach from 96 to 07. I used to tell my wife I was getting groceries and come back with 1 jar of Apple butter from Julian.  

I was looking at Caltrans data a couple of years ago. Before the Great Recession traffic on the 405 peaked in 2007, and it took 9 years to get back to 2007 volume. But it continued to increase all the way through at least 2019. Like @2and3cylinders's daughter, my son is back out there so we try to visit often. 

[2and3cylinders]

Sad commentary for sure.

I moved here for good in 81 and have not been back since, even with a kid there.

Now I tell my wife I'm going to get a Sunday paper and some cheese and summer sausage.

I come back with a half pound each of cheddar and gouda, and the sausage wrapped in the Oconomowoc Enterprise.

Sad, Julian is literally like another planet roads wise.  

[dazzler24]

Tiny little bling update - found some faux carbon red trim to give the old girl a bit of a lift - now that she's feeling her age.

To top it off, removed the black OEM stickers above the silver 'TRACER' badge from the side plastics and replaced them with some more red decal stripes.  As @OZVFR once mentioned about his bike - "Just the right amount of red" and I agree.

[2and3cylinders]

2 minutes ago, dazzler24 said:

Tiny little bling update - found some faux carbon red trim to give the old girl a bit of a lift - now that she's feeling her age.

To top it off, removed the black OEM stickers above the silver 'TRACER' badge from the side plastics and replaced them with some more red decal stripes.  As @OZVFR once mentioned about his bike - "Just the right amount of red" and I agree.

Nice

I used reflective red tape

The US model didn't have the side cover decals?

Got out for a good solo putt yesterday.  Did OK considering.  Did I mention my latest shoulder surgery was a fail. 😞 Will try again this winter. 

[OZVFR]

2 hours ago, dazzler24 said:

Tiny little bling update - found some faux carbon red trim to give the old girl a bit of a lift - now that she's feeling her age.

To top it off, removed the black OEM stickers above the silver 'TRACER' badge from the side plastics and replaced them with some more red decal stripes.  As @OZVFR once mentioned about his bike - "Just the right amount of red" and I agree.

 

[wordsmith]

4 hours ago, dazzler24 said:

 

 

With so much red there, Dazz, you must hit warp speed every time you go out!   Bike looks good.

Looking at the side-on view of your bike and the prominent 'hump' or rise of the front of the pillion seat behind the rider seat reminds me that I must look into some kind of 'humpectomy' on my GT to allow me to get on and off more easily.

The only not-so-good thing about my newish-to-me 2019 Tracer 900 GT is the difficulty that my aged and stiff hip, knee, and ankle joints give me when mounting - and more so dismounting – without ungainly movements that cause crowds to gather and laugh at my antics as I half-fall, half-roll off, and altogether make a fool of myself!   

A word of advice to all - do NOT get old!.  

Edited August 26, 2022 by wordsmith

[wordsmith]

On 8/23/2022 at 9:00 AM, 2and3cylinders said:

Nice-lookin' house, and nice old Matchless bike.   Many years ago in my spotted youth days I lived in South East London not far from the AJS and Matchless factory.   It was quite common to see bikes of either brand being ridden around the streets there, presumably being tested by the factory.

[2and3cylinders]

2 hours ago, wordsmith said:

With so much red there, Dazz, you must hit warp speed every time you go out!   Bike looks good.

Looking at the side-on view of your bike and the prominent 'hump' or rise of the front of the pillion seat behind the rider seat reminds me that I must look into some kind of 'humpectomy' on my GT to allow me to get on and off more easily.

The only not-so-good thing about my newish-to-me 2019 Tracer 900 GT is the difficulty that my aged and stiff hip, knee, and ankle joints give me when mounting - and more so dismounting – without ungainly movements that cause crowds to gather and laugh at my antics as I half-fall, half-roll off, and altogether make a fool of myself!   

A word of advice to all - do NOT get old!.  

 Because of my back and hips I get on like mounting a horse stepping on the left foot peg with my left foot and then standing up and swinging my right leg over a bit and carefully setting my right foot on the right foot on the right peg I always worry that the side stands gonna give way and if you're not parked on level level or ground pitch to the right in fact yesterday I was getting on and it was pitching to the left and the whole thing almost started to go over but I caught it So that's my way getting on and off it works but it's scary every time with my lard ass