Starting in Wildomar, head southwest on Clinton Keith Road as it shrugs off city residences and passes the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve. The road is rhythmic with slight kinks and undulations. At about five miles the road curves to the right and changes its name to Tenaja Road, but that moniker doesn’t last long either as just 1.7 miles later it becomes Via Volcano. A short mile later you’ll turn left onto Avocado Mesa Road at a crossroads but then the street schizophrenia continues as you make a sharp 90-degree right and the route turns into Los Gatos Road. At the crossroads with Carancho Road turn left and continue for about two miles until you reach the crossroads with De Luz Road, which then, thankfully, you’ll stay on, without name change, for 16 miles until you reach Fallbrook.

After zigzagging across the Santa Rosa Plateau of boulder-strewn and Live Oak dotted meadows, the route drops down into the canyons starting on Los Gatos Road where you see views of the lower elevations of the Santa Ana Mountains. The route undulates up and down on Carancho Road but then slots into a canyon and heads due south once you turn onto De Luz Road and follows its random squiggles with overhanging tree tunnels and multiple possible water crossings. You’ll not need to worry about any water or slippery slime most of the year but be cautious if there has been recent rain and heed the warnings to not cross if it’s deeper and fast running.

About 17 miles along the route from the 15 Fwy at 40153 De Luz Road you’ll want to stop at the De Luz School and Ecological Center. It’s a great place to stretch your legs, have a snack or lunch on the picnic table, enjoy some shade from the large trees, and to take photos of the beautiful little schoolhouse that was built in 1927. After the schoolhouse the road continues to kink as it drops down rapidly into the Santa Margarita River Canyon until popping up again on the other side and heading south into Fallbrook, where there’s plenty of great places to stop for refreshments on and around the Main Street. Leave Fallbrook by backtracking the same route and enjoy the same roads with switched directions and elevation changes. As you reach the intersection with Carancho Road, stay on De Luz Road, which not long after becomes Rancho California Road. A S-turn of consecutive 180-degree curves drops you down into Temecula as a fun farewell and then follow the road to the 15 Freeway.

See the route at: As an introduction to the area and perhaps explore some of the connected roads. Enjoy!

The post De Luz Road Motorcycle Ride – By Carl Pulley appeared first on Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys®.

Ortega Highway (State Route 74) is the only road that crosses the 60-mile-long Santa Ana Mountain range that borders Orange and Riverside Counties. Thankfully, due to the ruggedness of the area, the route hasn’t been flattened, straightened and widened into another boring strip of asphalt. Instead, it’s a 33-mile veritable playground for motorcyclists with almost constant turns and an approximately 3,000 ft elevation climb. To have fun, however, you’ll want to avoid weekday rush hours due to it being a major commuting route between the 5 and 15 freeways. The start of the route is drastically different depending upon whether you begin from the west or east. Starting in San Juan Capistrano on the west side, the highway eases you into the route with medium-speed, slightly undulating curves. Coming from Lake Elsinore on the east side you’ll be confronted with an approximately 1,700 feet climb in just four miles with 27 turns. As I live in Orange County, I’ll describe the road coming from the west.

A good place to meet up with riding buddies is the Chevron gas station on Avenida Los Cerritos on the north side of Ortega Hwy, just a few hundred yards east of the 5 Fwy. Head east and ride past residential side roads until you get to the junction with Rancho Viejo Road and try to get ahead of any slower traffic as Ortega Hwy becomes a single lane road almost immediately after the intersection. Hopefully blessed with an open highway, you’ll be greeted with a route of smooth asphalt undulating and weaving through the countryside with views of the Santa Ana Mountains as you ride past The Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo and Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park. There’s a couple of longer straights where overtaking is allowed but be careful of speed traps.

The road drastically changes after a righthand curve at the US Forest Service Fire Station and squeezes through the narrow Serra Bridge. This tight, technical up-hill section clings to the south cliff of San Juan Creek Canyon and is what the knowing call Ricochet Canyon due to the cliff faces and concrete barriers the border the road. It’s a lot of fun but you definitely need to remember the adage, “you go where you look,” as there’s no room for error. After you ride out of the canyon the roads eases up a bit but throws in a couple of 180-degree curves before cresting by the 74 Candy Store on the right and parking lot for hiking trails on the left, so slow down for possible turning vehicles. After a slightly downhill stretch you’ll come to another incredibly fun section with its own colloquial name, The Carousel, an up-hill, left-right S-turn that completes approximately 270-degrees in each direction.

The Carousel spits you out on a short ridge that leads into El Cariso Village, a tiny community of 250 at 2,700 feet. To the right there’s the Hafey Farms Country Store & Beergarden that’s a great stop option for refreshments, or you can ride another two miles to
The Lookout Roadhouse for amazing views of Lake Elsinore and peaks of the San Bernardino, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountain ranges. The Lookout was founded in 1945 and family owned since 1968 and is a favorite gathering spot for motorcyclists during weekends. Be aware, however, that the parking lot looks like it’s not been resurfaced for decades, as it’s mainly dirt with potholes, and they only have porta potties. Finishing up the route by dropping down to Lake Elsinore you’ll encounter the dramatic series of turns mentioned earlier. From there, the best thing you can do for yourself is turn around and do it all again for your return trip.

See the route Enjoy!

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As far as I’m concerned, the adjective “awesome” is greatly overused; “That cup of coffee was awesome!” If you consider that the word describes something that elicits awe, which is a feeling of wonder and amazement bordering on the divine, then for me a mere cup of coffee, however delicious, doesn’t deserve the description. What is awesome, however, is Yosemite National Park and especially if you experience it on a motorcycle.

The Sierra Nevada mountain range, which stretches 400 miles along the eastern edge of California from Bakersfield in the south to Redding in the north, boasts the tallest peak in the contiguous U.S. (Mount Whitney) and other famous landmarks like Lake Tahoe, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and El Capitan. One of the best routes to view many of these amazing places is Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road/Hwy 120 that cuts through the middle of Yosemite National Park.

Before you pack your saddlebags and head out to ride in this amazing place, you need to know a few things. During the summer season – between mid-June and mid-August – you need a reservation to enter the park between 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and Hwy 120 closes for the winter in November through late May or early June due to snow. Also, the park is not the place to stretch your throttle cable as the speed limits are low, and you’d miss all the amazing views if you went any faster anyway. The best way to ride a motorcycle in Yosemite is to take it slow and stop often. As we all know, you go where you look when riding a motorcycle, so if you want to really take in the park’s awesome scenery, pull over, otherwise you could become part of the scenery!

Riding at the posted speed limit, which is mostly 35 or 45 mph, rewards you with the feeling that you are actually in the environment, experiencing the subtle changes in temperature as you go up and down in elevation, through mountain tunnels, shady forests and out in open sunshine. You’ll be amazed by the towering heights and seeming fathomless canyon depths and struck by the vibrancy of the contrasting colors of blue sky, green pine, and white granite that’ll fill your eyes. All this while traversing a twisting ribbon of excellent asphalt. And that’s what I call awesome! Apart from Hwy 120, which runs from just south of Mono Lake off Hwy 395 in the east to northeast of Modesto to the west, there are other great roads in the park, such as El Porto Road and Wawona Road that drop south from Yosemite Valley. You can continue south in and out of the mountain range to enter Sequioa and Kings Canyon National Parks. Check out this great 170-mile route that takes in some of the most dramatic and beautiful places in the park:

For park and roadway information and conditions, visit the National Park Service website at: Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service). As of late summer 2025 the motorcycle fee to enter the park is $30. If you enjoy going to National Parks, consider the America the Beautiful Pass at America the Beautiful National Park Pass – US Park Pass. Enjoy!

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In this episode of our California Motorcycle Shop Visits series, we stopped by HAWG SUPPLY in Wilmington, California to meet Cody Kemmet and take a look inside the shop.

HAWG SUPPLY is a builder-focused motorcycle garage rooted in custom fabrication and hands-on craftsmanship. From in-house machining to custom Harley-style builds, this Wilmington motorcycle shop represents the kind of independent garage that keeps California’s custom scene strong.

You can feel it when you walk in — this isn’t a showroom operation. It’s a working shop where parts are made, bikes are built, and riders come to create something personal.

We’re proud to spotlight local motorcycle shops across California that support real riders and real craftsmanship.

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Welcome to North County Hyper Sports in Oceanside, CA — one of Southern California’s most passionate motorcycle service and supply shops. In this Local Shop Visit, we sit down with Austin Fowler and Maddy to talk legacy, craftsmanship, and how this community hub serves riders from street bikes to custom builds.

🔧 About the Shop
Originally founded in 1989 by Glenn Castro, North County Hyper Sports has been a staple in the Oceanside riding community for decades. Known for expert motorcycle servicing, performance tuning, and custom work, the shop is now led by Austin Fowler, who took over the reins in October 2024 and continues the tradition with fresh energy and deep technical experience.

📍 Address:
2933 Oceanside Blvd, Ste B
Oceanside, CA 92054
📞 Phone: (760) 805-3333

🏍️ Why It Matters:
Supporting local motorcycle shops like North County Hyper Sports strengthens the community, fuels passion for riding, and keeps expert service close to home… just like we champion at Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys.

Support Your Local Shop.
Watch. Share. Ride Safe.

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Of course, the only way to know how what you are teaching compares to what else is out there is to experience what others are teaching. I also feel it is important for instructors to put themselves in “student shoes” every year to not lose touch with what their students are going through and to have empathy for the student experience. To that end I have personally taken motor-cop, motocross, gymkhana and flat track motorcycle courses in the last few years, plus skiing and downhill mountain biking lessons. These are all things I also happen to teach to one degree or another, but I always find it refreshing to see and experience someone else’s take on a given discipline or skill. Only a fool thinks he or she is the ultimate know-it-all in a given field. After all, even the best Olympic athletes and MotoGP racers all have coaches.

As someone who personally spends a lot of time developing and improving rider training curricula at multiple levels in multiple disciplines, it is possible to get a little disconnected from the final product when you find yourself hanging out in your ivory tower for too long. This happened to me recently when I taught one of our Intermediate Riding Clinics (IRC) to regular students for the first time in 8 years! I’ve been so involved in the training of beginner and advanced instructors and instructor trainers, that I had almost forgotten the critical “middle step” factor in the never-ending fight to reduce motorcyclist crashes, injuries and fatalities.

In what was a pretty typical IRC in the state of PA, we had a group of students who were riding on permits and were there to get their endorsements. Some of the students had been riding for only a couple months and one had been riding for 10 years(!) on a permit, and for whatever reason, finally decided to get legit with a full license. The one-day IRC is a license waiver class in some states for those folks who know how to ride but are not fully endorsed. Typically they are riding on a permit, sometimes they are riding illegally and occasionally they have some dirt bike experience. To keep those brand new riders who really need at least a two-day full beginner class from trying to attend, there is an entry exercise that happens before the formal class which includes starting, shifting, stopping and making a tight turn from a stop. If the rider is unable to successfully complete the entry exercise, he or she is sent back to the beginner course.

On this particular day, all the students passed the entry exercise, but some just by the hair of their chinny-chin-chins. Throughout the day my co-instructor and I saw this group of “tweeners” go from barely adequate to sensibly skilled. The difference in their confidence was awe-inspiring. I say that not only because they told us as much in their surveys, but you could actually see the confidence in their riding. Turns and stops that were once shaky and inconsistent, were now smooth and repeatable. Their bodies were noticeably less stressed as well.

In a truly Zen moment, I realized that when we teach new folks how to ride, many of them will never buy bikes and become riders. On the other side of the coin, advanced students are smart enough about risk to sign up for courses that are not “needed” to ride legally, but they choose to do so for improved safety and/or fun. In that case you are, to some decree, preaching to the choir. But intermediate riders are altogether different. They are all currently riding on the streets and are a risk to themselves and the rest of us who share the road with them. When we can reach that group, crashes, injuries and fatalities are sure to plummet. This was proven in three branches of the military in 2009 when they instituted mandatory intermediate (and in one case, advanced) training to all the riders on base resulting in a 37%–61% reduction in fatalities in the first year, which maintained with continued results in the years following.

While we may never be able to get legislation requiring intermediate-level training everywhere, its all of our jobs to encourage those we know to get the word out…starting with the man in the mirror.

Lee Parks has been riding and racing motorcycles since 1982, and won a WERA National Endurance Championship in 2001. He is one of the top motorcycle safety experts in the world and testifies in motorcycle personal injury cases through his motorcycle forensics firm www.compasskinetics.com. Mr. Parks is also the president of Total Control Training, the largest independent motorcycle training company in the North America with over 650,000 students trained since 1999. It is based on his best-selling book Total Control. Additionally, he is the president of Lee Parks Design, an American-made motorcycle glove manufacturer.

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I started riding dual sport bikes that were perfect in the rural environment in which I grew up and since then have owned and ridden virtually every type of bike, from scooters to superbikes, motocrossers to cruisers, and standards to adventure tourers. I’ve also ridden in many different environments and weather conditions both on- and off-road, including in a lot of rain (I did grow up in the U.K. after all), blazing hot deserts, frigid mountains, and everything in between.

Soon after graduating from college I got my first job in the motorcycle industry and have worked in it ever since, in roles as diverse as sales, customer service, technical and journalistic writing, and teaching. For over 20 years I’ve worked for a major motorcycle manufacturer—currently managing their two U.S. museums and related events, and separately as a motorcycle riding instructor.

I consider motorcycle riding more than just a hobby but a lifestyle and sport. Most of my deepest and longest friendships are with fellow motorcyclists and consider all riders my brothers and sisters on two wheels. To keep my riding skills sharp and enjoyment and safety at a maximum, I regularly take motorcycling classes, having graduated from over two dozen so far, including those focused on safety, on-road and off-road riding, racing and teaching.

Some of my favorite motorcycle experiences are multi-hundred-mile sport touring or adventure touring day rides, multi-day excursions, moto-camping, sport riding in the twisties, and track days. I currently own a 2016 Triumph Thruxton R modern-classic sportbike and a 2024 Honda Africa Twin adventure tourer. I also love talking bikes and so am thrilled to be creating content for you on Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys’ website blog.

Keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up, and never trust anyone without a vice, mine is motorcycling, trust me! Cheers, Carl.

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My workday round-trip commute is almost 70 miles and takes three hours or more when driving. That racks up to be 15 hours per week or 750 hours (over 31 days) for a 50-week work year, if you’re lucky to get two weeks of vacation. But, because I take my bike to work, I can halve that amount of time and keep what’s left of my sanity as I actually enjoy the ride. Also, as my bikes get twice the gas milage as my truck, I save money too. So, with these benefits, year-round good riding weather, and that California has more motorcycle registrations than any other state, why don’t more Golden State motorcyclists ride their bikes to work? Probably due to the perceived inconveniences.

Driving a car takes very little effort and requires almost no preparation. You get in and off you go, not having to worry about what you’re wearing, what the weather is like, and having plenty of room for whatever you need to take with you. Also, the differences in conspicuity and safety compared to a bike go without saying. Riding takes more skill, thought, preparation, and effort, and it’s perhaps because of this that motorcyclists don’t ride to and from work. With a little consideration, however, these perceived inconveniences can be overcome. Let’s start with what you have to wear for work and what you should wear for the ride. As background, I’m an all-the-gear-all-the-time rider and live by the adage, “dress for the crash, not the ride.”

If you’re lucky enough to have a casual dress code at work, what you wear at work can be the same as what you wear when riding as today there’s a huge choice of boots, pants, shirts and jackets that look like everyday apparel and are all-day comfortable but include abrasion-resistant materials like Cordura, Kevlar and Dyneema and almost imperceptible slim CE Level-1 armor. For those like me who have a more formal work dress code, I wear wrinkle-resistant pants and shirts and keep a pair of dress shoes at work. For my ride to the office I wear motorcycle boots and a protective over suit on top of my work clothes. Upon arrival, I just take off the suit, switch my boots for dress shoes, and am almost ready to work. I say almost as I also have to do my hair—vain I know but I get the worse helmet hair you can image—but that’s easy enough to address as I have a toiletries bag at work with hair gel and a comb.

Together with its protective properties, good riding gear also keeps you comfortable in different weather conditions. Where I live in Southern California, almost every day of the year has good riding weather, with commute-time temperatures ranging from the 40s to occasionally a little over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and very little rain. Having a range of gear from waterproof and insulated items for the cooler months and a vented jacket, pants, and gloves for the warmer temperatures, I’m comfortable no matter what the mild SoCal weather throws at me. So, you’re protected for the ride (crash) and from the weather, but what about carrying things like your lunch, tools, laptop, etc.? There are several convenient options here too.

My adventure touring bike has hard luggage, which is the best option as it keeps items locked and protected from the weather. Although the bike has saddlebags as well as a top case, I only use the latter as the saddlebags make my bike much wider and I want it to be as slim as possible for lane sharing. My other bike is a sports standard so I strap a soft-sided tail bag to the passenger seat and due to its expandability, it can carry almost as much as my ADV’s hard case, so plenty of room for my laptop, lunch bag, and more. There’s lots of other motorcycle luggage options including throw-over soft saddlebags and tank bags, depending upon what you have to carry. Of course there’s the old stand-by backpack but you’ll want to adjust the shoulder straps so the bag’s weight sits on the passenger seat—taking the weight of your shoulders—but also use a pack with a sternum strap and/or waist strap to keep it secure on your back.

We’ve discussed riding gear and luggage but there are a few other considerations for commuting on your motorcycle, including conspicuity and tactics. As it seems cage drivers never see bikes, there are a few things you can do to increase your visibility, these include wearing bright-colored and reflective gear or a vest, always have your high beam on, and if your bike has hazard signals, use them while lane sharing. Talking about lane sharing, otherwise known as lane splitting or filtering, California is one of the few states that allows motorcyclists to ride between two lanes of traffic. This has been the case for decades but in recent years our ability to do so was formalized in the California Vehicle Code Section 21658.1 with certain guidelines created by the California Highway Patrol, which you can read at: Splitting Traffic Lanes Safely | Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys®. As lane sharing is allowed on all roads it means you ride by slow or stopped traffic on the freeway and on surface streets that have two or more lanes in the same direction. Of course another time-saving advantage of riding a bike to work is that you can also use the carpool lane.

When planning to commute on your bike, you should first figure out the best riding routes to and from work, which may be different. Consider which freeway options have carpool lanes and how wide the cap is between the carpool and number one lane (or between lanes one and two) for lane sharing, what surface street options have at least two lanes, also for lane sharing, your vulnerability at non-signal-controlled left turns, etc. Using navigation apps can help to identify road closures, accidents, and roadworks but don’t blindly follow them as they route based on car movement, so may direct you miles out of your way when you could just lane share passed stopped traffic. When you arrive at work, you’ll want to secure your bike. Using a chain or cable to secure it to an immoveable object, adding an alarmed disc lock, and covering your motorcycle will all help to ensure its there for your ride home.

So, with all the advantages of saving time and money, reducing rush hour frustration, and actually adding a little fun into your commute, plus the ways you can greatly reduce or eliminate the inconveniences, there’s no reason you shouldn’t commute on your bike. I’ll see you out there.

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A hilly area where the southwestern tip of San Bernadino kisses the furthest northeastern edge of Orange County has a lot of history and a fun 25-mile local quickie loop that includes a motorcycle-themed café. The route includes Carbon Canyon and Brea Canyon Roads, and as the names suggest, is a place where oil was and still is pumped out of the ground. Due to the ruggedness of the hills, a sharp V cut into the landscape by Brea Creek, a cattle ranch, and a state park, an oasis of rural California remains in the otherwise developed area. Starting the ride in north Brea and heading north on Brea Canyon Road, you’ll be not only following Brea Creek but also the route where in 1769 Spanish explorer Don Gaspar de Portolá i Rovira and Father Junipero Serra camped for the night. Look for a road marker on the east side of the road half a mile from Central Avenue. The road winds leisurely below the 57 freeway but you’ll barely know the freeway is there until you ride under its overpass just after a cattle corral on the west side of the road. The route navigates through the city of Diamond Bar, named after the branding iron symbol of a local ranch established in 1918 and through an area of cattle range with a small lake on the east side of the road. Once you cross the San Bernardino County line there’s a short ride through the city of Chino Hills before you head back into the hills on Carbon Canyon Road. After a series of steep and sharp switchbacks the road relaxes as you pass the tiny community of Sleepy Hollow and then on to Olinda Village once you pass back into Orange County. You won’t see much evidence now, but starting in the late 1800s the canyon was a resort and entertainment area with a hot springs resort, a dry ski slope, and what was until it closed and was demolished in the early 2000s, Orange County’s oldest bar, La Vida Restaurant, which was for decades a popular place for bikers with live music on the weekends. Learn more about the canyon’s history at: Carbon Canyon Chronicle. Enough of the past though, let’s talk about the place that you’ll definitely want to stop at during the route for refreshments, the Carbon Canyon Coffee Co., which is a motorcycle themed café. If you didn’t know it’s there you’d miss it as you have to turn off the west side of Carbon Canyon Road on Olinda Place and make an immediate right into the expansive parking lot that can be filled with bike and car enthusiasts on weekend mornings as it occasionally hosts Cars & Coffee events and is a meeting place for group motorcycle rides. Carbon Canyon Coffee Co., is open Friday through Sunday, 8:00 a.m. through 9:00 p.m. and Monday from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. After filling up your belly, continue west on Carbon Canyon Road, past the eponymous state park and horse stables, and you’ll reenter developed Orange County on the eastern edge of Brea and then on to the 57 freeway. Check out the approximately 25-mile route at: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bDkV2YnQUPr562Si6. Enjoy!

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In this video, we sit down with Becky for a quick tour of her new shop in Wilmington, California. Get a behind-the-scenes view of some of the standout bikes in the shop, hear the story behind the gear Becky designs, and learn more about the product she builds with Cody of Hawg Supply.

Axel Co. brings a real rider energy to leather goods, motorcycle accessories, apparel, and more – created for riders who live hard and ride loud.

Axel Co.
1215 E Pacific Coast Highway
Wilmington, CA 90744

The post Inside Axel Co. | Shop Tour With Becky Goebel (Actually It’s Axel) appeared first on Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys®.