Temecula Valley Road Run
Saturday,
January 11, 2003
By Jim Falk
Though our turnout was small with only
four riders and one passenger in attendance, the morning fog cleared to
sunshine and a great time was had by all.
We gathered at my home in Murrieta for coffee and conversation. In attendance were myself with my BMW Sidecar
rig, accompanied by my visiting nephew; Dave Cook on his Square Four having
come all the way from Torrance; John
Ambrogio from nearby Hemet on his
beautiful Harley UL Sidecar Rig; and a new member, Bill Harris, on a Vintage
80cc Suzuki!
We rode through the morning fog to Old
Town Temecula, stopping at the Temecula Valley Museum. We were greeted there by a gentleman who has
been a resident of the area for over sixty years. He proceeded to conduct a tour of the museum,
highlighting the history of the area over several hundred years! We then followed with a walking tour of the Old Town area,
noting many old buildings and the stories behind them back to the days of the
Old West. Quite an interesting
experience for all of us, and very well detailed by someone who obviously had
great knowledge of the history involved.
We capped this off with lunch in Old Town before
continuing our ride for the day.
Our ride proceeded southward on Highway 79
beyond the Vail Ranch area (a highlight of the history that we had learned),
then northward on the back roads toward Hemet. Bill Harris had some challenges with the hills
on his small Suzuki, but we slowed our pace and he put the little bike through
its paces to capacity. John broke off
for home at this point, and the rest of us turned westward through the Wine
Country toward Temecula. We stopped
briefly at the Wilson Creek Winery before returning to my place in
Murrieta. Bill Harris hails from Orange County, but had
been visiting his young lady friend in Murrieta, so he returned there at the
conclusion of the ride. Dave Cook headed
for home after a brief rest, and we concluded a most enjoyable ride of about 50
miles, with a great lesson in local history.