The Driver’s High
Today I had the best drive of my life, bar none.
It is in three parts: Placerita, Northern Sand Canyon, and Southern Sand Canyon.
Placerita, between the 14 freeway and Sand Canyon, was pretty much awesome. Narrow streets, partially tight turns, but only tight enough to have to slow down to 40. Straightaways let you get up to about 80, 90 if you have bigger balls than I do. Not too many people going away from the 14 at 2:00, at least a car a minute going up toward it. Watch for horses and bicyclists all over. No cops seen parked or otherwise. Great ride.
Northern Sand Canyon, a right turn at the end of Placerita if you’re going away from the 14, is a similar story. Slightly tighter turns, a few more { shaped turns (two opposing S-turns, I suppose), a few hairy turns where you need to slam on the brakes in order to not smash sideways into the hill cliffs, but all in all, same speeds as Placerita will do just fine. You may want to slow it down to 20-30 on some of the above turns (I did) but I’m sure lighter vehicles would be all good on them. Watch out when you approach the 14—there’s a stop sign that sneaks up on you and you’re liable to blow through it like I (may or may not) have done
Southern Sand Canyon was probably my favorite of my little trip. Much slower overall, about 20-60 tops, but the scenery and everything are much cooler. This bit is much much more mountainous, turns that are much tighter, shorter straights, and much more grade—both up and down. At the top of the hill is a small picnic area called Bear Turnoff (not sure of the name, but Bear is in there for sure), and I went about as far down the mountain as I went up. I stopped in this beautiful little valley, quiet as hell, and just sat there on my hood for maybe 10 minutes before getting back in and turning around to head home. During my repose, I saw this old dude in a black-primer-and-red-flames classic convertible fly by me. Gave and received a thumbs-up. Fantastic ride.
Anyone who enjoys driving half as much as I do should give a try to any of these three drives. Check your tires, oil, breaks. Make sure your seatbelt locks up when you yank on it, and that no idiot lights are on. My suggestion: scout it out first. Go speed limit, watch for potholes and loose gravel. Watch for cops, places cops could hang out, pedestrians, bicyclists, equestrians. After you do that, go right ahead and blow by speed limits. Wear a seatbelt, open all your windows fully, turn off the A/C, turn Overdrive off if you can, blast your music loud, and have fun. Don’t die, don’t get a ticket.
This post is to be taken as entertainment only, and I am in no way suggesting that you break the law. That is illegal, and you could kill someone, yourself, or land in jail. You could ruin your car. You could ruin your tires, your breaks, your life. So don’t do it. When I suggested you should do it, I lied. Don’t.
Photos of a few pieces of the drive, taken from a few stops, to come.
