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Richard

What I did today

Sometimes I really love living in LA. This weekend is Sophi's birthday, so we rented a boat at Marina Del Rey and went out on the ocean. We had a great time; running full throttle over the waves, hanging out with the sea lions by the Santa Monica pier, and cruising miles offshore into the open ocean. On the way back we spotted a dolphin, then another, then another. We got in closer and soon the dolphins were racing under the bow and jumping alongside the boat. It was really incredible to get so close to these amazing creatures. We even saw a baby dolphin, just three feet long, swimming with its mother. What a fantastic day.

Roadtrip to Mono Lake

Last weekend Sophi and I went on a road trip to Mono Lake. The drive followed the Owens Valley in Eastern California between the snow capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Inyo Mountains (beyond which lies Death Valley). Every vista was a panoramic of jagged peaks rising above the sparse desert valley. We passed through an endless parade of small, half-abandoned towns before finally making it to the alpine forests of the Mammoth Lakes region. Then we snaked through the mountains until we reached Mono Lake, just East of Yosemite. The lake was interesting, but not spectacular, so we decided to try for Yosemite. Unfortunately, the most direct path was closed, so we looped North to Lake Tahoe and cut through the mountains of the Eldorado National Forest. The sun was bright, but the ground was covered in several feet of snow and the lakes were frozen from the winter. After winding through the mountains we came to the lush, green rolling hills of the Central Valley. Finally, we reached Stockton and followed I5 back to LA. We drove 900 miles and saw only half the state. California is truly amazing.

Aquarium of the Pacific

Honda Shadow vs. Harley Davidson Sportster

So a couple weeks back I decided to rent a Honda Shadow to see how it stacked up against the Harley Davidson Sportster. First, I looked at the specs. The Shadow is 30 lbs lighter than the Sportster, so I thought it might feel a little bit more nimble. However, the Sportster has some advantages; its engine is 17% bigger and it has electronic fuel injection and dual disc brakes (the Shadow uses a single carb and has a rear drum brake). Features aside, the ride is what really matters.

I took the surface streets from LAX through Hollywood and Glendale then on to the Angeles Crest Highway. As I wound up the curves the air got colder and colder. By the time I hit the Red Box station there was snow on the ground and the road was covered in sand and rock, but the view from the Mt. Wilson Observatory was incredible.

After a long day of riding, I have to say the Sportster outperformed the Shadow hands down. The Sportster’s low, narrow frame gives a solid, responsive feel where the wider Shadow felt loose in the corners. The shifts on the Shadow were sloppy and it was an endless ordeal to find neutral. Lastly, the controls on the Sportster were much more refined than the Shadow’s, especially the Sportster's auto-cancelling turn signals. Both bikes start at around $7k, but the Sportster is definitely the better value.


FOLLOWUP:


After writing this article, I went on to buy a Harley-Davidson Sportster; the Iron 883. At 883cc's, this is Harley's smallest engine, but it's still 134cc's bigger than the Honda Shadow and has a base price that's $250 less. Honda has stepped up their game and added fuel injection, but they still use drum brakes in the back. After putting about 3,000 miles on my Harley, I'm quite pleased with my decision. The Harley has held up well and performs great, even when riding with my wife on the back. Neither bike is really designed for long-haul touring (for that, consider a bigger and heavier bike), but for tearing up the mountain roads of Southern California, I couldn't be happier.