Above: Yours Trully poses next to the Firebolt along Highway 58. Our moods were bright, as bright as the sun and the blue skies above us. We were warm, in the middle of a desolate Highway, with nobody else around. Plus, we had cellular service. What more can we ask for? Okay. Maybe more twities? Coming right up!
Once we got over the extremely twisty and fun section of 58 as it climbed and descended down from the Temblar Range, the road opened up to wide open sweepers and long straightaways. Since we were in a very flat plain, the road engineers had to design a passageway for rain water to pass over the road. They did this through a series of highs and lows along the road. We call them "woop-de-doos". Depending on the weight of the bike, when you go over these woop-de-doos at a certain speed, you are guaranteed to go airborne. I found out that on my lightweight Firebolt, that speed was an indicated 95 mph. Of course, only the front of the bike came up for a moment as I crested one of the "highs" on the road. Yeeehah! The front end of the bake came down followed by a slight wiggle.
We cut our trip short on Highway 58 and made a right turn on Bitterwater Road. Like some of the other roads we had taken so far, Bitterwater is a scarcely traveled little road that was mostly sweepers. It followed the countours of the empty rolling hills surrounding this area. The hills were covered with fertile, low lying grass that are perfect for Cow grazing. And the farms along this road, took advantage of this. There was endless grassy pastures to eat and the cows we saw were happy, California Cows. Some of them lay along the side of the road, watching us go by. Most of them got spooked by our passing and would get up from their slumber and run back into the hills. Some of the cows would wait until the last minute before bolting off into the hills, but not before crossing into your path. We stayed cautious whenever we passed a cow. Cow vs. Buell and the cows definitely win!
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