48 Hours in (and around) Los Angeles County
Traveling for business, even in an exciting industry like ours, can be a grind. While our friends and social media followers see the highlight reels, most of our time is spent in airports, hotels, and convention centers. Whenever there is an opportunity to extend the stay, it should be seized.
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So, rather than fly home to the ice and snow after an action-packed week at the 2026 AIMExpo in Anaheim, I opted instead to stick around for the weekend and book a motorcycle to do some exploring in and around the LA County area. While the temperature wasn’t exactly balmy in early January, it was sunny and certainly warmer than the weather back home.
My girlfriend Terri even decided to cash in some travel points to join me. Having piloted small displacement scooters around Southeast Asia and ridden pillion with me during last year’s Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, she isn’t totally new to two wheels, but I wanted to ensure she would have a comfortable and enjoyable enough experience that she would be interested in doing it again.
Choosing the Right Bike
Given the enviable opportunity to choose an appropriate motorcycle for the task at hand, I decided on the 2026 BMW R 1300 RT. The features that specifically appealed to me, were the smooth powerplant, electronically adjustable suspension and windscreen, heated seats and lockable top box. It is big enough to easily stow two full-face helmets, so we didn’t have to carry them around or worry about them getting stolen when we stopped.
I figured it would offer sufficient wind protection and comfort on the highway but would also be enjoyable for the many curves we hoped to hit over the course of the weekend. Plus, I’d experienced the motor in the recently upgraded R 1300 GS to great delight and thought I’d check out the other upgrades.
Being the home of Disneyland, the area around the park is chock full of family-friendly franchised restaurants and hotels. We weren’t traveling with children, so we wanted to get as far from that scene as possible.
Through some research, we found exactly what we were looking for in the Anaheim Packing District. One of the last remaining citrus packing houses has been historically preserved and is now home to over 30 small businesses – including distinctive and delicious restaurants, bars, and local artisans. Cajun, Japanese, Moroccan, and Italian cuisine are just some of the options available. There’s even a speakeasy located in a converted historic railway train car. It’s a unique experience that is anything but ordinary.
Home Base Hotel
The next morning, we transferred to the Hotel Erwin in Venice Beach where we’d be spending the next two nights. It’s a funky little hotel right near the beach with a great rooftop patio and the best free breakfast around. Staff are shockingly friendly and you can borrow anything from bicycles and beach blankets to coolers and corn hole.
Los Angeles County, for those who have not been, is massive and can be challenging to navigate. Public transit is virtually non-existent, everything is far away and traffic congestion is legendary. When you ride a motorcycle, however, none of those elements really matter. The weather is nice and lane splitting is legal. Problem solved.
Preparing to play tour guide around the City of Angels, I didn’t really know where to start. Should we go to Rodeo Drive and visit the Griffiths Observatory to see the Hollywood sign? Being the site of so many films and television shows, it can be overwhelming to try and pack it all into a single weekend.
Our kitschy tourist time was limited to walking the Santa Monica Pier and dining at Pier Burger. The official end of Route 66, the pier features classic arcades, restaurants and bars, as well as an entertaining collection of characters who busk, paint, mime, dance or sing for your approval and money.
You Don’t Need a Reason, Only a Destination
Asking Cycle Trader contributor and native Californian Morgan Gales for his suggestions on where to ride, he suggested we join in on their plans to check out the Tehachapi Loop. After a delicious (and healthy) breakfast and a nice morning walk along the ocean in the sunshine, we rode from Venice Beach to Pasadena to meet the group, which included Morgan and his girlfriend riding two-up on an Indian Roadmaster PowerPlus 112and his friend Spenser on his 2016 Victory Highball.
Leaving the fuel station in Pasadena, we immediately hopped on the Angeles Crest Highway, a popular playground for motorcycle and sportscar enthusiasts alike – with good reason. The road snakes through Southern California’s San Gabriel Mountains, offering smooth serpentine turns of various radius and camber and periodic lookouts to take in the spectacularly beautiful scenery.
Not Far, But Far from Ordinary
Governed more by the laws of physics than speed enforcement, the pace is often spirited and passing is commonplace. Given I was riding two-up on an unfamiliar bike on unfamiliar roads where there were traces of ice, I stayed at the back of the pack and enjoyed a nice, safe rhythm.
The temperature continued to drop as we climbed. We opted not to ride all the way to the top of the highway as there was snow on the peaks and road closures beyond Newcomb’s Ranch, a former hotel, restaurant, bar and brothel that’s become a haven for aficionados of speed to stop and admire each other’s chosen transportation. The heated grips and seats were very much appreciated at this point.
The geography changed dramatically as we started out cruising along beachfront boulevards and found ourselves climbing steep mountain passes with sweeping curves and tight switchbacks within a brief amount of time.
The topography changed once again as we exited the mountain range and found the Mojave Desert laid out in front of us. Raising the electronically adjustable windscreen pushed the passing air up and over our heads for a quieter, more comfortable experience as we traveled up Highway 14 then west across Highway 58.
History Lesson with a View
Exiting the freeway, we enjoyed some very narrow, highly cambered, rollercoaster-like winding roads up to a scenic lookout over the Tehachapi Loop. An engineering feat of its time when it was opened in 1876, the Loop allows trains to coil around themselves for a gradual climb rather than a steep one. Accommodating an average of 50 trains a day, it’s the busiest single-track line in the country and an interesting spot to stop and enjoy a snack. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers are on hand to explain the process and answer questions.
“Conveniently located in the middle of nowhere”, entering the nearby Keene Café is like stepping through a time portal. It’s a small-town diner that time forgot and a cool place to grab a bite and enjoy a cool drink before heading back.
Making our way back to home base via Highway 14 South then the famous 405, we rolled in to the hotel, showered and changed before heading out for dinner. The R1300RT was a perfect mount for the day’s exploration that would have us splitting LA’s world-renowned traffic, enjoying winding roads and high-speed highway stretches.
Once again looking to avoid franchised restaurant chains, the Main Street strip in Santa Monica is a short walk, ride share, or electric scooter away with lots of options for dinner and post dining libations. We settled on Lula Cocina for some authentic Mexican fare.
After a delicious meal, we decided to enjoy a stroll back to the hotel and came across an impromptu street concert. The Music Box Micro Stage is a traveling stage created by Billy Stobo that brings local talent to the masses that assemble on the streets where they set up. It’s the kind of magic you’d expect, or at least hope, to experience in the artsy area of Venice Beach.
Reminiscing on the flight home, we reflected on how much we’d crammed into our short weekend abroad that wouldn’t have happened if I’d decided to just fly home after a busy work week. We didn’t feel particularly well rested and had lots of meal prep and laundry to catch up on when we got home. But we still think we made the right choice.
Dustin Woods
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