Howdy! After a fairly mellow evening at Dana Pt we were up EARLY again to get day 2 rolling as people were very anxious to get to the end and OFF the bike although for Shred and I this was the best part of the ride so we tried NOT to get caught up in the HURRY UP mentality that was prevalent amongst the riders who had been at it for over a week at this point. To accomplish this, Shred and I headed out on our own a bit before the official ride groups so we could take in a little more of the scenery on the route as this part of the coast is really what the ride is all about and it was a GLORIOUS day. It was literally 75 degrees and sunny all day which made me so happy I wept off and on throughout the ride. The ride begins with a straight shot along the PCH until you head inland to ride through Camp Pendleton which is always a highlight for us cause we are just guys who wished we were tough enough to be Marines…but, we weren’t….look away we are hideous..
Sidenote–to make up for our lack of toughness in our youth ALL of the members of The Executive Committee of The Ryles Institute got their TOP SECRET security clearance last year. We did it for a few reasons: 1) We really wanted to hear Dom tell stories from HIS days in the Special Forces (yeah he WAS tough enough to take this path-see below)
but all of those discussions are classified so The Ryles Institute required all members of the Executive Committee to get their security clearances so we could hear all Dom’s stories and it was WELL worth the effort let me tell you 2) The Ryles Institute has expanded our footprint by taking on some “official” high profile clients and to get those contracts in place we needed our clearances anyway so the Head Of Govt Affairs hooked us up on both fronts. Who are these new clients? I am not allowed to name these new clients but I think its fine if I give you all a hint….FB_, C_A, NS_…..But, I digress, so we arrived at Pendleton where many were turned away but Shred and I sailed through as the guards immediately recognized us and waved us through-here are some pictures of the group heading to the gate (see how they funnel u into a narrow gap with high fences on either side and lots of guns at the end…classic military planning. Here are some pictures of the morning and the arrival at Pendleton:
Once we made it past this rather large Marine we cruised through the base where we did see quite a bit of activity on base.
After we got through Pendleton it was a spectacular ride through all the coastal towns (oceanside/Carlsbad/Encinitas/Leucadia/Cardiff/Solano Beach/Del Mar) until we arrived at Torrey Pines for a Champagne reception prior to the big ride in to La Jolla Shores:
Now many of you are wondering if we stopped along the way at Robertos to get a taco….well I sure did!
And I also conducted business during the ride.
Once we arrived at Torrey Pines I took some time to reflect upon the journey-
Before we did the last 2 miles to finish the ride. Now this part was really cool because we had a big police escort from all these Motor Cycle Cops who literally shut down TP road for our group which actually was quite massive and impressive:
We rode in as a huge group to LJS where they had a huge party and the ride concluded. Tears were shed. Hugs were shared. Shred and I gave speeches and signed autographs and well then we met up with STR……Im going long lets leave it with a few more pictures and I will conclude the annual blog shortly.
More Later including STR and questions from the fans!