Twisted Throttles recap:

A couple of weeks have passed since Twisted Throttles happened. For those of you who weren’t fortunate enough to be there in person, here’s a little review:

So there you were: riding through the Friday traffic, lane splitting where possible; glad you’re not in a cage, and wishing like hell you were on your bike if you are.
Maybe you were hauling down a race bike in the back of your truck, or a show bike in your trailer…

The traffic slowly bleeds off as you finally head away from the main arterial freeways and slide on to the smaller streets and highways. Eventually you lose sight of the city altogether and trees become the prevalent scenery.

Old mailboxes take the place of highway exit signs, and sandwich-boards at jerky stands take the place of giant roadside billboards. Now you’re here: a quiet country road. Two lanes winding through oak groves and canyons. No street lights, no driveways, no neighborhoods. Just you, nature, and your rig twisting through the curves. Whether you’re on a bike or behind the wheel of an RV, the journey is finally ending, and well worth the wait.

You’ve arrived at Twisted Throttles.

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I rushed through the town of Ramona into the twisties. The road snakes through the hills on the Barona Indian Reservation. My jaunt came to an end when I pulled off at the driveway for the Barona Speedway.

Barona

Beyond the gates at the  main entrance lies a secluded patchwork of racetracks, and parking lots. Further in, Oak groves and manzanita rushes hide pit areas and heavy equipment scattered randomly throughout  nature. The whole lot is surrounded by high hillsides, and interwoven with tranquil trails, and quiet campsites. This stillness will be broken tomorrow by music, food vendors, the roar of bikes, and a lot more.

Now you’re here: a quiet country road. Two lanes winding through oak groves and canyons. No street lights, no driveways, no neighborhoods. Just you, nature, and your rig twisting through the curves.

For now. I was looking for a place to stash my gear so that I could help out in any way possible, I threw my crap under the front tire of Brian Bell’s RV. He’s the face of IV League Flat Track, a promotion group that helped the sport of Flat Track racing to nearly spring back to its former glory days.

Since 2014, Brian and IV League have put on several different race series both in the southwest and nationwide.
Last year alone he traveled coast to coast promoting Flat Track events along side the national AFT series, and some coinciding with rallies and motorcycle shows.

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This year Brian and his buddy Blake have decided to put on a lifestyle event that will hopefully grow to join the ranks of other annually held motorcycle lifestyle events. Sturgis comes to mind.

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Similar to  Sturgis, the small town of Ramona,CA was chosen as the location for Friday Night’s pre-party & bike night. The proximity to the speedway meant that a short jaunt by bike, or complimentary shuttle ride, took only minutes to get back to base camp.

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An art exhibit and a burlesque show comprised half of the Friday night festivities. Hosted by the Ramona Mainstage, an upcycled movie theater, the event was emceed by local classic rock dj, Clint August from 101KGB fm. Clint, a motorcycle enthusiast, also has a website called www.motorcyclemonkey.com . Check it out.
Across the street at Reds, Whites and Blues, the ambience was much more laid back, and there was a quiet area in back for vintage bikes and a cold brew with friends.

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Although the amount of bikes at the Friday night event was smaller than I expected, there have been several full bike nights leading up to the event, and the amount of bikes at Twisted Throttles the next day was astounding.

At the Ramona Mainstage I was able to talk to several artists who had pieces on display at the exhibit. Each artist differed in style and medium.

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»Rick Ortiz is a painter who does mural-style work on wood. His works have a warm and organic feel, probably due to the colors and the texture of the wood base. In addition to his moto art, he’s done several commercial pieces throughout Southern California.

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»Bradley Petruchik is a photographer who studied at Saddleback College. According to Bradley, he’s still learning and evolving and “earning his Bs and Cs” which, in short, means “putting in the time” to hone his craft. Bradley sees things that the ordinary human can’t. You can look for it in person in his photos.

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»Nate Biccum is an illustrator and photographer of photographers. He is the complacent comedian, finding humor and wonder in everyday things. Much like his illustrations, normal can become extraordinary when Nate’s stylus floats over it. His subjects are the everyday heroes of the racetracks and streets, the pages of Instagram, the Polariods™ of time… lol

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»Caroline Perron, the solo Canadian artist with work in the show, could not present for the event. despite her absence, the other artists spoke fondly of her, and a couple of her works were auctioned off for charity. She creates illustrations that find their way on to coffee mugs, canvas, paper, you name it… Her unique style is simple and complex in the same stroke. Images are full of symbolism and abstract ideas.

The night came to a close with myself and the trusty Co-host riding back to the campground on a spirited rip through the dark canyons.
I set up my tent in the dark, and quickly realized that I had left my contact solution at home.
It was back to town at nearly midnight for me!  My hope was that the gas station was still open, and had what I needed. They did. I also got some beef jerky and trail mix. 🙂

The crisp morning air conveyed the sound of rumbling V-twins into my tent, as campers headed back to town for a breakfast run. Others, like Geoff Patrick simply fired up the grill and made a cup of “Good Morning, America” the old-fashioned way.

Geoff’s grill/Creative Riding

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The day started to take shape as vendors loaded in, booths were set up, and the show got started.

The were all sorts of vendors from food to go-fast stuff, and of course clothing and gear. State Farm Insurance was even there, as well as a few motorcycle lawyers.
Inflatable play grounds kept several of the younger attendees entertained, while live music and BMX shows provided the awesome factor for the rest of us.

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Run what ya brung drag racing filled up the morning as attendees started flooding through the gates. There were some pretty good match-ups, and some nice drag bikes in the house.
Co-Host Wiggins actually took a few rips down the strip on his Dyna. It was fun to watch Baggers and Draggers hit the 1/8th mile until lunch started calling my name.

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The night capped off with flat track racing, and the next day there were several rides through the town. I didn’t stick around for all that, as I ripped my footpeg off in my first (and only) heat race.
I had to ride back to L.A. that night, so it was back to the pits for a frantic fix and bike re-assembly under the dim pit lights.

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To make a very long story short, the co-host and I made it home in one piece, but to hear more of our stories and interviews from Twisted Throttles, check out episode 99 of the podcast.

More eye candy can be found below: