Day 436: Down and Dirty.

A biker soars through the air after taking a jump on the advanced track.

I had never been to a dirt bike track before yesterday - to be honest, I'd never even thought about the fact that they existed.

It was therefore something of a surprise to find that on any given weekday, there are a 100 or so dirt bike enthusiasts ripping up the tracks in Lake Elsinore (a desert community 90 minutes southeast of Los Angeles, and yes, the lake is very man-made). I'm told that number swells to a few hundred on weekends .

It was fun watching Tea run the track (one of the intermediate tracks, mind you), since riding is something she's so wholeheartedly passionate about. She set me up by the truck with a comfortable chair and a small desk thingie so I could work, but even though I managed to edit a few chapters of something new I've been writing, most of my time was spent watching Tea make practice laps.

Tea starts up one of the two vintage bikes she hauled out to the track.

After she finished riding (only one crash!), we decided to find a place to stay the night. We got a room at a cheap-but-cheerful motel and rested for a while, and then it was time to hit the mean streets of Lake Elsinore.

There was clearly no choice but to play some Blackjack at the old-school Casino across the street.

It was an exciting five minutes.

We were suddenly broke, and that's when a good-natured guy named Bill started chatting us up. Tea introduced herself as Tess and I followed her lead by becoming Kate, and Tess and Kate graciously let Bill buy them drinks for the rest of the night. Throw a few other oddball casino patrons into the mix (a party girl visiting from London was particularly amusing in a scary kind of way) and a good time was had by all.

The casino looks like an etxremely cool piece of Americana at night ...


... But reveals its tired side in the light of day.


I had a great time on my little getaway. You learn a lot about someone when you travel with them, and I learned that Tea is easy to be around and doesn't get on my nerves (she's also pretty relaxed when certain people who are supposed to be reading the map miss the exit and/or go the wrong way). An added bonus? I was never bored. A shocking development? She not only beat me in Scrabble, she kicked my ass.

The whole trip almost made me want to ride a motorcycle again, but after what happened to me on a bike more than 20 years ago, I'm not sure that will ever happen (it's a good story, but I'll save it for another day).

That track sure did look fun, though ...