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Here’s something that’ll never happen these days.
Kids waking up in the morning to shoot birds with pellet guns.
The weekend before, my uncle Rick took me up to Twin Pines in Gorman. I shot a dove. He showed me how to clean and cook it.
Dee, the guy in the pic had never shot a dove. So, Friday night I tell him, let’s wake up early, wait in your backyard and, hopefully one lands in your backyard. We spread birdseed all over the place.
The next morning, we’re hiding in our cardboard blind we made. Right off the bat one lands in the backyard, Dee shoots it. We run over to it. As we’re looking down at the dove, he says, what do we do with it.
LET’S FUCKING COOK IT!!!!
His mom is asleep still. We get into the kitchen, he’s melting butter in a pan, I’m cleaning the dove. Feathers just everywhere. Stuck to my fingers. We’re laughing cause he’s excited. I’m excited. I get the meat, shake a little garlic salt on it, lay it in the pan. I told Dee grab some red wine. As I’m adding a little wine to the pan, we hear his mom scream, WHAT THE FUCK ARE Y’ALL DOING IN MY MOTHER FUCKING KITCHEN!?!?
We jump. Look at his mom. His mom is pissed! I look at Dee and, he’s got feathers stuck in his hair. I look down at my hands and, I’ve got bloody hands with feathers stuck to my hands. GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY KITCHEN!!
I grabbed the meat out of the pan, ran out, butter dripping through the house, got home with it and finished cooking it. Dee got his ass beat and, had to clean the kitchen. He came over. Man, I didn’t even get to try it. I was like well, I finished cooking it and, saved it for us.
Looking at this pic, I see that memory. Us in my front yard, eating dove with this same happy expression while sitting down.
They don’t make friends like they used to.
Lots of good memories shared!
El Toro kid here...grew up when Irvine didn't exist yet and all there was was a marine base and a fire station. Rode BMX bikes and dirt bikes through those fields until construction started.
I had a Nishiki BMX that my dad got a deal on because he worked in Gardena as a fire fighter, and the owner was always giving them deals. My friend always had the good stuff...he had a sweet Laguna BMX with gold rims. I always wanted that bike! My other friend had a PK Ripper that he stripped down and polished.
As I got a little older, Irvine started to develop. We made our rounds to the Oakley dumpster for Blade parts, Kawasaki and Shimano for stickers, and over to the dirt jumps where Bake Pkwy was being planned. We rode up Lake Forest drive (where Oakley is now), to watch Damon Bradshaw ride a private SX track, along with some other locals.
A couple years later, we would watch Bake Pkwy come to life, and ride on the freshly laid out 241 Toll-Road. We spent time riding BMX and moto at the AM/PM jumps until the cops showed up. Eventually, it was too much of a hassle to load/unload bikes, just to be run-off.
The last jumps we built were after college. We had some downhill trails just down the road from AM/PM on Osterman. Those were plowed to make room for a bunch of apartments.
My first JetSki was in 79. Nobody even knew what they were back then. We used to park at warm water jetty in Carlsbad and ride at the beach. LIfe guards were OK with it as we stayed away from the swimmers and surfers. That's where all the Hobbie Cats launched also. After a while the guys in orange county and LA heard about it and started coming down. They ruined it for us. We eventually started launching at Ocean Side and going north riding off Camp Pendleton. It's now a very famous place in the JetSki community. Unfortunately, after a few years, the draw of women overcame going riding and that's another story. FYI women can be very sexpensive.
TM
Always found them to be a good ROI.
Not sure about their resale value compared to jet skis, or dirt bikes though.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
I always got mine used or hand me downs from pros, I would fill the holes and ride/race the snot out of them. (stand up ski's)😉
Not so great resale value, my friend tells me you have to actually pay to get rid of them if it comes to that 🤣 I've been with same one for over 40 years so I don't have any first hand info though.
TM
What time frame ? We used to get into the base housing off El Toro road and go skate "The El Toro Bowl" It was funnel shaped drainage ditch deal with a square tunnel into a culvert on one end. You had to run between some houses to get there, good times. Mid 70's probably 76 or 77 there abouts. Back when OCIR was there and you could see Drag cars from the freeway, by ... Sand Canyon area I think ? This thread is making me bummed this place got so pussified, what the fuck happened ? Who invited all the fucking goobers and dweebs that don't like race tracks ? so much wtf....
Hey big game hunter Chance check this out. My buddy had a Powermaster 750 pump pellet / bb gun. We we're in my upstairs bedroom with the window open shooting at some birds on a power line on the block behind us. Much to our surprise we hit one and it fell into the bushes. We both new we'd be in deep shit if we got caught killing birds, but figured we were pretty safe because it fell where no one would find it. No one except our fucking cat, who brought the thing to our house and deposited it at my Moms feet with a bb hole in it's neck.... She was not happy, nor impressed with our marksmanship skills lol. Any chance I had of getting my own bb gun went out the window that day, literally 😄
Oooooh…. I shot a blue jay at our cabin once. I was like 9. It dropped right in front of my aunt, my grandmother and, my grandfather. I’m sure you’ve heard a screaming jay before. Now, imagine a screaming jay flapping its wings, cartwheeling and, blood getting all over everyone.
I can still hear my grandmother… GOD DAMN IT DAMIEN!!
I still remember my grandfather turning away so nobody saw him laughing.
Good thread👍 I had written a story last night, and something happened and I lost it all. 🤬
So let's try this again. Like others, I was outside all day until the street lights came on. Our house was on G hill, which overlooked the city of Glendale and borderlined EagleRock.
Right across the street from my house was acres of trails, tracks treehouse's and forts we made.
My Pops told me that one day they're gonna put a freeway through it. Sure enough, they dynamited it for years. And now the #2 Glendale freeway goes through it and connects to the 134 that will take you to Pasadena.
I too had a converted Sting Ray to BMX bike and when Easy Rider came out in the 60's, I went through a Chopper phase with the extended forks, Sissy bar with a Maltese cross Skull on the handlebars, the whole 9 yards! 😂
And when I discovered Motocross, that was it!
My buddies would hang out at my garage, which was appropriately called "The Factory" as we dialed in our machines. The local deli shop down the hill DeLucas, we knew the owner Enzo and on his way home, he would drop off a case of beer that we ordered, even though we were not of age yet! 😁
Years earlier, there was a No Trespassing Sign that we promptly removed and after the brewskies were consumed, we would take our motorcycle related broken stuff, parts etc and hang them on the post. That was after they were tuned up with sledgehammers, boltcutters, saws, LARGE boulders and whatever else we could use.
The Crown Jewel was a CZ tank off his bike that some rich kid's dad had bought him. He switched to a plastic tank and one day he walked up to the Factory and donated it to us! We did not even know his name! 😳
We have a good time on that, oh what I would do to get that brand new tank back, Damn kids! 😬🙄 ha
One day, a local photographer from the EagleRock Setinal came by and took a picture of it and put it in the newspaper. The "Works Post" was now legendary! 🙂
The fork tube is off my 74 TM125 and we made a bong out of it with fuel line to the bowl and the intake for the mouthpiece, it worked flawlessly! 😎
We fabricated two--one for the Factory and one for the Post.
The tree in the below pic background was our treehouse before the freeway went through.
To put it in perspective, before they dynamited the mountain away, that tree now a high point was the lowest area of our riding, hangout area.
They really can move mountains! 😲
With what was left of G hill I made a track right across the street from the house. I could get in 10-15 minute motos before the cops would roll by, we would be in the garage with the door closed and chuckle.....😂
75RM125
If you miss the corner at the bottom, you could end up on the freeway! 😲
77RM125
City of Glendale and the Factory in the background. When I see these photos of me riding in Suzuki Factory Overalls and tennis shoes, it gives me the willies! 😲
And yes, I learned a HARD lesson one day when an ol Pro guy that raced at legendary Ascot Park came by with his Mint Maico and I asked him if I could test ride it. Everything was going good until I hit the front brake and it was so freakin sensitive! I promptly washed out the front with my leg PINNED under the bike and bleeding profusely at the ankle! 🤕🥵
Ah, the hard lessons we learn as kids and teenagers and honestly, I wouldn't change a thing!
While you'd like to have that old Chay Zed tank back.
I'd settle for the black VW square back in that last berm shot photo.
I was born in '77, so it was a bit later than you. None of my friends skated either, so I didn't know anything about the El Toro Bowl. It is a bummer to see that we did lose a lot of tracks. It's everywhere, though, not just OC.
And I'll take what looks like the Toyota Corona wagon behind it!
Like many here , riding for years then the police started showing up " Can't ride here "
In the early 80's when beer can collecting was big my brother, my cousin and I would aways dig through the garbage to find cans. Even once we took the bus to a local liquor store and went inside. We paid the worker for a six pack; he poked holes in the bottom of the beer cans and sold us the cans. He probably drank the beer for free. We were maybe 15, 14, and 10. I don't think that would fly in today's world!
Thanks Oldschool and I dig your pictures too. That's incredible to see the difference in the landscape with that building that has the dome on it. Where was that?
It looks like you are on a 79 RM250? Also like my ignorance of riding with minimal protection when we were "invincible" with your jeans and tennis shoes! 😂
78 RM 100 & " Work Boots " !,
Chicago Suburbs , Elk Grove Village....
This is a great thread! Story is very similar to all above : ). Grew up in Glendale, So. Cal. Mini biking in vacant lots (w/ my Gratis square tubed minibike 'hotdog' ). My "mx" bicycle was a Sears Sypder (we couldn't afford Schwinn) which I rode everywhere. Such a magical time when we were kids just roaming around until dusk. Parents never had the slightest idea where we were, hiking nearby hills, playing at the nearby park (Nibley). We had a nearby 'plunge' / pool where we'd sneak into at night. Sneaking out the parents car to drive around. I feel bad that my kids never got to enjoy the unbridled freedom we had...
Pit Row
I think ‘79 was the first of the RMs with ‘FIM side plates’ so it should be ‘78 or older. I think the only Japanese bike with the mid plates in ‘79 was the CR line.
And those goofy fenders with the side walls. I had the ‘79 RM125.
TMs became RMs in ‘75, as I recall. Sadly…the aluminum tanks quickly became plastic soon there after.
My 77 had a plastic tank
When "Men were Men"....😲
Things I don't remember: A lot of hot women teachers having sex with us male students 🥺
Ha !!
I know where you snagged that one.
A good FB group to say the least.
Actually saw a few old friends in their comments about a month ago.
Was cool to get reacquainted with them.
This has been one of the best new threads here in quite a long time.
Actually prompted me to get a, "back when we were kids", conversations going at the campsite last night.
Cool stories.
Not as cool as the ones everyone shared here though.
Good times growing up at my parents place backing up to Quicksilver park in South San Jose (Almaden). Did a bunch a hiking up in the hills and a little dirt biking too.
Some highlights:
About 10-12 years old hiking back there with a buddy. We'd pack lunches/water and spend the hole day just hiking around. One time we found a pond, sat down there to eat lunch and right near where we were was a Playboy magazine! That was the best lunch I ever had! 🤣
Another time we took our mini-bikes (XR75 and CT70) up in the park and we were having a grand old time. Came around this hiking/horse trail and there were two cowboys atop their horses. One pulled a shotgun and said "Come here". We spun our bikes around and rode like hell back home. Never rode so f'n fast and we never did take our bikes back up there.
Soccer practice. Parents both worked at Lockheed and I was probably 7th or 8th grade in Junior High. Lockheed was in Sunnyvale and it was quite the commute back to Almaden (about an hour). Well, I had another Soccer practice they were late picking me up. So my Dad says "that will never happen again". So, he gets me a light/generator for my bicyle so I could ride at night! 💡 Good times and problem solved Dad!
"One time we found a pond, sat down there to eat lunch and right near where we were was a Playboy! " You mean maybe a "playmate"?
TM
One thing I don't remember is all the hot women teachers that were having sex with highschool guys. I seem to see stories about this every week in todays times. What the hell happened?
We live in strange times.
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