CA Touge Podcast 5: the Right Car for the Touge

Join us this time on GMR again as we discuss good cars for the touge. Every car has their place on the touge, and we discuss what to get and what to avoid for first-timers.

Santa Clara Truck Trail: Tough Course for Fun Times

Imagine running hard on your favorite course, doing peachy keen. But at the end, there's a foreboding climb into the mountains. The signs say, "no traffic," the tarmac declares rough times ahead, and the guardrails do not exist. However, good views and fun times are ahead if a brave driver is willing to grab their reproductive organs of choice and head on up. At first, everything seems fine, but the road begins to encroach on the driver as lanes become nonexistent and rocks and rubble mock the driver with loose grip and light scratches against the car's body. Finally, it all clears up, and there's nothing left except a fantastic view. Oh, and the way back down with gravity shooting seductive eyes is a real femme fatale. This is the Santa Clara Truck Trail.

Sanic's Drive-along: Keeping Cool When Mistakes Happen

Another episode of Sanic's Drive-along! This time I tackle Santa Clara truck trail that sits between Sand Canyon and Little Tujunga. I wanted to upload this video for everyone to know and learn about driving in a safe manner.

The Happy Car: General Car Maintenance for the Touge Driver

When it comes to driving on the touge, the most essential thing is having a good car to drive. A driver can't get very far with rotting rubber on their tires or misfiring cylinders. This article will be a simple guide for general car maintenance and things that any at-home mechanic or driver can do in their spare time instead of shelling out the green to make the car gleam.

Now, there are many guides out there that help you fix your car for particular problems. This isn't one of them. The purpose of this guide is to keep your vehicle in top efficiency and to do any preventive maintenance to reduce the future repair bill that you may encounter.

CA Touge Podcast 4: Hard Parking and Car Spotting

Instead of the touge this time around, the boys talk about hard parking community and do a bit of car spotting. We recorded on site at a hard park meet at night. We saw cops, cools cars, and good friends.

Sanic's Drive-along: Black Canyon

Another episode of Sanic's Drive-along. This time I take a trip through Black Canyon in Simi Valley.

Black Canyon Rd: Where Are the Guardrails?

The locals whisper about the treacherous road that has claimed nearly a dozen lives, and even at night, a driver could see the ghosts of those who have fallen to their death on Black Canyon. Ghost cars would drive up and down the road, seeking revenge on the tarmac that spanked their rubber and has no guardrails to hug. Aimlessly, these cars would wander, and at the dead of night, they may strike the late night touge driver with a fearsome visage of someone who doesn't know how to brake properly around corners.

Black Canyon sits on top of a little mountain where Boeing does something secret. It lies between Woolsey Canyon and Old Knolls Rd. in Simi Valley.

CA Touge Podcast 3: Spooktacular on Little Tujunga Canyon

Join us this episode for our Halloween edition of Californian Touge podcast. We're on site at Little Tujunga Canyon overlooking the city of Santa Clarita. We discuss Little Tujunga and Sand Canyon and other driving and car related stories. The touch of Halloween was upon us as the fog rolled in during our podcast and an unfortunate egging incident.

Sand Canyon: Braking to Go Fast

Sand Canyon is the great little downhill course that requires great footwork on all the right pedals. Imagine going to the water park, and the park has that one water slide where they drop people at steep angles. That would be Sand Canyon as gravity will be the driver's number one friend or number one foe.

Sand Canyon begins (or ends) where Little Tujunga Canyon begins (or ends). It connects Little Tujunga Canyon with the 14 and Placerita Canyon. It's only about three or so miles long, but going downhill all the way is a load of fun.

Placerita Canyon: Whip Out Those Huge Displacements

If Upper Big Tujunga Canyon is where the driver can whip out some American muscle; then, Placerita Canyon is where you can shoot straight NOS into the throbbing power of double-digit cylinders. Placerita Canyon is a short little touge that runs between Sand Canyon and the 14 freeway. The only point I can understand from this piece of asphalt is that it connects one part of the 14 with another part of the 14. Oh, sure, there are some buildings and things on the road, but it's only a few miles long.

Placerita Canyon is little touge that cuts through some of the mountains, but it really doesn't go up or down anywhere. There is a little challenge when it comes to the corner, and the straights on the touge are incredibly straight. Unlike Live Oak where the driver has to pay to subtle differences in the road to stay on track, this touge has none of that minutia. There's a corner; then, there's a long straight with plenty of visibility up ahead.

CA Touge Podcast 2: Spooky Happenings at Glendora Mountain Road

Here comes the second episode of the Californian Touge podcast. Come join us as we discuss Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) and strange things that are happening in the middle of the night. The podcast was recorded on site at GMR that's opened to the public. A group of car buddies shoot the breeze and discuss the road.

It was incredibly foggy that night, and we also had some strange visitors join us.

Little Tujunga Canyon: the Tire's Barbershop Quartet

Little Tujunga Canyon is the little runt of the three Tujunga brothers. Alongside Big Tujunga Canyon and Upper Big Tujunga Canyon, Little Tujunga Canyon (LTC) is the littlest brother who got all the hand-me-downs and got stuck with his uncle's rustbox, but that's all LTC ever needed to be fast. LTC is a touge that stresses good driving, following the perfect line, and keeping up the momentum around corners. Going fast isn't how much a driver has under the hood, it's how well they can keep up a consistent speed through a technical course.

Sanic's Drive-along: Little Tujunga Canyon

Just a little drive-along across the 11 miles of Little Tujunga Canyon. Check out the video below.

Live Oak: Beware the Double-Yellows

There are a lot of deceiving things in life: ads that say "world famous," a stuffed bra flying off on prom night, every single news outlet in existence, and Live Oak. At first glance, Live Oak is a touge that seems like a straightway with no technical skill involved when maneuvering through it, but the second someone gets comfortable going at 100 mph on it, there's a sharp corner that has claimed many in which the locals call "Kevo's Corner." That's the thrill of Live Oak.

Live Oak is a short touge that runs off El Toro Rd that turns into Santiago Canyon. The road leads through a small neighborhood with driveways that extend out to Live Oak. The road ends around a large corner that meets a little shopping center or something.

CA Touge Podcast 1: On the Double-Yellows at Live Oak

Come join us for our first episode on Live Oak.

This was recorded on site at Live Oak where three buddies and I talk about the touge, the scene, and do a little bit of car spotting as well.

Mulholland Drive: Rich-snob Edition

Mulholland Drive, not to be confused with Mulholland Highway (more on that later), is a thrilling drive for all the wrong reasons. Mulholland is a twisty snake where wheels love to squeal around every corner; however, it's not the corners that cause the thrills, it's the possible chance of some Prius coming around a blind corner, splitting lanes, and swerving out of the way while imitating the Roadrunner. Despite how fun the road looks, it can never be fully pushed because of the traffic on the road, and the homes that dwell in the hills.

Mulholland Drive runs between Cahuenga Blvd somewhere near Hollywood and Skirball Cultural Center (and a little beyond that). Keep in mind that in the middle, Coldwater Canyon connects Mulholland together.

Mt. Wilson

The intersection of ACH and Mt. Wilson

Mt. Wilson is like the kid who invites you over for a summer pool party, but when you get there, all he has is a bag of opened Cheetos and single Slip 'N Slide. At first, you may not know what to do: join in on the fun or call your mom to take you back home. However, closer inspection of that Slip 'N Slide reveals that it's actually 100 of the slides put together that stretches out to about five miles. Once you get on, the fun never stops until some asshole comes around a blind corner and pushes you off a cliff.

Upper Big Tujunga Canyon

Intersection where ACH and Upper BTC meet

Imagine the two Big Tujunga Canyons (BTC) as twin brothers, but Upper BTC popped out of the womb two minutes early and staked a claim on the best tit. Throughout Upper's life, the big brother felt like it had it made. Upper had everything handed to it: well-paved roads, plenty of scenery, and long stretches of road where it can flaunt its American muscle.

Upper BTC stretches between Angeles Forest Highway and Angeles Crest Highway, connecting the two. There are some auxiliary roads on its long stretch, but its only purpose is to connect the two highways and nothing more. The road does not connect to "Lower" Big Tujunga Canyon in any way.

Cars (the Movie)

The best part of this movie was definitely not the racing.

"Lower" Big Tujunga Canyon

Dam Overlook about 2/3 Uphill

This is one of my favorite roads; although, not my number one favorite of all time (I'll talk about that later). For now, I wish to speak of "Lower" Big Tujunga Canyon road. Keep in mind that there are two Big Tujungas (that I know of) that are adjacent or close to Angeles Crest Highway (ACH).

The lower part of the touge starts from Foothill Blvd, up to Oro Vista, and then finally onto Big Tujunga. It connects to Angeles Forest Highway which connects to both Upper Big Tujunga and ACH. While the name "lower" in the title is not official (that I can find) it definitely fits the bill because there's definitely an "upper" in those mountains that's higher up.

Life on the Touge

Life has various ways of living, but I'm not here to tell you that I live the fast life or that I live on the edge. I'm simply here to tell you the life of driving through various touges (峠: mountain passes), and how fun they can be for any driver from the simple grandpa who has had their license for eighty years or the lady who drives around in a red V6 Mustang. Either way, life on the touge is about having fun.

When it comes to having fun driving through the touge, everyone must keep in mind how to drive them safely as well. After all, you can't have fun while you're dead, debilitated, or a camshaft up the anus. Keep in mind, I'm not here to tell you how to drive faster or how to improve your driving abilities, nor am I going to tell you that you should immediately drive out with your old Mercury Mystique and try to drift through every corner on bald tires and a crappy transmission.