Destinations: The Rock Store, Malibu, California
March/April 2006
By Joe Berk
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Visit the Rock Store for a great breakfast and all the cool bikes you can stomach.
Photos by Joe Berk
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Feel like going for a motorcycle ride? How about blue skies, moderate temperatures, twisting canyon roads, and a mountain roadhouse offering great food, great motorcycles, and even a movie star or two?
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Nestled in the hills overlooking Malibu, Calif., the Rock Store on Mulholland Highway offers all of the above and more. Show up on Sunday morning and there’s a good chance you’ll be sharing breakfast with Jay Leno, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and other celebrities. The major attraction isn’t the stars, although they make for a good story to tell your buddies. The real reason people come here is the fantastic riding to be found on California’s coastal range roads (Mulholland Highway, Kanan Dume Road, the nearby Pacific Coast Highway, and others]. And with California’s climate, the roads and the weather are nice year-round.
The Rock Store just oozes character. Owners Ed and Verne (her real name is Veronica) have been running the place since 1961, and right off the menu (try the pancakes!), or if you’re a geezer with a cholesterol problem, ask nicely and they’ll make a wonderful egg-whites-only mushroom omelet. Visit the nice lady upstairs for refreshingly reasonably priced T-shirts and other kinds of Rock Store kitsch.
The real action, though, is outside. There’s no duck or goose on the Rockhouse menu, but you’ll find plenty of Ducatis and Guzzis in the parking lot along with Beemers, Beezers, Triumphs, Harleys, Vincents, classic bikes, new bikes, cruisers, dual sports, crotch rockets, and sometimes even Leno’s Y2K jet-powered bike. Everyone is friendly and will pretty much be doing the same thing — gawking at the marvelous motos, socializing, and taking lots of pictures.
Visit any Sunday for a sea of chrome, spokes, leather, sweet paint jobs, and motorcyclists from all walks of life. MC
The Skinny
Where: The Rock Store, 30354 Mulholland Highway, Cornell, California 91301. From Los Angeles take Hwy 101 North for 38 miles. Turn left on Kanan Road and follow it for just over 3 miles, then make a quick left on Sierra Creek Road, and a quick right on Mulholland Hwy. You can't miss it!
Why: Great motorcycle and people viewing, fabulous canyon carving, and good food.
Best Kept Secret: Continue west on the Mulholland Highway, turn left on South Kanan Dume Road, and take the Pacific Coast Highway north along California’s magnificent coast to Neptune’s Net restaurant for great seafood, more motorcycles, and more celebrities.
Scenic Route: Any of the mountain roads in the area. Pick any, you won’t be disappointed.
Avoid: Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions. The locals won’t think you’re funny.
More information: www.rockstore.com