Deeds Done & Dues Paid

I haven't really had the opportunity to blog about it lately, but I've been having a LOT of scooter mechanical difficulties. The Buddy broke a belt on my way home from work, then again when I brought it to Sedona. The RV-250 lost its starter in the middle of the desert, leaving me stranded for a few hours. Then, earlier this week, Stella seized her crank on a ride to Sonoita with some friends, again leaving me stranded, but at least John K. stayed with me while we waited for my son to come pick me up.

So, it was with some trepidation that I left on a very long ride a few days ago. At every major point along the way, I was thinking about who I could call and where I could keep the scoot until I could come back to pick it up. Thankfully, the scoot ran perfectly for the entire 550+ miles.

Did I say 550 miles? Yes, I did. For details of how and why the route came to be that far and on those particular roads, please refer to my scooter club blog post: Of Prescott Twisties to Jerome to AZ Rim Country and Home. But why consider riding that far, knowing that it would take 14-16 hours in the saddle?

Here is a comment my mother made on my facebook status referring to the length of the ride: "And why is it you are doing this? I know you love to ride that scooter, but sometime-----" She wasn't the only person who asked either.

It was a cloudless morning when I set out

The fact is that there is more than one answer to that question.The first, and most obvious is that I wanted to ride the area. Yesterday seemed like as good a time as any. Actually I was going to do it 2 weeks ago, but it was raining the morning I planned and going.

The Weaver Mountains outside of Congress, AZ

Another reason is that I'm pretty sure I won't always live here in Tucson. I don't want to move away wishing that I had ridden a certain road(s) before moving. again, now was as good a time as any.

Frog Rock outside of Congress, AZ

Third, I just love to ride, and I love to ride where I've never ridden before. I had several days off work and this was a good time.

So, what is it like to ride long distance on a 250cc scooter?

I felt great as I left Tucson. I had found some roads outside of Casa Grande on which I had never ridden, as well and a new route around the southwest part of Phoenix. I was looking forward to what lay ahead. Never the less, every bump in the road, made me wonder if the scooter was about to die on me.

Being somewhat of a farm boy, originally from Roswell, NM, I enjoyed the ride between Casa Grande and Maricopa. There were lots a cattle and hay cutting and all the associate smells were there. I may be the only one, but the smell of manure brings on a certain nostalgia for me. The road itslef was straight and flat, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

Elevation and cloud cover started increasing as I left the Phoenix area, riding toward Wickenburg. One of the many things I love about riding in AZ are the mountains. A 50 miles ride can take up, then down several thousand feet, depending on where you are. Temperatures can drop 30 degrees and you can go from desert to pine forest. It is amazing to experience. On this day, I experienced it over and over again. What a treat.

Roadside Memorial along the White Spar Highway (AZ-89)

My excitement in creased as I left Congress, AZ. I knew that I would be climbing a big mountain (the White Spar Highway) and then, not far after that, I would reach the first of the roads I was out here for. The White Spar is an impressive climb. The I was limited to about 45mph top speed, because of the grade. I've read that this is a dangerous stretch of road, but there was little traffic when I was there. Riding down probably would have been a bit scarier.

Route 89 outside of Prescott.

I reached the top and wished there had been a scenic overlook for pics of the valley. As I am writing this, I discovered that there is one, but it is only available to vehicle goes DOWN. Another time, maybe. I pulled over in the little town of Yarnell to mount my Go-Pro camera. I really wanted to catch the twisties and share them with others.

Beautiful Blue Stella w/sidecar Combo at Prescott Scooter & Auto Source

My desire to share my rides is another reason I enjoy these rides as well. Since I have started blogging about my rides, I have had many people tell me that they enjoy each installment. I encourages me to know that I bring other people enjoyment by writing about my little scooter hobby.

Scooter & auto source also had this 150cc Tomahawk Replica

I learned from from my first video attempts in Sedona, so I changed up the way I was videoing. Rather than just letting the camera run, I only shot 1-2 minutes at a time. That way it would take forever to load and edit. The biggest problem I had with this technique was that it is hard to tell if the camera is on or off. There is no indicator light on the top or back of the camera, so I had to guess a bit. I did end up missing one to the better segments of the road. Here is my edited video of the segment of AZ-89 HERE.

I was thrilled to see a lot full of scooters as I rode through Prescott. I stopped for a bit and met Mark Tetreau, owner of Prescott Scooter and Auto Source. I love scooter people.

Storm heading toward Jerome

I cut my visit short because it had started sprinkling. It initially looked like the skies were clearer to the south, but once I got out of Prescott, I saw the storm clouds you can see in the pic above. I could see frequent lightening as well. I knew I was probably going to get wet.

Looking through rain squall toward Jerome, AZ

I found myself looking forward to the rain. It's probably just me, but I don't want to be a "fair weather" rider. So, I rode through the rain, up, then down, a steep, winding, mountain road. I kind of feel like I've "paid my dues." Another milestone passed. Also, I was pleased, because I had just ridden the other stretch of road that I wanted to ride.

I was a bit disappointed that it was pouring down as I hit Jerome. It's a very scenic little town. I might have gotten off the bike and walked around a bit had it been nicer.

Riding in the rain got my manual GPS a little damp

I had planned on stopping for a bit in Cottonwood, but I was right on the leading edge of the rain as I got there. I decided to keep going. It took until Camp Verde, another 25 miles, before I was into some partial sunshine. At this point I was just over 300 miles into my ride. I checked in with my wife to let her know that I expected the ride to take another 6-8 hours.

Rain squall near Roosevelt Lake

A lesson I learned while on this ride: Don't bet new glasses then take off on a 15 hour ride the next day. I wasn't having problems seeing, but they were too tight behind my ears. Over the course of the day, they were getting more and more painful. I'm sure the helmet didn't help, either.

More anticipation: I was now headed toward Pine, Strawberry and Payson. I had never been to any of these communities until my last trip to Sedona. This area is what is known as AZ Rim Country, because it is on the Mogollon Rim, and it is beautiful. It is also a bit under utilized because it is not really "on the way" to any place. The good thing about that is that there aren't big crowds. There are nice looking hotels and B&B's as well as a lot of campgrounds. The road quality all around this area is excellent, though. I definitely have plans to return to the Payson area with my wife.

I was getting tired at this point. One thing that keeps me alert is the excitement of a new road. I left Payson then turned onto AZ-166 which would take me by Roosevelt Lake. I had never been on that road now had I seen that lake before. I remained alert as I approached, rode along side, then passed this beautiful lake. There are many large camping and picnic areas along it shores and most were almost completely empty as I went by.

I found this bridge next to the Roosevelt Dam to be quite beautiful

I reached Globe, AZ for some food and my final fuel stop. It is just over 100 miles to Tucson from Globe, night was falling and I had been riding for more than 12 hours.

More lessons learned:

1. Even a good fitting helmet gets uncomfortable after this long. The top of my head was feeling like it was burning from the continuous pressure.

2. Even a comfortable seat gets uncomfortable. My butt was also beginning to feel as if it were burning.

If you think you'll be doing a long ride like this, then plan for the fact that you will likely have to stop more and more frequently the longer you ride. I had been stopping about every 100 miles or so until now. I had to stop twice more before I got back to Tucson

The other thing I had trouble with, was driving at dusk. I found that I was pretty darn frightened. I kept imagining a deer leaping out from the side of the roadway. Once it was completely dark, I felt a lot better. I am glad the RV-250 has such great lighting.

Ride on,

Howard

Rally Road Trip

The Great Southwest Scooter Fiesta was held this past weekend. This is the second time it was held and it is hosted by the Greater Phoenix Scooter Club. Our Tucson club has done a few things with the Phoenix club and so, a few of us decided to make the trip to support this rally.

Although Arizona has great weather suitable for year-round riding, (at least for some of us) there are not that many rallies. Therefore, I try to get to as many of them as I can. I think it's important so that people are encouraged to continue planing rallies in the future. Tucson is home to one of the longest running rallies in the nation: the Tucson-Nogales Fall Classic, but that is another post.

There were four of us who decided to make this road trip. Since we all (initially) had all of Friday off, we decided to make a bit of an adventure out of it and take the scenic (aka "long") way to the Phoenix area. Using the most direct route, it is about 121 miles from Tucson to Gilbert. The route we took was approximately 200 miles.

John was having scooter problems and had asked to borrow my Stella. No problem, now I had both of my scooters going to the rally! John met me at my house to load up our scoots for the weekend. We then drove to Catalina, AZ, to meet up with Stan and his Honda Helix, then we headed north. At the last minute, Sean's final exam at school was changed, so he decided he would just meet us in Phoenix Friday evening. there would be three of us riding up together.

If you've seen any of my "Riding SoAZ" posts, I've mentioned taking Route 77 out of Tucson before. 77 is rural and if you take it all the way, it eventually ends in Holbrook, AZ, about 60 miles east of Flagstaff. Our journey only had us taking it as far as Globe, though.

Taking the Stella (60mpg) and the Iron Buddy (70-80mpg) necessitated that we stop relatively often for fuel as well as for butt rests. Also, we had all day Friday to get there and so, weren't in a hurry. I had built some extra time into our schedule for site seeing, picture taking and the like as well.

Outside of Oracle there is a 12 mile stretch of 7% grade downhill. I've done this on the scoot before, but it was even more fun with a group. We stopped for our first fuel in Winkelman, a little mining town. There was a lot of climbing from here to Globe (from 2000' to over 5000') but all three scoots did fine.

Winkelman, AZ

Stan took over the lead in Globe because he had a a couple of places he wanted to show us in Miami, which is just west of Globe on US60. Stan lived there a few years back and he is an excellent tour guide. We stopped for bit in Miami and listened raptly to Stan's stories of Miami's past.

Antique Store in Miami

Looking down Main St in Miami

We climbed again from Globe to Top of the World, AZ. You climb some pretty steep grade as you pass the mine outside of Miami. After Top of the World, it's all downhill to Superior. There are a lot of trucks around here so I was always looking behind me for fear that a truck would lose its brakes and come careening down toward us.

There was additional excitement when we hit the tunnel nearing Superior. The warning signs advised us to turn our headlights on as the tunnel lights were out. They were right. The lights were out and our little headlights didn't light they way too much. It was seriously dark in there.

Superior was a fuel and food stop, but first Stan took us on another short tour. Superior was where the movies "U-Turn" and "8-legged Freaks" were shot and Stan showed us some points of interest. We went to the Buckboard Cafe for lunch. The service was good but the food was not all the good. Our treat here was going to the World's Smallest Museum. It's pretty hokey, but in a fun, Route 66-Americana, kind of way.

World's Smallest Museum in Superior

From Superior, we zoomed toward our hotel in Mesa. It started to sprinkle and bit and the skies had been very dark since before reaching Globe, but those few sprinkles were all we got. The weather for the rest of the weekend was amazing.

From US60 we took Old West Highway to Apache Trail (which is old US60). What a treat, If you live in or visit Phoenix, you should take a drive down Apache Trail. It's like a time capsule from the 50's or 60's. There are lots of cool restaurants and old motor hotels. We passed by the Buckhorn Motel and we all dearly wished it was still open so we could have stayed there.

After checking in and resting a bit, we went over to the rally's first meet-up at Victory BMW and we then rode to dinner at Joe's Real BBQ. It was good seeing some scooter friends from the Phoenix group again. Waiting in line is never difficult when you're shooting the breeze with friends. The food wasn't as good as I remembered last year, but it wasn't bad.

Friday night at Joe's Real BBQ

Sean got out of school later than planned and texted at 6pm to say he had finally left Tucson and would meet us at Joe's, so we waited.... and waited ...... and waited. It takes some stones to ride a small scooter 120 miles in the dark, and that's what he did. Joe's was closed and the parking lot was empty, but Sean arrived around 9:30. We saddled up and rode safely to our hotel.

Stan had written a few places down where he wanted to try to eat while in Phoenix. As it turned out, Matt's Big Breakfast (featured on the Food Network's Diners Drive-Ins and Dives) was on his list AND was a meet up location for the rally. Google informed us that it would take at least an hour to ride to Matt's, so we knew we had an early start coming. Sean and John wimped out as Stan and I set our alarm for 5:15am.

I figured that at 5:30 on a Saturday morning it would be fairly easy to ride US60 on the scoots. I was wrong. There was traffic than I figured and it was a bit scary. An hour and 5 minutes later, Stan and I made it to Matt's. I was pretty pleased with my breakfast, but Stan wasn't impressed with his.

It was "every scoot for itself" for the ride to Joe's Farm Grill (the rally's main event) so Stan and I plotted out a different route than the one we came in on and headed for Gilbert. neither of us knows much about the streets in Phoenix, but it didn't matter. That's one thing I like about the guys I rode with, they are always ready for an adventure.

The Lawn at Joe's Farm Grill

Scooters Lined up in front of the coffee shop at Joe's

We made it to Joe's with no problem, parked the scoots and began to take in the rally activities. In my opinion, Saturday's highlight was the ride to Saguaro Lake. We left around 3:00pm and 20-30 scooters headed out for the lake. Once you get out of town, this ride is beautiful. There are amazing desert views, then cliffs, then you arrive at the lake. We did this ride last years and it is excellent. The road has some nice twists and turns in it as well.

Our bikes at Saguaro Lake

The four of us Sky Island Riders finished the ride and found our way to Vito's Pizza Place for dinner. we all agreed that the food here was very, very good and the prices were reasonable. The service was good, too. An additional bonus is that they have a scooter painted on the outside or the restaurant. How cool is that?

Vito's - Check out the scooter on the wall

Sunday morning's rally ride was another ride to downtown Phoenix. We figured that since we had already ridden there to go to Matt's, we would load up and head toward home.

Have you ever noticed that saddle time, and its associated butt pain, is cumulative if you don't take at least 2-3 days off? I have. As we started riding toward Tucson, I needed to stop more and more frequently to stretch.

On the way out of town we stopped for fuel, then again at the 5 & Diner for breakfast. I think we were all very pleased with our food and Pebbles, our waitress, was a delight. We took Power Road south to Hunt Highway, then southeast toward Florence.

Just outside of Florence is Poston Butte, aka "F" Mountain. We thought about trying to riding to the top, but the trail is too steep and rocky, so we hiked it. We had no idea it was called Poston Butte until I looked it up while writing this. I was raised in Arizona and didn't know that Charles Poston is known as the Father of Arizona. Did you know that? Apparently he wanted to build and Temple to the Sun at the top of this little mountain.

From "F" Mountain, we rode the 2 miles in to Florence, got gas and stopped in the little park to rest a bit more. Since we were in Florence and none of the other guys had ever been there, we then stopped in at the Florence Prison gift shop. It's a fun little place and if you buy something that an inmate made, the proceeds help the inmate pay restitution to his victim(s).

Hunt Highway dumps you out onto Route 79 which eventually dumps you out onto Route 77 which becomes Oracle Road. the more I ride on Oracle, the less I like it. We have had a couple of close calls on group rides. Traffic moves fast and there isn't that much to look at, so I decided to take the Park Link Rd cutoff and come in to Tucson via the I-10 frontage road. this adds a few mile to the trip, but I felt like it would be a bit more fun and possibly safer. Plus, I was the only one of the four of us who had been on it before.

I got home about 7 hours after leaving the hotel. We had logged in over 500 miles during the three days and had had a great time. Both of my scooter ran great. None of us had any mechanical failures. We had some good food and shared some funny stories. To me, that equals a great weekend.

Ride on,

Howard