BlackEyes1
Guest
Woo Hoo!!! I finally reached my 500 mile/day goal. Not that I want to that I want to always do 500 miles in a day, it was more just to prove to myself I could do it. As I'm planning for the NT Rally in a couple weeks, I had set myself a goal of longer and longer rides until I reached 500 miles, and last Saturday I made it. 590 miles in approx. 14 hrs whew! In fact my ride ended up being a little longer than I had planned due to the Wallow fire.
Note: Planning via maps, GPS, mapquest, etc. is all well and good but checking with the Highway Patrol/DOT is also very important.
So last Saturday I headed out about 08:30 for Globe, AZ. It was already 90 degrees outside (I hate summertime in the desert) but I had plenty of water with me. The trip to Globe was pretty uneventful and kind of boring really compared to everything else.
Globe was actually kind of cool because I met my first group of riders at the gas station. OK, maybe this is nothing new to others on the forum but this was the first time I met some other bikers while on a trip (apart from the quick wave given to riders heading the opposite direction). I was probably a little too excited because I forgot to ask for any contact information but still, it didn't detract from the experience. Anyway, the group was on the last leg of their ride and coincidentally doing the reverse loop I had planned. They must have started really really early to avoid the heat. Anyway, they informed me that my planned route through Alpine, AZ wasn't going to work (roads closed due to fire) and gave me a piece of their map print out of the detour they have devised. I was incredibly grateful because it just hadn't occurred to me to check road conditions before starting out.
So after talking a little bit, the MC group headed back to PHX (Hopefully not to get away from my goofy grin & dorky/naive talk). 
I then continued on towards Show Low, AZ.
The ride to Show Low was very nice. I've driven this road many times in a car but there are so many new aspects when riding. The switchbacks up and down the Salt River Canyon for example were much more enjoyable.
Additionally, there was the benefit of the higher in elevation I went, the cooler it got. There was a minor police incident (at least paranoid me thought there was) while on my way to Show Low. In general I don't speed much, I'm happy to just poke along within 5 miles of the speed limit but darn if some of those curves don't just beg for speeding up. What can I say, I'm human. So I was going up this hill and come around a corner doing who knows what speed (I was concentrating on the road, the turn, leaning, etc.) and a cop comes around heading the opposite direction. I know I was going over the speed limit but have no clue how much. So my heart instantly jumps as my mind races to thoughts of speeding ticket, insurance premiums, jail, etc.; I slow down and glance in my rear view mirror to which I see the flashing lights of the police car. I instantly change to following the speed limit religiously and wait for the siren to come a calling. Only it never comes. 10 miles, 20 miles, 30 miles, he must be able to catch up by then right? I guess I'll never know if the flashing lights were for me or someone else; if he just couldn't find a place to turn around quick enough or decided that flashing the rear lights was enough (it was); if I'm one lucky ******* or the flashing lights were completely unrelated to me. All I know is when he was coming towards me on the turn his lights were off. Anyway, 5 years off my life in stress and a little more riding and I stop in Show Low, AZ for lunch.
After gassing up in Show Low, AZ I head out on my adventure. Following US 60 out of Show Low was very windy from the south. I've never driven in such wind before so I can't comment on how well the NT does compared to other bikes but it's not like I had trouble keeping it on the road or anything. As I entered Eagar, AZ the smoke from from the Wallow fire south of me got really thick. So much so that I ended up lifting my sun visor until I got through it. I continued on US 60 until my next turn point near Quemado, NM. My original plan had me staying within the AZ border but well.......best laid plans and all. As it turns out entering NM was a good thing.
Oh that reminds me, I get to update my map. Now where was that post again?
From Quemado, NM I headed south on NM SR32 which goes through Gila National Forrest. What a wonderful and unexpected surprise that was. Previously I'd only seen New Mexico from I-40 & I-10 and neither route is anything to write home about. Mostly bland flat desert. I'll be darned if there aren't some really nice places in New Mexico. I had a fabulous relaxing ride through the Gila National Forrest; everything from mountain passes to following little creeks and streams. My impression of NM has certainly changed after this trip. I just can't say enough about what a pleasantly surprising good ride I had.
When I hit SR 78/US 191 I headed back west into Arizona. There was actually quite the interesting road as I approached the border and continued into AZ. The speed limit dips to 30 and you have warning signs of 15 - 10 mph turns. There were some really sever switchbacks and turns only we didn't seem to be climbing or descending in elevation. It made me wonder if someone took a hiking trail, decided to make it a road, but left everything as is without any straightening of the path or anything. Anyway, it was quite the curiosity. From the AZ border heading to Safford, AZ was really an interesting type of road I've never experienced before. I've seen plenty of roads that crisscross/switchback up and down the sides of mountains and whatnot but SR78 appears to mostly follow a ridge line down to the valley. I had this wonderful (sunsetting) view of the valley in front and to either side as the road mostly followed the ridge or the mountain. So not only do I get a great ride through places in NM I'd never seen before but I also get to ride on this wonderful road that appears to defy (at least my) reality as I'd never seen such a road before.
Goodness, my apologies to anyone getting bored. Sometimes I can get a bit wordy and this appears to be one of those times. I had a great time all around and am just really excited to express it. My trip is almost over too.
I had dinner in Safford at Denny's as it was dark and I was feeling hungry. Usually, I don't finish orders at Denny's, IHOP, or the like because there is usually more food than I can fit in my stomach. Amazingly I finished off my entire meal including eggs, bacon, cheese, potatoes, pancakes, multiple cups of water, and I'm probably forgetting some stuff. I must have just been famished because I didn't feel stuffed afterwards either, just content. Oh and it seemed to be the best Denny's breakfast I've ever tasted. Go Figure.
I don't believe there is much to see other than desert between Safford & Tucson but seeing as it was night time by the time I left Safford, I don't know for sure. When I got to Wilcox, I jumped on I-10 for the last jaunt to Tucson. I'm somewhat of a warm blooded person and pretty much ride exclusively with the wind shield down so as to get as much air as possible blowing past. After reading some posts around this forum and such (and being that it was night and thus not 100 degrees) I decided I'd raise the wind shield before getting on the interstate. Wow, what a difference. I'm 6' 3" so the wind shield doesn't completely cover me but it still made just a world of difference around the Semi-Truck Trailers. I'm used to getting just beaten to death coming up behind one and then passing around. I could hardly believe how much calmer it was behind the wind shield. My head did bob a little back and forth but it was still 100% nicer.
I made it back home about 23:00 and well, to be honest just crashed into bed. I know that my ride was almost a week ago but I still just feel awesome. I passed a milestone I set for myself, I got to go new places, I got to hang out with some other MC riders, wow what a high
If anyone has made it all the way through this, thank you for hanging in there and I'm glad you were able to experience but a glimpse of the absolutely awesome day I had. Keep the shiny side up and I hope to meet some of you in person in a couple weeks.
BlackEyes1
Note: Planning via maps, GPS, mapquest, etc. is all well and good but checking with the Highway Patrol/DOT is also very important.
So last Saturday I headed out about 08:30 for Globe, AZ. It was already 90 degrees outside (I hate summertime in the desert) but I had plenty of water with me. The trip to Globe was pretty uneventful and kind of boring really compared to everything else.
Globe was actually kind of cool because I met my first group of riders at the gas station. OK, maybe this is nothing new to others on the forum but this was the first time I met some other bikers while on a trip (apart from the quick wave given to riders heading the opposite direction). I was probably a little too excited because I forgot to ask for any contact information but still, it didn't detract from the experience. Anyway, the group was on the last leg of their ride and coincidentally doing the reverse loop I had planned. They must have started really really early to avoid the heat. Anyway, they informed me that my planned route through Alpine, AZ wasn't going to work (roads closed due to fire) and gave me a piece of their map print out of the detour they have devised. I was incredibly grateful because it just hadn't occurred to me to check road conditions before starting out.
So after talking a little bit, the MC group headed back to PHX (Hopefully not to get away from my goofy grin & dorky/naive talk). I then continued on towards Show Low, AZ.The ride to Show Low was very nice. I've driven this road many times in a car but there are so many new aspects when riding. The switchbacks up and down the Salt River Canyon for example were much more enjoyable.
Additionally, there was the benefit of the higher in elevation I went, the cooler it got. There was a minor police incident (at least paranoid me thought there was) while on my way to Show Low. In general I don't speed much, I'm happy to just poke along within 5 miles of the speed limit but darn if some of those curves don't just beg for speeding up. What can I say, I'm human. So I was going up this hill and come around a corner doing who knows what speed (I was concentrating on the road, the turn, leaning, etc.) and a cop comes around heading the opposite direction. I know I was going over the speed limit but have no clue how much. So my heart instantly jumps as my mind races to thoughts of speeding ticket, insurance premiums, jail, etc.; I slow down and glance in my rear view mirror to which I see the flashing lights of the police car. I instantly change to following the speed limit religiously and wait for the siren to come a calling. Only it never comes. 10 miles, 20 miles, 30 miles, he must be able to catch up by then right? I guess I'll never know if the flashing lights were for me or someone else; if he just couldn't find a place to turn around quick enough or decided that flashing the rear lights was enough (it was); if I'm one lucky ******* or the flashing lights were completely unrelated to me. All I know is when he was coming towards me on the turn his lights were off. Anyway, 5 years off my life in stress and a little more riding and I stop in Show Low, AZ for lunch.After gassing up in Show Low, AZ I head out on my adventure. Following US 60 out of Show Low was very windy from the south. I've never driven in such wind before so I can't comment on how well the NT does compared to other bikes but it's not like I had trouble keeping it on the road or anything. As I entered Eagar, AZ the smoke from from the Wallow fire south of me got really thick. So much so that I ended up lifting my sun visor until I got through it. I continued on US 60 until my next turn point near Quemado, NM. My original plan had me staying within the AZ border but well.......best laid plans and all. As it turns out entering NM was a good thing.
Oh that reminds me, I get to update my map. Now where was that post again?
From Quemado, NM I headed south on NM SR32 which goes through Gila National Forrest. What a wonderful and unexpected surprise that was. Previously I'd only seen New Mexico from I-40 & I-10 and neither route is anything to write home about. Mostly bland flat desert. I'll be darned if there aren't some really nice places in New Mexico. I had a fabulous relaxing ride through the Gila National Forrest; everything from mountain passes to following little creeks and streams. My impression of NM has certainly changed after this trip. I just can't say enough about what a pleasantly surprising good ride I had.
When I hit SR 78/US 191 I headed back west into Arizona. There was actually quite the interesting road as I approached the border and continued into AZ. The speed limit dips to 30 and you have warning signs of 15 - 10 mph turns. There were some really sever switchbacks and turns only we didn't seem to be climbing or descending in elevation. It made me wonder if someone took a hiking trail, decided to make it a road, but left everything as is without any straightening of the path or anything. Anyway, it was quite the curiosity. From the AZ border heading to Safford, AZ was really an interesting type of road I've never experienced before. I've seen plenty of roads that crisscross/switchback up and down the sides of mountains and whatnot but SR78 appears to mostly follow a ridge line down to the valley. I had this wonderful (sunsetting) view of the valley in front and to either side as the road mostly followed the ridge or the mountain. So not only do I get a great ride through places in NM I'd never seen before but I also get to ride on this wonderful road that appears to defy (at least my) reality as I'd never seen such a road before.
Goodness, my apologies to anyone getting bored. Sometimes I can get a bit wordy and this appears to be one of those times. I had a great time all around and am just really excited to express it. My trip is almost over too.
I had dinner in Safford at Denny's as it was dark and I was feeling hungry. Usually, I don't finish orders at Denny's, IHOP, or the like because there is usually more food than I can fit in my stomach. Amazingly I finished off my entire meal including eggs, bacon, cheese, potatoes, pancakes, multiple cups of water, and I'm probably forgetting some stuff. I must have just been famished because I didn't feel stuffed afterwards either, just content. Oh and it seemed to be the best Denny's breakfast I've ever tasted. Go Figure.
I don't believe there is much to see other than desert between Safford & Tucson but seeing as it was night time by the time I left Safford, I don't know for sure. When I got to Wilcox, I jumped on I-10 for the last jaunt to Tucson. I'm somewhat of a warm blooded person and pretty much ride exclusively with the wind shield down so as to get as much air as possible blowing past. After reading some posts around this forum and such (and being that it was night and thus not 100 degrees) I decided I'd raise the wind shield before getting on the interstate. Wow, what a difference. I'm 6' 3" so the wind shield doesn't completely cover me but it still made just a world of difference around the Semi-Truck Trailers. I'm used to getting just beaten to death coming up behind one and then passing around. I could hardly believe how much calmer it was behind the wind shield. My head did bob a little back and forth but it was still 100% nicer.
I made it back home about 23:00 and well, to be honest just crashed into bed. I know that my ride was almost a week ago but I still just feel awesome. I passed a milestone I set for myself, I got to go new places, I got to hang out with some other MC riders, wow what a high
If anyone has made it all the way through this, thank you for hanging in there and I'm glad you were able to experience but a glimpse of the absolutely awesome day I had. Keep the shiny side up and I hope to meet some of you in person in a couple weeks.
BlackEyes1
