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US 191 Day 03-Ride to Green River UT

July 24, 2013 / MrArn / 2 comments

Eagar – Blanding – Monticello – Moab – Dead Horse Point – Green River

The ride was 411 miles with about 7 hours of ride time.

Saturday July 20, 2013

We were up and on the road by 7:00 after a quick breakfast at McDonald’s. We were again blessed with an overcast sky. The first few hours were cold and enjoyable to ride.

We stopped for gas in Ganado and one of the locals wanted to know all about our trip and wished us luck.

After a few more hours of riding past a majestic landscape filled with large rock formations jutting up out the earth we hit the Utah border.

The mile marker again changed to zero and continued our journey on US 191.

We made a quick stop for me to grab a gallon of gas in Many Farms. Two not quite sober locals first asked for money then for a ride. I understood the request for money, but asking for a ride must have just come from habit.

In Moab I filled up for our last leg of the day. My brake lights and turn signal had stopped working, after a few minutes we got them working again.

The heat was starting to become a factor getting well over 100. We hit a small pocket of rain and it felt wonderful. The view at Dead Horse Point was amazing, it’s easy to understand why we saw several buses full of tourist heading to this remote location.

As we were leaving Dead Horse a couple from Belgium stopped us and asked about trip and where were heading. They each climbed on our bike and got a picture.

As we neared our Green River our stopping place for the day, the last 20 miles seemed to take longer to ride than first 150 of the morning. It was so hot that’s Chuck’s LCD on his bike turned black and quit reporting the temperature.

After check in we went to Ray’s Tavern for dinner, we were told it was the place to eat in town. It was very crowded. The menu was simple – hamburger or steak, fries or coleslaw. My burger was good and after dinner we split some apple pie.

With the sun going down we set up our camp, there was no WIFI, so we couldn’t post the reports. We walked over to an Internet Cafe and it didn’t work there either.

Category: 401-500, Arizona, Motorcycle Camping, Point to Point Ride, Utah /

US 191 Day 02-Ride to Eagar AZ

July 19, 2013 / MrArn / No comments

Tombstone – Bisbee – Douglas – Safford – Clifton – Eagar

The ride was 334 miles with about 7 hours of ride time.

Friday July 19, 2013

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We were up early and packed just after the sun came up. It was very overcast–good thing for us because we were crossing the desert in the middle of the summer.

Our first stop was in Bisbee for breakfast. We were told by several locals that the Bisbee Breakfast Club was the best place for miles around to eat.

My breakfast was very good, I had some of their homemade patty sausage and eggs. After we were done eating the waitress convinced us to try a piece of their coconut cream pie.

We were now ready to start our adventure, our next stop was the Mexican border and the beginning of US 191.

After taking a few pictures we started north on US 191!!!

About 20 miles from Willcox we spotted a crop duster, buzzing a corn field. We paused our ride for a few minutes and watched him work.

We gassed up in Wilcox and continued north to Clifton.

After Clifton US 191 turns into one of the best motorcycle road I’ve ever ridden. It’s over 100 miles of hair pin turns and amazing vistas. Instead of warning you before each turn you get signs telling you that the next 16 miles is going to be curvy.

Forest fire really hit this area in the last few years, now flooding has damage parts of the road. If you haven’t ridden this road, add it to your list.

Chuck made sure we stopped at the arrow tree, it’s a tree hunters tag with an arrow after a successful hunt.

We got hit with hard rain just as we were getting to Springerville. After checking in we headed over to Booga Red’s for dinner.

The food seemed really good after a long day of riding.

After dinner we headed back to our cabin to shower and wash our clothes.

This was an amazing day, the great thing is that these are roads that I can easily ride again.

Category: 301-400, Arizona, Motorcycle Camping, Point to Point Ride /

US 191 Day 01-Ride to Tombstone AZ

July 17, 2013 / MrArn / No comments

Albuquerque –Socorro – Reserve – Safford – Tombstone

The ride was 439 miles with about 8 hours of ride time.

Thursday July 18, 2013

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The sun was just starting to rise as we prepared to start on our cross country trip. It was overcast and cool, so cool I had to wear a sweatshirt. It was strange for my hands to get cold in July even with my gloves on. I’m not complaining it’s always better cool then hot.

We rode south on I 25 to Socorro, stopped for gas and then went west on US 60. There was construction and we were stopped for a few minutes near the intersection for Water Canyon.

We hit the VLA about 10 miles before we turned on to NM 12. Every time I see these giant dishes pointed at the sky, looking to expand our knowledge I’m fill with wonder.

The overcast day provided amazing views as we went south on NM 12. The road was covered in gravel, making the going a little slower than normal.

We stopped in Reserve to fill up and looked at the sculpture of Elfago Baca. This was a very interesting man, the Billy Jack of his day.

We rode south US 160, then started west on NM 78. NM 78 was a great ride, it took us across some rolling plains and down into a wooded valley where we crossed into Arizona.

We went south on US 191 for about 50 miles today, we will re-ride this stretch of road going north tomorrow. When we got into Tombstone we went the the Tombstone Court House Museum.