I left home at 6:00am, on my way to pick up Tom at the Yellow Basket, in Menifee. We headed out on our way to the Denny's Restaurant in...
I left home at 6:00am, on my way to pick up Tom at the Yellow Basket, in Menifee. We headed out on our way to the Denny's Restaurant in Beaumont, off the intersection of Highway 79 and I-10. Bob arrived soon after, but no Lewis. We got a few drinks and toast while waiting, and he finally showed up. We got on our way at 7:30am, headed east on I-10.
Being 30 minutes late on our schedule, we sped along to Indio, our first gas stop, running between 85-90mph. By the time we got into Indio, the temperature was getting warm, probably around 90 deg. We took off our jackets.
Got back on the I-10, and sped along between 90-100mph, trying to race the heat. We got into Blythe, and pulled off to get some drinks and some air conditioning at a Del Taco. It was about 10:00am.
From there, we cross the Arizona border, and got gas at Ehrenburg. Having gotten ourselves back on schedule, we ran at a steady 85mph to the AZ-60 off ramp. From there, we headed up AZ-60 about 80mph, and got gas at Aguila. Aguila, was probably fairly large town considering the tiny rat holes along the AZ-60 thus far. Temperature felt like 105 deg. Lots of hispanics loitering around, probably waiting out the head until evening to go back to work in the fields.
Our plan was to have lunch in Congress, AZ, only 20 miles from Aguila. We got into Congress, and found the only cafe. It had a gravel parking lot. Tom and Lewis pulled into the parking lot, while Bob and I kinda waited, and stayed on our bikes. Tom noticed the cafe was closed. So he got back on his bike, and backed out of the parking lot. He was about back into Bob, when Bob hit his horn. But Tom didn't hear it, and forced Bob to push himself back, but he lost footing on the gravel, and dropped his bike.
We changed plans to get lunch in Yarnell. But Lewis wanted to instead go straight to Prescott for lunch. So we let him lead us the way.
Highway 89A into Prescott was a great ride. It goes up into the mountains, with lots of twisties, keeping you at about 30-50 mph. But great scenery, and cooler temperatures.
We pulled in Prescott, and parked by the Old Court House. Took some photos, and started looking for a place to chow. We wandered into one place that seemed like it would offer air conditioning. It was The Historic Palace. It took them a long time to get our lunch delivered, so Tom complained and managed to get two of our dishes comped.
We then headed down the 89A, to Jerome. Again, the ride on the 89A was a motorcyclist's dream. Lots of curves, great scenery, the smell of pine trees, and smooth pavement. Well, some places were kinda bumpy, but mostly good.
We got into Jerome. Jerome is an old west town built on the side of a mountain. We pulled into Paul & Jerry's Saloon, which bills itself as the oldest active saloon in Arizona. It certainly looked old. We got drinks, and continued north on 89A to Sedona.
We got into Sedona, probably around 3:30pm. The views of the red rock canyons were spectacular. We pulled into "old town", which didn't look all that old. We got ice creams at a shop, and enjoyed some more air conditioning.
Continuing north on 89A, we got into what was probably the best part of the ride. 89A from Sedona to Flagstaff was some of the best riding I've been on. It runs along the bottom of a canyon, with the stream running nearby. Flanked by both sides are towering canyon walls of red, white, and tan streaks. Tall trees grew along the road, hanging their branches and leaves over the road casting a cool shade. The curves swept along at degrees that allowed you to ride a leisurely 50-60mph. This is a stretch of road every motorcycle rider ought to ride.
We pulled into our motel at 6:00am. Bob had to take his air filter cover off to re-attach his breather hose. We headed out for dinner at 7:30, and ate at "Black Bart's Steak House". It was located in the middle of a RV Campground. The waitresses and waiters there are all music students at Northern Arizona University. They are required to get on the stage at the restaurant and sing songs from operas, musical comedies, and various standards. Some of it was bad enough to be quite funny. The food was great, though pricey. All in all we had a blast. We were the only bikers, while everyone else were "snow birds".
Being 30 minutes late on our schedule, we sped along to Indio, our first gas stop, running between 85-90mph. By the time we got into Indio, the temperature was getting warm, probably around 90 deg. We took off our jackets.
Got back on the I-10, and sped along between 90-100mph, trying to race the heat. We got into Blythe, and pulled off to get some drinks and some air conditioning at a Del Taco. It was about 10:00am.
From there, we cross the Arizona border, and got gas at Ehrenburg. Having gotten ourselves back on schedule, we ran at a steady 85mph to the AZ-60 off ramp. From there, we headed up AZ-60 about 80mph, and got gas at Aguila. Aguila, was probably fairly large town considering the tiny rat holes along the AZ-60 thus far. Temperature felt like 105 deg. Lots of hispanics loitering around, probably waiting out the head until evening to go back to work in the fields.
Our plan was to have lunch in Congress, AZ, only 20 miles from Aguila. We got into Congress, and found the only cafe. It had a gravel parking lot. Tom and Lewis pulled into the parking lot, while Bob and I kinda waited, and stayed on our bikes. Tom noticed the cafe was closed. So he got back on his bike, and backed out of the parking lot. He was about back into Bob, when Bob hit his horn. But Tom didn't hear it, and forced Bob to push himself back, but he lost footing on the gravel, and dropped his bike.
We changed plans to get lunch in Yarnell. But Lewis wanted to instead go straight to Prescott for lunch. So we let him lead us the way.
Highway 89A into Prescott was a great ride. It goes up into the mountains, with lots of twisties, keeping you at about 30-50 mph. But great scenery, and cooler temperatures.
We pulled in Prescott, and parked by the Old Court House. Took some photos, and started looking for a place to chow. We wandered into one place that seemed like it would offer air conditioning. It was The Historic Palace. It took them a long time to get our lunch delivered, so Tom complained and managed to get two of our dishes comped.
We then headed down the 89A, to Jerome. Again, the ride on the 89A was a motorcyclist's dream. Lots of curves, great scenery, the smell of pine trees, and smooth pavement. Well, some places were kinda bumpy, but mostly good.
We got into Jerome. Jerome is an old west town built on the side of a mountain. We pulled into Paul & Jerry's Saloon, which bills itself as the oldest active saloon in Arizona. It certainly looked old. We got drinks, and continued north on 89A to Sedona.
We got into Sedona, probably around 3:30pm. The views of the red rock canyons were spectacular. We pulled into "old town", which didn't look all that old. We got ice creams at a shop, and enjoyed some more air conditioning.
Continuing north on 89A, we got into what was probably the best part of the ride. 89A from Sedona to Flagstaff was some of the best riding I've been on. It runs along the bottom of a canyon, with the stream running nearby. Flanked by both sides are towering canyon walls of red, white, and tan streaks. Tall trees grew along the road, hanging their branches and leaves over the road casting a cool shade. The curves swept along at degrees that allowed you to ride a leisurely 50-60mph. This is a stretch of road every motorcycle rider ought to ride.
We pulled into our motel at 6:00am. Bob had to take his air filter cover off to re-attach his breather hose. We headed out for dinner at 7:30, and ate at "Black Bart's Steak House". It was located in the middle of a RV Campground. The waitresses and waiters there are all music students at Northern Arizona University. They are required to get on the stage at the restaurant and sing songs from operas, musical comedies, and various standards. Some of it was bad enough to be quite funny. The food was great, though pricey. All in all we had a blast. We were the only bikers, while everyone else were "snow birds".
