Memorial Ride for Officer Cortez

On the 18th of August Cyclerides and Channel 3 had a memorial ride to raise money for the widow of a Phoenix Police officer, George Cortez, who was killed in the line of duty on the same day that the two news channel helicopters crashed. Here is a link to a very good music video about the ride.

Reading on the Rim

I was supposed to take a breakfast ride with Bob and guys from his church to Saguaro Lake on Saturday morning but he called me Friday night and said that he couldn't make it. There was this low lying metal bar across his path that he couldn't see because of the hat he was wearing as he was looking down watching where he was pushing the wheelbarrow. You can figure out the rest, a brutal headache from the whack across the bridge of the nose. But his injury was no reason for me to be penalized.

Riding to Saguaro Lake may have been fun with guys I knew but it is also a ride in the desert ... in Arizona ... in the summer. Given a choice, which is exactly what I had, it seemed to me that the Rim was much more to my liking. So I grabbed a bag of snacks, some soda, water, and, believe it or not, a Harry Potter book and roared off on the KLR. (yes, I finished the repairs)

I sped up to Payson by 6:30, had my traditional cup of Hazelnut coffee from the Circle K, refueled, and headed for Pine. After missing the turn-off for the Rim Road twice I finally found the cool pine vistas that I had longed for. The gravel road was like riding on marbles but that's why I took the KLR and not the Nomad. Finally the view was perfect and it was time to stop.

I pulled out my book (the latest one), some sunflower seeds and a ginger ale and read two chapters. Harry Potter books are just fun to read especially when you know that when you are tired of reading it's time to fire up the bike and do some more sight seeing. The temperature was low to mid seventies, the air smelled of pine, and I had the place almost to myself.

The Rim Road is about 40 miles of breathtaking views before you get to the other highway. By the time I reached the end the traffic had picked up and I knew it was time to head for the pit before it got unbearable in the desert. It was a quick drive to Payson. (pictures from cyclerides.com)

I decided to grab a burger at McDonald's before hitting the road so I made the mistake of removing my ear plugs as I walked in. Oh my goodness! BIG MISTAKE. The echo of kids screaming on the indoor playground was reminiscent of my years of working on F-4 fighters with 400 cycle turbine generators running. It was so loud that I couldn't wait to get back on the KLR. Speeding along on curvy mountain roads listening to the buzz of the little 650 thumper and absorbing the pounding of wind was down-right calming after that!

I got back home at 2:00. It was hot but an afternoon nap made up for all of that.

Snow Bowl by Way of Payson

This Saturday ride was a good chance to get out of the heat. A couple of guys I work with wanted to see parts of the state that they hadn't seen so the travel guide (that's me) decided on a road I hadn't been on for twenty years or so. We went through Payson, Strawberry, and Happy Jack on our way to Flagstaff. Neither had seen Oak Creek Canyon so we passed through it on our way to Sedona and took I-17 back to Phoenix.

It sounds like a fairly short trip but with all the stops for gas, food. and sore butts (not mine), it took about 11 hours. The variety of terrains and climates always amazes me, especially when I get back into the desert and ask myself why the hell I live in Phoenix instead of one of the more temperate locations in the state.

We had breakfast at the Knotty Pine in Prescott with scads of others riders, and lunch at the Snow Bowl with no other riders. With all the bikes on the road today I can't figure why NONE were up there. Well, it could have been the rain.

We rode in fairly heavy rain (without raingear) out of Flagstaff and about one-fourth of the way down Oak Creek Canyon but it was clear from Slide Rock on. The raingear was totally unnecessary because we spent the next few hours in the "drier". I immediately missed the rain when we got to Sedona. The temperature went from VERY NICE to hot and HOTTER by the time we got to Black Canyon City.

Another great ride!