Adventures in Phoenix 2008

My name is Craig and I’m from Toronto, Canada. I travelled to Phoenix to fulfill a great adventure that I had been planning for many years.

I had learned of an aviation adventure company called Fighter Combat International, where the participant can actually fly an aircraft in a simulated dogfight with an ex-military fighter pilot against an adversary.

The company had operated out of Niagara Falls, Canada but for whatever reason closed operations there and now operates out of Mesa Gateway airport in Phoenix.

I would have to go to Phoenix to fly.

I am an ex-Canadian Paratrooper and have been a civilian parachutist since leaving the military. I am currently training to achieve my Canadian Sport Parachute Association (CSPA) “A” Certificate of Proficiency (A CoP). This is the level above student and is a “license” to skydive. I have made three 5-second delays which are freefall aircraft exits. I wanted to improve my freefall technique and decided to travel to Eloy, Arizona and do some wind tunnel training at SkyVenture Arizona which is part of the largest sky diving facility in the world, Skydive Arizona. Eloy is located about 70 miles SSE of Phoenix, about an hour’s drive.

I have been an avid motorcyclist since 1984 and own three Honda motorcycles.

My baby is a 1982 Honda CBX which is a sport-touring, parallel six-cylinder displacing 1047 cc and producing 100 bhp.

I spent about 2 years to restore the bike to its present condition.

I decided that renting a motorcycle in Phoenix would make my trip that much more memorable and decided to rent from Monica at AZride.com. I was not disappointed with the choice. I originally wanted to rent a Suzuki SV 650, but I waited too long to reserve it so my next choice was the BMW R1200 GS. What a fantastic bike!! It is extremely comfortable to ride, very predictable power and handling characteristics and comes with HUGE custom saddle bags.

I have not rented a motorcycle before, but I think it will be hard to find anyone better than Monica and Gabor at AZride. The professionalism and comportment with which I was greeted was very reassuring to me. All of my questions and concerns were addressed in a pleasant and courteous manner and the motorcycles are top quality and well maintained.
I will definitely be coming back to Arizona and I will definitely be renting a bike with AZride. Thanks for such a great experience. Ride safe.
Regards, Craig.