Winging it in Arizona

Two day rental of a Goldwing and 700+ miles later, the wife and I are very happy.



Monday, November 1, 2010
95* to 65* in a few hours
On October 27th and 28th the wife and I rented a well maintained Goldwing. I am more of a sport-touring rider, but this was a trip for both of us. So, if I was going to be happy the wife needed to be comfortable. We road just over 700 miles in two days.

We did most of the paperwork earlier in the week. Monica also gave us some route suggestions as well as a few maps to help with planning. We picked the bike up around 9am, finished the paperwork, did a walk around of the bike (well done, my first time on a Goldwing) we were on our way.

I wanted to start the ride on a couple of roads I was some what familiar with to get comfortable with the bike. With the local rush being over we headed out to Tortilla Flat. Ok the 101 and 60 in the metro area are not scenic, but it gave me seat time.
I have been out this way before, in a car, but at least I knew where I was going. I put the wife in charge of taking pictures and my job was to get there in one piece. I wasn't able to push the big wing in the corners. The pavement is pretty chewed up with a lot of loose gravel on top. I still love the views on the Apache trail. The profile of the old mine, the desert and Canyon Lake. So a quick trip out and back and then north to Saguaro Lake and on to the Bush Hwy. Our original plan was to head back towards town and have an easy day. We changed the plan and continued north.



A quick stop in Payson for lunch and back on the road. We took the 260 over to Show Low. Here is were I'm glad we had this big touring machine. Hitting the high country gave us temps in the 40's. Heated seat and grips felt pretty good. Not a lot to look at around Show Low, but the drive from there back to the Miami area is awsome. Being the middle of the week the traffic was almost nil. Very early into the canyon section a passed one RV and one truck. Nothing else. Hold on honey this is going to be fun. We retuned to the desert floor just as it was getting dark. Day one was a great start to a wonderful vacation.



Day 2 would take us northwest. We were staying on the north end of Scottsdale so we headed north on Scottsdale road, west on Carefree Hwy to Rte. 74 to Wickenburg. Being from the midwest, the open road, the lack of traffic and the desert are a great change for me.
At Wickenburg we head north to Prescott and Jerome. Great road. As we enter the scenic area, I can tell the wife is taking pictures. I am having to much fun doing one turn after another to look. Unlike the midwest, the people in cars out here are great. Before I would catch up to a car, they would pull over and let us by. I have to do this road again. Simply amazing. After a short rest stop in Jerome at the Museum we decided to pick a route back to AZride. The only downside is there are limited routes back. We could repeat the route we just took or slab it back on 17. I wish I would have repeated the route, but we needed to get back, so we did a little slab time.

Thank you AZride. We had a great time. You run a professional business and still take care of the customer on a personal level. When I come back to Arizona, if its without my own bike, I will rent from you again.