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.

25th Anniversary Tour

I learned about AZ Tours from their ad in the BMWMOA. I've been riding beemers for over thirty years but have only managed to entice my wife to do day tours. With our 25th anniversary approaching I contacted Monica with the hope that we could have a fairly short (five-day) tour where the weather was more or less guaranteed.

Our trip exceeded our best expectations. We rented the new, 2008 K1200LT and proceeded from Phoenix to Flagstaff, where we parked ourselves for four nights and made day trips to the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest, and Sedona, where we caught up with an old high school buddy who owns an art gallery there.

And the weather was clear and dry and HOT! Record heat of 115 degrees F greeted us as we arrived in and returned to Phoenix/Scottsdale. Even at highway speeds, this kind of heat is brutal. The term "wind chill" is a joke; "blast furnace" is a better description. It's crucial to make frequent stops for water; leaving the Valley we stopped about every thirty minutes and I downed a litre of cold, bottled water each stop.

The K1200 LT is a big, honkin' bike, much heavier than what I'm used to. (My current ride is a R1200 RT). But it is a superb bike for long cruises. We plugged in the iPod, set the cruise control, and motored in style.

Monica and Gabor were a tremendous help to us in planning our trip. The bike was in excellent shape and performed without any incidents whatsoever. Both my wife and I look forward to returning to AZ and renting again from Monica and Gabor.

Great 7 Day Tour of Arizona

A heart felt thank you to Monica and Gabor for an excellent motor cycle and trip to see all the sites of Arizona.

Arrived June 1 to 104 F, hot, when coming from Canada! Picked up the Goldwing first thing Monday morning. Spotlessly clean white Goldwing along with a GPS unit with our 7 day Arizona Grand Tour 1 - North route programed along with all our hotels. Recommended to anyone out of State or Country.

Day 1: Headed north to Sedona, via Jerome - Warm ride with many new sites to see which we have never seen before, e.g. desert, cactus, etc. Great hotel, and a fancy dinner in a French restaurant along Oak Creek.

Day 2: North to the Grand Canyon - Another day of riding new country, and starting to see some small trees. Cooler in the mountains! Arrived at the Grand Canyon in mid afternoon. Blown away by the views and size of the canyon! Suggestion is to stay at the canyon to take in sunrise and sunset without worrying about the Elk on the road. Spent a rest day hiking the South Rim Trail. Wonderful day.

Day 3 - North/East to Monument Valley, again wonderful scenery, arriving just in time for a Sunset tour of the valley with a local Navajo Indian guide, Ray. Had a personal tour of the valley with many photos as the sun set. Ray new all the spots.

Day 4 - Off to Caynon de Chelly, via Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, stopping for the customery picture at the 4 corners!

Day 5 - Heading South to visited the Painted Desert and Peterified Forest. Got to ride across the flats to the White Mountains in a light breeze (according to a local), of 35 -40 mph! Arrived at Greer in the afternoon. A wonderful mountain resort area. Spent 4 days there to rest and ride the "666 loop".

Day 6 - Route 666 - Devil's Highway Loop - What can you say! Mountains, Desert, Mountains, of which the last 100 miles up # 191 are an unbelievable section of swithbacks and twisty roads, no guard rails and view to die for! Arrived back at Greer, very tired and needing a day of rest!

Day 7 - Back to Scottsdale, via Salt River Canyon. Well, have to head back sometime I guess! A great ride through Salt River Canyon. Our camera finally gave up the ghost and stopped taking pictures. Salt River Canyon is a wonderful ride down the canyon walls, then back up the other side! A great final before heading back into the valley and to the heat!

Arrive at the door, thanks to a perfect GPS route!

Monica was there to greet us with cold water! Much appreciated as the water in the topbox gets really warm at 100F! Spent the night and then back home the next day.

Many thanks to Monica and Gabor for a perfect trip route, flawless motorcycle and the many phone call and e-mails to set up a trip we will remember for many years to come.

Don and Anne-Marie

Whitby, Ontario

Canada

Triumph in America

Cannot believe it is a fortnight since we were in the USA - been so busy upon my return. Anyway, wanted to thank you and Gabor for helping make a great trip possible. The scenery was just out of this world. Thanks again - we had a great time, and if I can persuade my flight-phobic brother onto a plane one more time you may even see us again. We would recommend AZride to any biker visiting the Phoenix area. Kind regards, Clive Hudson, Norfolk, UK

Kawi ride

I had an absolutely phenomenal experience on the Kawasaki Concours14. I connected with my group from Dallas in Scottsdale and we rode up to Hoover Dam, then to Las Vegas and back. The Kawasaki was very comfortable and an excellent sport-tourer. I may have talked myself into trading in my ZX-10R, as I am getting "more mature" now.

Thanks again for providing great bikes for us "adventure tourers" out there. I will definitely come to see you again.

Steve Gregg
Houston, TX

Great weekend

Thoroughly enjoyed the weekend biking - Here is a pic of our three AZRides bikes with lots of Harleys at the Hideaway bar in Cave Creek about 2o miles north of Scottsdale in the hills