10 years later-a revisit

Having lived in the PHX area for 13 years, I had the chance to ride a lot of the really good motorcycling roads in AZ. One of my favorite rides has always been HWY 89-go West from PHX to Wickenburg, a little further and turn right. Stop when you get to Flagstaff and repeat the other way when possible. I moved away 10 years ago, but still come out every couple of years to see my parents.
I get to ride in the Ozarks and the Colorado Rockies every year, but I decided this year it was time to rent a motorcycle and ride a few of my old haunts out here. A little Internet research led me to the AZride website, and after a conversation with Monica, I reserved the FJR1300 for Tuesday 11/23/10. Got there a wee bit early (I was excited!), and Monica graciously got all of the paperwork out for me early, and I left @ 7 minutes AFTER the opening time of 9a.m.
I'm always a bit cautious when riding an unfamiliar bike, but fortunately I had been able to ride another FJR approx 2 weeks earlier, so I had a tentative feel for this one-by the time I got to Wickenburg for gas, I was feeling pretty comfortable with it. On to 89 and up the mtn to Congress-this is one of my all time favorite sections of road, as once you start up the mountain, it is 2 lane sweepers with an occasional 20-30 mph posted turn. When I lived here I rode that section a lot on my modified '79 CBX. After about the 1st two turns the bike felt great, so I relaxed and was able to really enjoy the ride through the corners. On to Prescott via 89, and that section of road is a blast! Lots of twisties and 180 degree switchbacks. Then on to 89A-I was hoping to get to Sedona, then Flagstaff. Unfortunately it was cooler than normal, and coming over Mingus Mtn prior to getting to Jerome, there was snow on the ground. I was insulated enough from the cold, but when the thermometer display got down to 36 degrees, that meant it was time to head for lower altitudes and warmth-the bike had felt fine up to that point, but not knowing how well the tires were going to work in those kind of temps kept me on the cautious side. And after 5 hours I was getting a bit tired, and the bike is a bit compact for me @ 6'3", so with the discretion I have learned through the years, I headed South to I-17. Got back to the shop at 4:00p.m., checked out and was extremely happy I had done it. Monica and Gabor were very friendly, helpful, and just plain nice people. This will now become a must do whenever I get back here.

Grand Canyon Tour 10/12-14/10

This being our first trip to Arizona, we needed help in planning a memorable motorcycle tour. We chose AZride for that service. Monica's greeting upon arrival to pick up the GL1800 Gold Wing waiting for us, confirmed the fact, we made the right choice with AZride. Our rental was on 09' model with heated grips and seats (why do I need that? It's 90 degrees.) which was maintained in "as-new" condition. Monica reviewed our roadtrip directions, pointing out lots of useful information, which made for a very enjoyable tour.



Day One - 225 miles
Rode west to Wickenburg, Prescott, Jerome, Sedona, then spent the night in Flagstaff. When in Jerome, be sure to try the butternut squash soup at the Asylum Restaurant at the Grand Hotel on Hill Street. Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon offer unbelievable scenic riding enjoyment.



Day Two - 275 miles
Rode north to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. On the way to the East Gate, be sure to ride thru Sunset Crater National Monument Scenic Loop. The appearance of the hardened lava flows were unbelievable. An unexpected scenic sight was the snow covered SanFransisco Peaks. The Grand Canyon is hard to express in words, IT'S A MUST SEE !!!!!! Then it was back to Flagstaff for the night.



Day Three - 230 miles
Woke up to 30 degree temperatures with ice on the bike (now I know why the heated grips and seats, they sure felt good). By 5 p.m. that afternoon it was 102 degrees as we arrived in Scottsdale. Almost forgot, a great start to the day was breakfast at a local breakfast spot with a cute railroad train decor and perhaps the best chorizo omelet we have ever had!!!!! (no chorizo in Pittsburgh). Wonderful scenic roads on the return trip to Scottsdale. Visit the Tonto National Monument, it proved to be very interesting, the Indian Cliff Dwellings are worth the hike to see.



The tour consisted of three days of blue sky, sunshine, great roads, scenic vistas, creating a very memorable motorcyle tour experience.

Thanks again to Monica and Gabor at AZride.

We'll be back!!!!! (God Willing)

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.

AZ First Ride

We certainly want to thank Monica for her organization of our first motorcycle rental experience in Arizona. We had visited last year and thought how great it would be to rent a bike and tour the area. We rented the BMWR1200RT. Super motorcycle and for my wife and me, it was perfect. The tour we went had some nice sparsely traveled roads for the most part and only going back to drop the bike off did we encounter any heavy traffic. Beautiful scenery and the day was perfect for motorcycle weather. Tip to those who don't know their way around the area well - Ask Monica for a route to go. Makes things a lot easier. Thanks again, Monica! We will do this again.

Quick weekend in from California, great ride around town

I was in Scottsdale for a recent weekend and given the great weather, wanted to rent a bike, rather than a car to get around town. Fantastic experience and great people to work with here. I was set to pick up a BMW (love them), but upon arrival and seeing the Royal Enfields, couldn't resist and picked one of those up. Such attention getters, great to ride, especially around town. Could not recommend this place highly enough.

Scottsdale-Sedona-Jerome-Wickenburg

Sorry I don't have pictures, our battery on the camera ran out. We chose to ride from AZride Northeast to Payson, plenty of expected desert straightaways but we found all the Seguaro cactus interesting to view on the way. Gabor and Monica were completely service focused and the equipment check-out with Gabor very thorough. I would want Gabor to be MY BMW mechanic! Our BMW R1200RT was immaculate for 21K on the odometer and performed as expected, although it has been a long time since I have been on this model. The accessories and improvements were welcome. We rode two-up and played with the ESA suspension settings, and settled on "Sport." We live in Hawaii so had no idea what the weather would bring, but late October is a wonderful season to ride in this region. Thunderstorms were spectacular to view and a good excuse to get off the bike, have a drink and watch the show. This was a tour more than a ride, so we spent two Sedona days touring and walking, including the "Pink Jeep Tour" which we highly recommend. The rode up Oak Creek to Flagstaff was twisty and entertaining, and I repeat, weekdays this time of year there are fewer buses and cages on the road to slow you down. From Sedona we rode to the mining "Ghost Town" of Jerome, now a tourist trap but definitely into the Halloween Spirit. As you enter the heart of town at the only "T" intersection, turn right, and exclusive motorcycle parking is immediately on your left, and big plus because parking on the twisty main street is at a premium. "Grapes" is the best restaurant to enjoy, right in the middle of town. Clean public restrooms are at the firehouse. After window shopping and gift-purchasing we doubled back to visit the mining museum. Leaving Jerome we headed over the hill down to Skull Valley to Wickenburg. Go late in the day and plan to arrive in Wickenburg at nightfall, because you'll avoid all the cars that will hold you up in the wonderful twisties. When you settle down in the flats, beware of speeding in the straightaways, we noted the aircraft speed monitors along the roadside, but the planes weren't flying this late. At a cemetary three constables in squad cars were there, fortunately for us, having a coffee break and not minding the radar guns. A full moon helped us out, too. Wickenburg back to Scottsdale was pretty uneventful and boring but visiting the cowboy town is worth visiting. We didn't realize that many Scottsdale gas stations disguise themselves so we felt pretty silly pulling into a bank to discover we were pulling into an ATM teller station instead of a gas pump. Monica and Gabor checked us in and we were on our way. Renting these bikes is expensive but definitely a fun experience that is first class. Thanks AZride!