Wow, I got off the bike Sunday night and my ass still hurts! Not the longest ride I've done, but it was the longest on the baby 350f. Little thing is a screamer, especially pushing strong headwinds BOTH WAYS in 4th gear.
I left my house at 6:45 to meet my co-worker, David, and his girlfriend Kristen, at the junction of Bush Highway and Highway 87. I may live nearby the best riding in the Phoenix Valley! David texted, and would be there at 7:30, which turned out to be 7:45. I was pleasantly surprised to see them both wearing helmets, even if they were only half lids. He never wears one, but she got to him. Here's a shot at the highway junction.
There are some big hills between Mesa and Payson, I made a lot of noise.
David followed suit. He is a very subdued guy, it was interesting to ride with him for the first time. I was glad to see that he was a pretty good rider. That didn't stop me from habitually checking the situation behind me though. I usually end up in the lead, either because I'm the slowest or the fastest, haha.
We met scottly for breakfast and got to it. Next thing we know, we're standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.
Four corners was an interesting meeting point because we all came so far. I think we were all afraid to stand in Utah for too long.
It was great to get to know everyone over my plate/bowl of chili and a guinness at Mr. Happy's. I have no idea how the waitress didn't screw up our order over the volume of the band. Back at the motel we swapped scary riding stories over a few beers and other adult beverages.
The lizard is just like his brothers... he broke into my mini-fridge after dark, I caught him in the act.
I woke up with a neck and headache, but some ibuprofen and coffee put a stop to that, luckily. The return ride was just as windy as the day before, with a little bit of cold rain mixed in along highway 264 going west to highway 191. If you value your spine or your ass, don't take that route, the bumps nearly crippled me. We stopped for snacks and coffee, while I played dress up with found objects...
We decided not to do a lot of backtracking for the sake of avoiding about 40 miles of I-40... it was all up to me and baby to keep an acceptable highway pace... after catching back up to a semi after it passed us, very difficult in the wind, I tucked in behind it for the next 35 miles at a following distance of about 20-30 feet. Drafting helped us gain about 15-20 mph over what I would have been able to do. Once in Holbrook, I won the fuel mileage contest that scottly and I had going, for that leg at least, haha!
We gassed up and hit the road once again. Godzilla was ready for another round of wind!
As we neared the Sitgreaves Nat'l Forest the wind out on the high plains kept me in 4th gear for about 50 miles!
On into Payson, we were all ansty to get home, shoveled our faces full of mexican food and did the trade off between scottly and I...
We all blazed a fast trail back down into the valley as scottly headed east. I really enjoyed the last leg of my trip along Bush Highway during twilight, can't get enough of those twisties!
Stats:
847 total miles
393 miles with the lizard aboard
47 MPG guesstimate
And 1 broken ass
