hi ho hi ho Arizona I go!
Headed east towards Phoenix and the heat really began climbing. The folks at River Rat said it was supposed to be 115° today and I think I hit that halfway to my goal. I was getting so hot I was stopping almost every hour for more water, more sleeve soaking, and more rest. My favorite was a "Roadside Table" sign that revealed covered picnic tables that I promptly took over for a nap at the Iron Butt Motel. zzzzz Eventually I made it to a shady parking lot and chose to park for awhile. A quick text to fishdip got me an escort back to his place, cold water, and the most welcomed air conditioning I've ever wanted. He took me to a local bike night where we hung out at Johnny Rockets for awhile chatting. And since he snapped that picture of me, HA
The next day was just a hang out with the animals while everyone else was off at work. Slacker day in the cold house was just what I needed.
Early to bed, early to rise. Get out of the valley before the heat settles in. We were off to Arizona SR 191 on the east side of the state, but it was going to take awhile to get there.
Once we reached Clifton we began a winding ride up through the middle of an open pit mine. Several times I ended up questioning if I was even following the right road! But by far the oddest thing was the MASSIVE town wall and gate that separated Clifton from the San Francisco River. No where to stop for pictures on that one, but it really reminded me of some ancient city fortress.
Edit: It's the town's levee, protecting it from floodwaters after a record flood in '83.
First used in 2013.
After passing by the road control gates with a nice attendant who was blocking traffic to allow the super sized Tonka trucks across the road, we finally made it into the really interesting part. The road was a bit rough in patches, but looped and twisted and wrapped so much in around and over itself that at times I was glancing down the canyon and seeing ribbons of tarmac in every which way direction.
And then, hell froze over. Literally.
What had been building to a hot afternoon was changed by a wall of black rolling towards us. I pulled over (mainly to let the annoying truck and trailer get well ahead of us) to put the rain covers on my luggage. The rain started sprinkling as I was working. Then it got heavier, then darker, then colder. The rain kept coming down and now the road had thin rivers of water sheeting across. I pulled over and motioned the question if fishdip was OK. He gave the thumbs up (though later told me he hadn't heard me and was just agreeing anyway). We proceeded forward at a much reduced speed. I started noticing the "drops" were beginning to hurt and bounced off the bike. What was bouncing was bigger and white....
HAIL!
It started hailing heavy on us and I was faced with a tough choice. There was no where to pull over, the shoulder was a dirt slope that was now soaked with heavy rainwater, the trees offered no shelter as their trucks were bare for a good 10-15 feet up, and I did not feel safe stopping on the road itself for fear a car hitting the bikes or us. Stopping was out so the best choice I felt at the time was to keep going. Crawling along at less than 20 mph, I kept a close eye on the yellow center line and felt as long as I could see it, the layer of hail and water wasn't too thick.
I was cold and wet by the time we crested the mountain and began heading down out of the rain. The first gas station I pulled over and shed my water logged gear (REALLY need new gloves and pants) and donned my heated layers. Back down into the valley, we turned towards New Mexico and our goal of Albuquerque. I spotted a billboard for a cafe in Quemado and pulled over. Cold, tired, and wet wolves make for grumpy riders (no I do not need a hug.
)
As we crossed the valley past Pie Town we passed by a surprising sign just at the top of what could best be described as a bump.
(taken a couple days later when I returned to this area)
And then later, passed by some HUGE satellite dishes
(again, taken later)
OMG IT'S THE
VERY LARGE ARRAY!!!
We made it safely to Socorro where I texted my friends up in Albuquerque to see if they wanted to meet. One was busy, the other two were available. @
Alex sent me a warning about the thunderstorm rolling through at that moment and I was dreading another hail ride. Luckily (depending on your viewpoint) I took a southbound exit due to the northbound ramp being closed expecting a turn around a short distance later. 9 miles later finally got off the interstate and got turned around and headed the right way. I'm convinced that 20 minute delay spared us the worst of the storm.
Arrived at Rally HQ where many of my friends from the Alamo event were out front talking. We pulled in, was greeted by everyone, and had a little party going on. Alex showed up, we chatted for awhile, then it was all down to looking at everyone's bikes.
Alex's bike in the impound lot for the Rally riders.
This has been a great day!