Hello All, A couple of weeks ago I watched a very interesting PBS documentary on Hoover Dam history and what impact the Dam has had on the several western states involved. Since I was needing a good excuse for a two day ride, and I was also interested in the new bridge being constructed just south of the dam, the T Max and I were off at 0715 Thursday morning and headed up the route from Rio Verde, AZ to Wickenburg and then Rt 93 thru Kingman to the Dam and the overnight stop in Boulder City, NV. Ride up was non technical but filled with great scenery and nice smooth roads. Breakfast in Wickenburg and lunch in Kingman made up the rest stops.. really good Mexican lunch was memorable! T and I arrived at the Dam about 1300 and took a quick look around since I wanted to check into the room in Boulder City, NV, (only 7 miles from dam) shed some gear and return to the dam for a tour. All worked well, I was amazed at the low lake level and the sheer size/magnitude of the dam structures. The new bridge construction is remarkable. Tour is worth doing and there is great parking for Motos in the dam parking garage. Standard tour with movie and guided visit into the bowels of the dam and power stations..Well worth it! After tour, took a few? pics of the area and went back to the Boulder Dam Hotel in Boulder City and had a nice walk around of the pleasant town that was originally built to house all the workers/families that constructed the dam. The Hotel was built in the early 1930s to house the many VIP visitors to this huge Federal project. The Hotel is typical of the 30's and has retained the atmosphere of the times. Good staff, restaurant, rooms and price. Worth a visit! We were off Friday morning for the run from Boulder City down the Rt 95 to Laughlin,NV and across the river to Bullhead City, AZ. Took a connecting road just South of Bullhead City that runs E and connects to Old 66 just S of Oatman, AZ and then over to Kingman. "OLD 66" is the operative term here. The road hasn't seen maintenance since I-40 by-passed back in the 60-70's. It was still a fun ride, just couldn't take advantage of the twisties due to the really bad conditions. If you are ever over that way it is worth a one-time ride!! Lunch found me in Kingman and the same Palicio Mexican restaurant from the day before....(It is that good) Ran out to look at the old Kingman AAF and then headed home. Weather was kind the entire trip with temps from 40s in the morning to 60s in afternoon. Of course, I did pick up some 20 mph head winds going back down the I 40 and the Rt 93. They went calmer in mid afternoon for a pleasant ride on into the house! The numbers: Total miles 643.3, moving avg 55.2, MPG avg 48. No oil used, no mechanicals, accidents/incidents. I can't ever find fault with the T Max. I had new Hand shields from Issota that in combination with the GIVI windscreen kept the wind off the hands. At a cost of a couple MPG I think.. All in all a good "educational ride" no hair raising, fun, mountain twisties, but quite good in a different way! Try It!! BudK The attached photos are captioned and record the ride up, the Dam visit and tour, and the return trip on Friday. http://picasaweb.google.com/budk88/HooverDamOldRt66KingmanTMaxRide1920Nov09?authkey=Gv1sRgCLfthbyagqSO7AE#
Thanks for the ride report and photos, BudK! I am really enjoying your ride reports and am a bit wistful as I would love to do a multi-day ride. (Wife and child at home mean that I generally can't...) The hand guards sound like a great idea. I might have to get some myself. It was 48 degrees when I went riding on Saturday morning and my hands were pretty chilled even though I was wearing riding gloves. The rest of my body was fairly warm with the stock fairing/windshield, though I did layer-up beneath my riding jacket. Keep the ride reports coming!
