Phoenix to Santa Fe & Back! July 4th Weekend Adventure

MrGoldfish · Jun 12, 2013

Here goes my first shot at a ride report!

So I’ve done a lot of weekend trips on motorcycles growing up, but I’ve never taken the plunge and gone for a ride that would require the amount of mileage that this trip will take. But, what the heck! It’s time to start!

So here is the plan. Wednesday, July 3<sup>rd</sup>, we will ride north after work probably around 6-8 PM where we will get a hotel for the night. The idea is to ride when the sun starts to dip low in the sky with the hopes that it won’t be so blazing hot leaving Phoenix.

Waking up on the 4<sup>th</sup>, we will meander our way East on 2 lane highways until we eventually hit Pie Town, NM, where we hope to get some pie! Next stop will be Grants where we will stop for gas and then slab it down I-40 to get to Santa Fe in time for some fireworks that night.

My parents have a time share in Santa Fe that will serve as our accommodations for the weekend where we hope to do some exploring in the mountains nearby as well as Santa Fe itself.

After making trouble for a couple days we plan to either head home taking the scenic route on Sunday and Monday or just take a quick(er) way and get home all in one day on Monday (I think that would be a long day in the saddle for us though).

Here is our link to our proposed route for getting to Santa Fe and back home. Note that the route portrayed for getting back home would require us to leave Sunday. The red line is our proposed route to Santa Fe and the yellow line is our proposed route for getting home. If we were to go home on Monday, I think I would take a similar route as the route we took going to Santa Fe except I would take the 191 road south through the White Mountains.

I am posting this now with the hopes that people familiar with area(s) we will be riding through might chime in and give us some advice and where to go and what to see. Either way, I expect we will have a good time, but it’s always nice hearing what’s good from the locals/people who have been there before.

Riders & Rides:
Me (Josh) & my wife Elle (pronounced like you would say Ellie) riding our 2008 KLR 650.
My brother Zach and his girlfriend Alyssa riding his 2008 KLR 650.
My Mom (Susie) and Dad (Dean) riding their ?2008? Weestrom.

Since I know a ride report isn’t complete without pictures, I’ll post a few pictures from times that have come and gone to help introduce the squabble of riders embarking come July 3<sup>rd</sup>.

So, without further ado (please hold applause until the end), I present to you Elle!

And together we make Jelle! Josh + Elle = Jelle, yeah super corny I know, but I didn’t come up with it just to be clear.

My brother Zach and his girlfriend Alyssa are the two living things on the right side of this picture with Elle on the left.

Another two shots of the trio.

Since my dad just bought his bike and I haven't been on any rides with him yet, I haven't got any pictures of him and his bike. Those will come later.

So, I hope to eventually post more about this ride and what we will be taking, but until then, I'll be here dreaming about the day this ride starts.

Cheers!

Cyclenaut · Jun 13, 2013

Hey Josh, looks like a great trip...If you can detour about 40 miles further east from Pie Town (on the 60), a visit to the
VLA (Very Large Array) is definitely worth it. It has been the site of a few movies (Contact) and is very cool...have fun !! p.s., more info via Wiki...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Large_Array

ahwarm · Jun 13, 2013

Sounds like a great ride. Stay hydrated.

Andy

MrGoldfish · Jun 13, 2013

ahwarm said: ↑

Sounds like a great ride. Stay hydrated.

Andy
Click to expand...

I am a little worried about the temperatures that we could face on this ride. I'm trying to stick to the higher elevations if I can just for that reason. I myself ride everyday of the year here in Phoenix so I know what it's like to be riding when it's 115+ out on the black asphalt which in reality is probably somewhere closer to 120-130. However, my lady does not do well with heat and so I'm going to do my best to stay in the cooler weather. As long as the temp stays below 90 I think we won't have to many issues. I'm also going to get a cooling vest for the two of us as well.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.co.../Fly-Racing-Cooling-Vest.aspx?WT.ac=Cart_Item

Something along those lines. I think we will end up carrying two 3 liter Camelbacks with us as well.

Part of me is secretly hoping it rains on us as we head into New Mexico! :eek1 I bet we would dry up in about 10 minutes once it stops.

FotoTEX · Jun 13, 2013

NM is having the driest weather on record. Best way to stay cool is to soak your shirt from time to time, evaporative cooling is your friend in summer. And of course, drink ALOT of water. You should know all this living in AZ, just a reminder for a safe trip.

The High Rd. to Taos is very cool, as is Hwy. 64 from Taos westward. One of my favorite NM roads, all the way towards Bloomfield is very sweet. On the High Rd.check out the food at Rancho De Chimayo in Chimayo. The chapel their is also worth the visit.

Air Force Vet · Jun 13, 2013

Try to hit the Coronado Trail (Hwy 191) between Springerville and Safford.
Rode this a few weeks ago and it was awesome!! Very twisty, great views and scarey drop offs. Higher altitude mountain forests and pretty cool. Either on your way out or coming back add this to your list. You won't be disappointed. Also if you have time take the scenic route to Santa Fe taking the 550 out of Albuquerque, through Jemez Spring and Los Alamos. Very nice and scenic ride.

MrGoldfish · Jun 14, 2013

FotoTEX said: ↑

The High Rd. to Taos is very cool, as is Hwy. 64 from Taos westward. One of my favorite NM roads, all the way towards Bloomfield is very sweet. On the High Rd.check out the food at Rancho De Chimayo in Chimayo. The chapel their is also worth the visit.
Click to expand...

Is this the High Road you are talking about?

http://goo.gl/maps/IysDs

I'm assuming you meant east coming out of Taos as the road to the west looks pretty straight. Something like this?

http://goo.gl/maps/fFHZq

Air Force Vet said: ↑

Try to hit the Coronado Trail (Hwy 191) between Springerville and Safford.
Rode this a few weeks ago and it was awesome!! Very twisty, great views and scarey drop offs. Higher altitude mountain forests and pretty cool. Either on your way out or coming back add this to your list. You won't be disappointed. Also if you have time take the scenic route to Santa Fe taking the 550 out of Albuquerque, through Jemez Spring and Los Alamos. Very nice and scenic ride.
Click to expand...

My dad took me down 191 once when I was a kid, but I haven't been back yet and it wasn't on a motorcycle either. It's definitely on the list of roads to ride. I'm hoping we get to it as well.

I had been eying the roads up on that mountain east of Santa Fe (http://goo.gl/maps/61Md4). I don't know if we will take that road going into Santa Fe as we want to get settled and find a place to watch fireworks for the 4th that night. Unless you know of a cool spot that fires them off on the top of the mountain?

If anyone knows of some cool forest roads that are big bike friendly that we could try out, I wouldn't be opposed to that either.

Thanks for the input everyone!

MrGoldfish · Jun 19, 2013

So my mom and dad took their Weestrom out for it's maiden voyage over the weekend to the Prescott area of Arizona and back to Phoenix. After finally getting out and experiencing some heat, they are all of a sudden very interested in the planning of this trip. Apparently my mom was getting very hot and wanted to pull over every 40 minutes or so to cool off. I find that I'm cooler when the bike is moving, but, whatever. So, they are taking us out to eat tonight at a local Mexican food place called Nando's to go over the route we are going to be taking. On the one hand I'm glad someone is finally taking an interest in the trip besides me, but on the other hand I'm like come on it's 2 weeks away from blast off and now you are worrying about it? :huh:eek1 Anyways, I appreciate the people who have given some input to this thread and we will be reviewing the suggestions tonight. I'll post up if our route changes at all from the previously mentioned route.

MrGoldfish · Jun 20, 2013

So we were going to go to Nando's, but I started having an issue with the amount of pressure that my rear tire was holding yesterday morning before I went to work. So I blew it up and it seemed to be holding air so I drove it to work knowing that I carry one of those slime compressor's on my bike that I could use to air it up to come home. Well, sure enough, when I came out of the office the tire was down. So I aired it up and asked my parents if they just wanted to meet at my house, which they did. After they left I replaced the rear tire and threw a new tube in it as the other tube had a hole in it.

The Meeting:
Basically they were really concerned about the temperature and how hot they thought it might be on this ride so they wanted to see if we could take a different route potentially that wasn't in the desert so much. :huh Um, we live in the desert, and our route takes us out of the desert. Funniest part was that my dad thought their warm up ride last weekend to Flagstaff and Prescott was awesome and my mom thought she was going to pass out from the heat. Given the evidence, I think she is just a little dramatic.

Enough of that. I had decided, with help from other adventurers here, that it's best to take your time and not drive a bazillion miles everyday. I think it will be more enjoyable even if we don't cover as much country. So I shortened the return trip route and ended up with something like this...

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2101660

Our plan is to stay in Pinetop, AZ (175 miles) the first night and then finish the leg to Santa Fe (~400 miles) the next day. That part of the trip didn't change from our original plan. However, on our way home, we will leave in the afternoon and do a 200 mile leg to Socorro, NM and stay the night before heading all the way home the final day (~320 miles). I think that should help keep our days shorter and less daunting. It will also allow us to stop and take pictures and rest our bums. I've never done a motorcycle trip this far before so I think I would rather shoot for shorter days and find out I could have gone longer than the other way around. Our two days in Santa Fe will consist of sitting by the pool, BBQing and doing shorter day trips to explore the mountains to the east and west of Santa Fe.

So, that's the plan. I'm sure something will change along the way. I hope we don't have the same luck that Cyberdos had going through Quemado or whatever it's called. *knock on wood*:huh

The Calendar:

We are going to go chill up at Blue Ridge Reservoir this weekend, but the next weekend is our tech day/put together our tool kit day. I'll post up more about that later.

rover650 · Jun 20, 2013

I took a ride around the south in May. I left phoenix and took the 60 through the white mountains up to show low. I rode all the way to the Atlantic and besides north Georgia and tennesee, some of the best riding was out around globe. Anyway, as mentioned the vla makes for an awesome photo op. Also check out Lincoln, new Mexico if you can. It's the home of billy the kid so interesting place and actually beautiful country.

The salt river canyon is along the 60 too.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

rover650 · Jun 20, 2013

As for temperature. I left in the beginning of May and as soon as I started hitting elevation, I immediately regretted not bringing any sort of cold weather gear. Probably just a bit warmer now though.

MrGoldfish · Jun 21, 2013

rover650 said: ↑

I took a ride around the south in May. I left phoenix and took the 60 through the white mountains up to show low. I rode all the way to the Atlantic and besides north Georgia and tennesee, some of the best riding was out around globe. Anyway, as mentioned the vla makes for an awesome photo op. Also check out Lincoln, new Mexico if you can. It's the home of billy the kid so interesting place and actually beautiful country.

The salt river canyon is along the 60 too.

Let me know if you have any other questions.
Click to expand...

Those places are all on the agenda so far except for Lincoln. I think that is going to be to far east for us this trip.

rover650 said: ↑

As for temperature. I left in the beginning of May and as soon as I started hitting elevation, I immediately regretted not bringing any sort of cold weather gear. Probably just a bit warmer now though.
Click to expand...

Yeah we are expecting it to be warmer. I'm hoping it's not to warm though. I've been looking at temps online of what the averages should be and once we get high enough in elevation, we really shouldn't see much over 93 degrees and that's only at the hottest part of the day. On the other hand, it's going to be quite warm as we make our way out of the desert. Our plan is to be making our way across the desert when the sun is down so hopefully it won't be triple digits at that point.

Thanks for the input.

Oldone · Jun 22, 2013

We've been through that area several times and like the quiet country that's out that way. Thanks for the RR.....

Gary "Oldone"

Grampas Lake Superior Ride
Grampas National Monument Ride

CaptCapsize · Jun 22, 2013

Sound Like a great trip. If headed into Grants NM after Pie town be sure to come up the east side of El Malpais National Monument it is a great ride. We say lots of elk so keep an eye out.

Last weekend I tried one of those cooling vests (you soak in water first) and was impressed. I wore a cotton tee shirt under the vest which made it feel a little clammy. A polyester tee shirt may help that feeling. All of this was under a mesh jacket for good airflow. It was like having air conditioning. It air temperature was cool by PHX standards only 98F. In your native climate it would be worth a try.

space · Jun 22, 2013

I just did a similar route yesterday, riding from Albuquerque back home to Pasadena. To keep cool, I wear mesh gear and a hydration pack filled with ice water. I have no problem up to about 110 deg with this setup.

Definitely check out the VLA. The antennas move around on tracks, and it's currently in one of its most compact and picturesque configurations. (In its most extended config, some of the dishes are so far away that you lose the full impression.)

Have fun!

MrGoldfish · Jun 24, 2013

Oldone said: ↑

We've been through that area several times and like the quiet country that's out that way. Thanks for the RR.....

Gary "Oldone"

Grampas Lake Superior Ride
Grampas National Monument Ride
Click to expand...

Good to hear. I'm looking forward to experiencing it myself.

CaptCapsize said: ↑

Sound Like a great trip. If headed into Grants NM after Pie town be sure to come up the east side of El Malpais National Monument it is a great ride. We say lots of elk so keep an eye out.

Last weekend I tried one of those cooling vests (you soak in water first) and was impressed. I wore a cotton tee shirt under the vest which made it feel a little clammy. A polyester tee shirt may help that feeling. All of this was under a mesh jacket for good airflow. It was like having air conditioning. It air temperature was cool by PHX standards only 98F. In your native climate it would be worth a try.
Click to expand...

We plan on taking the eastern route past El Malpais. It looks like a very interesting place.

I'm glad to hear another person vouch for the cooling vests. I just got one in the mail over the weekend. I'll have to post up some pictures when I get the chance.

space said: ↑

I just did a similar route yesterday, riding from Albuquerque back home to Pasadena. To keep cool, I wear mesh gear and a hydration pack filled with ice water. I have no problem up to about 110 deg with this setup.

Definitely check out the VLA. The antennas move around on tracks, and it's currently in one of its most compact and picturesque configurations. (In its most extended config, some of the dishes are so far away that you lose the full impression.)

Have fun!
Click to expand...

Do you just let the cool hydration pack rest against your skin or do you squirt yourself with the cold water every once in a while?

We plan on driving past the VLA on our way back. I've seen it once before, but that was probably 5 years ago and at 60 MPH. If I remember correctly, it was spread out pretty far apart like you said as well. Looking forward to seeing it again.

MrGoldfish · Jun 30, 2013

Working on the bikes today. Here is my dad's bike. He got the huge care baileys windscreen that we are going to put on. He also just put on the happy trails top box.

Here is my bike. I need to put the bash plate back on, lube the cables, and figure out how to mount this tank bag.

I just put brand new Shinko 705's on front and back. So far they have treated me well. You can also see that I have the biggest care baileys wind screen as well.

This is my first time trying to post from a mobile device so I hope it works.

MrGoldfish · Jun 30, 2013

The Cree baileys windshield went on in about 3 minutes tops. Literally six Phillips head screws and on it went. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/01/ujuvuhed.jpg[/L

[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/01/e4yjyve8.jpg

MrGoldfish · Jun 30, 2013

Another view.

Bigbugberg · Jun 30, 2013

Very good read for this time of year.

http://www.ironbutt.com/ibmagazine/ironbutt_1002_62-66_Hot.pdf

Red River NM is nice as well!!!

Have fun!!!

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