Day 3 - 496 Miles` Bernadillio, NM to Phoenix, AZ
June 29, 2006 – Day 3 496 Miles – Bernadillio, NM to Phoenix, AZ
Yet another day like piloting a commercial airliner: hours of shear boredom followed by moments of pure panic.
Stuck on Interstates way too much. Took I-25 into Albuquerque then I-40 west to Holbrook. As fate would have it I didn’t make it to Winslow in spite of my love of the Eagles. Wanting to visit my good friends Diron and Tina J. in Phoenix I asked a guy at a truck stop which way he would recommend if he wanted the most beautiful ride to Phoenix. His recommendation was Hwy 377 to Heber, then Hwy 260 to Payson, and Hwy 87 down into Phoenix. He was right about the beauty. The road leaves desert and climbs into the Tonto National Forest. You go from sagebrush to Ponderosa Pine to Aspen. Then you go down. And I mean down. It is, I’m sure, a beautiful ride. When the weather’s good. I can't tell you, the weather wasn’t good.
Seeing storm cells spread out throughout the mountains I stopped and suited up in my rain gear. Just in time, it turned out. Pulling into Payson the bottom fell out. I pulled into a gas station to wait it out. After it dissipated I got on Hwy 87 and began to wend my way toward Phoenix, ninety miles or so away. I was wrong...the bottom didn’t fall out in Payson. It waited until I was about 25 miles out of Payson. Then it fell out. And out. And out. Meanwhile, there is lightning striking all over the place. It looked like a light show. At least I think it did. It was difficult to see through my face shield, given how hard the rain was coming down. Pull over? No. You can’t. The road is four-laned and is switching back and forth between 6% grades down and 3%-4% grades up, and there’s nowhere for the water to go except down the road with you, or against you depending on whether you’re ascending or descending. Scary? You bet!! The only thought in my mind was: “If this bike starts hydroplaning, I’m a deadman.” It didn’t, but I don’t know why. There were places where the water rushing down at or with me was at least an inch deep. It was like riding in a shallow stream. And it was scary as hell. But I got through it. Thank you Mr. Kawasaki.
While it was raining up in the mountains it got downright chilly in that rain. But that problem was solved whenever I entered “The Valley of the Sun.” There’s a reason they call it that. The sun lives there. And he’s hot. Hotter than anything I’ve ever experienced. Let me tell you something, if you are doing 80 mph on a motorcycle and the air is hot, it’s HOT! “But it’s a dry heat.” Dry heat my rear end, it was HOT, I don’t care what the humidity was.
But, I managed to get through it, spent the evening with Diron (Tina was, unfortunately out of town
on business), and had a great time.
Tomorrow, the Grand Canyon.
Yet another day like piloting a commercial airliner: hours of shear boredom followed by moments of pure panic.
Stuck on Interstates way too much. Took I-25 into Albuquerque then I-40 west to Holbrook. As fate would have it I didn’t make it to Winslow in spite of my love of the Eagles. Wanting to visit my good friends Diron and Tina J. in Phoenix I asked a guy at a truck stop which way he would recommend if he wanted the most beautiful ride to Phoenix. His recommendation was Hwy 377 to Heber, then Hwy 260 to Payson, and Hwy 87 down into Phoenix. He was right about the beauty. The road leaves desert and climbs into the Tonto National Forest. You go from sagebrush to Ponderosa Pine to Aspen. Then you go down. And I mean down. It is, I’m sure, a beautiful ride. When the weather’s good. I can't tell you, the weather wasn’t good.
Seeing storm cells spread out throughout the mountains I stopped and suited up in my rain gear. Just in time, it turned out. Pulling into Payson the bottom fell out. I pulled into a gas station to wait it out. After it dissipated I got on Hwy 87 and began to wend my way toward Phoenix, ninety miles or so away. I was wrong...the bottom didn’t fall out in Payson. It waited until I was about 25 miles out of Payson. Then it fell out. And out. And out. Meanwhile, there is lightning striking all over the place. It looked like a light show. At least I think it did. It was difficult to see through my face shield, given how hard the rain was coming down. Pull over? No. You can’t. The road is four-laned and is switching back and forth between 6% grades down and 3%-4% grades up, and there’s nowhere for the water to go except down the road with you, or against you depending on whether you’re ascending or descending. Scary? You bet!! The only thought in my mind was: “If this bike starts hydroplaning, I’m a deadman.” It didn’t, but I don’t know why. There were places where the water rushing down at or with me was at least an inch deep. It was like riding in a shallow stream. And it was scary as hell. But I got through it. Thank you Mr. Kawasaki.
While it was raining up in the mountains it got downright chilly in that rain. But that problem was solved whenever I entered “The Valley of the Sun.” There’s a reason they call it that. The sun lives there. And he’s hot. Hotter than anything I’ve ever experienced. Let me tell you something, if you are doing 80 mph on a motorcycle and the air is hot, it’s HOT! “But it’s a dry heat.” Dry heat my rear end, it was HOT, I don’t care what the humidity was.
But, I managed to get through it, spent the evening with Diron (Tina was, unfortunately out of town
on business), and had a great time.
Tomorrow, the Grand Canyon.
posted by Minuend | 6:47 PM
1 Comments:
Mr. Kawasaki????
June, July, August is NOT the time to visit Phoenix.
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