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Continued south on highways 32 and 12 into Reserve, where manager Bersy Jones checked me in at the Rode Inn, the only motel I've ever stayed in that has a promotional pamphlet catering exclusively to bikers. Stopped in for a Bud at Uncle Bill's Bar where I got some people photos last year, but didn't meet anyone this time. Later I had a good Mexican plate across the street from the motel at Ella's. While in Reserve. I also shot photos (02, 03, 04) of my Walter's Workshop brake pedal (www.waltersworkshop.com) and the Tour Pak rack T-Bag (Model TB-1000, www.T-bags.com) I bought at Sturgis last year. Both are highly recommended dresser add-ons. Did you ever roar like a bat outta hell onto an Interstate and rediscover that there isn't a sixth gear?
Saturday, May 26 (Reserve to Safford, Arizona). You know you're in the boondocks when the local cable TV provider is posting really old info in the classifieds on the channel guide. Here we are, half way through 2001, and they're still recruiting census takers for the 2000 census (photo 05). The crown jewel of this phase of the trip was the 90-mile stretch of highway 191 between Alpine and Clifton, Arizona. It's called the Coronado Trail, and it's described more thoroughly in last year's mid-April ride on Muthuh.com. It was 37 degrees when I left Reserve, and my HD electric gloves kept my fingers toasty on the short and scenic ride west to Alpine. On the three-hour, 90 mile trek south I paused two miles south of the Blue Vista overlook to shoot an obligatory photo (06) of the arrow tree. The Trail ends in Morenci, Arizona, a Phelps Dodge company town next to the huge open pit copper mine. There's a mine overlook just north of town where I met Brenda and Bob Chacon (chacon0905@hotmail.com) and five other bikers from Phoenix (photo 08). Their scoots were all Harleys except for Kim Perry's 1970 BSA 650 (photo 09). This time last year Bob led a group on the Ride to the Wall where they joined Rolling Thunder, the mass of bikers at the Vietnam Memorial. Bob and the group left the overlook and headed for the steep hillside cemetery nearer Morenci.
Before leaving the overlook I met Karl and Elisabeth Klugmayr (photo 10), tourists from Vienna, Austria who were headed north on the Trail. Nice couple - he's a Swiss Air retiree (klugmayer@uta.at). My next critical destination was Smokey Bob's, Morenci's main watering hole. As I pulled into the parking lot I spotted the Ford sedan belonging to Jerry Hughes (see April 2000 ride), who describes himself as the "self-anointed mayor of Morenci." Inside, I greeted Jerry as "your honor." While we visited, Bob Chacon and his entourage came in. I made a point of introducing BSA rider Kim Perry to his honor, and I got them to pose for a photo (11). Kim aspires to start a ranch retreat for retired bikers and disabled veterans in New Mexico, Arizona or Texas, and she wants to call it the Freedom Rodeo. If you're interested in her dream, write to her at Box 205, Rodeo, New Mexico 88056. I chatted some more with Mayor Hughes and then headed through Morenci and Clifton to Safford. Nineteen miles east of Safford is a nine mile stretch of highway 191 that's one of those long, straight highways (photo 12) that looks like it will take forever to ride. In the background of the photo is Mt. Graham, a ride planned for tomorrow.
I checked in at the Econolodge in Safford and had a great $7.95 dinner at Jumbo Chinese Restaurant, 817 Thatcher Blvd., a favorite from several past trips. The owners are first generation immigrants from China. I visited with daughter Aina Gao, an accounting major at New Mexico State who was home for the summer. Did you ever startle the hell out of yourself and redline your tach by shifting down when you meant to shift up? Sunday, May 26 (Mt. Graham). Arizona doesn't switch to daylight savings time, so the Indy 500 started at 9 a.m. local. Having attended the race for 20 years (1962 to 1981) I still have an interest in the event, albeit an evaporating interest. I watched it until the second rain delay and then headed for Don and Vienna's Bull Pen (912 Thatcher Boulevard), a saloon next to former Harley dealer, Hacienda Cycles. After a short refreshment I headed for nearby Mt. Graham and rode the 21 miles up to the 8,740-foot elevation where the paved road ends. In many places, the road is tighter and twistier (including off-camber hairpins) than the Coronado Trail, and the ascent takes about an hour. I did a self-portrait (13) on the way back down, and also shot a lookdown (14) at the twisties below. The rigors of the ride earned a second visit to Don and Vienna's, where I got a photo (15) of cheerful bartender Midge Whiten and yours truly. I visited with Don, a skilled pool player and manager of the local IGA grocery store. Don said he wins at the pool table and uses the proceeds to buy beers, but in time the beers undercut his pool skills and his victories. I shot his photo (16) outside with the '84 Gold Wing he bought at the dealer next door.
On the way back to the motel I shot (17) the sign at a "Convience" (huh?) store. Dinner was a block east of the motel at a palatial new joint called Manor House, where the food was OK but the service was regrettable. Would you like it if you ordered an appetizer, a salad and an entrée - and they were all served at the same time? In the mountains on my dresser, the tach will tell me what gear I'm in. At 2,000 rpm, 10 mph is first, 20 mph is second, 30 mph is third and 40 mph is fourth. Fifth is about 46 mph, but I try to stay above 2,200 rpm in fifth. Monday, May 28 (Safford to Cottonwood, Arizona). I rode west on 70 to Globe and then headed north on 88 and 188 to Payson. Roosevelt Lake is north of Globe, and I shot a couple of photos (18, 19) that show how scenic the area is. There's a motorcycle graveyard (photos 20, 21) called All Bikes south of Payson on 87. Most of the scoots are Japanese. If you're restoring a Honda mini bike, the phone number is (520) 474-2526.
Out of Payson I headed northwest on 87 through Pine and Strawberry, two charming little burgs, then west on 260 to Cottonwood. I checked in to a wonderful room at The View Motel, owned by Fred and Zoe Ball. Fred's sister, now deceased, was Lucille Ball. Next to the room was a deck overlooking the town. With the scoot unloaded, I rode a 48-mile round trip to Sedona and checked out the red rocks. After a fair dinner at Country Kitchen I sat on the deck (photo 22) at the motel and watched a thunderstorm off to the northwest. Where oh where (photo 23) to carry your spare key? Tuesday, May 29 (Cottonwood, Grand Canyon, Cottonwood). I left the motel at 7:30 and road 89-A to Flagstaff through Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. After the highway climbs out of the canyon just south of Flag (that's what the locals call Flagstaff) is a scenic overlook that's spectacular (photos 24, 25). The latter photo shows three tiers of a climbing road. That speck turning right on the second tier is a scooter.
The next leg was 180 northwest toward the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. On the way, the community of Valle is at the intersection of 180 and 64. There's an airport and aviation museum there that's definitely worth an hour's stop. The photos I shot there include a 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney engine (26), the largest piston engine P&W ever produced - six of them were on the B-36 bomber. Also shot (27, 28) the exterior and cockpit of General Douglas MacArthur's Lockheed Constellation, a smaller version of an airplane that saw lots of airline service in the '40s and '50s. Can you imagine a biplane that takes off and lands upside down (photos 29, 30)? And, I shot (31) the prop and engine just because I liked it.
Father north, just south of the entrance to Grand Canyon, is another airport where you can board flights over the canyon. I stopped there to shoot (32) a 1929 Ford Trimotor that formerly did canyon fly-overs. That make and model is especially meaningful to my family because an uncle I never knew was a factory test pilot, and he was killed in 1930 at the Ford airfield in Dearborn, Michigan. He landed an experimental Trimotor in flames and it flipped upside down when he braked, which blocked his escape from a cockpit ceiling hatch he had released (witnesses on the ground saw the hatch fly off) before touching down. I have a copy of the two-page accident report and it attributes the flip-over to boiling (from the fire) brake fluid, which caused the brakes to lock up when Uncle Myron Zeller applied them. Do I have an colorful family history or what?
I shot three photos (33, 34, 35) in the canyon, none of which captures the Golly! of the gully. I took 64 and 89 back to Flag and then rode the quicker route on I-17 to get back to Cottonwood. The 316-mile round trip took 10 hours and 40 minutes, and it probably could be done in two hours less without breakfast in Flag, the air museum and some other dilly-dallying along the way.
Mileage on the dresser ranges from 25 at interstate speeds with head winds, to 57 in the mountain twisties like the Coronado Trail and Mt. Graham. Said differently, the quality of the ride varies directly with mpg! Wednesday, May 30 (Cottonwood, Phoenix, Prescott, Cottonwood). A nice thing about setting up housekeeping at The View in Cottonwood is not having to load and unload the bike every day. I was carrying a little RIM pager that has a full keyboard (you type with your thumbs) and that will receive and send e-mail in urban areas. It hadn't been within signal range since I left Albuquerque five days earlier, so I rode south on I-17 toward Phoenix to get within range. I ended up at a Denny's on the far north side of Phoenix, where I had breakfast and sent and answered e-mail. Before leaving I met charming and personable SuziQ, a Heritage rider who had fingerless-glove tan lines like mine on the back of her hands. We visited and I shot her photo (36) and gave her Muthuh's Web address. SuziQ is single and her address is dasmoozz@aol.com. Take heed, guys! I headed back north on I-17 and then west on 74 to pick up 60 through Wickenburg and 89 to Prescott. The last 20 miles before Prescott were mountainous and scenic. I parked on the town square and hit Matt's Longhorn Saloon (112 South Montezuma, 86301) (photo 37), where bartender Santana presided. There I met Ray Audis, who describes himself as a rough stock rider and horse shoer. Ray lives in nearby Wilhoit and is an extraordinary yarn spinner - with fascinating tales about his family, tough-to-shoe horses and rare saddles. With Ray was his Native American sidekick, also named Ray. Ray consented to a photo (38), and then another (39) with Santana. Neat guy, indeed.
Later, I headed back to Cottonwood via highways 69, 169 and 260. The more-scenic northern route through Jerome is under construction and often closed for blasting, so I didn't try that one. Thursday, May 31 (Cottonwood, Hoover Dam, Boulder City). Temp was 62 degrees when I left Cottonwood at 7:30, so no heavy gloves today. The ride up I-17 to Flag took an hour and 15 minutes; west on I-40 to Kingman was another two-plus hours; and Hoover Dam another hour and a half. I stopped at a dam overlook and shot a high-side photo (40), then headed across the dam hoping to park again and shoot from the low side. No such luck, because there is no place to park on the downstream side. I rode on to Boulder City and stopped for refreshment at a non-saloon joint where, being close enough to Las Vegas, I was able to retrieve and send e-mail. I bought gas at a fancy looking 76 convenience store (photo 41) that, in spite of all the glitz, had the most inconvenient restroom imaginable. The building is very wide - and the one unisex restroom is in the middle of the building on the backside. My gas receipt said Rebel Oil Company - apparently the "rebel" is against offering conveniences to travelers. I found a mail store and UPS'd some excess cargo to Dallas. Dinner was pretty good at Casa Flores, which was within walking distance of my room at the Super 8. Friday, June 1 (Boulder City, Holbrook, St. Johns, Springerville). Left BC at 7:40 and stopped to swap dam photos, me of him, him of me (42), with a guy from New York. Then I retraced the four-lane US 93 to Kingman where, as yesterday, I splurged for the most expensive 92 octane on the whole trip - $2.20 per gallon. Next was 237 miles of eastbound I-40 to Holbrook. I don't consider myself a wuss, but in the interest of science I experimented with industrial earplugs on the eastward trek. What they do is eliminate the noisy wind turbulence around your ears (and the buffeting behind big trucks) and, I think, make long, high-speed rides less tiring. They denied me the full throaty rumble of my two-into-one Thunderheader exhaust, but not completely. I never play the stereo system, so there was no give-up in that department. Thirteen miles south of Holbrook I glanced at the speedo and watched it roll to all twos. In Springerville I checked in at the Eljo Motel and adjourned to Safire's next door for a couple of Buds and dinner. This was a make-time day - 421 go-for-it miles across Arizona. Saturday, June 2 (Springerville, Morenci and Mule Creek, then Silver City to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico). After 54 southbound miles to Alpine and a cup of coffee, I decided to do the Coronado Trail on more time. This time I paused at the Blue Vista overlook and shot a photo (43) of last Sunday's Mt. Graham near Safford, on the horizon some 65 miles away.
In Morenci I freshened up at Smokey Bob's. The self-anointed mayor wasn't there. I need to start carrying my camera into men's rooms so I can shoot graffiti like I saw at Smokey Bob's - "No Faggets." And a sign over the bar proclaims, "Greenlee County - where you don't lose your girlfriend, you lose your turn." From there, I hustled down 75 to Duncan, then 70 to Lordsburg, then 90 up to Silver City so I could pick up 152 and go through Emory Pass and over to I-25. I stopped in Hillsboro, and finding no social action at the S-Bar-X Saloon, shot a photo (44) of the saloon's official dog. I finished off 152 where it intersects I-25 at Caballo, then headed 13 miles up the interstate to a room at the Best Western in Truth or Consequences. Want to take the jolt out of cattle guards and railroad crossings? If you rode motocross or enduros you already know this trick. As you approach the potential big bump, stand on your floorboards (or pegs) and lift your butt about eight inches above the seat, keeping your knees bent. The scoot will traverse the bump and your knees will absorb 90 percent of the body shock. This also works on conventional softails, wide glides and other bikes with forward foot pegs, although you'll have to pull hard on the handlebars to get your butt off the seat. Sunday, June 3 (T or C to Albuquerque). I called the Motel 6 up the interstate in Socorro and verified that my six-year old pal, Nikolai Purdy, was there. Seventy-one miles later I was visiting with Nikolai and mom Gloria and dad Rick. Nikolai has a new (since my visits last year) go-cart, with which both Nikolai and yours truly (photos 45, 46) took a few laps on in the motel parking lot (mom is the manager there). I took some measurements so I can make or buy a seat belt to send Nikolai for the cart. He and I also chatted over a Slurpee at the convenience store across the street, and then I took him for a ride on the dresser. My next priority was the 85-mile ride to Albuquerque so I could do some laundry at another Motel 6 and prepare to button up the scooter at Chick's HD for a couple of months before returning in late July for the Sturgis trip. My pager picked up e-mail in Albuquerque and I learned that SuziQ (from last Wednesday in Phoenix) had been to Muthuh's Web site and had e-mailed Muthuh (lucky him). In Muthuh's reply to SuziQ, he chastised me for having breakfast at a Denny's. Muthuh is obsessed with eating at non-chain places with girls' names, like Mabel's Cafe, Myrtle's Eatery and so forth. He'd love a place we have in Dallas called "Momma's Daughter's Diner." I also had a message from Del Rio, Texas friend Dave Leach who knew and had done ground-crew duty for the pilot of the upside down airplane I saw last week near Grand Canyon. Dave said the pilot was a stunt consultant on movie-flop Pearl Harbor.
Monday, June 4 (Albuquerque to Dallas). With 10 sunny days and 2,500 miles behind me, I dropped the scooter off at Chick's at 7:30 and headed for the airport. At the airport's tiny (and very well known) burrito bar I bought two carne adovada (pork in red chili sauce) burritos with green chili sauce added to take back to Dallas for colleague Lori Marroquin and myself. As I boarded my Southwest Airlines flight, my pager vibrated with a message from Lori offering to pick me up at Love Field and I was able to send a "yes, thanks" reply before the aircraft door closed. You know you had a great trip when the biggest catastrophe of the whole 10 days was a 15-minute delay in the departure of the flight to Dallas. Next up: Sturgis 2001, starting Thursday afternoon, July 26. Meanwhile, many thanks to Michael Lucero and Lynn Springer at Chick's HD for the TLC they give the scoot and me. Gracias also to Muthuh for posting the ride. Be sure to check out his Alaska trip (June 2001 with wife Kim and daughters Canden and Kelsey).
 For Information, contact: dvdallas@pobox.com
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