ArmyGuy Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 The riding season here in AZ is just starting to get nice. We put in nearly 100 miles of dirt with a lot of varying difficulty hills, gullies, slippery shale hills, and baby head rock fields. One wrong turn put us on a two-track that turned into a single-track, that turned into a no-track, and finally into a cow-track. Lots of fun was had. We started out South of the Huachuca Mountains Sometimes being friendly pays off. Just as I waved at this officer he lit us up. I'm not saying we were speeding but we were going at a rather 'spirited' pace. He kept going without a thought though, and we....well, we slowed down, for a while anyway. Following the border 'fence' it sure doesn't look like AZ here. I was so busy looking at the scenery, I missed a turn. "That's OK", I said. "We'll follow this path until we come back out to our track. Well, this two track turned into a single track. That turned into a cow path, and we were eventually led to 'safety' by a cow with rather large horns. We eventually made our way to Patagonia for lunch at the 'Gathering grounds'. They have GREAT coffee and pie if you're ever in the area...the food is pretty good too. After lunch, we started up the Temporal Gulch road. The AZ Trail follows this jeep trail to the North. It climbs up to about 7400 feet on the trail but we didn't make it that far. My northern Wisconsin accent makes it difficult to understand...but just in case, one word in the following 30-second video is NSFW or small children. It was near this point my riding buddy informed me that our current path was so far above his skill level that he felt unsafe. The 'road' we were on would have taken us up over those mountains in the background. Looking back from where we came. Last shot before I turned off the camera. He dropped his KLR twice going up and once more heading back down. I suggested he get a smaller weight bike, better tires, and some training. It's amazing how quickly one can get tired at altitudes above 5k feet. Anyway, nothing hurt but pride and it was a heck of a great day for a ride. Link to comment
MikeB60 Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Mike, Great pics! I was stationed at Huachuca in the seventies, had a old beat up 250 Elsinore and a Kawasaki Z1R. Had a blast riding in the Huachuca's, your ride tales bring back some good memories. Mike Link to comment
ArmyGuy Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 Mike, Great pics! I was stationed at Huachuca in the seventies, had a old beat up 250 Elsinore and a Kawasaki Z1R. Had a blast riding in the Huachuca's, your ride tales bring back some good memories. Mike Mike, were you a cable dog? I think Sierra Vista didn't go out much past 7th street in the 70's...if that far. Both of those bikes would be a hoot to ride out here. Link to comment
MikeB60 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Nope, HF platoon of the 521st Signal Company, 11th Signal Group. Last of the vaccum tube radios! Link to comment
ArmyGuy Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 It's pretty amazing what we were able to do with that 'cutting edge' technology. Link to comment
ArmyGuy Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 Found a little canyon/pass right behind my house Link to comment
TEWKS Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 That's a good place to be in life! Hard not to be just a wee bit jealous, Mike! Pat Link to comment
ArmyGuy Posted November 8, 2017 Author Share Posted November 8, 2017 Thanks Pat. The weather is just getting good now for riding. Link to comment
longjohn Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Nice pics. Please tell us about the cam set up. Stills from vids? Set to take one every few seconds? Click on command? Brand? enquiring minds want to know Link to comment
ArmyGuy Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 John, I have a GoPro mounted on my helmet that I set to take pictures every thirty seconds. I also have a larger battery for it that'll last 5-6 hours if I remember to turn it off at rest stops (it's not water proof though and when it's raining, I must use the original battery setup that'll last only a couple of hours). The other pics are taken with my Samsung Galaxy S6-Edge phone. Link to comment
longjohn Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 John, I have a GoPro mounted on my helmet that I set to take pictures every thirty seconds. I also have a larger battery for it that'll last 5-6 hours if I remember to turn it off at rest stops (it's not water proof though and when it's raining, I must use the original battery setup that'll last only a couple of hours). The other pics are taken with my Samsung Galaxy S6-Edge phone. Thanks Mike. I'll be trying out my DIY chin mount with my GoPro soon. I made a mold of the helmet with epoxy putty that will hold the mount, and then I bought some 3M VHB 4991 double sided stickum to secure it to the helmet. There are vids on youtube on how to do it. Link to comment
ArmyGuy Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 I think the chin mount would be pretty cool and it would definitely take the top of the helmet out of the photos. Link to comment
ArmyGuy Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 Ventured out North of Patagonia around and through the Santa Rita mountains. It was a super fun trip today...160 miles total with about 110 of that on dirt. Too bad the bug guts/dirt muddled up this picture. The views around this mountain range are spectacular. We rode over/around this mountain twice today. Once in daylight and once to the light of the super moon. Riding on dirt after dark is an entirely new ball game for me. I realized I need something more powerful than the OEM headlight on my XChallenge. Link to comment
ArmyGuy Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 Got to go ghost town hunting this past weekend out towards Ruby, AZ / Arivaca. Didn't see any ghosts but I think one may have helped cause a rear flat on my 650X... It was a good day for a ride....100 miles in the dirt. Link to comment
ArmyGuy Posted June 12, 2018 Author Share Posted June 12, 2018 Took my buddy from California out for about 750 miles of mixed dirt/hardball riding this past few days. We had beautiful desert and mountain views, hairpin curves, and carnage. His G650 Sertao decided to throw his rear taillight assembly into the desert...we never did find the stuff that fell off. Link to comment
ArmyGuy Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 Thank you John. Even in the heat, it is very fun riding here. Can't wait to venture out to New Mexico, the northern part of AZ, or Utah. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now