Pre-Winter ride: Spokane to Phoenix

I left my RT in Spokane after the UN back in August. Wanted to get it back down south before winter hit the north country in earnest. It turns out that late-October riding this far north is pretty iffy. I left Spokane wearing all my gear in rain and 40 degrees.

A friend left Seattle at the same time and we'd planned to meet in Boise the first night. He ended up with a bad choice in routes and had to backtrack 70 miles when he hit 4" of snow on Hwy 410. We met at the Indian dealer near Boise the second morning -- where he proceeded to trade his 2-year old Indian for a new Springfield.

We rode thru 2 days of cold rain into northern Nevada. Then another day of 40-degree coldness until we reached Caliente NV, where it WAS comfortably warm.

After a beautiful ride through the Valley of Fire, and around Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, we headed by Lake Havasu in 95-degree heat. When we got near Phoenix the temp hit 100 degrees.

I chose not to ride into stop-and-go traffic in that heat, so cooled off at a Cracker Barrel until late evening, then proceeded on over to Mesa AZ. I'm thinking of getting back sometime this winter for another adventure.

Nice pics Ken, I rented a bike out of Phoenix a few years back and had a great time!

Pat

Awesome journey! Nice pics too. Lots of cool places to ride in AZ. Let us know next time you are in town.

Steve

Ken - nice report. I've spent a lot of time out in Phoenix and always wanted to ride the area. Lots of pavement opportunities and also trail. What's not to like?! Still hope to ride two wheels out that way someday.

I'll be looking for your Winter ride report!

Ken:

Glad you were able to get down to Phoenix without too much drama. I was wondering about your friend (I'm assuming he was trying to go over Chinook Pass) and how much he had to backtrack. It's so hard to predict the elevation that rain turns to snow in fall!

Have a good riding season in Arizona!

Mike Cassidy

Thanks guys. It was a good trip. Now thinking of getting back for another ride in early spring. Would like to do some touring around AZ in mid-March, then maybe over to CA and Pacific Coast Hwy north.

Any recommended routes? And for those who know the area/weather, how far north should I try to get that time of year? There are several stops we'd like to make along the Pacific coast up through OR and WA.

I'm thinking I'll take the RT home to AK for the summer months (weeks?) next year.

I'm not from the area but we did ride the Angeles Crest Hwy out of Big Pines CA. Great ride and will skirt you around LA traffic.

Pat

Thanks Pat. I definitely want to avoid LA traffic. In fact, in general, I avoid interstates unless I need to get to a certain place directly.

I'd also like to get back up to your area, and on up to Maine, Nova Scotia and PEI sometime. I lived in CT briefly many years ago.