Featured Touring The Best Laid Plans Of Mice & Men -- And Motorcyclists

Sandi T / Steve.
What a trip. I am exhausted. Loved every minute of our travels together again. The way you tell the stories is just like being there. You are great.
Joe

 

Another lovely distraction from our grey skies and rain, @Sandi T. If you feel any of the places you visited are worthy of our members' map, let me know.

 

OK come clean, who got caught short. No toilets available then.

 

I'm sorry about your crummy weather, Steve. I hope it clears up soon so you can get out on the road. I'll be jealous of your weather when our temperatures hit 110ºF this summer.

 

I'd definitely recommend adding Tortilla Flat to the map, @Octoberon!

 

That's very interesting, @Iron! I guess it's a good example of form following function. Do know the time frame?

 

Late 50s early 60s I reckon. Oakland bought old police bikes at auction, cut them down (chopped them) and used some 'acquired' International Orange paint from the bridge.

 

I have made it so.

 

Fantastic write up as usual Sandi that road to tortilla looks great, when when i got my first Harley 20 odd years ago there was no one else in my town with one, (it's a smallish town with a pop of about 9,000) and you didn't see that many when out and about, now though you see a lot more, i know of at least 10 in my town and i see a lot more on the roads in Scotland nowadays. the Edinburgh chapter (Dunedin) hold a huge rally in Aviemore every year which attracts thousands of bikers but mainly Harleys. i do miss my Fatboy!

 

@Sandi T Awesome ride and such a great write up

 

@Dougie D

Thanks, Dougie! Yes, the rode to Tortilla Flat is amazing. I'm not sure why we've never done that road before now because we've definitely been missing out. Russ, one of the guys that we rode with that day went back again this past Monday with another friend of ours who wasn't on our ride and who, like us, had never ridder there, either. But when I asked Russ if they had a good ride and had fun in Tortilla Flat, he said that the place was jam packed! At 11:00am in the morning on a Monday! They had to basically wait in line to even get to the town itself and then there was absolutely no place to park. So they found a space to turn around and went back into Apache Junction to look around at Superstition H-D, the dealership where I'd bought my Low Rider S. I guess we'll just have to suck it up and ride there during the dead of summer when tourists won't be outdoors when the temps are over 100ºF! Interesting, Mr. Sandi and I have observed, and many people we've talked with have observed the same thing--there are more people than ever EVERYWHERE! On the roads, in the parks, in restaurants. I guess everyone must have gotten so stir crazy during Covid lockdowns that they are now out in force. I need to get hotels booked for our June motorcycle trip or we may be out of luck.

It's interesting that there are so many more Harleys around these days where you are, Dougie. And to have 10 in a small town of 9,000 is pretty amazing. I'll have to look up Aviemore. Does that rally have a specific event name that I can google? Mr. Sandi sure misses his Fatboy, too.

 

It's called "Thunder In The Glens" and is held in August every year, there's a lot of bikers in my area no doubt due to the great biking roads nearby

 

Sandi, I very much appreciate you taking the time to share these rides with us. The desert sure looks good when it’s winter everywhere else in the USA and UK.

Thanks much, and be sure to take us along again next time you go for a big ride!

 

Will do, @Jet City! We may do a one or two overnighter MC trip before June. But the middle of June is our next big planned motorcycle adventure! Five of us will ride up through northern Arizona, northern New Mexico, and into Colorado over some very high passes. Just today two of the five people finally made their hotel reservations so we are good to go. Looking forward to it already! And I will be sure to share our adventures with my forum friends.