I had prepped all my gear as well as my Low Rider S for our usual Sunday breakfast ride yesterday but we got rained out. Since I didn't remember to put anything away (other than the bike!), I thought I'd do a shortie urban solo ride today. So I headed out the door for a ride to the north of us through Rancho Vistoso, a "master planned" community that used to have a golf course in the center of it. I figured I'd continue on up to Saddlebrook if the weather held (which it did), another master planned community which does have a golf course in the center. Though I rode a familiar route, I "found" something new. Actually, I just finally made the effort to stop at a place that I've always been curious...about but never quite enough to pull in. And I was glad I did today! It turns out that the parking lot is at the entrance to Honeybee Canyon Park. The views are beautiful and there are several miles of hiking trails which a friend told me lead to petroglyphs created by the Hohokam people who occupied the area over 1000 years ago. There are also several structural dams which were created by cattle and sheep ranchers towards the end of the 19th Century. I had no idea! And I've ridden the Vistoso Loop (as we call it) probably well over a hundred times on either a motorcycle or bicycle over the past 20+ years. At any rate, this afternoon I only walked a bit past the arch in the photo to see the views but wasn't really prepared to do any sort of hike, no matter how short. Plus it was HOT! So I'll definitely go back now that I know about this park and next time I'll be prepared to explore a bit. It had looked like it was raining on Saddlebrook to the north of me before I stopped at Honeybee Canyon Park. But when I mounted up and headed out, the rains had moved further north. So I decided to extend my ride and headed up through the small town of Catalina and then on to Saddlebrook. There's a gas station / convenience store on the main road into Saddlebrook so I pulled in there to get something cold to drink. The clouds over the mountains to the north and east of me were beautiful but I was glad they were north and east of me and not directly overhead. After downing my beverage I decided to head home by the quickest route since it was 1:30pm and nearing the hottest part of the day. So I had a nice little solo outing today and made a fun "discovery" by being willing to stop in a parking lot that piqued my curiosity.
I think those white bits are called "clowds"? Or maybe "clods"? "Cud"? I'm not sure as they are rather unfamiliar to me. Regarding golf courses in the desert, it does seem like a silly place for them but there are TONS of them in Arizona....or as the screen shot below phrases it, there is an "obscene" number of golf courses in Arizona. And that's considering that over the past 10-20 years or so, many have gone by the wayside. It really doesn't seem right considering we're in a terrible drought and there's starting to be rumblings here and there are water rationing. Scottsdale alone has 150 courses. I live in Pima County (Tucson metro area) which has 33 golf courses.
They will probably still be watering those golf courses when they are telling everyone else there’s no more water.
Had a lovely blast round the Antrim glens and coast. Had to make an unexpected 2nd trip though... If you look closely you can just make out one of my hearing aids under the bike, dropped it out of the tank bag but luckily I seen it in this pic so knew where to find it. Even lucker nobody had driven over it when I got back up there! Great run all the same, again Also if you look in the background you can see a little village film set going on.
Nothing wrong with the eyes then................. ...............(although that's questionable buying a KTM )
Not done anything with my non triumph, cause I spent all day fecking about with the RAC and my thruxton r
What's the RAC, Wessa? I hope your Thruxton R is ok. Edit: Yikes, @Wessa, I just saw your thread on what happened with your Thruxton R and your debacle with Triumph Assist. What a huge bummer all the way around. I hope you get it all sorted ok.
Yesterday I rode my Low Rider to the "other" Harley dealership in Tucson, Old Pueblo Harley-Davidson. I typically go to Harley-Davidson of Tucson which is the larger of the two dealerships. The two dealerships are nearly identical in distance from my house but Tucson H-D is quicker to get to based on traffic. There are a lot of guys that I know and like at Old Pueblo and I realized that I hadn't been there in months. So I decided I'd ride over, see what was up at OPHD, and say hi to the guys. The service manager actually figured the last time we'd seen each other was about a year ago! Time is weird these days. But that's another topic for a different thread... It was great to catch up with my friends at Old Pueblo. The dealership was really slow and they--like the other H-D dealership and most of the dealerships in Tucson--are very low on bikes, particularly new models. In fact, inventory on most everything including gear and parts also seemed down. But the store looked tidy and bright both inside and out. Old Pueblo was only built about five or six years ago and is owned by the same parent company as Tucson H-D, RideNow Powersports. RideNow is HUGE in the U.S. According to BusinessWire.com, "RideNow is the largest powersports retailer in the United States, with more than 40 full-service retail locations in 11 states across the country. In 2020, RideNow sold 45,527 powersport units, including ATVs, UTVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and personal watercraft, generating approximately $899.4 million in total revenue, $90.3 million in net income". I snapped a few photos while there and I actually managed to depart without spending buying anything except for a can of soda. Most of us Harley folks joke that HD stands for "hundred dollars" because you can't get outta the dealership with spending at least that. Today I parked by the service department on the side of the building under the overhang to stay out of the sun. My attempt at an "artsy" photo of my Low Rider. They put up some sort of metallic looking wall covering over the stucco in this breezeway and those darker areas are reflections of the columns behind me. This valve stem cover is on the bike owned by one of the service techs that was parked by the doorway into the service department. I thought it was pretty kitschy and fun! And it totally suits the guy who owns the bike. Mr. Sandi and I are friends with the former GM of both Tucson dealerships. He found this bell somewhere and purchased it specifically to place it at the entrance. If you look back at the previous photo of the dealership you will see another bell in the archway on the left. The architectural of the dealership is designed to look like the Spanish missions across the western U.S. I like the interior of Old Pueblo a lot. The entrance and the walls on either side of the front door are basically garage doors that can be opened up. From the lounge area you can look into the service area and see the techs at work on the bikes. The interior feels very open and has high ceilings with big industrial-type fans. But my favorite thing is the collection of old photo reproductions displayed in chronological order around three of the four showroom walls. Each photo depicts some historical Harley event or important moment across the years starting back in 1903.
Went to Donegal again today, took pictures and a drone this time! 330 miles in total in glorious sunshine , a bit warmer than I like at about 27/28° but I'm definitely not complaining what a beautiful place
The first 2 pictures are from Fintown, you've been there. 3rd pic is the Glen of the Swans, not been there. Last 3 pics are Lough Barra Bog, not been there but we have been just north of it on the other side of the mountains.
LOVE those photos, @andyc1! I'd like to know more about the drone and how that all works. Absolutely stunning.
Its a DJI Mavic Mini. I don't know what the regulations are in your neck of the woods but here if a drone weighs more than 250 grams you need to register yourself to fly one. Any less and its classed as a toy. The Mavic mini weighs 249g for that reason. There is a newer version out now, the mini 2 so the original one seems easy to get second hand for around £300. You'll get about 20 minutes flight time on a battery, it also comes as a 'fly more' combo which gets you 3 batteries, a very handy case, spare propellers and a prop guard for indoor flying. Very easy to fly, you can set the controller down and it will hover in one spot. You download an app to your phone, connect it to the controller and you get a live view of what the drone sees as you fly. It will return to where it took off from if you stray too far and loose signal for example, pretty smart. The camera is on a gimbal so it always stays level and smooth, perfect for video. Range is pretty good too but depends on all sorts of things, the most I've seen is about half a mile before the signal starts to drop. It also knows flight restrictions etc, you can't take off close to an airport for example. You need to read up on local drone regulations and guidelines, you shouldn't fly them over crowded areas, government buildings, all sorts of stuff like that, there is max altitudes and such but the drone should know what they are and you will get messages on the screen of any restrictions in the area your flying.
Gave the bike a clean and a thorough check over for security of fasteners etc in readiness for a long weekend on the west coast of Scotland and Skye next week, weather permitting. It’s just for shits and giggles so if it’s going to be real bad I’ll move it on a week or two.
