Southwest Bike Trip Realized...

fammdw · 05-29-2013, 03:44 PM

Well... I completed my 3200 mile trip through the Southwest last week and I'm already chomping to go on another ride! I thought I would post a few pics of the trip.

I had two old friends come out to Wichita from NC where I grew up to join me for the trip. We started out heading for Amarillo, TX o day one, but didn't feel it necessary to take pics of the flat no-man's land. Funny thing was my two buddies from NC were snapping pictures the whole way there as they had never seen such wide open countryside.

From Amarillo we headed down to Roswell, NM and then toured Carlsbad Caverns before settling down in Artesia, NM for the evening.

From Artesia, we headed to Silver City, NM. Lincoln National Forest was a nice ride and I was surprised out how much of a swing it was in temperature from the hills down to the desert floor. We got to try out the rain gear at the top of the mountain as there were showers for about 15 miles or so. I also got my first taste of a dust storm between Las Cruces and Deming!

From Silver City, we headed up to Alpine, AZ and then back down Route 666 (US 191) and stayed in Safford, AZ for the night. Over 1000 curves along the southbound route from Alpine and it was a great ride!

fammdw · 05-29-2013, 03:46 PM

From Safford, we rode west to Tombstone to see all the touristy crap. Actually it was pretty cool as tourist traps go. I enjoyed the history lesson. We left Tombstone and traveled through Sierra Vista, the back country route to Tucson, AZ.

From Tucson, we headed up through Tonto National Forest, through Sedona, AZ and on to Flagstaff, AZ. Sedona is quite possibly the most beautiful place I've ever been.

fammdw · 05-29-2013, 03:47 PM

From Flagstaff it was up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon!

Next we headed up to Durango, CO and a ride up the Million Dollar Highway. Sorry... Not many pictures on this leg. I was having too much fun on the ride to stop!

From Durango, we headed Southeast to Taos, NM. Riding in the Taos area was more fun than I had thought it would be. They have great mountain roads in the area, some of which reach over 10,000 feet in elevation.

From Taos we took the long haul back to Wichita. 500 miles of absolutely nothing. Over-all the trip was great. We had great weather with just 100 miles of wind and dust between Las Cruces and Silver City and about 200 miles of wind and unseasonably cold weather from Liberal, KS to Wichita, KS.

Sin City Stan · 05-29-2013, 03:52 PM

Looks like a fun trip and great pictures. Just have to ask . . . your Voyager is spotless in every picture. How did you keep it so clean on a road trip? Photoshop??

**Top Cat** · 05-29-2013, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sin City Stan

Looks like a fun trip and great pictures. Just have to ask . . . your Voyager is spotless in every picture. How did you keep it so clean on a road trip? Photoshop??

Car wash

Good pics Mike.
Looks you had a great time

fammdw · 05-29-2013, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sin City Stan

Looks like a fun trip and great pictures. Just have to ask . . . your Voyager is spotless in every picture. How did you keep it so clean on a road trip? Photoshop??

TC is right... My buddies on the Harleys were so foolish about washing the damn bikes every time we stopped for the night, that I joined in as to not be standing around thumbing my nose waiting on them.

**manban9888** · 05-29-2013, 04:20 PM

Good for you Mike. Great ride and pics

Bud2rat · 05-29-2013, 04:20 PM

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Looks like you guys had a great trip. One day I hope to do a trip out that way.

cactusjack · 05-29-2013, 04:21 PM

Looks like a fun ride. I hope you enjoyed your visit to AZ. Sedona is a beautiful place, but too "touristy" for my taste. I have ridden most of what you did, with the exception of the Taos area. Some of the best riding in the USA!

fammdw · 05-29-2013, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cactusjack

Looks like a fun ride. I hope you enjoyed your visit to AZ. Sedona is a beautiful place, but too "touristy" for my taste. I have ridden most of what you did, with the exception of the Taos area. Some of the best riding in the USA!

I agree... beautiful ride, but cagers everywhere. Couldn't let her eat on the nice roads due to the slow traffic through the hills north of Sedona. Taos really surprised me. I had been through there for work, but not up in the mountains east of town. Taos itself is a dive, but the ride to the east is great!

**BudMan** · 05-29-2013, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sin City Stan

Looks like a fun trip and great pictures.

+1

cactusjack · 05-29-2013, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fammdw

I agree... beautiful ride, but cagers everywhere. Couldn't let her eat on the nice roads due to the slow traffic through the hills north of Sedona. Taos really surprised me. I had been through there for work, but not up in the mountains east of town. Taos itself is a dive, but the ride to the east is great!

Were you in Sedona on a weekend? Traffic is hell through Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon on the weekends. Every time I ride through Sedona, I think I'd like to find the engineer that thought roundabouts were a good idea and skin him alive.

There's 5 or 6 of them in a mile.

blowndodge · 05-29-2013, 05:52 PM

Mike if you didn't visit Southern California you really didn't do all the southwest! I would have bought the beer!

**Rasta** · 05-29-2013, 07:11 PM

Thanks for sharing! Looked like one fun trip!!

Netnorske · 05-29-2013, 08:44 PM

Nice....nothing like a good long road trip to feel one with your bike and meditate like only the open road allows. How did your tank pocket hold up.....that looks familiar! Great pics...

!

05-29-2013, 03:44 PM	#1
fammdw Advanced Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 543	Southwest Bike Trip Realized... Well... I completed my 3200 mile trip through the Southwest last week and I'm already chomping to go on another ride! I thought I would post a few pics of the trip. I had two old friends come out to Wichita from NC where I grew up to join me for the trip. We started out heading for Amarillo, TX o day one, but didn't feel it necessary to take pics of the flat no-man's land. Funny thing was my two buddies from NC were snapping pictures the whole way there as they had never seen such wide open countryside. From Amarillo we headed down to Roswell, NM and then toured Carlsbad Caverns before settling down in Artesia, NM for the evening. From Artesia, we headed to Silver City, NM. Lincoln National Forest was a nice ride and I was surprised out how much of a swing it was in temperature from the hills down to the desert floor. We got to try out the rain gear at the top of the mountain as there were showers for about 15 miles or so. I also got my first taste of a dust storm between Las Cruces and Deming! From Silver City, we headed up to Alpine, AZ and then back down Route 666 (US 191) and stayed in Safford, AZ for the night. Over 1000 curves along the southbound route from Alpine and it was a great ride! __________________ *Mike Williams* *Wichita, Kansas* VBA Member #02104 2013 HD 110th Anniversary Electra Glide Ultra Limited 2012 Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Voyager 2009 Yamaha FJR1300 2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad 2002 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Custom 1989 Yamaha Virago 750 Login or Register to Remove Ads Last edited by fammdw; 05-29-2013 at 09:00 PM.
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05-29-2013, 03:46 PM	#2
fammdw Advanced Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 543	From Safford, we rode west to Tombstone to see all the touristy crap. Actually it was pretty cool as tourist traps go. I enjoyed the history lesson. We left Tombstone and traveled through Sierra Vista, the back country route to Tucson, AZ. From Tucson, we headed up through Tonto National Forest, through Sedona, AZ and on to Flagstaff, AZ. Sedona is quite possibly the most beautiful place I've ever been. __________________ *Mike Williams* *Wichita, Kansas* VBA Member #02104 2013 HD 110th Anniversary Electra Glide Ultra Limited 2012 Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Voyager 2009 Yamaha FJR1300 2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad 2002 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Custom 1989 Yamaha Virago 750 Last edited by fammdw; 05-29-2013 at 09:02 PM.
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05-29-2013, 03:47 PM	#3
fammdw Advanced Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 543	From Flagstaff it was up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon! Next we headed up to Durango, CO and a ride up the Million Dollar Highway. Sorry... Not many pictures on this leg. I was having too much fun on the ride to stop! From Durango, we headed Southeast to Taos, NM. Riding in the Taos area was more fun than I had thought it would be. They have great mountain roads in the area, some of which reach over 10,000 feet in elevation. From Taos we took the long haul back to Wichita. 500 miles of absolutely nothing. Over-all the trip was great. We had great weather with just 100 miles of wind and dust between Las Cruces and Silver City and about 200 miles of wind and unseasonably cold weather from Liberal, KS to Wichita, KS. __________________ *Mike Williams* *Wichita, Kansas* VBA Member #02104 2013 HD 110th Anniversary Electra Glide Ultra Limited 2012 Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Voyager 2009 Yamaha FJR1300 2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad 2002 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Custom 1989 Yamaha Virago 750 Last edited by fammdw; 05-29-2013 at 09:04 PM.
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05-29-2013, 03:52 PM	#4
Sin City Stan Sr. Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Henderson, NV Posts: 3,746	Looks like a fun trip and great pictures. Just have to ask . . . your Voyager is spotless in every picture. How did you keep it so clean on a road trip? Photoshop?? __________________ Oldest Saloon In Nevada http://www.pioneersaloon.info/ "Sin City Stan" Henderson, NV VBA #01004 VROC #29365 2004 Nomad 1500L5 +100 "The Bike" 2009 Nomad 1700 (past) 2004 Vulcan Classic 800 (past) 2010 Cortez - 2011 Crescent City - 2012 Kanab - 2013 Estes Park
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05-29-2013, 04:20 PM	#7
manban9888 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Sebastian, Florida Posts: 1,016	Good for you Mike. Great ride and pics __________________ 2008 Nomad Red/Black 1998 1500a VBA #02113 Antlers, Oklahoma '12 Blairsville, Georgia '13 Antlers, Oklahoma '13 Eureka Springs, Arkansas '15
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05-29-2013, 04:20 PM	#8
Bud2rat Sr. Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: St. Pauls, NC Posts: 2,089	Thanks for sharing the pictures. Looks like you guys had a great trip. One day I hope to do a trip out that way. __________________ Robert Torrey VBA# 02077 Vroc# 27672 1996 800A Customized (SOLD) 2001 1500 Nomad (The Mistress) 2013 Voyager 2014 SE Rally - Elkins, WV 2016 SE Rally - Helen, Ga
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05-29-2013, 04:21 PM	#9
cactusjack Mega-Contributor Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Where it doesn't snow...ever! Posts: 21,926	Looks like a fun ride. I hope you enjoyed your visit to AZ. Sedona is a beautiful place, but too "touristy" for my taste. I have ridden most of what you did, with the exception of the Taos area. Some of the best riding in the USA! __________________ Scott "Cactusjack" Hanks VBA #00105 H.O.G. #4250060 2011 H-D Ultra Limited 103ci :: 2011 HD Electra Glide Ultra Limited w/Stage 1 :: Rallies: Mesquite '08\|Custer '09\|Cortez '10\|Crescent City '11\|Kanab '12\|Antlers '12\|Estes Park '13\|Antlers '13\|Orofino '14\|The Dalles '17
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05-29-2013, 05:52 PM	#13
blowndodge Sr. Contributor Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Washington City, Utah Posts: 16,474	Mike if you didn't visit Southern California you really didn't do all the southwest! I would have bought the beer! __________________ I love my Victory Cross Country Tour 106. Smells like Victory! Ultra's are Limited There are two types of Harley riders. Those that trailer them and those that push them. The most Interesting Man in the World "Find the things in life you don't do well and don't do those things" Member # 0005
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05-29-2013, 07:11 PM	#14
Rasta Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Ankeny Iowa Posts: 3,694	Thanks for sharing! Looked like one fun trip!! __________________ VROC#34321 VBA#01867 2012 NCR Rally Savanna. IL. 2013 National Rally Estes Park, CO 2014 NC/SC Rally in the Ozarks, Mountain View AR 2014 NE US/Eastern Canada Rally,Lincoln NH 2015 VBA/VRA Eureka Springs AR 2015 Antlers Rally, Antlers OK. 2016 SCR Rally Salem MO. 2016 NCR Rally Hillsboro WI 2017 Eureka Springs AR 2017 National Rally Lake George NY 2004 Blue and Silver 1500 Nomad(RIP 9-26-19) 2000 Red and Silver 1500 Nomad 2012 Pearl White 1700 Voyager
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05-29-2013, 08:44 PM	#15
Netnorske Top Contributor Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Everett, Washington Posts: 5,709	Nice....nothing like a good long road trip to feel one with your bike and meditate like only the open road allows. How did your tank pocket hold up.....that looks familiar! Great pics...! __________________ *Kris Olsen* VBA #0691 2017 HD Ultra Limited Low 2013 Victory Cross Country Tour 2012 1700 Vulcan Voyager 2008 1600 Vulcan Nomad 1997 Vulcan 800 Classic *"Growing old is mandatory,* *but growing up is optional"* Custer 2009\|Kalispell 2010\|Cortez 2010\|Crescent City 2011\|Kanab 2012\|Canmore 2012\|Estes Park 2013\|Orofino 2014\|Lake Tahoe 2015\|Red Lodge 2016
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