A couple of years back I did a trip that included the Apache Trail (see CB issue #290) as its return destination. It was a Sunday, started out cool, much of it was blacktop and ultimately I ended up with a nail in the rear tire, just outside the summer village of Roosevelt. There at a pull out while taking photos, I met 'Fred' who helped me out with a can of slime and an air pump. That fix got me back to the outskirts of Apache Junction, from where I was forced to call in the Cavalry. Not the US cavalry, but Bob, the UK transplant cavalry! Alas, the slime had given out and I was still 50 freeway miles from home. Not the most satisfying way to complete a ride.
I will admit that my ride inbound on the A-T, was less than stellar, as I fretted the entire way about the tire, after all... Slime as well as all the other road fixes are really designed for tubeless applications. The XT of course, is tubed front and back. Besides the obvious worry of the tire, the whole affair had delayed my return and it was already dusk when I rode out of the desert and through Tortilla Flats. Something else this small trail bike is not known for is it's after dark lighting. No Baja sized million candlepower searchlights here. Barely enough in fact to outshine a flashlight!
Since that trip, I have wondered what the Trail would be like in daylight. My very brief foray into the Superstitions, had in no way satisfied my curiosity about this Apache hideaway that I had read so much about in my younger days. I was determined to explore further into the past...
While looking around for a destination loop ride, I explored several ideas. The 350 is, ummmm, barely tolerable, okay... let's face facts, it's not a freeway motorcycle. Droning along on the off road thin and skinny seat, with the engine turning 5000 RPM to get me 55MPH, for miles on end, is not exactly my idea of a w/e in New Orleans during Mardi Gras!
By their very nature dual purpose bikes have to be a compromise, and in my case I needed something light weight, road legal to ride the back country and with an acceptable level of "pain" vs trailability. (Yes I know that's not a word but as you'll find, I've had to make some new ones up as I go along.) I was still living in Calgary with the east coast just an idea that really hadn't germinated. My insurer wouldn't insure my DR200 that I had left here. I was driving down and could transport a small trail bike on my home built rear rack if needed and a bigger dualie, like a DR 650 or the very rare XT 600 would have slightly better comfort and highway traveling power, but would certainly have been a handful on the back road into Crown King (see CB issue #278). Ultimately I will need to make other plans if I want to increase my radius beyond a hundred miles., now that I am no longer driving my own vehicle down here from Alberta. That poses a handicap for my visits.
For this return to the Superstitions, I thought it would make the most sense to spread it out over a couple of days. In that way I would not be hurried in the good stuff (the actual off road riding) and would tolerate the 55 mph drone it would be necessary to do, traversing the city. To reach the east end of the city (or anywhere) I am pretty much forced to ride 90 minutes each way on freeways like I-17 and 60. Don't get me wrong, Phoenix, like most large US cities, has an excellent freeway system allowing one to, if not exactly transport oneself instantly, Star Trek style, to get from here to there rapidly and safely without having the time consuming stop and go of city streets.
In any case, I was headed for a re-run of the Apache Trail but this time with time on my hands and several Jeep trails to explore.
Having picked up a copy of Charles Wells, "Guide to Arizona Backroads and 4-Wheel drive Trails" (which btw lists the CK back road as "difficult"), from the Glendale library, I was looking at not only riding by the Superstitions... but through them as well. Getting intimate so to speak.
Route planned would include traversing the area in both directions on roads ranging from loose gravel on the A-T to steep climbs and narrow rutted trails on the 4 Peaks. I'd do it mid week, before the Memorial Day long weekend, and as it turned out, the temperature was expected to be in the low 80's, instead of the low 70's I'd been having. Once you get up into the hills, it would get cooler in any case, as it certainly did.
Let the games begin.
I will admit that my ride inbound on the A-T, was less than stellar, as I fretted the entire way about the tire, after all... Slime as well as all the other road fixes are really designed for tubeless applications. The XT of course, is tubed front and back. Besides the obvious worry of the tire, the whole affair had delayed my return and it was already dusk when I rode out of the desert and through Tortilla Flats. Something else this small trail bike is not known for is it's after dark lighting. No Baja sized million candlepower searchlights here. Barely enough in fact to outshine a flashlight!
Since that trip, I have wondered what the Trail would be like in daylight. My very brief foray into the Superstitions, had in no way satisfied my curiosity about this Apache hideaway that I had read so much about in my younger days. I was determined to explore further into the past...
While looking around for a destination loop ride, I explored several ideas. The 350 is, ummmm, barely tolerable, okay... let's face facts, it's not a freeway motorcycle. Droning along on the off road thin and skinny seat, with the engine turning 5000 RPM to get me 55MPH, for miles on end, is not exactly my idea of a w/e in New Orleans during Mardi Gras!
By their very nature dual purpose bikes have to be a compromise, and in my case I needed something light weight, road legal to ride the back country and with an acceptable level of "pain" vs trailability. (Yes I know that's not a word but as you'll find, I've had to make some new ones up as I go along.) I was still living in Calgary with the east coast just an idea that really hadn't germinated. My insurer wouldn't insure my DR200 that I had left here. I was driving down and could transport a small trail bike on my home built rear rack if needed and a bigger dualie, like a DR 650 or the very rare XT 600 would have slightly better comfort and highway traveling power, but would certainly have been a handful on the back road into Crown King (see CB issue #278). Ultimately I will need to make other plans if I want to increase my radius beyond a hundred miles., now that I am no longer driving my own vehicle down here from Alberta. That poses a handicap for my visits.
For this return to the Superstitions, I thought it would make the most sense to spread it out over a couple of days. In that way I would not be hurried in the good stuff (the actual off road riding) and would tolerate the 55 mph drone it would be necessary to do, traversing the city. To reach the east end of the city (or anywhere) I am pretty much forced to ride 90 minutes each way on freeways like I-17 and 60. Don't get me wrong, Phoenix, like most large US cities, has an excellent freeway system allowing one to, if not exactly transport oneself instantly, Star Trek style, to get from here to there rapidly and safely without having the time consuming stop and go of city streets.
In any case, I was headed for a re-run of the Apache Trail but this time with time on my hands and several Jeep trails to explore.
Having picked up a copy of Charles Wells, "Guide to Arizona Backroads and 4-Wheel drive Trails" (which btw lists the CK back road as "difficult"), from the Glendale library, I was looking at not only riding by the Superstitions... but through them as well. Getting intimate so to speak.
Route planned would include traversing the area in both directions on roads ranging from loose gravel on the A-T to steep climbs and narrow rutted trails on the 4 Peaks. I'd do it mid week, before the Memorial Day long weekend, and as it turned out, the temperature was expected to be in the low 80's, instead of the low 70's I'd been having. Once you get up into the hills, it would get cooler in any case, as it certainly did.
Let the games begin.
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