[Justa_Poser]

Now you're making us want to make a return trip !

 

[OldAge]

unfortunately, my wife has no interest in going, (ride'n long distance on Motorcycles doesn't turn her on any more,) so I'd be ride'n solo, with folks that I've never met before... (but then again, I love meet'n new people, and not afraid to make new friends)

Ronnie
1/21/23
[/QUOTE]
Have her fly out and meet you there. Best for both. You get some riding time and still get to share the destination.

 

[kwthom]

It’s just a big hole in the ground. $5895 will buy a lot of wax, oil and beer. Life is too short to ever have enough of those!

For about half that, two people could fly to Flagstaff, AZ from Boston in six or seven hours, rent a car and spend the five days driving around to many of the places mentioned in the thread.

I'm not sure that's what @Captron is really after.

He'll have (nearly) two weeks before the meeting about this tour to really get his questions & concerns lined up before that meeting.

I'm gonna presume that it's a guided tour, so day zero will be getting bike's unloaded & setup, day one will be going to the first destination, day two will be the next, etc.

As I mentioned before, gonna take at least three days to move the motorcycles the 2500 miles from Mass. to northern AZ.

My final question would be how do the riders get from Mass. to northern AZ. Air? Van?

 

[Rhys]

I may sign up for a road trip to Sedona, and the Grand Canyon ....... Price includes meals, and transportation of both myself and the bike...Also a truck follow'n with water, and luggage carry, (also in case of break downs w/ tools) I'm seriously considering of sign'n up...............I just got to get more information, on this trip...
I have no more info till I receive it....{I'm not even sure that they could handle a trike during the haul'n the bikes up there}
Keep in mind that I'm coming from Massachusetts (and never been to the Grand Canyon area) So it sounds like a great once ~n~ a lifetime trip..............

Ronnie
1/21/22

Ronnie:

We flew into Phoenix 8 years ago and rented Gold Wings from AZ Rides. (not sure they are still in business though).

It was early spring and could not go up to Flagstaff as it was still too cold. We went south to Tucson, stayed in Tombstone (got drunk at Big Nose Kates) and headed up Rt 666 (the Devils Highway) the next day. It is now Rt.191 that goes all the way up to Yellowstone. It was an AMAZING ride!

Here is the video ->

We returned via Payson and then up to Sedona, Super trip!!!

Hope you do it!

Rhys

 

[Captron]

If your Neurologist okay’s the trip, ask him about Diamox.
Prevents altitude sickness & altitude headaches.
Works for a family friend with a seizure disorder, because thinner air at higher altitudes is one of his triggers.
He lives between Pikes Peak & Cheyenne Mountain.
HTH.

This the biggest problem that I have ,and that would be seizures.. Uncle John (a "passed member" ) of this webb site, actually helped save my life a few years ago, while on a dark side rally...

Ronnie
1/23/23

 

[remoandiris]

No sir, I haven't ridden, even near, of these situations, that are posted, this will be my first attempt, for sure.. BUT what I always do is freeze a bottle of water, and carry it with me, on a "holder " that I have on my handle bars, so as the ice melts I just take small ice cold sips, as I ride..

Ronnie
1/23/23

LOTS OF WATER is one of the things that helps people adjust to higher altitude.

 

[Captron]

LOTS OF WATER is one of the things that helps people adjust to higher altitude.

Thank you, Good to know when ride'n.., I try to always remember, a frozen bottle of water, to carry with me when I'm ride'n in warm Temps. I have a Butller coffee mug, on my handlebars, that I carry a ice bottle, in for frequent, ice cold sips of water..

Ronnie
1/24/23

 

[Captron]

It’s just a big hole in the ground. $5895 will buy a lot of wax, oil and beer. Life is too short to ever have enough of those!

I may beable to go one day without a can of wax, or maybe even (Godfrobid ) a day without a can of oil in my hand, BUT a day without beer now your ask'n the impossible

Ronnie

 

[Big_Bird]

Thank you, Good to know when ride'n.., I try to always remember, a frozen bottle of water, to carry with me when I'm ride'n in warm Temps. I have a Butller coffee mug, on my handlebars, that I carry a ice bottle, in for frequent, ice cold sips of water..

Ronnie
1/24/23

Long ago, someone (ssncob, I think) posted a hack where you put a cheap plumbing flange into the Butler mug ring mount to serve as an adapter for an Ozark Trail mug from WalMart. It is AMAZING how much that outperforms the Butler mug. I rode a lot of miles that way with nice cool water always at hand. Super easy to top up at gas station soda fountains.

For a long, hot day, particularly with fewer convenient gas stations, consider adding more capacity. Here are two things that work well for me:

1) I've got a 1 gallon RTIC jug. Drill the lid and put in a quick release fitting for a camel back drinking tube. Mount somewhere. In my case, I got a Yeti jug holder and attach it to the passenger foot board.

2) I carry a cooler on a hitch rack. In addition to cold drinks available at any stop, it is a great option for dunking things to wear or drape on you. My current set up is a Polar Bear 24 cooler on a Rivco hitch rack; I use a cheap cooling scarf from WalMart and some arm sleeves from LDRider. Easy to remove, dunk, and put back on. Gives you evaporative cooling for a while; longer if you meter the air flow over it. My first LD desert crossing I was trying to wet the whole long sleeve mock turtleneck, while wearing it. A PITA. I shifted to a short sleeve T of modern miracle fiber, plus the LD sleeves and cheapo scarf. Works like a charm.

 

[Dcon]

I agree with Eastern, pretty heavy traffic from Sedona to Flagstaff. All of us from Phoenix head up that way to escape the heat, and it WILL be hot in early June. The ride from Sedona to Jerome and then to Prescott is very scenic, with enough twisties to make it interesting. If you like wine, you can find a number of wineries in Cottonwood and Jerome as well as an eclectic mix of restaurants. I would stick to the south rim of the canyon, it is a very long ride to get around to the north rim and a lot of that is through very barren reservation land with few gas stations or support. Have fun and enjoy Arizona!!

 

[Planeoldguy]

If you're going all that way you should try to fit in time to go up to Utah and see Zion and Bryce. A day ride from the south rim. I've ridden in 49 states and Utah is far and above my favorite riding destination. There are few roads in the country better than Utah Rte 12 from Bryce to Torrey. That whole area is a riders wet dream.

 

[Captron]

I'll learn February 4th, what the entire itinerary, with this trip is all about, and "locations we will be visiting', and if I like it, I'll write the check out. For this trip....... It's going to be quite expensive*............so this expensive trip, will totally eliminate any other trips planned for the rest of the season, that's for sure.........So I've got to decide if it's going to be worth it or not. (cause I've got a few other planned trips that I'd like to do/BUT will not if I decide on this trip

Ronnie
1/26/23

 

[Pelican]

I may sign up for a road trip to Sedona, and the Grand Canyon ....... Price includes meals, and transportation of both myself and the bike...Also a truck follow'n with water, and luggage carry, (also in case of break downs w/ tools) I'm seriously considering of sign'n up...............I just got to get more information, on this trip...
I have no more info till I receive it....{I'm not even sure that they could handle a trike during the haul'n the bikes up there}
Keep in mind that I'm coming from Massachusetts (and never been to the Grand Canyon area) So it sounds like a great once ~n~ a lifetime trip..............

Ronnie
1/21/22

GO ! By all means go. The Sadona & Jerome ride is a beautiful one also.
BUT......
Be sure to report back to us about the Grand Canyon trip.
My wife and I have been there twice....it doesn't exist !!!!! It is a huge scam !!!!
The 1st time was 1st week in June, took the train, train tracks washed out, ride canceled.
2nd time was 1st week of October, took the train, again, halfway there it started snowing, never stopped snowing, just became a whiteout. They said the canyon was there right outside the visitor center, nope - nada - ziltch ! Just white....
They say third time is a charm.
Still waiting for the charm.

 

[OldGazer]

Do it.

But not in the summer.

BS. I was born and raised in Northern AZ. Graduated from Flagstaff High class of '69. The weather is very nice in the summer. Hottest I remember was 97F in the summer of '70, coldest was -26F in the winter of '67. Winter is when you do not what to go there. You have to remember that as you go up in altitued its the same as going north or south of the equater. The higher you go the "colder" the climate gets. The ride from Sedona to the Grand Canyon is freakin' awesome. You start out in the "Red Rock" country and head up 89A to Flagstaff and then grab 180 to 64, turn right and head north to Grand Canyon Village. Personally I think you're in for a treat

So...a point of reference...

I'm not terribly sure the people that are arranging this actually have an idea of what the temperatures are in Arizona - even at 7000' - in June.

Let's make sure we're all understanding the adventure you are contemplating. A whole bunch of bikes and trikes, loaded into a semi, then hauled roughly 2500 miles in order to ride 500 miles - total?

How are the owners/riders of the bikes/trikes getting to Arizona? Bus? Train? Air?

I know what its like. I was born in Williams and graduated High School in Flagstaff. Summers are freaking awesome. Winters suck.

 

[remoandiris]

..so this expensive trip, will totally eliminate any other trips planned for the rest of the season, that's for sure.........So I've got to decide if it's going to be worth it or not. (cause I've got a few other planned trips that I'd like to do/BUT will not if I decide on this trip

Depending on the other trips, I'm not sure I'd blow my whole wad on this AZ trip unless you have the chance to go where YOU want to go. That is one drawback to planned group tours...you give up control.

With that said, I've wintered in AZ the past 3 years and visited the Grand Canyon several times over the past 2 decades. You've never ridden here, so maybe it'd be worth it to you.

 

[kwthom]

<...>
I know what its like. I was born in Williams and graduated High School in Flagstaff. Summers are freaking awesome. Winters suck.

Many of the 30+ that have participated in the thread, I think, do not.

Depending on the other trips, I'm not sure I'd blow my whole wad on this AZ trip unless you have the chance to go where YOU want to go. That is one drawback to planned group tours...you give up control.
<...>
You've never ridden here, so maybe it'd be worth it to you.

Captron's health issues might make the tour the only way he makes it this far west - on three wheels.

Next week, when he passes along additional details, might be the only way to really assist with his decision-making process.

 

[Big_Bird]

My early "not in summer" reply keeps getting quoted. I now see the trip dates are early June, along with some notion of the geography. Great time for the high desert. Late enough for the passes to be melted and comfortable, not too hot in the low spots. I hope it comes together for you, Ronnie.

Hey, @OldGazer , are you any relation to Matt Gazer from MA I knew from my youth? His nickname was Meat.

Anyway, you and others are absolutely right about altitude. It's called the adiabatic lapse rate. Big effect. I even spent two years within a few miles of the equator at ~2000m altitude to co-sign your observation. It was very comfortable. Things may have gotten a little more balmy since your day (global warming, etc.) but, yes, Flagstaff has a relatively pleasant summer compared to Phoenix and you're wise to avoid winter and the close-in shoulder seasons around Flagstaff. But I didn't see an itinerary that had him camped out there. ~7000 feet in Flagstaff, ~4300' in Sedona, 3500' at Lake Powell, and 2200' at the Colorado River in the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

 

[ssncob]

June 3rd - 10th
So far is all I know, about this trip, (I will post when I hear more info)

Ronnie
1/21/23

Good time to do this. Still warm days, but will cool down at night. And early enough to miss some of the kids out of school vacationers.

Been to the canyon several times, and overall worth it at least once to cross off the bucket list. Depending on your health and mobility the trip to the canyon bottom is interesting but does take up the day. And I agree with @3 Eagles comment.

 

[ssncob]

@bigbird1 here's a picture of the butler mug ring mod. The flange is actually a pvc toilet pipe spacer you pick up in the plumbing section of the big box stores. You spread the butler ring slightly to fit the spacer down into. Then the large Artic mug from Walmart fits right into it without sliding thru. I put a strip of rubber tape along the top of the mug to help hold onto it. Zoom in on the top picture you'll see the mug in the holder. I painted the ring flat black, been using it for over 10 years.

 

[Captron]

Many of the 30+ that have participated in the thread, I think, do not.

Captron's health issues might make the tour the only way he makes it this far west - on three wheels.

Next week, when he passes along additional details, might be the only way to really assist with his decision-making process.

I have an appt. with my seizure Dr. next week, to see if he thinks I should be that far away from home, (just in case I have another seizure) I just had ANOTHER one two weeks ago while in a steam room while in Vermont snow skiing, and passed out, and split my head open, just one inch above my right eye (12 stiches ) this will be my second one, that I've had in 72 years.... This is why i'm Leary, about going... away sooooo far....away from home..

Ronnie
1/29/23