Springtime in Springerville . . . AZ, that is

[Phartz]

This seemed like the time of year to get over to Arizona and ride that

section of Hwy 191 that I've heard so much about from the AZ gang. You

know, between Alpine and Clifton. So, this morning I took the I-10 out

of the LA area and then after exiting CA headed up the 60, and others, up

to Prescott and headed east from there on 169, 260, 87, etc. over to

Springerville for the night.


It was an awesome lovely riding day the whole way. Clear, sunny,

pleasant temps. Kinda cold in some of the upper elevations. There was a

lot of snow on the ground, particularly up where 260 met up with 87. It

was melting and there was none on the roads. Cold here in Springerville

tonight. Should be about 28F in the morning. Brrr . . .


I took a couple of pics once I was down a bit lower with a few remnants

of snow visible. I hadn't been through this part of AZ from Prescott

east. High mountains and pine forests and snow are not what one normally

thinks of AZ. I took one pic where there were still some trees and snow

and another that was far more lunar landscape barren but still quite

high.


Anyway I'm poised and ready to head down the 191 in the morning and get

on along home. On the map below the red route was the 608 miles for

today and the blue is tomorrow's 750ish miles.

​

 

[MeanST]

Be careful ....191 tops out a 9000ft.

 

[Phartz]

Be careful ....191 tops out a 9000ft.

Is that where I go weightless?

​

 

[BigTom]

Good for you! I'd say "enjoy the ride", but I know you will!

 

[Mark]

What a great route! I'm glad you've got the salt river canyon on the return route too... What did you think of that?

Hope you stayed warm enough!

Mark

 

[Phartz]

Well it was chilly in the morning. You'll see my temp readout as I'm parked next to the half frozen lake in the morning. It's actually 7:36 when I took the picture. I haven't sprung forward on my dash clock yet. This is outside of Springerville and 18 miles (that's what the GPS is saying) from Alpine.

When I got to Alpine I was greeted with the "road closed ahead" sign. It said 22 miles ahead which would put the closure at about Hannegan Meadow. I got out the paper map (remember those?) and chose 180 down to 78 to meet up with my original route. The map portion in bright green is what I did as opposed to the blue route I had planned. This was a great ride too! Lots of twisties and scenery. And now I've got to come back again for the 191! The pic of the high view is from Hwy 78.

When I saw how the timing was going I decided on making a bee line home on the I-10 rather than the southerly route on the 8. Got home about 8:30 this evening.

​

 

[Phartz]

What a great route! I'm glad you've got the salt river canyon on the return route too... What did you think of that?

I don't know it by name. Was that that canyon coming down out of Globe and Miami? I liked every bit of riding I did over there except for Phoenix and the I-10.

Hope you stayed warm enough!

Mark

The only thing buggin' me as the temps fluctuated between the teens and low 20s was the tips of my fingers. I was discovering new ways to grip the heated grips with my fingers rather than my palms. It warmed up before I had to resort to putting my rain gloves on or another thicker set I carry.

​

 

[Mark]

+1 on Globe to Showlow.
and
+1 on PHX/I10 too!

I'm laughing about your fingertips... BTDT... I haven't figured out how to keep the tips warm with the heated grips either...

 

[motomac]

Reach down and put 'em on the flats below the maintenance covers.

 

[Mark]

Reach down and put 'em on the flats below the maintenance covers.

On the ST1100 I put my hand in the airstream coming out of those covers too... it does the job... one hand at a time!

 

[VFR]

Those are all nice roads - except for through Phoenix. I usually run down through Tucson or up higher to avoid it. The 180 from Alpine to Silver City is a great road. Not a lot of traffic & great views. Running along the rim from Camp Verde to Springerville is spectacular. I try to never miss that one when going across.