Desert Sledin Dummies Vtwinin Arizona

[KsTeveM]

About that time, getting a little twitchy. The desert can definitely scratch that itch. The past couple of years for a winter escape, I ventured out Las Cruces way and did some cool enduro type stuff for a few days. Base camped with some other folks at a motel in Mesilla and did day jaunts. The below pic showcases that trip/terrain a bit.

But I decided I wanted to experience something different this year for a winter escape ride. The plan is to slip a little further west, ditch the truck and be a little nomadic. Bike, 500 or 950…..could have gone either way but I decided to run the Super Enduro. I think he needs this. I told him to go ahead and get things ready and pack light. And do a shakedown ride. Check.

If you are going to run one Vtwin with dual pipes around in the desert….why not run two? Totally logical. Will update this thread when I can……duals in the desert about to go down. We are rolling west.

 

[LicketySplit]

Funny, how we all seem to get the itch at the same time. You lucky devils!

 

[Tourmeister]

 

[LlanoRiverMan]

There it is! The Super Enduro Strike Team is on mission again.

 

[TNC]

Quick!...someone call the AZ governor so that he can call out the state national guard. They're gonna need it.

 

[KsTeveM]

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move. Robert Louis Stevenson

 

[gixxerjasen]

So jealous

 

[KsTeveM]

Let the desert wind cool your aching head. Let the weight of the world drift away instead. Beck

 

[KsTeveM]

Once again there was the desert, and that only. Stephen King

We are about wrapped up, Super Enduros delivered big time. Will work on the full ride report when I can. Smell ya later.

 

[SilverBullet]

View attachment 374963

That pic looks kinda familar. Oracle Control Rd, backside of Mt. Lemon?

 

[KsTeveM]

No sir, it was in the Dragoon Mountains, the view was looking back towards Tombstone. There is good riding all over the place in southern Arizona! We saw a Super T with a cover on it along the border, Gary laughed and said it was yours, “in storage”…..

 

[KsTeveM]

As a dangerous man with eyes wide open……I’ve been dreaming in the day about getting back out this way for a while now. I was stationed at Ft. Huachuca in the mid 90s and did some stomping around these parts camping and riding. I made a couple visits back out here through the years, couple times on a XR400, couple times on quads. But I am long overdue. I decided to sniff out some new to me stuff along with snorting some nostalgia. We settled on no camping, due to this being a relatively quick winter trip and wanting to keep the Super Enduros lighter. Last minute prep and saying goodbye to the truck…..and hello Super Enduros!!

Off the rip, wanted to get out of this part of New Mexico and into Arizona. That transition from here….avoiding yucky interstate pavement but not going too far out of the way…..little bit of a challenge. Eye balled a primitive railroad adjacent dirt track immediately outside of town, that’ll do. And keeps us going at a slower speed….think wind chill. The morning started off in the 30s. Brrrr. But the flip side….sunny and highs in the mid 60s. Gotta love that!

And it wasn’t all boring, it had some personality. Sediment, powdery sand at times, and some show stoppers we had to route around.

The rail dirt got us 20 miles down the road, through a tunnel under I-10 and then another little sneaker and we were in Arizona. Sorry, no fancy state sign, just a couple dinguses in the desert.

We started cruising into a part of the Coronado National Forest. I really, really love this stuff. No I don’t think you understand, like really. I like the pace of desert riding, the smells, scenery, rock formations, mountains and desert mixed. Coupled with two dialed in guys making time on two track with two cylinders each…..yeah man, that’s double the fun.

Snuck through a canyon, past a ranch….and spotted a historical marker, we went to check it out, Ft. Bowie.

The fort was established by the California Volunteers in 1862 after a series of engagements between the California Column and Chiricahua Apache. I can really imagine the Indians handing the soldiers their you know what in this terrain around here. For more than 30 years Fort Bowie was the focal point of military operations. In 1861 Cochise fought the good fight after being wrongly accused of some crimes by US Army Lt. Bascom. Things got ugly, Cochise’s friends and family members were hung, Cochise suffered 3 bullet wounds but escaped. Cochise took to the war path to avenge his people’s deaths. The Apache warfare was so fierce that troops and settlers withdrew from the region. And with the Civil War going on, Arizona was practically abandoned to the Apache for a bit. In 1862 an army of 3000 California volunteers marched to Apache Pass to prevent Confederate attacks and put the Apache on the run with howitzers. Cochise and 200 of his peeps eluded capture for more than 10 years hiding out not far from here in the Dragoons. In 1871 Cochise finally surrendered….resisted the transfer of his people to a reservation in NM…..and escaped again in 1872. He surrendered again when the Chiricahua Reservation was established later that summer. He died two years later.

Geronimo also “fought” the system. Things were calm for a few years under some good US commander leadership, but a new commander screwed things all up when they forcibly removed 4000 Apache in 1874 to a barren wasteland of a reservation in San Carlos AZ. Deprived of traditional tribal rights, short on rations and homesick, Geronimo revolted leading hundreds of Apache to resume war against the whites. In 1882 a campaign against the Apache was conducted, which included Tom Horn (that’s another story). Geronimo played some surrender/then flee again games with a small band. Things escalated and the US had a final campaign against him with 5000 white soldiers and 500 Indian auxiliaries. Five months and 1645 miles later, Geronimo was tracked to his camp in Mexico’s Sonora Mountains. They still ran but were induced to surrender at Skeleton Canyon in AZ, promising him after a time of being exiled to Florida, he and his followers would be allowed to return to Arizona. Geronimo and his people were moved to Ft. Sill Oklahoma and he attempted to “take the white man’s road”. He never saw Arizona again and died in 1909 at Ft. Sill. Sorry to be so long with that summary….but there was a lot happening in this zone that I thought worthy of some wind.

Rolled out of there through Apache Pass….hey we just read about that!! It’s like we’re famous. We are starting to feel like celebrities. Who wouldn’t cruising the desert on a Super Enduro!! That got us to about noon the first day…..

 

[gixxerjasen]

History stuff is cool. Those who don't like it can skip it.

 

[Tourmeister]

I can just imagine how good those bikes sound ripping across the desert together!

 

[woodsguy]

@KsTeveM , you're a great story writer and take great adventures! Enjoy following you! And great choice of bikes also.

 

[KsTeveM]

I can just imagine how good those bikes sound ripping across the desert together!

They do sound cool. You get a good feeling riding one and hearing the other.....but I couldn't help but think how cool it would have been to be behind both of them watching and listening to them rip it up side by side. I've been longing for one of these bikes for several years and once I had it, had been wondering just how good is it in the desert. Big Bend area last year was a good test but this Arizona run was another level and if there was any doubt about the machines ability, there isn't now. The doubt shifts to your ability to hang on to the beast!! More to come......

 

[KsTeveM]

@KsTeveM , you're a great story writer and take great adventures! Enjoy following you! And great choice of bikes also.

Thanks brother. I always appreciate your comments on folk's ride reports.....always positive and reinforcing. That is fuel for an adventurer!! Ride On!!

 

[bwdmax]

The Super Enduro is definitely a hoot to ride out in the desert. I have been setting mine up for travel over the past few weeks and hoping i wasn't wasting money since I really don't have any saddle time on the bike prior to this trip. Let's just say I wasn't disappointed. For me right now and the kind of riding I'm doing this thing delivers big.

 

[bwdmax]

That moon crust along the railroad track was very interesting. You would be cruising along at 50-55 mph range and you could feel it just suck you in for a second almost like you would hit the rear brake. You were never really sinking much but I have a feeling if you went to slow an spun a tire you would find some moisture and a really sticky situation just below the surface. No problem just keep moving.

 

[KsTeveM]

Stopped in Wilcox to gas up, eat a bite and discuss our next move. The ride…..we are over halfway in mileage for the day, but probably not nearly half way regarding time. I know what I planned for the afternoon and it probably ain’t good…..meaning stuff is about to get real….good. First a little pavement.

I had been semi worrying about my chosen route not working out. Push that aside, who cares, regroup as necessary. But I had these big sleds on the brain and the unknown gnar. Ahhh, it’ll work out, twist and ride on. Through some cool stuff.

Moment of truth. Ready to transition from what was obviously a well beat in two track to a Stevo special. What is a Stevo Special? This is when the path gets rougher, you’re not sure if you will come out the other side…..but something keeps pulling you in.

It’s something alright. We were really liking it back in here. I was hoping we could sneak through a gate and get on a track I had seen with GE that looked really promising and terrible at the same time....in a good way. But it had signage and locks. So we backed off, law and order every time, that’s us.

But our plan b wasn’t too bad, just not as aggressive as plan A. But we redeemed our selves having fun flogging the Super Enduros in the middle of nowhere with beautiful scenery. I was in the zone and decided I wanted to really hit it hard and see if I could pretend I was on the 500 with my charge at hill climbs and rock gardens. It let me know a few times who was boss….but I kept it up right. We laughed out loud in the comms as we were playing hold your lane games with each other….and one time I was in both lanes, at the same time. Luckily the back of the Super Enduro acts like a 500 and fell back in line. My shoulders and lats were feeling it.

We found some shade and took a little break. Shed some layers, open vents, whatever you got to do to regulate the romping.

Eventually we backed out of that zone and had to work on a workaround to get us back on track. Lost an hour. Or did we?

Temps were right, views were right, blue skies….just gorgeous. We were tracking down a good road headed down into a river valley in the distance. All was well. With weird cactus.

The harder miles of the day were over as we hopped onto part of the AZBDR for a few miles.

We were enjoying the cactus show. And keeping an eye out for the pass road we needed to head west.

We got off the BDR and up in some elevation in the Mt. Lemon zone. We just cruised along at a cool pace checking out the scenery and winding down the day.

Shadows getting a little long. We’ve tried to squeeze in a lot for one day. But we were good at this point, it was smooth sailing, on a potholed/washboard road.

We came down from the mountain and rolled into the Tanque Verde area where we snagged an AirBnB close to our route plan. Met the needs, low tonight expected to be in the 30s again, glad to not be in a tent. It was a funky older house and we were sharing it with the owner, a single mother with a 6 year old kid. Weird vibes. We rolled with it, had a pizza delivered and hung out in the “back yard”.

I’m happy with that day. Experienced some good dirt travel, scenery, history and romped harder on the Super Enduros through some gnar at times. My kind of adventure. The right amount of spice.

 

[TNC]

Awesome stuff, Steve. Like you I love deserts. They are the best. They have a soul that makes my soul feel more free than the forested mountains. Not a slam to forested mountains, but the desert often seems like the adventure of being on a hostile planet. I usually like it quiet when I'm out in the western deserts, hearing nothing but the sound of my dirt bike...but sometimes, listening to Wall of Voodoo's "Call of the West" album kind of fits the vibe.

 

[jerrybo]

Great report and pix! Thanks for sharing

 

[Texas T]

* Mt Lemmon (two "m"s). The most southern ski resort in the country.

 

[KsTeveM]

Up and at um. Urban jungle yuck for a smig, along with routing right by the Saguaro National Monument. We decided not to pay $20 each to ride past them on boring pavement….we rode past them the day before on fun dirt for free. After that slab stint of about 30 miles, we got back to where we belong, in the dirt.

Or I guess I should say in the sand. Super Enduros attack. But be careful holding your lane ha ha, I’m on your six little buddy!!

I had debated this next move quite a bit. The BDR use to run right through the heart of the Empire Cienega Ranch, BLM land. I spent some time riding/camping at that place back in the day. And it seems the new route kind of skirts through there and puts you back on pavement to the east pretty quickly. But from my riding in the past, I think the good stuff in there is to the north for what I like to ride. Figured we had good riding in BLM yesterday, so we elected for some national forest tucked up closer to the mountains. We were finding our zen in here as the trail was fun and the backdrop wasn’t too shabby.

I think I recall this correctly, this mountain range is called the Patagonias (going off 30 years ago memory, I might spell something wrong ). I’m sure that was a nod to South America. One day maybe? Today we were just trying to thread the needle through these little guys a little bit.

I was a little apprehensive what we were going to find in them there hills. Arizona has a way of sucking you in, pulling you up and down stuff, that gets progressively worse. Kind of like being a frog in a boiling pot. By the time you are cooked, it can be too late to do anything about it. I’ve been known to strand myself and have to lower my bike down, side hilling, dragging/dropping it one tire at a time sideways. I’m paying a little more attention today, I don’t want to strand us on these plus sized desert sleds.

Just beautiful riding, creek crossings, views….the good stuff. Up on da pegs, on da trottle…..nothing like that vtwin dual exhaust sound. Let’s just say we weren’t seeing very many animals.

Wow, what a morning. We were stoked as we wrapped up our escapades in that zone and headed for Sonoita to take a break. But not too long, lot more miles to go and I was looking forward to this next leg of the day. Uno momento por favor

 

[Texas T]

You were correct... Patagonias. The entire Sonoita / Patagonia / Empire Ranch / Madera Canyon region is very beautiful.