So a Labor Day weekend and what to do? Well I figured it was time to take a really long trip on my new bike. Oh, I’ve been up in the hills around Phoenix on it, but really just spending half a day or so.

So I got up early and headed out the door at 7am on my way to Petrified Forest National Park, a mere 260 mile trip…one way. =) One problem I’ve noticed that I have with this bike. I don’t like to stop to take pictures. =) But I did manage to stop in a couple of places and snap a few. The weather turned out to be mostly cloudy for the better part of the day so most of the pictures are dark but hey, I can at least prove that I went somewhere. =)

I started out by heading east to Globe, a little mining town in the hills. Unfortunately, and this is the one thing I really don’t like about Phoenix, it takes me about an hour to get out of the valley. But the morning ride was cool, and Arizona has a speed limit of 65 on most of the rural highways. The road up to Globe is semi-interesting. It goes up Devils Canyon, which sounds like a whole lot more fun than it is. I could still easily average 55mph and that’s without really leaning into the curves, in fact I had cars and trucks passing me on the way up. I guess some Labor Day vacationers were in a real hurry to stake out their camping spots.

Once in Globe I notice the temperature at a meer 67 degrees flashing on a bank sign. The digits were feeling a tad bit chilled, so I thumbed on the heated hand-grips (this is a BMW after all) and let them get nice and toasty. =) However I was wishing I had brought my jacket liner as it was a bit cool. But at a stop for gas I just zipped it up tight and closed the sleeve cuffs and everything was okay.

Next on to Show Low, where I figured I’d stop for lunch, just a mere 89 miles away. One thing I’ve come to learn about Arizona highways, they don’t curve unless they absolutely have to. Translation: Not as much fun for a motorcycle rider, unless you are pushing the speed limit quite a bit. Not that I did (I only pushed it a little when no one was looking), the bike is still relatively new (1000 miles at the start of this trip) and I didn’t want to push the tires too much.

A Harley passed me, 2-up and loaded with camping gear. I was stuck in a snake of cars with somebody slow in front. The Harley obviously had lost patience and was now hopping up a car or two when he could. I waited for the next passing zone (2 east bound lanes going up-hill, where the slow guys are supposed to stay to the right) to come up, then a quick down shift, roll on the throttle and hang on! =) I caught up to the Harley and followed him for a while at speeds I won’t mention to avoid incriminating myself. =)

About half way to Show Low is the most fun part of the trip. The road snakes down to the bottom of the Salt River Canyon and then back up the other side. Outbound this was a pretty sedate ride as the road had quite a few cars heading east. (holliday travelers) But on the way back it was virtually empty and some corners I could really lean the bike over at just 30-40 mph. Much more fun. =)

Show Lo is nothing to write about. ‘nuff said. From here the trip got really dull. Mile after mile of straight roads, with nothing but the occasional trooper to keep the speed down. They obviously know people like to get this stretch of road over with as soon as possible. The only excitement I had was waving to other riders going the other way.

I made it to the park, only had to pay $5 to get in (benefit of riding vs. driving). It was kind of anti-climatic. More petrified trees than I had ever seen, and really big ones too. However, I guess I’m just not much of geologist. I snapped a few shots, but it was really cloudy at this point so most of the shots turned out too dark. The coolest ones I saw were in the “Crystal Forest.” It was a grouping of trees where they insides of the trees had crystalized in different colors. Very cool. I did ride through a small group of Pronghorns at one point, that was kind of neat. They were staring at me as I stared at them. =)

I spent about 2 hours puttering around and hiking some of the trails and then headed back. The best thing about the return trip is that there were far fewer cars on the road, in either direction. So speeds picked up a bit. =)

Oh, and Devil’s canyon is actually a bit more exciting when ridden in the dark. =) It was after 7pm when I left Globe, so the sun was down. I didn’t get back to my apartment till after 8pm. But I’m in one piece, the bike is in one piece, and I still like riding. =) So I think my little “test” trip of about 530 miles is a good indicator that I can do what I bought the bike to do. Travel! I’m sure other bikes with larger fairings would be more comfortable, but I didn’t want a bike with a radio and a cup holder.