Team 5150 does AZBDR in 3 1/2 days...

[Ptkatoomer 114]

Boy, this type of ride sounds pretty cool except for the fact that you can't pick up one of those adventure bikes after the inevitable fall....... 

I know I'd want to take the bike out on some solo rides but this heavier aspect certainly adds to the risk. 

[Bagstr 287]

  And CID ,,Being experienced on both the 950 and 500,,,,Watching your comrades wrestle the freight trains, was there a down-side to the smaller bike??  Unclear how much pavement / highway was involved. Were you busy editing your music playlist while they picked up the bikes. I know from experience the 80 mph freeway is a no-go for long periods.

   Bags

[danrider 5]

Well this will be an answer to your above question and to Mikey's bald tire.   If you ride your bike to  the begging of  the ride and ride home after you complete the trip, the big pig is worth the effort and wrestling, just for the comfort on the road alone.  CID did trailer his small bike to the beginning of the ride, but do not know if he road it to his place in Havasu after the ride was over.  If he did it must of been a strain on the motor and uncomfortable.  I like the adventure of riding my bike to all of my rides and most of them are long distances.   But this is my opinion, trust me I would love to ride a small bike on all the BDR's, maybe I will get smart like CID.

As for you mike and the tire being a burnout on the slab, that happens all the time.  That is why I ride with the Scout 60 in back and TCK80 in front.  The Scout will last you 10k miles as the other off road tires will be bald after 1500 miles unless you  trailer the pig to the start of the ride.  I know what you are going to say the Scout does not have the traction like the nobs on the dirt, but that is the trade off.

[Covered in Dust 162]

I'll let the others voice their opinions on which bike is better for this type of ride but for me I'll take the small bike every time. I met the guys just outside of Tucson on my 525 and we had a spirited 60 mile ride into Sierra Vista. The only reason I didn't ride my bike any further than Flagstaff on the way home was the heat. It was about 200 miles to Havasu and 110 plus for about 100 miles into Havasu and I think the bike would have been fine but It's a good possibility that it could have killed me. When I dropped off the UHaul in Havasu I had about a 15 minute ride back to my house in 115 degree heat and I was dripping sweat when I got to my house. I pulled off what I needed and just fell into my pool.

 

CiD

[Ptkatoomer 114]

Cid,  what kind of gearing is on your 525?

[Covered in Dust 162]

I ran 15-48 for this ride. It gave me about 95 top end. I think I'd do 100 without the 6.6 gas tank that acts as a pretty good wind block. It ran very comfortable at 75.

 

CiD

[Mikey777 44]

CiD never had any problems keeping up with us on the road. Being on a small bike on the trail, he was able to get ahead of us sometimes and provide needed route scouting - calling out turns, hazards and obstacles such as ditches, sand pits, and rocky hill climbs over the radio. He was right on the money and it was nice to know what was coming up.  It was also fun watching Cid "wick it up" on his small bike.  One dude who hauls a$$.

Re my smoked rear tire, I was kinda nervous about it.  We kept looking at it during the trip to see how much was left after each day.  I even contemplated finding a shop to buy a new tire from and put it on at night.  However, the 25%'er actually held up well for the rest of the trip and still provided ample traction even in the black lava sand. There is nothing left of it after the ride home, but LB's 100% tire that he started with is totally smoked now too. Now I know Kendas are a 1.5 k - 2K tire tops.

Each one of us was also capable of picking up our bikes by ourselves if we had too, even if we had to offload gear and/or drag it into place if we ended up in a bad spot.  However, it was f'ing hot out and there is no reason for one person to stroke out trying to pick up their bike alone.  We rode as a team and worked as a team.

 

 

  

[Oracle 195]

And day three (2nd day on trail) begins...

Like I already mentioned, CID had found a nice little side chute on the north side of Pioneer pass for us to pitch our tents. We were all excited about this because no one wanted to ride down to Globe and get a motel room. Camping is such a big part of this trip, and Adventure riding in general, for all of us. The spot served it's purpose and provided a nice view to the north east which lent itself to a beautiful view of the rising sun the next morning. I was awake by 4:45 or so and just sat there and watched as things stirred to life, including my fellow riders.

By 6 am we were all awake and enjoying morning coffee, oatmeal, and gourmet Mountain House breakfast. We knew it was going be another hot and long day, so there was little resistance to getting a move on early. Everyone was packed up and ready to roll by 7. And so it was. 

We dropped down into Globe with the intention of making it to Young for lunch. Our very own Afry had recommended a place called Antlers in Young on more than one occasion and I was set on eating there. The problem was that we were leaving so early in the morning, I estimated we would be to Young by 10 or so; too early for lunch. So I wasn't sure if it was going work out or not, and that kinda bummed me out at the time. As it turns out, my concern about getting there too early would later be replaced with my concern of not making it there at all. We were about to encounter some challenges.

There is a nice section of highway (288), fun to ride, between Globe and the next section of dirt that would take us into Young. As we continued north, we saw smoke (clearly a wild fire) coming from the top of a plateau about 20 miles ahead of us. And as we got closer, we could tell that it was directly in our path. We pulled over next to the Salt River to discuss our options.

We studied the map and quickly determined that there was no short way around this fire. Our choices were to continue on the AZBDR trail and risk the possibility of getting 20 miles up the trail, only to eventually find it closed or too dangerous, or head over to highway 188 and slab it around Young completely. To be quite honest, there was some tension in this decision, but I was pretty committed to staying the course, with the primary objective of ensuring the safety of the team of course. In adventure riding, there are times when you have to roll the dice. And this was one of those times.

We decided to ride further north on 288 to the intersection of 203, which is the main route. To our relief, the forest service had a notice posted there letting travelers know that 203 was still open and the provided a map of the fire. Mikey is a former wild land firefighter / Hot Shot. Mike accepted the responsibility of advising the team if it got too dangerous. And we agreed that we would follow his lead if it came to that.

So we took off up dirt road 203. What a beautiful section this is. It's similar to high desert. An arid climate with cactus and desert shrubs. The road was nicely graded, fast, and fun. After about 10 miles or so, we came to our first water crossing of the trip. It was a concrete overflow and I know based on experience they tend to be very slippery. I was the first one there so I stopped before the crossing to warn the other riders about the algae. There is something fun about doing water crossings...we all know that, right? But they are even better when you've been riding in scorching temps. Every one made it across safely.

After this, we continued along the trail, which slowly but surely became more rocky. We knew the rocks were coming, because the Butler Maps talks about, and other riders have mentioned it in their ride reports. We also knew an expert section was coming up and we would soon be forced to decide if we were going to take it on, or take the easier route. More on that in a bit.

Eventually, we came to another water crossing. This one was a rocky creek and posed a little more of a challenge. By this time, I was riding sweep and thereby, last to cross the creek. I made it no problem and shut off my bike to take a break. Everyone else had other plans as they were already firing up their bikes and took off down the trail. I quickly followed suit...or at least tried....but my bike wouldn't start. I quickly radio the team to let them know I had a problem. Soon Chris and Jeff were back with me but there was no sign of Mikey. We knew he had his GPS (we didn't know he is GPS challenged though...LOL) and a map so we weren't too worried. A quick diagnosis revealed a blown 10amp ignition fuse as my problem. I replaced it and we were soon on our way heading north. Now it was time to catch up to Mikey because he was out of radio range. No problem we thought, the trail is pretty cut and dry, we'll see him in about 10 minutes where he'll be waiting on the side of the trail for us.

Yeah, that didn't happen. As it turns out, there is ONE Y intersection between where I broke down and where we were going. I'll let Mikey filling in the details, but suffice it to say while he went the wrong direction at the Y, we stayed on course and passed the Y before he realized his mistake and made a U-turn. We kept going in our attempt to "catch up" to Mikey, the entire time calling him on the radio with no response. We got 30 minutes up the trail and finally stopped, convinced there was no way he would have gone that far without being in comms with us. After being separated for about 45 minutes, we were reunited when he ventured up the trail and caught up with us. No harm no foul. We carried on toward Young.

Because of the heat, none of us were too excited about tackling the expert section. Luckily, as it turns out, the decision would be made for us. As we got to the intersection with the expert route to Young, we found it closed by the forest service for "aggressive bear activity"...Oh darn, we all thought. And we carried.

Not long thereafter, we were pulling into the parking lot of Antlers just in time for lunch. The recommendation proved to be a worthy one and I think we would all recommend it. The locals there were very friendly as well. One guy, who was just driving by, saw our adventure bikes and actually contacted us in the parking lot offering to help with anything if need be.

I'm out of time for the night, hopefully Mikey can fill in the rest of the details for day two, from Antlers Restaurant to our camping spot fo night two. Yes, the adventures aren't over yet....Goodnight

[Dan Diego 40]

Good stuff, guys!

 

"aggressive bear activity" ?

[danrider 5]

 

2 hours ago, Mikey777 said:

CiD never had any problems keeping up with us on the road. Being on a small bike on the trail, he was able to get ahead of us sometimes and provide needed route scouting - calling out turns, hazards and obstacles such as ditches, sand pits, and rocky hill climbs over the radio. He was right on the money and it was nice to know what was coming up.  It was also fun watching Cid "wick it up" on his small bike.  One dude who hauls a$$.

Re my smoked rear tire, I was kinda nervous about it.  We kept looking at it during the trip to see how much was left after each day.  I even contemplated finding a shop to buy a new tire from and put it on at night.  However, the 25%'er actually held up well for the rest of the trip and still provided ample traction even in the black lava sand. There is nothing left of it after the ride home, but LB's 100% tire that he started with is totally smoked now too. Now I know Kendas are a 1.5 k - 2K tire tops.

Each one of us was also capable of picking up our bikes by ourselves if we had too, even if we had to offload gear and/or drag it into place if we ended up in a bad spot.  However, it was f'ing hot out and there is no reason for one person to stroke out trying to pick up their bike alone.  We rode as a team and worked as a team.

 

 

  

 Trust me when Mike said team work is what it is all about, he is right, trusting the guys you ride with, when something goes bad or wrong, you want someone with a level head.  Most important will get help for you or help you to the end. Your ride report keeps getting better and better, You all probably lost some good water weight on this trip.

[Bagstr 287]

 Sounds to have been Hot Enough to be an issue. How hot was it? Could have done without the sleeping bags hot at night?  Even 4 lts can go fast on a tough day. Musta been a workout to get those bikes through. Thanks for taking the time to put together the story.

    Bags

[Mikey777 44]

Day three....was awesomer.

As LB said, the fire lurking ahead was making everybody a bit nervous. There was a big, black smoke plume on the horizon which indicates heavy, active burning. We decided to go for it at the sign and just keep an eye on things.  We continued eastward of the fire just skirting its flank which has high above us on a plateau but burning downward towards us.  No visible, active flame lengths and there was no ariel activity going on (helicopters dropping water or air tankers laying down retardant). Further, the USFS is really good about posting LEO's around a fire perimeter if there was danger.  So we were all good.

So about me getting lost...as we left the water crossing I hot dogged it up ahead of everybody, passed the Y and called out "Going left" over the radio, and went through a nasty, uphill rocky section.  I stopped at the top to wait for Jeff who was next in line, but no Jeff.  Hmmmm.  What the hell?  I checked my GPS and I am on track.  Called out over the radio and nothin' comes back.  What the hell?  So I wait, and wait, and am now getting nervous.  I turn the bike around on a steep a$$ rocky hill (no easy feat) and ride down to where the Y was.  Did they take a right at the Y?  I decided to check for tire tracks just to be safe.  So I turned and rode down about 50 yards and it turns out to be a dead end and no tire tracks.  No riders here. 

Hmmm?  So I double back to the main trail.  Little did I know that LB and the group passed my position while I was looking for them "lost riders".   I wasn't lost.  They were clearly lost or worse...kidnapped by banditos that Donald Trump warned us about.  So back at the main trail I decide to go back to where we were last together.  Nothing.  So now I am really scratching my head and studying the GPS to see if there were any other offshoots I missed.  Nothing. So I concluded they had to have passed me when I went down the Y to look for them.  Off I go and soon find evidence of multiple tire tracks.  I soon passed some campers who confirmed three bikes passed twenty minutes ago. How the hell did they get twenty minutes ahead of me!?  Eventually I caught up to them and LB quickly demoted me from point rider.  "You're fired!"

The rest of this section is stunning.  A tight trail hugging the side of a mountain covered in various kinds of trees and some fun rocky sections.  However, my no crashing streak was soon to end.  I was hot dogging it some more, came around a corner too fast, ended up wide, and my front tire went into loose gravel on the side of the trail.  I was standing up on the pegs when the bike was suddenly gone from under me.  Down I went after a second of levitation.  LB brought up sweep and helped me get back on two wheels. No harm no foul except a broken turn signal and my right side crash bar cracked all the way through.  Twenty minutes later I was down again when taking a tight switchback. I was in second and needed to be in first, like now.  Unfortunately, I popped her into neutral and gave her all she got.  I was trying to figure out why I was not moving as I was slowly seeing my horizon go vertical.  The crew helped me get the bike up again and we were back on the road towards Young.

LB had a gnarly moment while on the dirt road to Young.  He was ahead of me hauling a$$ and went into a left corner way too fast.  He locked up and slid toward the trees.  I though he was a goner for sure. Luckily, he was saved by the bank on the side of the road.  I still don't know he saved that.  He asked me if I had more toilet paper later that day. I wonder why?

After Young, we headed up to the Mogollon Rim.  Words do it no justice.  LB had the first flat of the trip on the Rim.  What a great place for a flat tire.  We continued on and ended up stopping around 5:00 to set up camp, ate like champs, and drank 18 year old Scotch. Jeff had a really good off just before we stopped.  A few pics.

First pic....water break before Young.

Second pic...LB's epic flat stop on the Rim

Third pic....Jeff getting busy with it. CiD..."The trail is that-a-way".

Fourth pic...Camp spot for the night.  Check out that rear tire compared to my pre-trip pic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wierdrider 187]

Good stuff guys, thanks for sharing. 

[Covered in Dust 162]

I think Jeff was looking for a short cut. This one took all four of us to get out also.

 

CiD

[Mikey777 44]

Cid: I think you have a pic of my bike down too...Wouldn't be fair to only show Jeff and LB's dumps.  Insert pic here:

[Covered in Dust 162]

I might have the requested picture.

 

 

CiD

[Covered in Dust 162]

Did we mention that it was hot and dusty?

 

 

I might need to clean my air filter after the ride, what do you think?

 

CiD

[Covered in Dust 162]

Here are 3 of the fires we had to deal with. The 1st two pics are the same fire that we had to ride around. Both of the other pictures are different fires.

This was when we were the most worried. there were multiple canyons that the fire was coming down and we were riding along the edge of them.

This was from our camp on night 2 on the trail.

And on the trail day 3

 

Covered in Flames

[Covered in Dust 162]

This was the morning of day 3 on the trail. It was pretty rocky for a few miles then turned into a really nice trail.

 

CiD

[Oracle 195]

The boys on the Mogollon Rim:

 

After the Mogollon Rim, the terrain becomes a mix of nicely graded roads and some two track. I really enjoyed this section of the ride, and being out front of nice. I actually started feeling really guilty because the guys behind me were taking a lot of dust. I offered multiple times for others to take the lead for a while so they could get some fresh air. I was taken up on this offer a couple times, but for the most part, these guys just sucked it up and kept pushing forward with me. I was very proud of them and how we all seemed to be on the same page as far as pace and distance. Not one complaint did I hear. And these guys were covered in dust (sorry for the copy right infringement, Chris... :-) ) but they just ate it up. Dust is good for you apparently.

I'll admit, I probably pushed it a little too hard here and there. We were all tired, hot, thirsty, hungry, dirty, but NO ONE was grumpy. No one complained. Every one was always happy. We laughed a lot and had a great time, in spite of the challenges.

When we got to the lava rock fields about 20 miles south of Winona (my least favorite part of the trail), it was probably about 5 pm. I really wanted to push through the Winona but I knew we were about done. Then Jeff had the incident were he was going through some heavy lava rock strewn trail and got his front end literally kicked off the trail and into a ditch (see picture posted above my Mike). After getting him unstuck, we decided as a group to look for a camp spot. There wasn't anything right there so we mounted up and pushed forward. 10 minutes later, CID came on the air and said "find a damn spot", and I knew it was time. I turned my bards left and rode out into an open field about 100 yards off the trail and parked under some small trees. It turned out to be a decent spot (see pics posted above).

And so we made dinner, drank beer (always make room for beer), drank some Scotch, played some tunes, and told some stories. Day two on the trail was a good day.

[Oracle 195]

Day four (day three on the trail), again, started early. We were up, packed, had breakfast and coffee, and on the trail by 7 am again. I like this as I'm an early riser anyway. And I think we all wanted to ride during the coolest parts of the day as we could.

We mounted up and headed for Winona, approximately 20 miles north of us. After some more lava fields, the roads turned fast and we pinned it. Not long thereafter, we were in Winona filling up with fuel and water. It was apparent throughout our trip that people were intrigued by us. I guess not many people have encountered "adventure riders" during their travels because wanted to talk to us often. Including in the parking lot of the gas station, where we were approached by a "tweaker" who "used to have a 426"... As it turned out, he was a really nice guy, just annoying as we wanted to hit the trail and he wanted to talk. Finally, a rabbit ran by and he lost interest in us...on we went.

The lava sand was a head of this. I sensed that Jeff was a little concerned about this, but I'll let him comment on that if he chooses. CID was on a small bike, so we knew he wasn't going be a problem. I've been riding sand for 30 years so I was actually looking forward to getting some "sand time" on my big bike while fully loaded. I'm not sure where Mike's mind set was on this, but I know his tire had become a concern.

For those that haven't done this section, it starts out pretty easy. In fact you start thinking that it's really not as bad as you heard. But then it happens. The ---- gets deep. And if you don't have the sand riding technique skills, it becomes challenging fast. And if you don't have the right tire, it becomes even more challenging. Jeff didn't have the right tire selection and he paid the price. He went down, nice and soft, a couple times. After the second or third get off, his bike wouldn't start. Based on our initial diagnosis, we knew we had an electrical problem. The problems was solved fairly quickly after checking the fuses (all ok) and then checking the battery terminals, which ended up being loose. I had a good idea this was the problem as I knew Jeff had just put a new battery in and for what ever reason, I've learned over the years that after installing a new battery, sometimes the terminals just don't get tightened enough. Anyway, we were soon pushing forward again and got through the sand section without further problems. 

We crossed highway 89 and proceeded west from there. We were now headed for the South Rim plateau, and ultimately Cameron, as our final destination for the day. The temp was probably around 90 to 95 at this point. We had slight relief since we were higher up. Nonetheless, it was hot and we were quickly getting over it. CID and Mike were out front when we came to a rock covered uphill section. These weren't just rocks, they were the square edged rocks that are partially buried. In other words, this section was pinch flat alley. I heard Mike come on the air and say something about making it through the section without a flat would be a miracle. Next words I heard was Jeff letting us know he had a flat.

Of course, it was out in the open, with very little shade. We found a small tree and used it to our advantage. Before CID and Mike were even back with us, we had the front wheel off and were quickly working towards a solution. This was Jeff's first flat in the wild. The time to change a tube had finally come. I think it turned out to be a good experience as that first one is always the most stressful. As a team, we got the bike rolling again in no time. Snap! We still had a long way to go....

 

[Dan Diego 40]

"We were all tired, hot, thirsty, hungry, dirty, but NO ONE was grumpy. No one complained. Every one was always happy. We laughed a lot and had a great time, in spite of the challenges."

This has been my experience riding with SDAR peeps. I know it's not always the case--especially in the face of challenges--so I'm happy to see the Team did so well.

[Mikey777 44]

Day four on the trail I thought was the most fun.  We had a wide variety of terrain.  Nasty "gotcha" rocks, black lava sand, and some fantastic double tracks. The lava sand was thick, but not significantly difficult.  I have been fortunate to do some baja and desert rides so sand is not a big deal.  Keep your RPM's up, grip the tank with your knees, and don't make any sudden inputs and you will be fine (assuming you have the right tire for the job).  Jeff struggled in the sand, but I am 99% sure it was mostly his tires.

In the lava sand, note broken crash bar down near the bottom.

 

Cid handled the sand and black sand whoops like a baller

 

After we got out of the lava sand and dropped back onto the flats, LB and I got a chance to get out and front and ride some double track together for a while.  I could tell LB was in one of his, "I need to haul ass moods" so we hit the throttle and were flying.  LB has a lot more experience in the saddle than me and it was a blast keeping pace.  He might have been holding back a bit, but I think I even saw a grin on LB's face as he tried to shake me.

As day four was winding down, we were getting hot and tired as we headed towards the Grand Canyon. 

"Hot and tired".

 

We finally made it to the South Rim of the GC and headed east on the 64 towards Cameron.  The fatigue really started to set in for all of us as the temperature hit the high 90's and 100's.   We rolled into Cameron around 3'ish I think, got gas/water and our Navajo Nation permits.  At that point, we had to make a call about riding out onto the Nation and camping in 100 degree heat.  None of us wanted to take the risk of breaking down out there, getting hurt, or even trying to camp in that kind of heat.  So we made the wise choice and hoteled it at Cameron Trading Post.  Thank Goodness.  We all enjoyed a shower....not together of course. Well, at least Cid and I didn't shower together.  I don't know about LB and Jeff.  After dinner, we spent the evening eating ice cream, drinking Fireball and scotch, and figuring out routes for the next two days.

[Oracle 195]

1 hour ago, Mikey777 said:

Day THREE on the trail I thought was the most fun.  We had a wide variety of terrain.  Nasty "gotcha" rocks, black lava sand, and some fantastic double tracks. The lava sand was thick, but not significantly difficult.  I have been fortunate to do some baja and desert rides so sand is not a big deal.  Keep your RPM's up, grip the tank with your knees, and don't make any sudden inputs and you will be fine (assuming you have the right tire for the job).  Jeff struggled in the sand, but I am 99% sure it was mostly his tires.

In the lava sand, note broken crash bar down near the bottom.

 

Cid handled the sand and black sand whoops like a baller

 

After we got out of the lava sand and dropped back onto the flats, LB and I got a chance to get out and front and ride some double track together for a while.  I could tell LB was in one of his, "I need to haul ass moods" so we hit the throttle and were flying.  LB has a lot more experience in the saddle than me and it was a blast keeping pace.  He might have been holding back a bit, but I think I even saw a grin on LB's face as he tried to shake me.

As day four was winding down, we were getting hot and tired as we headed towards the Grand Canyon. 

"Hot and tired".

 

We finally made it to the South Rim of the GC and headed east on the 64 towards Cameron.  The fatigue really started to set in for all of us as the temperature hit the high 90's and 100's.   We rolled into Cameron around 3'ish I think, got gas/water and our Navajo Nation permits.  At that point, we had to make a call about riding out onto the Nation and camping in 100 degree heat.  None of us wanted to take the risk of breaking down out there, getting hurt, or even trying to camp in that kind of heat.  So we made the wise choice and hoteled it at Cameron Trading Post.  Thank Goodness.  We all enjoyed a shower....not together of course. Well, at least Cid and I didn't shower together.  I don't know about LB and Jeff.  After dinner, we spent the evening eating ice cream, drinking Fireball and scotch, and figuring out routes for the next two days.

Fixed it for you ^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Oracle 195]

Like Mikey said, there was a really nice section between the lava rock/rock alley and the Grand Canyon. It is relatively flat and the trail condition is nice, aside from the dust, which haunted us for most of the ride. By this point, I was in a "mood". We had suffered our share of challenges to this point and I was stressing that we were not going to make Cameron by 5pm, which is the cut off to buy the pass for Navajo Nation (they are not open on the weekend). In hind sight, if planning the trip again (which I'm already thinking about doing on a small bike), I would definitely plan on getting into Cameron by Thursday at the latest, just in case...

So we picked up the pace. It definitely wasn't too fast...but it was fun. I knew Mike was behind me and Chris and Jeff were about 1/2 mile behind us. Because of the topography, we had decent comms (which were a PIA most of the trip) for this section, which always helps. I definitely had a good time in this section.

Oh, and to step back a few posts, if you ever do this trip and find yourself needing fuel in Winkleman, fuel up and get the hell out of there. We had to take turns watching our bikes while others went in to the store to get water. The clerk recommended Maria's for lunch, which as it turns out is the only restaurant in this ---- hole town...and the food was pretty nasty. I mean they fucked up a carne asada buritto and I felt sick for hours after only consuming 1/2 of it. Take my word on this.