AZ - Magic Carpet Ride -or- Midweek Rug Road Redux!

[azredline]

That is one rocky SOB! I started looking at this thread and now am late for an appt. Great report and pics. Thx.

[strappyman]

Originally Posted by HoosierTrailmaster

Don't worry Strappyman...we will be back there soon, this time with the Beta and electric start.

Sweet!! I'm in.

[Slowred]

Awesome RR Yardstick! I looked through my photos and really dont have much to add. It was an epic ride.

HTM, you were right. It is amazing scenery. Well worth the effort. Aravaipa Canyon is very cool. Watch out when hiking to the ruins. I was looking down and ran smack into a tree branch. That hiking is a very dangerous sport. Those hikers are just plain crazy!

Climbing back up Rug Rd was not as bad as we thought. I had a zero mph tip over that cracked my clutch cover, and spoiled an otherwise nice run to the top.

[Yardstick]

Originally Posted by seabee1

beautiful ride report, yardstick! it almost ALMOST makes me wish i had gone. i really like the riparian areas you explored.

Thanks! You can get to that canyon much easier by going all the way around to the other side (from Globe or Willcox -a.k.a. the escape route for the Rug Road Ride!). There's no close gas so you have to be somewhat careful about that. I took Joy in there on the Adventure last year. I would like to do more exploring over there and possibly try going up the back side of Mt. Graham.

Originally Posted by mefyj

Jumping in on the Oregon... what mapping system are you using? How is the battery life?

On the Oregon I'm using topo maps from gpsfiledepot.com. Garmin's routable street maps also work but I don't have those loaded on the Oregon. I usually get through a ride on rechargeable NiMH batteries. I had some fresh ones in for this ride and they lasted the ~7hrs and gave me a low battery indicator on the way back to the truck.

Originally Posted by azredline

That is one rocky SOB! I started looking at this thread and now am late for an appt. Great report and pics. Thx.

I'm glad I could keep your attention!

[Yardstick]

Originally Posted by Slowred

Awesome RR Yardstick! I looked through my photos and really dont have much to add. It was an epic ride.

HTM, you were right. It is amazing scenery. Well worth the effort. Aravaipa Canyon is very cool. Watch out when hiking to the ruins. I was looking down and ran smack into a tree branch. That hiking is a very dangerous sport. Those hikers are just plain crazy!

Climbing back up Rug Rd was not as bad as we thought. I had a zero mph tip over that cracked my clutch cover, and spoiled an otherwise nice run to the top.

I was hoping the "line" I "chose" up those ledges on the east side of the saddle would come out looking exciting. I couldn't find anything that looked particularly good there and just went for it.

[Nightstalker]

I'm in for a redo!

[Reidy008]

I would go with you if it's a Sunday trip.

[Slowred]

HTM,

It sounds like the crowd is begging for a Sunday Magic Carpet Ride Redux!

Bring that new Beta beauty.

[yzfcathy]

Nice RR Yardstick. It's a good thing y'all had lots of silly putty. Seems Terry likes that stuff so much. I thought it was a Honda thing, maybe it's a Slowred thing.

I'm doing a little shake down ride today with my wee little 200, if all goes well I want to join in on the next Rug Ride.

[Slowred]

Originally Posted by yzfcathy

Nice RR Yardstick. It's a good thing y'all had lots of silly putty. Seems Terry likes that stuff so much. I thought it was a Honda thing, maybe it's a Slowred thing.

I'm doing a little shake down ride today with my wee little 200, if all goes well I want to join in on the next Rug Ride.

Heeeyy! I resemble that remark. Remember to bring the duct tape. I seem to need that too.

Can't wait to see the 200 in action.

[Slowred]

I finally have a min to add a few pics from this ride.

Yardstick with the mighty KTM530 at the shooting range stage, shod with fresh Maxxis Desert ITs.


This was pretty much typical of the road in.


Yardstick with a celebratory wheelie on making it to the saddle.


View atop of the saddle.


This is a view of the slag from the copper smelting.

[Slowred]

After making the long ride down from the saddle Yardstick points the way to the next mtn top.


Yardstick demonstrates the proper method of avoiding the large branch sticking out onto the trail. I on the other hand ran smack into it.


We crossed Turkey creek several times in the Aravaipa Canyon area. This crossing was getting deep. I wouldn't want to try it now after the rains we had last week.


Yardstick trying to keep momentum up the last hill back to the saddle. At the saddle we both felt that we were much smoother and faster coming back. You get so beat up physically that you relax and just power through and over the rocks after awhile.


HTM had promised unmatched scenery, and he was correct. The Aravaipa Canyon was spectacular as well as the views from the mtn tops.

[Slowred]

Like Yardstick mentioned, we sat here awhile debating tackling the rug hill vs. the bypass. We decided to give it a try and turn back only if it denied us.


This was the view after getting through the bottom third of the Rug Hill.


It definitely keeps you focused!


Yardstick coming up



After getting going again I had a great run started, when a large boulder clipped my rear tire and I lost momentum and dropped the bike. I was fine but the 3fiddy clutch cover took a direct hit. After a quick repair we made a beeline for the trucks and got back shortly before sunset. What a great ride. It seems we always have epic rides when we play hooky for the day.

[Yardstick]

Nice! I was hoping you would put up your pics. That HID really is bright even in daylight!

[Nightstalker]

'bout time!