Arizona Winter Dirt and "The World's Fastest Indian"

Codewheeney · 02-13-2006, 05:07 PM

Arizona winter dirt and The World's Fastest Indian

Click any pic for bigger versions.

CrozB and I decided to do a dirt route, with some "Man, I shoulda brought my forest service maps" unknown (to us) roads.

The first order of business: Caffeine!

Then, it was up the Beeline highway and on to Lone Pine Saddle and over the 4 Peaks.

Dave (CrozB), just riding along

We stopped in this riparian area, near Tejanos Springs

CrozB played around in the creek bottom

From there, it was up the final climb to Lone Pine Saddle. We came that'a way.

Up and over, we then headed down towards Lake Roosevelt.

It was a perfect Arizona winter day

At Lake Roosevelt, it was air-up the tires and onto the pavement to Payson. Lunch (w/ PIE!) was supplied at the Beeline Cafe. From there, we continued up to Strawberry and headed out Fossil Creek Road. Fossil Creek is a real wonder of the Arizona backcountry, and not one that many people often see. Nestled at the base of the Mogollon Rim, it's perpetual and empties into the Verde River. It's a steep descent down from Strawberry to the creek. The road is nestled against the north face of the cliff, and you ride down mostly in shadow, with the bright light on the valley below and the far mountains. Lots of pinks and reds in the cliff faces that lead up to the Mogollon Rim.

The creek is home to the Childs-Irving Hydro Power Station, which APS is in the process of Decommisioning. The area is rather lush, I can't wait to see how it changes as they restore the full flow of the creek.

After crossing the creek, Dave wanted to see where NF 502 went. It heads steeply up and over Ike's Backbone (part of the Mazatzal (say Mah-ta-zal) Mountains) down to the Verde River (and provides access to the power lines from Fossil Creek).

Dave was hoping to cross the Verde here. I had never heard of a bridge near here, but I hopped that this far north the river might be fordable. It wasn't by half. We talked to two guys who had crossed the river earlier that day in a lifted pickup truck. The water came halfway up the doors (about 4 - 5 feet). The bottom of the Verde if often sandy, too.

That'll be back the way we came, then.

Dave was disappointed, he kicked hell out of this abandoned car.

Maybe I can find some other way, with this fancy GPS

We kept up on Fossil Creek Road (NF 708) in beautiful evening light. A darn near perfect Arizona evening (Mr. and Mrs. Washboard made it a bumpy ride)

The moon was rising as we stopped to air up tires

As I pulled up, Dave said he heard a "bell" sound coming from my bike. We rolled it back and forth, and it sounded like a rock was up in the rear hub. We couldn't find it, so we pressed on back to Camp Verde.

At the gas station, I found the rock, but couldn't get it removed. It seemed harmless, so blasted home down the freeway. I had to remove the wheel the next morning to get the rock out. I'm keeping it as a souvenir.

On Sunday, one of the local BMW dealers, BMW Motorcycles of Scottsdale along with some local riding groups, like Fastour.us were holding a private screening of The World's Fastest Indian. Many riders turned out, on all sorts of machines. CodeDad (staying at Chez Codewheeney for the winter) and CodeWife met me, and Dave was there with his spousal unit. The movie was very good, funny and well told. It's the story of Burt Munro and one of his attempts to set a land speed record on a modified 1920 Indian Scout

CodeDad and CodeWheeney:

Reserved Parking!

And a real Indian motorcycle

All in all, a really great winter weekend in Arizona.

bpeterson · 02-13-2006, 07:19 PM

cool report.

I love AZ, and Payson is really nice as well. Was out there hiking around w/my sis-in-law a few months ago.

Hayduke · 02-13-2006, 07:30 PM

Nice pics- it was nice to see the Verde again. When I lived in Prescott, we used to fish at a little lake that was part of the Childs/ Irving Hydro power project IIRC. Beautiful area.

[Red] · 02-13-2006, 07:31 PM

great report mate - that indian is beaut! did you get any more pics of it?

Misery Goat · 02-13-2006, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Codewheeney

And a real Indian motorcycle

i met the owner of this bike at C4 yesterday, they were working on getting tickets to the movie premiere.

turns out he is from chicago and we have some mutual beemer friends..

nice report JC

Codewheeney · 02-13-2006, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADVoz

great report mate - that indian is beaut! did you get any more pics of it?

Yup, but not as good:

http://codewheeney.smugmug.com/galle...643/8/56284354
http://codewheeney.smugmug.com/galle...643/8/56284440

JC

gothamAlp · 02-13-2006, 07:57 PM

with nyc digging out from under sunday's 26" of snow, dem here pix be music to mine ocular units...

t'anks, amigo.

dlearl476 · 02-13-2006, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADVoz

great report mate - that indian is beaut! did you get any more pics of it?

Screw the Indian, did you get any more pics of the babe in black/red leathers?

Codewheeney · 02-14-2006, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlearl476

Screw the Indian, did you get any more pics of the babe in black/red leathers?

Yeah, broke my first rule of photography. Get Closer!

JC

GB · 02-14-2006, 08:54 AM

..

thanks for sharing!

02-13-2006, 05:07 PM	#1
Codewheeney ^OP Hoopy Frood Joined: May 2003 Location: Morgan Hill, CA Oddometer: 2,333	Arizona Winter Dirt and "The World's Fastest Indian" Arizona winter dirt and The World's Fastest Indian Click any pic for bigger versions. CrozB and I decided to do a dirt route, with some "Man, I shoulda brought my forest service maps" unknown (to us) roads. The first order of business: Caffeine! Then, it was up the Beeline highway and on to Lone Pine Saddle and over the 4 Peaks. Dave (CrozB), just riding along We stopped in this riparian area, near Tejanos Springs CrozB played around in the creek bottom From there, it was up the final climb to Lone Pine Saddle. We came that'a way. Up and over, we then headed down towards Lake Roosevelt. It was a perfect Arizona winter day At Lake Roosevelt, it was air-up the tires and onto the pavement to Payson. Lunch (w/ PIE!) was supplied at the Beeline Cafe. From there, we continued up to Strawberry and headed out Fossil Creek Road. Fossil Creek is a real wonder of the Arizona backcountry, and not one that many people often see. Nestled at the base of the Mogollon Rim, it's perpetual and empties into the Verde River. It's a steep descent down from Strawberry to the creek. The road is nestled against the north face of the cliff, and you ride down mostly in shadow, with the bright light on the valley below and the far mountains. Lots of pinks and reds in the cliff faces that lead up to the Mogollon Rim. The creek is home to the Childs-Irving Hydro Power Station, which APS is in the process of Decommisioning. The area is rather lush, I can't wait to see how it changes as they restore the full flow of the creek. After crossing the creek, Dave wanted to see where NF 502 went. It heads steeply up and over Ike's Backbone (part of the Mazatzal (say Mah-ta-zal) Mountains) down to the Verde River (and provides access to the power lines from Fossil Creek). Dave was hoping to cross the Verde here. I had never heard of a bridge near here, but I hopped that this far north the river might be fordable. It wasn't by half. We talked to two guys who had crossed the river earlier that day in a lifted pickup truck. The water came halfway up the doors (about 4 - 5 feet). The bottom of the Verde if often sandy, too. That'll be back the way we came, then. Dave was disappointed, he kicked hell out of this abandoned car. Maybe I can find some other way, with this fancy GPS We kept up on Fossil Creek Road (NF 708) in beautiful evening light. A darn near perfect Arizona evening (Mr. and Mrs. Washboard made it a bumpy ride) The moon was rising as we stopped to air up tires As I pulled up, Dave said he heard a "bell" sound coming from my bike. We rolled it back and forth, and it sounded like a rock was up in the rear hub. We couldn't find it, so we pressed on back to Camp Verde. At the gas station, I found the rock, but couldn't get it removed. It seemed harmless, so blasted home down the freeway. I had to remove the wheel the next morning to get the rock out. I'm keeping it as a souvenir. On Sunday, one of the local BMW dealers, BMW Motorcycles of Scottsdale along with some local riding groups, like Fastour.us were holding a private screening of The World's Fastest Indian. Many riders turned out, on all sorts of machines. CodeDad (staying at Chez Codewheeney for the winter) and CodeWife met me, and Dave was there with his spousal unit. The movie was very good, funny and well told. It's the story of Burt Munro and one of his attempts to set a land speed record on a modified 1920 Indian Scout CodeDad and CodeWheeney: Reserved Parking! And a real Indian motorcycle All in all, a really great winter weekend in Arizona. __________________ Jim Morgan Hill, CA - 2013 R1200GS (Cam head), 2004 R1150GS. Plays in traffic.

02-13-2006, 07:19 PM	#2
bpeterson pssst! over here. Joined: May 2003 Location: NJ - Garden State Oddometer: 914	cool report. I love AZ, and Payson is really nice as well. Was out there hiking around w/my sis-in-law a few months ago. __________________ Brian '06 TE 610 '04 GS Adv '02 DR-Z 400S

02-13-2006, 07:30 PM	#3
Hayduke ///SAFETY THIRD/// Joined: Jun 2004 Location: Salida, coloRADo Oddometer: 41,618	Nice pics- it was nice to see the Verde again. When I lived in Prescott, we used to fish at a little lake that was part of the Childs/ Irving Hydro power project IIRC. Beautiful area. __________________ Official Adventure Rider T-Shirts! . Dual Sport Riding Techniques videos! Rally Moto Kit ///

02-13-2006, 07:31 PM	#4
[Red] Intentionally Left Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Cowra NSW Oz Oddometer: 480	great report mate - that indian is beaut! did you get any more pics of it? __________________ All men dream... but not Equally. Lawrence of Arabia http://scrapheapadventureride.com.au

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: .
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

02-13-2006, 07:57 PM	#7
gothamAlp happy to be here Joined: Dec 2005 Location: flagstaff, az Oddometer: 804	with nyc digging out from under sunday's 26" of snow, dem here pix be music to mine ocular units... t'anks, amigo.

02-14-2006, 08:54 AM	#10
GB Mod Squad Joined: Aug 2002 Location: Toronto, ON Oddometer: 53,462	.. thanks for sharing!