Day 63 - A Thousand Miles From Nowhere

Time for a big tour.  I'd searched ADV Rider (a popular dual-sport forum) a few days prior and found a good dual-sport moto ride candidate in the area.  It would stretch out the limits of the XR's gas tank only if I had problems, but I would have to stop for gas once.....and cross my fingers for no problems.  I'd be travelling down roads that see very little traffic.  However, the border patrol can always be relied upon in these parts.

GPS track of the ride

Total 'planned' distance was about 220 km, with a gas stop around the 90 km marker.  The XR should be able to go 150-180 km on a full tank, so I'd have to go awfully wrong to run out.  Let's see what I can do about that.

Looking at the above map, the ride starts & finishes up the teal coloured finger far left where it reads "Patagonia Lake State Park", and goes clockwise.  It's a road ride for 20km to the town of Patagonia, then turns South and off the main highway.  In another 5k you have the option to take a winding gravel road, or follow the main paved road - they meet up again in another 5k, so I took the gravel road.   It was nice and twisty, and took me through some small hobby farms and heavily treed corridors.  Made the right choice.

At the re-join, the main road is now gravel.  Excellent quality though, no need to spare the horses.  The landscape then changes drastically from hills & heavy trees to mostly wide open plains.

With only about 20 km before the first scheduled gas stop in Sierra Vista, I hit a road block.  Literally.  What I didn't know before setting out, is that the ADV Rider route goes through Fort Huachuca Military Base.  There is a route through the base, but only open to US citizens.  I have a quick chat with the guards and they have a suggestion for an alternate route.  Unfortunately, it'll take me 40-50km to get around the base.  Plus, I have to backtrack about 10k (see teal finger at about the middle of the above map).  Should still have plenty of gas, and I know there is a closer gas station on the revised route if necessary.

I retreat from the base, and head due North.  More open plains riding as I pass through bigger ranches, Sonoita Vineyards, and eventually the main highway.  The XR isn't built for the highway, so I get this part done as quick as possible - but still obeying the speed limits.  Heck, the limit on most AZ highways is 75mph, so I had no problem with skating under that.

I roll into Sierra Vista with only 115km on the trip meter, so I push on to the South end of town for gas.  Wanted to fill-up at the last possible stop, as the return leg was the most remote.  The first leg comes in at 135km, 45k more than I was expecting, due to the military base.  Let's have no more of that.

A few miles South of Sierra Vista I turn back West and into the Coronado National Forest.  Just after a small welcome sign comes this reminder.

Bulk gov't purchase

Saw these signs on all the back roads South of Tucson.

 The official entrance with the XR in full touring mode.

The road goes up to the saddle in the background.

The road is paved through this scenic recreational area until it starts the steep ascent to Montezuma Pass.  It's then that the gravel starts again, and so does the construction.  The road here is now very soft gravel with an 8" high ridge in the middle.  There were two graders working the road.  No idea how any cars got over the ridge, and past the graders, but apparently they did.  I roosted the rear wheel a few times, but eventually made it to the top.

A hard earned summit, better be a good view

Looking East from Montezuma Pass.

You can see the road switchbacking up in the foreground.

The view on the far side.  Mexico is on the left.

I'm heading right for it.

Have a chat with a guy in a car at the top.  He said the road wasn't too bad, but he wouldn't have driven up if he knew the condition beforehand.  He was also jealous of my mode of transport. "You've got the best tool for the job there."  After a quick drink and snack, I head down the West side of the saddle.  The road on this side is not great.  It's steeper, rockier, and traversed the side of the mountain, rather than switchbacking down the face.  It was a blast on the moto :)

The chunky road continues, and it oscillates in elevation as it crosses creek after creek.  Eventually you come to the valley floor, and the road starts to improve.  More wide open ranch road riding.  More roads start to emerge, and I select a short cut that saves me a few kms.  Well worth the 2 minute navigation stop.

The ranches here are huge, so you rarely see a building.  Then comes the ghost town of Lochiel - once a favourite border crossing town for Poncho Villa.  There are signs everywhere saying no trespassing, and private community.  The cemetery is gated and has a sign that reads 'This is not a tourist attraction".  I respected the signs.

A small lonely sign still greets visitors.

This is straight out of a spaghetti western.

A fence separates the good guys from the bad guys

Which ones are the good guys again?

Somebody call the minute men, we have a breach!!!

There should be an 8' high steel mesh fence accompanying this one, like above.

Border monument similar to the ones placed at the

Canada/US crossings 

Close-up

Monument for Fray Marcos de Niza, the first European to travel

West of Rocky Mountains - April 12, 1539

About 20 minutes West of Lochiel,

old mining relics remain 

An ominous warning....

... but you're still free to take a crawl around through the mine.

I didn't.

Getting late, time to open up the throttle again.  One more long ascent and descent, and it's a straight shot to the highway.  The road turns soft as I blast through mile after mile.  I reach the highway with plenty of daylight left and turn towards the town of Nogales in search of gas.  I then realize I've only done about 125k on this second leg.  Plenty of gas left to get back to Patagonia Lake, where I had lots of gas.

I get back to the trailer without hitting the reserve.  Great day on the bike.  No real drama, no mechanicals, some nice views, and 260+km of riding.



BTW, the on the ADV Rider trip I based this route on, two guys crashed their bikes.  One of them had to visit the hospital for a knee injury, and later had surgery.  You just never know.

Day 62 - IMBA can KMA

Time for a mountain bike ride.  A little research tells me there is an IMBA epic ride within 30 minute drive of the campsite.  The Kentucky Camp trail (AKA Gardner Canyon) is listed as 38 miles (or 48 miles via the GPS track provided by Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists), and described as "some of the most scenic and fun riding in this part of the world".  Who am I to resist?

GPS track from Sonoran Desert MB

The Start/Finish/Parking point (seen above) is at the northernmost point of the trail.  The campsite is south of the trail, so I decided to cut-in near the middle of the two loops of the figure 8 (rightmost point above), and spend less time driving.

I arrived at the point where I wanted to park, but no trail in sight.  While still in the truck, I followed the GPS track for a kilometer.....two.....three.....  No sign of the trail.  I remembered that some of the trail consisted of ranch roads, so maybe this was just a long section of that.  I continued up to the point where the upper loop connects to the lower loop.  More road.  Not impressed so far.  An "epic mountain bike" ride should be mostly singletrack, not gravel road.  I decide to backtrack and travel to the real start/finish.  This section surely had to be singletrack.

20 minutes later I was there.  Sure enough, it started as singletrack.  May as well take a chance and unload the bike.  The trail starts with a slow slog through a sandy wash, then climbs one of the hundreds of rolling hills in the area.  A quick descent down the back side, cross a wash, then back up again.  This continues for a couple of miles, with the climbs being much longer than the descents.

A view of the rolling landscape

Within about three miles comes the first gravel road.  It lasts for a few hundred meters, then narrows to singletrack.  Much of the trail is 'reclaimed' road, where one of the tracks is used for a trail, and the other is slowly returning to nature.  I think just about everyone can support this type of trail.

Some of the reclaimed road

But soon enough, you're onto more road.  A section of this trail is also part of the 817 mile Arizona Trail, which is primarily traveled by horseback.  Because of this, that section cannot be overly technical.  At this point I realise my camera is missing.  Must have left it where I stopped for a snack about 20 minutes previously - downhill from my current location.  I could either go back for the camera now and likely keep going back to the truck, or continue on and take my chances picking it up on the return.  I decide that the latter is not really an option, and return for the camera.

I find it's still there.  Not surprising, since I've seen no one else yet on this day.  I stop for a drink of water, then decide that the day is still moderately young.  Why not go back up the hill and continue the ride.

Arizona Trail sign.  Couldn't take a picture the first time by.

This section was road, short singletrack, road, road, road.  I eventually come out to a main road, and the 'trail' crosses it.  The other side looks to be singletrack, but I know that is likely deceiving.

One more chance.  I ride another couple hundred meters, and sure enough it turns to gravel road again.  That's it.  I call no joy, and start back towards the truck.  The scenery didn't come close to its billing, so don't blame me for lack of pictures.  I took tons.  They all looked pretty much like the first one above.

I'll leave you with what I though was the most interesting part of the ride - all the different gate latches I needed to operate in order to continue on the 'epic trail'.

old-school.  simple, but effective

 my choice for best design.  simple, easy to latch/unlatch

oh, and the best part of singletrack of the day

it lasted about 30 seconds

 this one worked well, but I thought it was overly complex

 fairly simple lever system

Rode about 20 miles that day.  Far too much on gravel roads.  Thumbs down for me.  I really hope there was far more singletrack on the rest of the trail.  If not, shame on you IMBA.

Day 60-61 - The Birds

A 2.5 hr drive (3+ with the trailer) West of the Dragoons lies one of the top birding destinations in central United States - Patagonia Lake State Park.

The park appeared in the Owen Wilson/Steve Martin/Jack Black sleeper hit "The Big Year" - which I saw about three weeks later. I'm not a birder - NOT AT ALL - but had to hike the local trails anyway. Didn't see any special birds, or maybe I did. No idea, didn't know what I was looking at. Pleasant hiking, but not especially scenic. I've got high standards though.

Also took a moto run into the nearby town of Patagonia. A small artsy village, hippies would love it. I'll give the organic foods store a 6/10. Good selection, but could have been better. Guess you can't expect much from such a small town. The city of Nogales had just about everything, and wasn't much further than the campground.

Other than that, just took care recharging everything and relaxed. Big days coming up.