Decided to see IF the Florence-Kelvin Hwy was OK for riding now that the rain has "held-off" for a few days, so I headed out yesterday at 1100. Forecast was for a HI of about 69F, but it was chilly enough that I wore my heated jacket liner turned ON, and my grips at MEDIUM, when I headed out.
There's a mountain in the Superstitions that I've been told
looks like a man's face, so I took a pic just coming into Florence.
"face"-1 by
Ed Copeman, on Flickr
What do YOU think?
I headed S to the start of the F-K and turned E into it. The dirt NOW starts about 15 miles into it, but it was PDG once I got onto the dirt. I could see a motorcycle headlight behind me, eventually passing me, and I determined it to be a Royal Enfield, probably a Himalayan, but I didn't have a chance to speak w/ him as he was 'motoring' - while I was just looking at the scenery (and looking for some "Jumping Cholla" skeletons - the wooden core).
Stopped here for a look,
IMG_0124 by
Ed Copeman, on Flickr
but didn't really see any that weren't covered in
NEEDLES, so I continued E, then took a pic of the Ray Mine as it came into view.
IMG_0126 by
Ed Copeman, on Flickr
A mile or two further E I saw a sign beside the F-K saying that
ROAD WORK IN PROGRESS, so I slowed, keeping a good lookout, then saw a grader slowly coming toward me in my lane (actually IF the road is 20 feet wide there, he took up about 17 feet of it) so - UP on the 'pegs, over left and around, then thru the 10" pile of dirt behind him as I regained the right side.
Pretty soon the dirt became pavement, and I entered AZ 177, turning left to visit the Ray Mine to have lunch (as I usually do on these rides). A few miles before the observation area I saw men beside the 177 w/ signs indicating that they are
ON STRIKE, so I waved, continuing N on 177 to the turn-off,
IMG_0127 by
Ed Copeman, on Flickr
only to find it locked, but someone had pulled a stump to there, and it made a good seat to use while chewing on my
jalapeno bagel!
IMG_0128 by
Ed Copeman, on Flickr
At this time the AZ DOT is re-building the Pinto Creek Bridge just W of Miami closing AZ 60 E of Superior for several hours, so there were lots of vehicles using 177 coming thru from Globe. I stopped for a few pics, and to let traffic past me, first pic looking S
IMG_0130 by
Ed Copeman, on Flickr
while the next looks NNW - that is "Weavers Needle" just above the end of the cactus spire, w/ "Picketpost Mountain" just left.
IMG_0129 by
Ed Copeman, on Flickr
When I arrived in Superior there were lines of vehicles waiting for AZ 60 to re-open, but I was going W, so I gassed-up, then back onto 60. I saw where ADOT crews had cut some Jumping Cholla, and they'd dried enough that I scrounged a couple of the skeletons to put in our yard, then turned right to Queen Valley to look up an old pilot friend (who wasn't there), so I rode some more twisties, then N on AZ 79, W on the Hunt Hwy, and home about 1420, a nice 105 mile ride behind me.
'Member the mountain "face" I showed at the start of this ride? Here it is rotated to vertical:
"face"-2 by
Ed Copeman, on Flickr
:grin2: