09/09/09
Tom & I met at the top of Mingus mountain & headed west toward prescott. My new knobbies did fine on the twisties on both sides. Before we reached prescott, we turned north through some housing editions to look for a throughway over to the powerline road that heads north toward perkinsville.
We made a lot of dead ends, but finally found a wire gate we could cross. The road followed the fence row, then cut over to the powerlines, where we could get on that road & connect to perkinsville road.
The powerline road is notoriously rough. ..lots of steep ups & downs.. washed out, rocky, rutted.. everything you want on a ride!
There were some very steep descents, with equally steep climbs. No problems.. Tom had no struggles with the honda (xr650L), & even though it was only the second time out, my new yamaha was doing just fine.
Up on the powerline road.
A nice steep, rocky section.. this had some 12" steps in it.. I was glad it was downhill.. let the suspension do it's thing & roll. Tom prefers climbing this stuff..
The worst of it is behind us.. after a short bit on fr318a, we hit the perkinsville road.
On one of the steep ditches, Tom somehow wrenched his shoulder. We stopped on 318a so he could take some drugs.. ok, it was just aspirin.
Now we're talking.. this road has some stunning panoramas.. Bill Williams mountain to the left, the San Francisco peaks to the right.. Sedona red rocks below.
I've always loved this road cut on the perkinsville road. Since Tom's shoulder was wincing & slowing him down, i had time to set up for this shot.
It was a beautiful sunny day.. but not for long. Dark clouds were gathering, & we were heading right for them.
My destination, across the valley.. the sedona red rocks. We were planning on going to Jerome for lunch, then head home. I got a late start with some chain adjusting & tail light issues, so we missed some time we could have been riding.
Tom coming 'round the moutain, with the san francisco peaks in the distance.
This guy was flying at eye level.. the rain was coming down hard in the distance.. a typical monsoon for Az.. they really started late this year..
The quaint former ghost town of Jerome.. You can see the firehouse with the red doors.
Heavy rains heading this way. No lunch for hungry riders..
Tom thought it would be best if we skipped lunch.. it was about 3pm by now.. & we tried to beat the rain. I don't know if he did, but i went east & north & got rained on pretty steady for 35-40 miles!
From Clarkdale looking back toward Jerome. I think Tom was getting pounded going to Prescott. I had on a mesh jacket, but brought a zip in rain liner. Unfortunately it was for another jacket, & didn't 'zip in'. But it covered most of my arms & back, so it helped some. The bike got cleaned off, as well as my pant, jacket & boots. I hung up everything when i got home, poured the water out of my boots, & dried off.
I had about 100 miles of pavement, just going to jerome & back.. & another 50-60 off road. The 'road' along the powerline (not on the maps) is pretty rough. fr 318a has some tricky sections. But the perkinsville road is easy. It also has the best views. We usually end up taking that road several times a year on various rides.
I'm more impressed with the wr.. i've ridden a drz for the last 3 years, & so far the wrx has exceeded my expectations. I wanted a smaller bike with easier (less) power.. i never really needed all the horses with the drz.. I took some corners in the dirt as fast as i did with the drz.. no problem. In the twisties, i went faster than i ever did with the drz. I think the lower CG & the softer knobbies gave me more confidence cornering. I fillled up in clarkdale before we hit dirt.. i had gone 84 miles & used 1.1 gallons. That's about 76 mpg. I might be able to live with the smaller tank if i get those kinds of numbers.. Tom rode it some, too. He was very impressed with the power & even the 17" knobbies didn't cause him any trouble. I am optimistic that this bike will meet all my needs for years to come.
scotty
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