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Howard

For A Few CC’s More II

Schedule of Events

Friday 5/4

Opening Ride

2:30pm – Meet up at Morris Udall Park (East side, Tanque Verde Entrance)

3:00pm – Ride out

5:00pm – Meet & Greet at Scoot Over – Pick up your rally bags, t shirts etc. If you did not pre-register, it will be $30, please. Buy raffle tickets, $1 each.

7:30pm (approx) Night ride. It will be a near full moon and should be a great ride. We’ll get dessert and check out the city lights from the foothills.

Saturday 5/5 Cinco de Mayo!

8:00am – Breakfast at LaVerna’s Coffee Shop, 220 S Plumer, 2 blocks south of Broadway. Get your poker run maps.

9:00am – Start riding out for poker run. Last bike out by 10:00am.

11:00am – As riders arrive at Grace Community Church, there will be food and refreshments available  (9755 North La Cholla Boulevard Tucson, AZ 85742 (520) 575-1444)
That’s where the rodeo and raffle and other stuff will be happening.

1:00pm – Poker run closed. All tokens must be turned in for cards at this time.

1:30pm – Scooter Rodeo

2:30pm – Raffle and Poker Run prizes

3:30pm – Ride out to Ride Now for food and fun there (4375 W. Ina Rd)

4:00 – 5:30pm At Ride Now

5:30pm – Move to BedRoxx Bowling and Entertainment Center (4385 W Ina Rd) We have 2 lanes reserved til 7:00pm. You pay for your own bowling shoes. BedRoxx has 2 lounges, arcade, bowling and access to Hooters Restaurant.

Sunday 5/6

8:30am – Breakfast at Jethro’s Cafe (8585 E Broadway, 1 block west of Camino Seco)

9:40am – Ride out for Mt Lemmon. We will hang out at the top for a while. We ride up as a group and ride down individually to allow everyone to ride within their own ability.

1:30pm (approx) After completing the Mt Lemmon ride, those who still want another ride, we will be riding to Avra Valley, to the Circle S Saloon for $.50 Taco Sunday.

NOTE: Times, events and locations are subject to change. Please check back from time to time. Also, you are not required to attend every event. Please feel free to come and go as you wish.

My apologies for not posting something sooner. It’s been 2 months since my last post, but life gets in the way of blog posts sometimes. Now we’ve got the High Roller rally coming soon, plus our own For A Few CC’s More II” coming up soon, so I don’t know that I’ll be any better about more frequent posts, but I’ll try.

On January 26, last month, I went for a ride. My original plan was to ride out to Coolidge, AZ, to verify ride times and route for our February 4th club ride to meet the Phoenix Scooter Club for lunch, but the road called for something a bit different.

Along the frontage road, north of Marana

I rode across town to the I-10 Frontage/Access (Is there a difference, or are these terms synonymous?) road. This is a great way to cross Tucson, is you need to do so on the west side. The big issue now is that there is construction being done at and around the Prince Road area. The frontage road is nice because there is little traffic and few stoplights. Once you get past Marana, there is virtually no traffic. Road quality is above average.

I rode out of town, enjoying the sites and sounds. 22 miles from Ina Road is the Red Rock exit and overpass. Red Rock is an unincorporated village which, according to Wikipedia, had a population in 2010 of a little over 2000 people. The only functioning business that I have seen there is the “Red Rock Bar.” There are a lot of homes being built there and I suspect that some additional retail will be there before too long.

That's one BIG puddle!

In September of 2008, my son and I rode out this way, in an attempt to explore what’s left of Sasco, AZ. We came this same direction, and were confounded by a huge puddle (at least 100 feet across) blocking the road. We couldn’t tell how deep it might be and didn’t want to risk crossing it. As I was riding along the frontage road, I recalled our trip and decided to change paths and see if I could find another ghost town. After all, a puddle that was there two and a half years previously would be there now, plus there hadn’t been any rain recently.

From the frontage road, go across the overpass and turn left onto Sasco Road. This will take you through the middle of the tract housing, past the skate park, the pool and the elementary school. 4.3 miles after passing the school you will see and smell a large cattle “feed lot” to the right. Coachway Rd branches off to the right here as well. From this fork in the road, it is another 7.5 miles to the Sasco Cemetery. Off I went to do some exploring, glad that I wouldn’t be blocked by a water hazard.

Well, I was wrong. That “puddle” isn’t a rain puddle. It is actually the Santa Cruz River and at this point, and it flows directly across the road! It wasn’t as wide as on my previous visit and I could see recent evidence of cars or trucks crossing, but I still couldn’t tell if there were any “sippy holes” or other hidden obstacles. I debated on scooting across but I was alone and if I dumped the bike, it would be a long, cold ride home.

“Now what should I do?” I thought.

I remembered that Coachway Rd was paved and went in the same general direction as Sasco. I thought that Coachway might have a bridge across the Santa Cruz or that the river may have gone back under ground a bit further north. Either way, I still might be able to find a ghost town.

Wrong again.

Coachway took me on a nice ride, but it never got me back to Sasco. Coachway runs due west along the southernmost border of Picacho Peak State Park. The road becomes well-maintained dirt after a half mile. Another mile and the road turns north and becomes and Cripple Creek Rd. About two miles later, the road turns west again and is then called Baumgartner.

At this point, I was directly south of Picacho Peak. The view was great and I should have snapped a couple of pics, but, alas, I didn’t. I was actually considering what I would do if I broke down. The RV-250 was running great, but after breaking down in the middle of nowhere in the not so distant past, I was having those terrible “what if” scenarios running through my head. Mostly, I was trying to figure out how to give someone directions to my location and who that “someone” might be.

I continued along Baumgartner. Even though it remained dirt, road quality was remarkably good. I think it’s because they are doing construction on the canals but the road is very wide, smooth and free of significant sand patches. A little more than 4 miles in, I reached a “T” intersection. If I kept straight, the road would become Wheeler Rd. Baumgartner went left and I could see asphalt. I went left.

What community is this? The "store" is on the right.

There were a number of houses at this intersection. There were no signs indicating a town, nor is there any indication on Google or any of the maps I’ve got. The reason I thought it may have been a town or village is that across from a large house on the north side of the road, is what appears to have been a store. There is even an old gas pump in front of it.

I like the way the farmer used this old bridge to hold up his irrigation pipe.

A quarter mile west of the house and the “store” is an old bridge next to the current road. It is in poor repair and is clearly unsafe, but I did snag a couple of photos.

Two miles later, I reached the intersection with Picacho Highway. Although I had never been this way on Picacho Highway, I knew exactly where I was and how to get home from here.

A good photographer could have made something out of this.

It’s only about 9 miles from Baumgartner Rd to I-10 and our favorite frontage road. Even though this is a straight piece of road, there are still some points of interest along the way, As may recall from earlier posts, I not enjoy ghost towns, but any old, ruined buildings. About a mile north, I saw a burned out hulk of a building at Curtis Road. I pulled over and snapped a few photos.

Rest in Peace.

A quarter of a mile further, was a roadside marker. The friends or family of this person had built a small building as a memorial. I stopped and took a few more pics.

Guess Your Weight?

A littler further were the ruins of an old weight station. I think it was probably part of  a cotton gin. It doesn’t seem so interesting now, but there was a swarm of bees nesting in one of the walls.

Three miles further north, is the Picacho branch of the Florence States Prison. I didn’t take any pictures in fear of them thinking I was going to help with a breakout, but it is an interesting looking place.

A mile further, I saw what looked like one of those Border Patrol observation towers in the desert a half mile off the road or so. A little while later, I saw the following sign:

A pilot friend told me this is used for national Guard helicopter pilots.

I was intrigued, so I pulled off the road and followed the dirt road. I came up to a gate and could see at least one runway. There were no aircraft, but there were 2 cars and a neat little control tower.

Three and a half miles further, I passed the campground where my parents used to live, turned east on the frontage road and was astonished. If you haven’t driven past the town of Picacho lately, you’ll be surprised. It seems a large portion of the town was razed to the ground sometime in December or January. Remember those vacant, dilapidated hotels? They are gone now. There is only dirt remaining. Several of the remaining buildings have notices posted on them indicating that more demolition is imminent. I would have taken a picture, but an empty field of fresh dirt doesn’t make for good photography.

I stopped at the Dairy Queen at the Picacho Peak exit and checked in at home. I then had an uneventful ride back to Tucson.

Ride Map: http://g.co/maps/5ydqd If you’re interested in doing this ride, it is about 85 miles in length, from Ina Road, to Picacho, via the back way, and back. The dirt portion accounts for about 8 miles and it is in good shape, but remember, it is dirt. Take your time and ride within your ability and you should be fine. I rate the difficulty of this ride as moderate.

This was my fourth year participating in the Tucson-Nogales Fall Classic. It is the rally’s 24th year. I had a belt brake on the ride to Nogales last year and missed getting any decent pics or videos. This year the Iron Buddy ran great, allowing me to get some decent shots.

Enjoy the video. If you’ve never been part of “the Classic” before, I hope you come on out on 2012. To everyone else: See Ya Next Year!

Howard

12/7/11

The second week of November marked the third full year of the existence of the Sky Island Rider Scooter Club. We’ve come a long way in those 3 years since 6 or 7 of us met in Fronimos. This is my first attempt at writing a state of the club, so I’ll just kind of sum up where we are now as well as a few highlights from 2011. I’ll finish with a few goals for 2012.

MEMBERS

I am asked, fairly often, how many “members” we have. Since we don’t have membership, per se, this is a fairly difficult difficult question to answer. What I can do is say how many people “follow” us in our various different internet manifestations:

tucsonscooters – (309 members)This yahoo group originated with Las Scooterachas Scooter Club in 2004. When a few of us started riding together in 2008 it was the only local site for scooters, but traffic on it had almost ceased and it was disorganized. This group helped us organizes rides and get togethers. It became quite busy as a new group of riders started communicating there. I still send the info on all of our rides to the group even though traffic there has virtually ceased. New riders still find us through that group, so we will continue to post rides there for the foreseeable future. There are 309 members on the Yahoo group, but this group is never edited or purged.

skyislandriders.com – (140 members) When the club officially adopted a name, we decided to start a dedicated website and this is what we created. As of this writing, there are 140 members of the homepage. There are 82 of those 140 who have gone further and have registered on the forum. I have no idea how many of this 140 people are duplicate folks from the Yahoo! Group. Traffic on the forum portion of the site has almost ceased, like the Yahoo group.

Where the forum traffic is decreasing, the traffic for the home page itself is steadily increasing. The Riding SoAZ series generated a lot of traffic. We are currently averaging about 60 unique visitors/day.

Facebook – (114 members) I am not exactly sure when Paul Tumarkin started the Facebook version of the club. I think it was near the end of 2009. This is where most of the day to day traffic for the club has moved. Again, a certain amount of the 114 people here are duplicated, or even triplicated from the previous two groups, but many aren’t. However, there are also other scooter clubs and scooter oriented businesses included in the 114.

Google+ – (2 members) We started a circle here toward the end of November. I don’t know if this area will “take off” or not.

RALLIES

We have held two rallies. Our last rally (For A Few CC’s More) was held in May, 2011. Approximately 35 riders showed for at least one of the events we had over the 3 day rally. 27 local businesses supported the rally in one way or another. More importantly, we raised $545 for our charity of choice, Ben’s Bells.

Planning for 2012′s rally will be starting soon and it would be great to have more people involved. We all bring our own set of strengths to the table. What are you good at?

RIDES/EVENTS

2011 was a banner year for us in terms of the number of events in which we were involved. So far, we have been part of 18 rides or events. This does not include any of the 7 rides which occurred during the rally. It also doesn’t include the New year’s Day ride for which I was the only attendee. We have at least 3 more rides/events for this year. To give you a frame of reference, there were only 10 rides/events in 2010 and 13 in 2009.

One issue that has been “note worthy” is that ride attendance appears to be on the decline. We keep no official count but a quick review of photos from all the rides looks like we are usually having fewer scooters on our rides. Some of us have discussed the matter and can’t really think of a reason. We haven’t had people complain about the rides and say they wouldn’t be back. We have new riders at virtually every event, but, sadly, most don’t come back.

That being said, we have had some great rides. I think the Donut Tasting ride may have been the most popular. Look for some variation of that next year. El Scoot de Tucson also went very well.

CLASSES

On 8/21, we gave a class to teach people how to change their own oil. This class was well received and there appears to be plenty of interest for more classes.

PLANS for 2012

I sent out a post a while back asking for input for events for next year. I didn’t get too many responses, but the idea that generated the most input was a Scavenger Hunt. We be looking at doing one.

Another idea on the table is a Poker Run. If you’ve never done one, it’s pretty simple. You ride several places, usually at your own pace. At each location you pick up a card, or a chit. Everyone meets at the end. Prizes are awarded for the best hand, worst hand, etc. The motorcycle community has been doing these for many years.

Rally – As mentioned earlier, we will begin planning for the 2012 rally soon. We are hoping that the 3^rd year will “be a charm.” We would really like to see participation from other scooter clubs in the region.

Another thing we are looking at trying, is a social meet-up. This may or may not include a ride. We have the first weekend of the month reserved for the ROTM. We are thinking of making the 3^rd Wednesday evening of the month a social event. We are trying to find a steady location at which to meet. We hope to start this in January.

Classes – We plan on holding another oil change class soon. Additionally, we have tenative plans for more, but different, classes. Like classes anywhere, there will be fees for these.

I am sure I am missing some things, but we have big plans for this coming year. We always appreciate input from anyone. If you have ideas on how we can do what we do and make it better, please contact me. Do you have contacts in the business word and know people who might be interested in sponsoring an event, email me.

I look forward to each and every event and ride. See you soon.

Howard

I admire my scootering friends who live in the mid-west or further north and are still riding, even in cold temps. This blog post is NOT for you. The definition of cold is a bit different for those of us who live in southern Arizona and I am writing this specifically for those who grab jackets or coats when the temperatures drop into the 60′s or below.

Temperatures in Arizona are not always warm and balmy. Just this week we have had low temps in the high 20′s. That, my friends, is cold, no matter who you are. The big difference here is that most of us not only don’t own cold weather riding gear, it is very difficult to find in stores here because there isn’t much of a demand.

TORSO

So, what is a determined scooterist to do if he/she doesn’t: a) have the money to buy cold weather gear, or b) doesn’t want to spend the money on something that they will get relatively little use out of? Well, I’m going to give some suggestions. I have been riding year round for 3 and half years now, in all kinds of weather. I am cheap by nature and haven’t wanted to spend big bucks on cold weather gear. If you are on a budget and want to ride this winter, I hope to give you some suggestions that will help.

Cool in summer. It has reflective piping and removable pads.

One thing I didn’t skimp on was a riding jacket. When I bought the scooter, I bought a helmet and a textile riding jacket. I am not going to preach to you about how important it is to wear to wear the proper safety gear. That is a personal decision. My recommendation though, is to go out and get you an actual riding jacket. Leather or textile, expensive or bargain, stylish or not, just get something that will protect you if, God forbid, you end up on the pavement when you’re riding. The jacket, however, is the foundation for my cold weather ensemble.

It's thin but effective for mild temps.

I wear this jacket year round. Because it has all of the “holes” in it, it breathes great and is great for summer. I really like the fact that it has reflective piping for better visibility. I wear just the jacket until temps dip to the low 70′s. At this point, I put in the liner that came with the jacket. I don’t know if you can tell from the pic, but it isn’t very thick. It zips in and keeps me comfortable to the mid-60′s.

Because the jacket breathes so well, I needed something to keep the colder air out of the jacket. Once temps are in the 50′s, I need more than just the liner. I went to one of my favorite places, a thrift store, and found this:

Extremely effective. This allowed me to comfortably ride in temps down to about 40 degrees.

It is a lined wind breaker. I think it cost me $7 or $8. It, unfortunately, does not have reflective tape or piping on it. I went to Harbor Freight and bought this reflective, hi-vz vest for $2.99. Please note that this jacket has a high collar. It is important to keep as much cold air out as possible This combination has gotten me through all but a handful or rides. I have found that it works for me until temps are in the 30′s.

It is most important to keep your core, i.e. you upper body, warm. If you can keep your torso from getting cold, you will be fine. Cold legs, arms and/or feet are a nuisance, but they won’t stop your ride. Cold hands are different, but I’m getting to that.

When temperatures fall into the 30′s, I add one more layer:

The hood won't fit under a helmet, but the sweatshirt lets me ride in temps into the high 20's.

Sweatshirts of all shapes sizes, colors and designs can be found in any thrift store for prices as low as $.99. I have ridden in temps down to the mid 20′s with this combo and had no ill effects.

LEGS

Everyone knows that layering is the key to staying warm. This is the way I do it. I have found that the scooter provides enough protection that my feet have never gotten cold. My legs do, however, get uncomfortable at colder temps.

Purchased at a thrift store, these ski pants even have reflective tape.

By colder, I mean that I don’t generally worry about additional leg protection until temps are in the 30′s. Even then, I don’t worry about it unless I am plan on being out more than 45 minutes or so. Thrift store to the rescue again! I bought these “ski pants” for $8-10. Thrift stores around Tucson always seem to have plenty or these in stock. They are nice because they are lined and have zippered bottom so that they are easy to get off once it warms up or when you get to your destination.

HANDS

Probably the hardest body part to keep warm is your hands. Most of here ride smaller scooters. Therefor, we don’t have the luxury of electric hand-grip or powered riding suits. Our scooters just don’t generate enough extra power. We have to do it the old fashioned way.

The first 3 winters, I used the gloves I was issued when I was in the Army:

The shell and wool insert combo worked pretty darned well.

These are frequently available at Surplus stores like Millers. They have a leather “shell” with wool inserts. Wool is a great insulator. These are pretty inexpensive. I don’t know how much the shells are, but I recently paid $3.99 for a new pair of inserts.

I got these nice, Tour Master “Cold-Tex”gauntlets when a friend sold his motorcycle:

Cold weather protection plus additional armor on the tops of your hands.

I have been been wearing them this year and they are very nice. A quick Google search reveals that gloves like this will set you back $35 to $60 depending on store, sales and which model you buy. I recommend them if you’ve got the dough to get them.

Another thing that works well is keep the wind off of your hands in the first place. I don’t use them but one common item used by riders in colder climes is called “Hippo Hands.”

These can frequently be seen on snowmobiles, er, in places other than southern AZ.

I seriously doubt that anyone in Tucson carries them, but they can be purchased on-line easily enough. I’ve heard that you can wear thin, summer weight gloves in the coldest temperatures with these muffs attached to your bike. If you have craft skills, I’ve seen patterns on-line, to make them out of insulated lunch bags. As you can see by the pic, they aren’t just for scooters.

Scoot Over carries, or has carried, hand guards that will fit the Genuine Buddy.

These come in a variety of colors as well. Simple, yet effective.

Hand guards block a lot of the wind from hitting your hands in the first place, thus helping you keep your hands warmer, longer. I don’t remember how much they were at Scoot Over, but somewhere in the neighborhood of $40 plus more if you need them to install them. I don’t have these, but have considered them.

NECK

Keeping your neck warm is important too. Your carotid arteries run very close to the surface and if your neck get too cold, it can cause your core temperature to drop quite a bit. My lined windbreaker gives me quite a bit of protection but sometimes I need a bit more. If inexpensive is what you need try a scarf:

Like ski pants, they can be picked up at most any thrift store for pocket change. They work great at protecting the old carotids.

I lost it, but another thing that has worked well for me was a neck gaiter:

There are a lot of variations to neck gaiters. One of the most versatile pieces of neck ware is called the BUFF. They range in cost from about $10 to about $40. Most not only protect your neck, they can be pulled up around your ears, nose and mouth as well. This is especially handy if you don’t use a full face helmet.

MISC

There are a lot of other items that you can use to increase your comfort during cold weather. I don’t have any of these, but I do know of people who have used them:

Lap Aprons. Kind of goofy looking IMO, but extremely effective

The Lap Apron or “scooter skirt.” These are not cheap. They are, however, very good at keeping you warm. Corazzo, a well known maker of scooter and cycling accessories makes some complete with reflective piping and pockets.

Starting under $10. These come in hundreds of designs.

Then there’s the neoprene face mask. I got one of these once (although mine wasn’t nearly so stylish as the one above) but couldn’t wear it because my head is too big. These are another item that is especially useful is you don’t have a FF helmet. They simplyact as a windbreak for your face.

This entry is not intended as a complete source for cold weather riding gear. It is simply a list of some things that have worked for me. Again, I know that people who live in colder areas really require serious gear or risk serious injury. Please, ride safely and gear up. Spend as little time as possible exposed to cold temps.

Howard