When I wrote the blog for CSC Motorcycles, we organized several multi-day rides (trips through Baja, the western US, China, Colombia, and more). One of my favorite rides was the Destinations Deal tour. It started out as an idea by the real marketing whiz in the CSC organization (who likes her anonymity, so I won’t mention her name), with directions to include some of the best destinations in the southwestern US. As I organized the ride, I realized all the spots I selected were featured in stories I wrote for Motorcycle Classics magazine. CSC wanted to offer a discount on any new bike purchased for the event, the Motorcycle Classics columns were all titled Destinations, and the ride quickly became known as the Destinations Deal Tour.
The ride was awesome: Topock, Laughlin, Oatman, the Grand Canyon, Route 66, Zion, the Extraterrestrial Highway, Tonopah, Death Valley, Shoshone, Baker, and then home. Just over 1500 miles in 6 days on 250cc motorcycles…it would be exactly what the doctor ordered.
The Destinations Deal was one of the best rides I ever did. Old friends and new friends, great weather, great stops, great roads, and great stories combined for an awesome week. The roads, the riders, the restaurants, the camaraderie…it all clicked on this one. But don’t take my word for it. Take a look at the photos.
Leighton and a killer hot dog in Topock on the Colorado River just as we crossed into Arizona. You get a discount coupon for the local coronary care unit when you order this meal.A few of the boys and their RX3s in Oatman. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard stayed in this hotel back in the day.Wild jackasses roam the streets in Oatman. I could have a lot of fun captioning this photo.On our first night, we stayed in the Colorado Belle, a riverboat hotel on the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It was our first day and we rode through three states already. Gresh and I closed the bar that first evening. They had a live group doing ’60s Motown hits and the music was fantastic. Or maybe we just had a few too many cervezas. Or maybe it was both. The trip was off to a great start.Day 2 on the way to the Grand Canyon. The weather was perfect for the entire ride.Velma and Orlando, who rode two-up on a brand-new blue RX3. Orlando taught me Spanish on this ride: El naranja es el color más rápido.Another shot of the most photogenic couple you’ll ever see on an adventure ride, this time using a super-wide-angle lens on my Nikon. You can actually see the curvature of the earth in this photo.Good buddy Rob, with who I’ve ridden several times in the US and Mexico, buys a drink for a new friend at the Grand Canyon.On the road to Zion along Arizona’s Highway 89A after visiting the Grand Canyon. This was a glorious ride.Marble Canyon in Arizona as we re-crossed the mighty Colorado River.Zion, the Crown Jewel of our National Parks. This was shaping up to be one of the best trips ever. From left to right, it’s Dan The Man, Orlando and Velma, Gary in the back, Leighton, Willie, and Rob. Add Gresh and yours truly, mix well, and you have the makings of a grand adventure.My buds in the rear view, as we waited for a group of big horn sheep to cross the road. You could say the delay was baa-aa-aa-ad, but it was worth it to see those magnificent big horns.The next day it was on to Nevada for the long trek to Tonopah. We took the world-famous ExtraTerrestrial Highway. Here’s a shot of shot ET after he phoned home.Selfies in Rachel, Nevada, where Joe Gresh made friends with an elderly waitress. She schooled Uncle Joe on the finer points of place settings, ketchup assignments, and more. You had to be there to fully appreciate the training session. It was funny as hell.On the ET Highway, headed toward Tonopah. The riding was incredible; the camaraderie even better. We set a sedate pace to conserve fuel. Everyone did over 70 mpg (even Orlando and Velma, riding two up). Folks commented that they liked the slower pace. I did, too.After a night in Tonopah, it was on to Death Valley (entering from the northeast) the next morning. It was awesome. That’s Willie, Dan, and Gary.The entire valley, as seen from Dante’s Peak. Death Valley is an exceptional destination. If you’ve never been to Death Valley, you need to go.The crew (from left to right) included Gary, Willie, Orlando, Rob, Velma, Dan, Leighton and me (I was on the other side of the camera). Gresh was there, but he spun off to see Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley that afternoon. He had his reasons.We stayed in Shoshone our last night. The Shoshone Inn had a fun firepit outside. Gresh bought the beer. It had been a grand ride and it would end the next day. I think we doubled the population the night we were in Shoshone.Dinner in Shoshone. Like every meal on the road, it was awesome.Back through Baker after a freezing early morning ride, breakfast at the Mad Greek (another great meal and a popular motorcycle stop), and then home. What a week!
We did a lot of grand trips at CSC, and it did a lot to help publicize the RX3. Baja, the Western America Adventure Ride, the China ride, the Colombia ride, and more. I did a similar ride for Janus Motorcycles (Janus makes another great 250cc motorcycle) through northern Baja with a couple of their execs and it, too, was awesome (you can read about that one here). There’s a lot to getting these rides organized and there are always things that can go wrong (personalities, bike issues, etc.), but I’ve been lucky. Every one has been a hoot!
This is a good time to buy a CSC or Janus motorcycle. Both companies are running awesome Thanksgiving sales. Check out both motorcycles; you’ll be glad you did!
I woke up last Friday with but one thought: I have got to get out on my motorcycle today.
Well, I did, and I had a glorious ride up through the Cajon Pass in southern California. That’s the pass that cuts between the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernardino Mountains. Most folks would just take Interstate 15 from So Cal to the High Desert through the Cajon, but to me riding a motorcycle on the freeway is a bit of a crime against nature. There are surface streets that get you through most of the Cajon Pass, and if you know where to look, there are dirt roads that do the same. Those roads are way more fun, but it’s like I said…you have to know where to look.
Me? I know where to look.
On old Route 66 through the Cajon Pass. Yep, it’s still there, and it was a perfect photo op with my black CSC TT250 on a cloudy June morning.
Big freight trains slog through the Cajon Pass on a regular basis, and there’s a dirt road that runs along the tracks for several miles. It was a perfect road for the TT250. I was out there on my own, having a good old time when I stopped to grab a photo, and that’s when I heard it. The rails, that is. They started singing. They do that when there’s a train downrange. You can actually hear the metallic buzz the rails emit miles before the train comes into view. Time to switch the cell phone camera to the video mode. I didn’t see anything for a couple of minutes, and then way down the hill in the distance I could just make out a headlight. Then that one orange orb became three blurry headlights, the signature of the first of several freight locomotives. They were working hard. It takes a lot of power to pull a train up a mountain pass. The lights grew in size, the indistinct three orange dots came into focus, and there it was:
The train was a monster. I finished the video, I took several stills, and then I mounted up and rode at a sedate pace in the opposite direction for a good five minutes before I saw the end of that train. I’ll bet it was three miles long. Maybe more. There were four locomotives pulling and there was a fifth on the tail end. It’s hard to imagine the weight and the energy of a freight train like the one I saw that morning. And it was doing it all going uphill, charging through the Cajon Pass from the Pomona Valley up to the High Desert. It was impressive.
That train just kept coming, and coming, and coming.
I had a hell of a ride that morning. A bit of freeway (but not too much), a fair amount of dirt, a stream crossing that was deeper than I thought it would be (and damn, there was no one to video me standing on the pegs with water splashing all over my boots and jeans), a train, Old Route 66, and nice, cool weather. It was grand.
It was about 5 years ago that I was sitting in Zongshen’s marketing offices in Chongqing discussing this, that, and the other thing on the RX3 for CSC Motorcycles. All the while, I kept stealing peeks at a 150cc dual sport bike the Zongshen wizards had mounted on a display pedestal in their conference area. Finally, I asked…what’s the deal on that motorcycle? Can it be had with a 250cc engine?
My good friend Chongqing Fan smiled. I could read that guy like a book, and what I was reading was this: He knew, and he knew I knew: The guys at Zongshen, China’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, they can do anything. A few quick digital pics back to CSC, a recommendation, a quick decision from a CEO who’s not afraid to make decisions (that would be Azusa Steve), and the CSC TT250 was born. I own one of the very first to arrive in America, and it’s been a hoot. We’ve even done Baja on the TT250s (talk about brand loyalty…half the guys on that ride also own an RX3). CSC can barely keep TT250 motorcycles in stock; they sell as soon as they arrive. Most of the time, they’re sold before the ship gets here.
I selected black for my TT250 (one of three or four colors available in 2016) because I thought it would photograph well, and I was right. It does a lot more than just sit there and look pretty, though. The TT250 is a great motorcycle. It’s simple, torquey, easy to maintain, great handling, reliable, comfortable, and inexpensive. Plus, I know the factory and the people who make and import this motorcycle. Good buddy Gerry and I wrote the shop manual for this motorcycle, and I know the bike’s innards. You might say I know it inside and out. I think the fact that I know most everyone involved in creating and importing this motorcycle makes it even more of a hoot to ride.
TT250s on the production line in Chongqing. Mine was in there somewhere.Your mileage may vary.
The TT250 is about as simple as a motorcycle gets, and it has what has to be one of the most ubiquitous and reliable motorcycle engines on the planet. You see these motors in various versions (ranging from 125cc to 250cc) everywhere. They’re bulletproof. They’re designed to be rode hard and put away wet, and that’s what folks in South America, Central America, Asia, and the Middle East do. It’s no accident that my good buddies at Janus Motorcycles chose the same engine to power their amazing 250cc motorcycles. I’m going to ride my TT250 until the wheels fall off. Then I’ll buy replacement parts for probably something like $9 and repeat the process.
The TT250 is a light bike. It’s easy to ride and easy to keep vertical (they tell me it’s easy to pick up if you drop it, but I’ve never dropped mine). The TT250 weighs 309 pounds wet and in an age of overweight, bloated, and expensive monster motorcycles, riding it is fun. It’s not an ego statement. It’s a motorcycle. It’s what a motorcycle should be. I feel like a kid every time I get on it (and in six months, I’ll be 70 years old). I started riding motorcycles on a Honda Super 90 (a 90cc single) when Lyndon Johnson was in the White House. Riding a simple single makes me a hooligan again, braapping the mean streets of rural New Jersey before I was old enough to have a license and loving every second of it.
I have the 49T rear sprocket on my TT250 (one down from the stock 50T), and that’s about perfect for me. My bike tops out at about 66 mph indicated, and after my hundred mile ride through the Cajon Pass that morning I topped off and checked my fuel economy. 62.5 mpg. Just a little better than I usually get. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.
I have the Wolfman bags on my TT. They’re light, they don’t get in the way, they’ve held up well, and they’re handy if I want to carry stuff. That’s usually a few tools (just in case, but I’ve never needed them on the road), a bottle of Aleve, a change of underwear, and I’m good for a couple of weeks in Baja.
Speaking of Baja, good buddy Baja John is another guy with the same affliction as me: He owns both an RX3 and a TT250. And a .44 Magnum or two, but that’s a story for another blog. Baja John keeps his TT250 at a beachfront home in Baja, and as soon as this Covid 19 business is in the rearview mirror, I’m headed down there. I want to photograph one or two of the more remote missions, John knows the trails, and the TT250 is the motorcycle to get us there.
More good times are on the horizon, folks. Stay tuned.
The 2020 Corvette, as I configured it online. The pastel blue paint added big bucks. Hell, just painting the brake calipers red added $500. But it sure is pretty!
I received an email last night from Chevy advising me I could configure my own new 2020 Corvette online with their website. Hmmmm, that sounded interesting. The new Corvettes are mid-engined, like a Ferrari and some of world’s other exotic sports cars. After doing as Chevy suggested, I’m mighty tempted. The new Corvette is stunning.
I guess I first got the Corvette bug back in the early 1960s, watching a couple of TV shows. One was Route 66, a story about a young Marty Milner and George Maharis (Todd and Buzz) bopping around the US in a Corvette solving the world’s problems. The other was Bonanza, the great western sponsored by Chevy. We watched it as much for the Corvette ads as we did for the show. Ben, Hoss, Adam, and Little Joe. They’re all dead now, I think, but I remember them well, and Adam (Pernell Roberts) even appeared in one of the Corvette ads.
I’d wanted a Corvette ever since I was a kid, and in 2004, as Chevy was transitioning from the C-whatever body style to the C+1 body style, they allowed the dealers to sell the ’04 models to GM employees at the GM employee discount. It’s a long story how I qualified for it, but the bottom line is the discount exceeded $17K on a Z06 (a car most folks pay over MSRP for), and I was in.
To make a long story a little less long, I kept the Z06 for 14 years, and when I sold it, the car had a whopping 40,000 miles on the clock. That’s about 2850 miles annually, and when you consider insurance and registration, that worked out to something slightly south of a dollar a mile just for insurance and registration. Throw in our California fuel costs (currently well over $4 a gallon), depreciation, and maintenance (surprisingly little on a car like the Z06), firing up that silver streak was expensive. I should have driven it more to get my money’s worth, but the Corvette was more of a toy for me than real transportation. I loved the thing, but it wasn’t a good daily driver. I didn’t regret seeing the Corvette go, but every once in awhile I think about another one. Like when I received the email from Chevy last night that led to me playing around with their online configurator. That pastel blue one you see above sure grabbed my attention. There’s no denying it: The new Corvette is an incredibly-beautiful car. And I still qualify for the employee discount. But nah, I don’t think I’ll be pulling the trigger on this one.
Petrified Forest National Park, east of Flagstaff. It’s an awesome destination.
Sue and I recently completed a 2700-mile road trip in the Subie. The idea was to drive a grand circle through the Southwest, with the apex of our trip being a visit with Joe Gresh at the Tinfiny Ranch in New Mexico. I asked Joe what to see on the way out and back, and wow, did he have a great list. Old Arjiu had a number of outstanding recommendations, one of which was the Petrified Forest in Arizona. Petrified Forest National Park straddles I-40 (which was mostly built over old Route 66) and it was easy to get to.
The place sounded cool. I’d never seen a petrified forest (or even a tree, for that matter). I remembered being fascinated by dinosaurs and all things prehistoric when I was kid, and the concept of a petrified forest sure fit in that slot.
The Petrified Forest…wow. As soon as Gresh mentioned the place, it became a bucket list item. I had to see it. We had to stop.
An abandoned car on what used to be Route 66.
Like I mentioned above, I-40 is mostly built over what used to be old US Route 66, and when you travel through Arizona, you see a lot of kitsch pertaining to The Mother Road. The sun was in just the perfect location to bring out the best of my polarizer on the 16-35 Nikon lens when we stopped by an old abandoned automobile you see in the photo above. There was a preserved stretch of Route 66 immediately behind it. In that photo above, it looks like it was a deserted area. Trust me on this: It was anything but. There were tourists taking photos at that spot from Germany, Turkey, Portugal, Brazil, and more, and I can tell you from reading the body language they were all having a good time. So were we. We all took turns getting out of each other’s way as we took pictures. It was fun.
We drove a little further down the road and came upon the area you see below. This part of the National Park is called the Painted Desert, for obvious reasons…
The Painted Desert in central Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park. The colors really are this dramatic. This stop was a grand suggestion from Uncle Joe Gresh.
I was struck by just how beautiful the Petrified Forest National Park was, and then it hit me…I had driven this stretch if I-40 on many motorcycle rides several times before, and it never occurred to me to stop. Folks, take it from me: Don’t make that mistake. Although not as well known as other flagship US National Parks (Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc.), the Petrified Forest is a real gem.
Another view of the Painted Desert. It really is this dramatic.Yet another perspective on the Painted Desert. This is good stuff, folks.
There’s only one road that meanders through the Petrified Forest National Park, with numerous strategically-located viewing stops along its length. We hit nearly every one.
One such stop was Newspaper Rock. We thought it would be a rock formation that looked like a newspaper, but it wasn’t that at all. It was a collection of petroglyphs deep in a canyon. The newspaper moniker was related to the idea that early Native Americans communicated with and left messages for each other here. Fortunately, I had my 70-300 lens, and that allowed the reach I needed to get good images…
Cool stuff. Very early Native American newsprint.The people who created these petroglyphs lived here about a thousand years ago. They predate the Native American tribes we know of.
While we were admiring the petroglyphs, a couple of crows landed nearby. By that time I had already put the wide angle lens back on the Nikon, and I wanted to see just how close I could get before the crows flew away. The big black birds were cool until Sue and I were about 4 feet away, and then they took off. They were huge. We actually heard the wind they created flapping their wings.
An old crow in the Petrified Forest National Park. It was a big bird.
The scenery and the roads were stark and colorful. We stopped and I grabbed this photo of Sue and the Subie…
Sue and the Subie. My Outback was perfect for this kind of road trip. Over a distance of 2705.6 miles, the Subaru averaged 28.3 mpg. That included stints in the mountains, dirt roads, city driving, and many 75mph+ freeway stints.
You might be wondering…what about the petrified trees? Where were they?
Well, we saw those, too…
Petrified trees. They are really cool. You can’t take them out of the Park, but once you leave the Park, there are souvenir stores selling things like this.More petrified logs. As I understand it, over the millenia the wood leaches out and is replaced by silica until, oila, a petrified tree remains. It’s pretty cool stuff and this was the first time I’d ever seen it.
This was a great destination. We exited I-40 on the eastern edge of the Petrified Forest and followed the road through the Park all the way to the western edge. From there, you pick up an Arizona country road and follow it west for roughly 20 miles to Holbrooke, where you can get back on I-40. Good times and a great destination. You might want to add it to your list of places to see. It’s worth a trip to Arizona all by itself, and it’s certainly worth a stop if you are passing through Arizona on Interstate 40.
