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Yet another great ride under the belt. With a new set of tires Will (Red) was eager to see the difference in handling. Needless to say he was pretty damn happy after the ride.
We headed up N.W. from Phoenix through Wickenberg, AZ and up "the hill" to Yarnell. This is an infamous climb of about 2000' in less than 3 miles with im sure no less than 2 dozen beautiful 30-60 mph tight and smooth roll-on-the throttle twisties.
My Green beast handled better than ever, also, as i had just adjusted the front/rear ride height and corrected a severe case of underinflation as of last Friday (Thanks for reminding me VYPIR). I can only speak for myself when i say that the Yarnell twisties were taken at about double the limit the whole way up. This is not overly fast compared to some megasquids who have been known to take this hill at ridiculous speeds.
After topping out, we took a break and regrouped. Along on this ride were Will's wife Jenna on her y2k Shadow Sabre 1100, (can we say BIG bike??), a guy named Dave on a Rebel like thing (a friend of Will and Jenna's), and another Will, (another friend of thiers) on a 1995 VFR 750.
We headed off again for Prescott, AZ. But there were more twisties to tackle before arriving. One of the great things about Arizona, is the amazing diversity in ecosystems and climate zones. In Phoenix you have HOT, desert, Cactus, and a Metropolis full of angry a$$holes. But as we headed out the temps got cooler, the cactuses disappeared and by the time we got to Yarnell, we had all but left the desert behind. We might as well have been in Nebraska as we cruised along through such tiny cottonwooded communities as "Peeples Valley" and "Congress".
In no time we were arriving at our second "riding road" of the day. Where "Yarnell Hill" is a great smooth and exhilirating ascent literally right up the side of a mountain, the "White Spars" as they are known, are a beautiful set of World Class twisties that span the west end of the Bradshaw mountains, which in this case, separate the high desert which lay south of the range from the ponderosa pine blanketed Alpine Plateau of the Prescott National Forest and the city of Prescott, to the north.
Entering the White Spars you are immediately greeted by clear smooth and VERY playful twisties. These go up, go down, are flat, banked, inclining, declining, tight, sweeping, hairpins, straightaways, etc etc. Quite the treat.
I found the adjustments i had made to my bike a week ago were right on the mark, as the "turn-in" problem i had fought with last time up here was virtually eliminated. The bike stayed planted and was predictable and stable the whole day.
Eventually we stopped at the "end" of the run, and regrouped.
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After this brief break we continued on the same direction and were in Prescott, AZ in a few minutes for lunch and a MUCH needed "real" break.
For the trip home we decided to try the famed Skull Valley loop, which has been written about in many bike mags. Personally i was not impressed. I had been on the road before a few times in a cage and had no great recollections. I was therefore not surprised when all we got were a few decent sweepers but nothing to write home about.
By taking Skull Valley, we bypassed the White Spar segment we had ridden up on, but continued on home the rest of the way we came up, this time *descending* the venerable Yarnell Hill.
This makes my second descent on a bike, and umteenth overall descent (cages, etc). I had alot more confidence going down Yarnell Hill this time than last, and was quite happy with my bike's performance. Unfortunately, Will, Jenna, Will and Dave got slowed up a bit by some cages and i had to wait a minute at the bottom of the hill.
We continued home to Phoenix, where we soon began to bake. Let it be known that the temps were nice when we left in the morning, but by the time we got to Will's place we were more or less slow cooked. Always drink lots of fluids!
Cant wait till next time!
------------------
Fear Green.
[This message has been edited by GreenNinja (edited September 04, 2000).]
We headed up N.W. from Phoenix through Wickenberg, AZ and up "the hill" to Yarnell. This is an infamous climb of about 2000' in less than 3 miles with im sure no less than 2 dozen beautiful 30-60 mph tight and smooth roll-on-the throttle twisties.
My Green beast handled better than ever, also, as i had just adjusted the front/rear ride height and corrected a severe case of underinflation as of last Friday (Thanks for reminding me VYPIR). I can only speak for myself when i say that the Yarnell twisties were taken at about double the limit the whole way up. This is not overly fast compared to some megasquids who have been known to take this hill at ridiculous speeds.
After topping out, we took a break and regrouped. Along on this ride were Will's wife Jenna on her y2k Shadow Sabre 1100, (can we say BIG bike??), a guy named Dave on a Rebel like thing (a friend of Will and Jenna's), and another Will, (another friend of thiers) on a 1995 VFR 750.
We headed off again for Prescott, AZ. But there were more twisties to tackle before arriving. One of the great things about Arizona, is the amazing diversity in ecosystems and climate zones. In Phoenix you have HOT, desert, Cactus, and a Metropolis full of angry a$$holes. But as we headed out the temps got cooler, the cactuses disappeared and by the time we got to Yarnell, we had all but left the desert behind. We might as well have been in Nebraska as we cruised along through such tiny cottonwooded communities as "Peeples Valley" and "Congress".
In no time we were arriving at our second "riding road" of the day. Where "Yarnell Hill" is a great smooth and exhilirating ascent literally right up the side of a mountain, the "White Spars" as they are known, are a beautiful set of World Class twisties that span the west end of the Bradshaw mountains, which in this case, separate the high desert which lay south of the range from the ponderosa pine blanketed Alpine Plateau of the Prescott National Forest and the city of Prescott, to the north.
Entering the White Spars you are immediately greeted by clear smooth and VERY playful twisties. These go up, go down, are flat, banked, inclining, declining, tight, sweeping, hairpins, straightaways, etc etc. Quite the treat.
I found the adjustments i had made to my bike a week ago were right on the mark, as the "turn-in" problem i had fought with last time up here was virtually eliminated. The bike stayed planted and was predictable and stable the whole day.
Eventually we stopped at the "end" of the run, and regrouped.
After this brief break we continued on the same direction and were in Prescott, AZ in a few minutes for lunch and a MUCH needed "real" break.
For the trip home we decided to try the famed Skull Valley loop, which has been written about in many bike mags. Personally i was not impressed. I had been on the road before a few times in a cage and had no great recollections. I was therefore not surprised when all we got were a few decent sweepers but nothing to write home about.
By taking Skull Valley, we bypassed the White Spar segment we had ridden up on, but continued on home the rest of the way we came up, this time *descending* the venerable Yarnell Hill.
This makes my second descent on a bike, and umteenth overall descent (cages, etc). I had alot more confidence going down Yarnell Hill this time than last, and was quite happy with my bike's performance. Unfortunately, Will, Jenna, Will and Dave got slowed up a bit by some cages and i had to wait a minute at the bottom of the hill.
We continued home to Phoenix, where we soon began to bake. Let it be known that the temps were nice when we left in the morning, but by the time we got to Will's place we were more or less slow cooked. Always drink lots of fluids!
Cant wait till next time!
------------------
Fear Green.
[This message has been edited by GreenNinja (edited September 04, 2000).]
Everything here is straight and flat, which is good for top speed runs but not much more... I'm glad you enjoyed your ride, that definitely sounds like fun!
