Devils Highway - Rt 191

[videoarizona]

Heading up to Payson tomorrow..back way through Globe and rt 188. Then Tuesday..up early..put the earmuffs on and take off on 260 to Show Low, then 191 to Safford. Going south...downhill. Taking the 05 RSV. Curious to see how well I can handle her for 3 to 4 hours of downhill turns. Going to be a 10 hour day. Wish I could have done this sooner as it's a bit chilly up there in the mornings....but what the heck! At least I'm getting to ride it.

 

Hope to have some pictures but since this is the first time I've done this road in 40 years of living in AZ....maybe not. Want to concentrate as this is one of the few roads left for me to explore in AZ and it doesn't have guardrails on the outside! Reminder: watch out for leaves on road on turns!

 

Some good videos on youtube already.

 

Then Wednesday to Phoenix...plane to Cleveland for an in-law wedding...a long weekend. Whoo hoo! So I'll see you all in a week or so....

Be safe and enjoy the Fall weather!

david

[cowpuc]

You be safe out there too brother and HAVE FUN,, wishing you endless miles of carefree riding!! Sure sounds like an AWESOME ride:thumbsup:!! If you do get a chance to even snap a couple quick shots of that 191 that would be AWESOME but certainly NEVER if it is going to endanger you in any way.. Hope all goes well, will be looking forward to at least a ride report on your return!

PS - TIP AND I LOVE DOWN HILL SWEEPERS - ESPECIALLY THE ONES YOU CAN COAST ON FOR MILES AND MILES AND MILES:big-grin-emoticon:!!

Godspeed my friend!

Puc

[videoarizona]

Survived! 6 hours on Monday got us to Payson. 14 hours today. Interesting road...for sure.

Off to bed... Have to pack and get to Phoenix for flight to the land of the Cleves...

I'll put up pics next week when home. Safe rides to all...

[videoarizona]

Well...made it safely through our trip from Green Valley to Payson then across the middle of AZ to RT 191 and south back to GV.

Mark on his HD Ultra Classic and me on the RSV.

Left GV around 9am...and had a nice ride to Globe on rt 77. El Capitan Pass is a nice stop. Used by Kit Carson to guide some calvery over the pass in 1846.

 

Had lunch at a cute little place that is biker friendly in Globe:

 

Then took off to Rt 188 which goes over the dam at Roosevelt Lake and up to rt87 which is the main highway to Payson.

this pic taken from my car the week before.

 

Spent night in the cabin in Payson. Got up next morning to 40 degrees....so we bundled up and head East on rt 260. Up onto the Mogollon Rim we went. Saw a dead elk on side of road. But not much else. Stayed on 260 to Show Low for brunch and fuel. At Alpine, took another break for fuel as that is the gateway to 191..the Devil's Highway (old rt 666)

Fuel and pit stop in Alpine.

 

Off we went. Took it easy and enjoyed the ride. Stopped a couple of time to relax. Chilly and windy on a high plateau (around 9K feet). Nice views though.

 

Road was interesting. Deceptive. Going along enjoying the easy curves and then a 180 degree switchback with a ten mph speed limit! Average speed limit was 25mph. Some areas were just like the Dragon except the drop offs were measured in tens of feet...sometimes 100's! Steep drop offs with no guardrails.

The RSV did good but it did tire me out after 2 hours. The RSV is wonderful in high speed swooping curves, solid as a rock. But at 10 to 20 mph sharp curves, it requires concentration, planning and muscles to power her around the curves. Shes just not nimble in that respect and needs countersteering. Mind you...we went the downhill way. Most bikers go uphill and I know why. It's far easier to power through a corner going uphill than downhill! Going downhill...if you power through the sharp corner you need to get on the brakes quickly for the next or else you will be playing in the trees or enjoying the aerial view as you drop.

Did see one deer run in front of Mark and a small herd on right side of road. They were well behaved. Also saw cows on side of road and hunters everywhere. They were polite and even pulled over to let us pass.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_191

 

"Arizona

US 191 begins at the Mexico border in Douglas. US 191 has a ten-mile (16 km) layover with US 70 east of Safford. The route links to SR 366 and SR 266 to the south of Safford. US 191 intersects Interstate 10 in Cochise County. The route between Springerville and Morenci was designated a National Scenic Byway and given the name of Coronado Trail Scenic Byway, as this approximates the path taken by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado between 1540 and 1542. This is a very dangerous mountain road with many sharp curves and little or no shoulders on steep cliffs. The highway is the primary route to access Canyon de Chelly National Monument. US 191 traverses the Navajo Nation before entering Utah."

 

http://www.motorcycleroads.com/75/17/Arizona/Coronado-Trail.html for more pictures and videos.

 

Anyway...we made it down and entered the worlds largest open pit mine. Clifton/Morenci Copper Mine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morenci,_Arizona ...What a hoot. rt 191 goes right through the mine. Or rather, the mine keeps expanding around the road! We even had to stop and wait for two of those huge dump trucks to cross the road.

 

 

Tires are bigger than the RSV

 

Ate dinner at Safford..Steak house there and celebrated buddies birthday with ribs!

Took the last of 191 down to meet I-10 east of Wilcox and boogied back to GV.

Average mpg's for trip was 45mpg! Longest stretch was 189 miles on one tank (two bars left).

 

Total 751 miles.

david

Edited January 26, 2016 by videoarizona

[H2O]

Looks like some great places to see & ride. I noticed your Scorpion EXO. Didn't know they were available in that color.

[cowpuc]

Absolutely fantastic ride report and those pics are WOW ZZZZ WOW WOW WOW AWESOME David!!! :clap2::dancefool::dancefool: THANK YOU for sharing them!!

 

That tire is HUGE:scared:,, hate to have to try and spoon a new one of those on after a flat:big-grin-emoticon:.. Looks like you all had a BLAST - good on ya brother:thumbsup:

 

Makes

[videoarizona]

Finally got around to uploading the video.

Not good quality as it was later in day, sun going down and the only position I could find to mount camera on RSV without excessive vibrations was low on bars.

 

2 ways for you to do this:

1: Dropbox and download

and/or

2: Vimeo and stream.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/52afmsfcdq7lsez/Devils%20Highway%202015.mp4?dl=0

 

https://vimeo.com/153192215

 

HD 720p on both sites.

 

BTW, click on the "Vimeo" name and it will take you to the site where you can watch in full screen...also...I edited the video way down...threw in some "2nd Gen Turbo Boost" scenes (300% video speed) and left in only the different types of scenery as you go from 9,000 feet to 3,000. It's 46 minutes...and even @cowpuc is mentioned!

 

Anyway...

 

Hope this helps someone who is planning on coming out...

david

Edited January 30, 2016 by videoarizona
add info

[Huggy]

WHAT, no picture of the dead ELK!!!!!!

[videoarizona]

WHAT, no picture of the dead ELK!!!!!!

 

Ugh...nope. It was bloated and not really photogenic... If you know what I mean. On side of road... Rt 260 just up on Mogollon Rim.

[cowpuc]

WOW ZZZZZ WOW WOW WOW:178:,, Tip, Tweeks and I GOTTA get back out to Arizona - SO MUCH TO SEE OUT THERE and biking is the ONLY way to go:clap2::clap2::dancefool:

I saw so much endless soothing beauty in that rugged terrain it almost made me cry:sign green with env,,,, I also saw so many hidden camp spots that I had to stop counting:big-grin-emoticon: = BEAUTIFUL DAVID:clap2::thumbsup:

Thanks my brother,, I needed that!!!

[Pegasus1300]

You would love that road Puc. I rode 191 from Helper Utah all the way to the Mexican border and really loved the section from Payson to Morenci. I had just ridden the Dragon in 2009 and liked the Showlow/Morenci section of 191 better,but it is more dangerous. You can't see anything on the Dragon but road,on 191 you can see lots of beautiful scenery but don't get distracted!!