I posted yesterday but either I did it wrong or my post got moved. Anyway , we are going to be in Fountain Hills for the next month or so. Rode over to Hideaway Bar at Cave creek for lunch. Then rode out to Barlett lake. good ride, Anybody that has any ideas for rides we should take or roads we she check out please let me know.(some of you did this earlier and I appreciate it) Also when I posted a couple of months ago a couple of you had some interest in getting together for a ride. If you are still interested let me know.

thanks

 

You gotta take a ride to Tortilla Flat. It's reall a great ride. Don't miss the prickly pear ice cream. It will cool you down if you get the chili. If you check a map, you will see the Apache Trail going on to Roosevelt Lake, but be advised that the road is unpaved just past Tortilla Flat. You will want to go back the way you came.

 

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I like the Winkelman Loop. Go East on US-60 from Mesa to Superior, take AZ-177 S to Winkelman, then take AZ-77 south through Mammoth and past Oracle to Oracle Junction. Take AZ-79 (Pinal Pioneer Parkway) N to Florence. At Florence, you can either continue N on 79 to US 60 or turn on AZ-287 and ride to Coolidge, where you will pick up AZ-87 and will take you all the way to Chandler. From there, you can catch loop 202 on Arizona Avenue. 202W will take you to loop 101. Go North through Chandler and Mesa to to loop 202 E. Exit at Country Club Dr and go North on 87 to Fountain Hills.

There's really good Mexican food at Lupe's, about 1/4 mile S of Oracle Jct (toward Tucson).

Looking back on it, I realize I described the Oracle Loop. Sorry.

 

We did the Apache Trail on our baggers. It was a huge mistake. Rough, washboard, sand, gravel. Shook us to death and the fun factor was zero. There are some good you tube videos of the ride. It is on my "do not ride" list.

 

I want to thank everyone for posting riding ideas.As suggested , We rode out to Totilla Flats today for some great chili. Just wondering has anyone ever counted all the turns on that road? We road from Fountain Hills via Brush road , stopped and took pics and rode next to Saguaro lake then on to Apache Junction.
Keep the ideas coming i really appreciate them

 

Roosevelt Loop.

Take the 87 north towards Payson to the 188, turn right and head towards Roosevelt lake. The 188 runs the length of Roosevelt. There are lots of places to stop along the way including Jake's Corner, which is very biker friendly and is a good distance away for a breakfast/lunch break. Or, you can pack a lunch and enjoy a picnic. There are lots of photo opportunities along the way. The 188 ends at the 60 in Globe, where the elevation is going to be a bit chilly this time of year, so be prepared. The Globe/Miami/Claypool area is pretty historic and is worth hanging out and checking out the historic districts. There are also tons of places to eat there. To get home, hang a right on the 60 and head towards Superior. The ride between Superior and Globe is really nice. Superior is very similar, but the historic part of town is pretty small and not as much to see. Too get back home, you can take the Bush highway past Saguaro Lake back to the 87, or I would recommend staying on the 60 to the 202 loop and head north. Exit at Gilbert and take Gilbert north to the 87, then hang a right to get back to Shea.

(Note: A slight variation would be to go left instead of right off the 188 in Globe on the 60 and take the 77 to Winkleman, then the 177 to Superior. This is a nice ride to Superior too, but not as nice as staying on the 60.)

 

Oracle Loop.

From Fountain Hills, head south on the 87 to Gilbert and south on Gilbert to the 202. Take the 202 south/east (whatever) towards Apache Junction and the 60. Head east on the 60 to the Florence junction, then hang a right on the 79 to Florence. Florence has an old courthouse that is in good repair and is near a fairly neat historic downtown. There are not a lot of places to eat in Florence. I do like the Mt Athos, which is right on the 79 and is an Italian/Mexican fusion place and is pretty good. There is a biker friendly place right at the Gila River called the River Bottom Grill that is biker friendly and has decent food too. From Florence, stay on the 79 and head towards the Oracle junction. This is called the Pioneer Parkway and is one of my favorite stretches of road in AZ. Along the way you will ride past a marker for Tom Mix, if you like that kind of thing. At the Oracle Junction, hang a left on the 77, which will take you to Oracle and past the Biosphere II. At Winkleman, you again have the option to take either the 177 or the 77 to get to Superior (see above). I would recommend the 177.

 

Eloy Skydiving.

At Florence (see above how to get to Florence), head west on the 287 towards Coolidge, then south on the 87, which will take right past the Casa Grand ruins, which is nothing more than a pile of mud bricks, but is a tourist attraction if you are into that kind of thing. Take the 87 south to Shedd road (need to pay attention or you will go right past it) and hang a right. Head west to Tumbleweed, turn right and head north to the Eloy airport. There is a little restaurant there if you need a snack. Nothing great, but good enough. Plan on hanging out there for a while. If the weather is good, which it is more often than not here in AZ, spend the day watching the skydivers, or go skydiving, or play in the SkyAdventure, which is a wind tunnel thingy that lets you practice your free falling skills. To get back home, go back to Shedd road and head west to Toltec road, turn left and head south to get on the I-10.

 

BTW...

This time of year, it is hit or miss if the weather is good enough, but Sedona, Prescott, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, Page Springs, and Jerome are all nice places to visit this time of year too. You just have to be careful on the routes you choose. This time of year, trying to go over Mingus mountain can be a bad thing, or trying to get from Payson to Camp Verde along the 260/87 can also be rough. It is doable though, if you pick a good and warm day.

If you like wine, there are many wineries in and around Cottonwood (Google it). There are also many indian ruins to see in the area (Montezuma Well, Montezume Castle, etc). One of my favorite things to do is a Pink Jeep tour out of Sedona.