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AZ COGers who, what & where are we in the Kingdom of the South West- an overview

B

Bullheadbert

Street Cruiser
First a little housekeeping.  Please allow me to introduce myself.  As those who are following the COG forum posts are aware we have a new SWAD, Mark Hartman.  Mark in turn appointed Mike Burkey as UT AAD and myself as the AZ AAD.  Unlike many COG officers I am uniquely unqualified for the position as a substantial portion of my professional life was spent as a "numbers guy" torturing real estate realities until they coughed up a number that usually neither side liked.  As a consequence I was, on occasion, accused of developing great works of fiction.  On the fun side of life I've been riding for approximately 50 years off and on.  We are on our 2nd C-10, midnight blue, dubbed Wicked Wanda with which we have spent considerable time prowling the Eastern Mohave Desert and some of AZ's high country.

As a numbers guy I've learned that numbers can provide good overviews of the realities happening at ground level and place events in context.  Based on the current data available there are 259 members in the SW Region broken down as follows in percentages:

CA    55%
CO    30
AZ    11
NV      8
NM      7
UT      3
HI      2 members
TX      1 member ????

So, Arizona ranks 3rd in overall membership and is located in the center of the southern portion of the region.  Not bad as we can easily draw event participants from CA, NV, UT and snowbirds from CO.

Counting on my fingers and toes we have 29 members in our state located geographically in the following areas.

Phoenix          50%
Tucson            25
Flagstaff            7
Prescott            7
Bullhead City      3.5
Casa Grande      3.5
Lake Side          3.5

So whats all that mean?  In terms of membership Phoenix is the tail that wags the dog followed by Tucson.  Bullhead City, Casa Grande and Lake Side are outliers.  Flagstaff, Prescott and surrounding high country are well situated riding areas for Phoenix and high country riders.  This leaves Tucson.  Short of Kitt Peak, the Old Pueblo Grill and an astronomy site on Mt. Lemmon I know nothing of Tucson.  Can someone educate me on where you ride?

In addition there's the eastern part of the State.  Has anyone ridden Hwy 191 in the Apache National Forest.  I've heard it's a great ride.  If you have heard of or have some great roads to ride, can you share your thoughts?

I'm going to open an "AZ meet and greet post".  If you 're interested in meeting fellow riders for coffee, road & ride info and camaraderie please post.  We can set up some dates as an example meet in Prescott.  Tucson guys and gals you'll have to help me out here as I'm unfamiliar with your riding area.

Bert
 
I have not ridden it yet but in answer to your question about Hwy 191, I just came across this on the SCMA site about the 15 Best Roads Challenge (http://sc-ma.com/rides/best-15-us-roads-challenge)

U.S.191, Springerville to Three Way, Arizona http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/az_us191.html

I think the group I was with on Sunday (the Triumph riders) refer to it as the "Devils Highway".  Supposedly, they've ridden both this AND the Tail of the Dragon and said our road is better, not just because you can actually RIDE it and not have to deal w/ the tourists...  =P

And if you go to the link about it, one of the comments is, "This road used to be US 666 and named the 'Devil's Highway'."

I totally think we should get out there and run it! 
 
I've rode 191 "Devil's Highway" a few time over the past 4 years. It's a great ride through changing landscapes and elevations. It is a remote area and if staying at the north end of the route you would need to make reservations in advance.

They do get snow and colder temperatures, so winter months need careful planing, I ran into some snow at the end of October in 2009.

Enjoy your time in the wind....
 
Ian, which direction did you ride it and would you say that was the better way to run it? (I know it's preferred to take the Coast Road in CA north to south so you don't have to look across asphalt to see out but not sure if it makes a difference on the 191. 

According to Google Maps (http://goo.gl/maps/qdf9S), it's 210 miles from Show Low to Safford, via the 191 and both would be an easy enough starting spot to get to from Phx or Tucson...  Might be a nice weekend/overnight ride when the weather starts to get stupid hot here in the Valley... 

Where in Phx are you?  You going to try to make the meet n greet and/or Burro/Tall Tales? 
 
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