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I wet my pants.. and I LIKED IT!

2K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  kwthom 
#1 ·
my employer is saving money for shareholders this week by putting me on 1 week furlough... the plan was to shovel out the den in order to move in a desk we found at an "antique" store... which some how either my den magically shrunk or the desk mysteriously grew... a lot.

But my wife wanted to get the bikes (my 'wing, her 800 Intruder) out of the garage, so 7:30AM we hit the road.
The plan was to get I10 to hwy 83 S to Sonoita then 82E to Patagonia... but before we got to I19 we were melting in stop and go traffic. There was a cop car at the top of the bridge and traffic was squeezing into 1 lane... we would have to bust our way into the maniacs already in the left lane.

I called an audible over the Sena headsets we were trying out for the first time... South on I19 (this side of the bridge) instead of North (far side of the bridge). She was game so the blinkers came on for a right instead of a left and poof... air flow! I had to open my visor and move my chin to the ridge of the windshield to get the sweat dripping out of my doo-rag to evaporate before it got into my eyes.

Finally get to hwy83 and shortly we're into the gentle twisties and then into the grasslands on the other side of the ridge.
ITS GREEN DOWN HERE!!!
We had to squeeze onto the shoulder for a police escorted oversized load taking up 2 lanes, but otherwise there wasn't much traffic to speak of. I was going to take of pic of all the GREEN, but the truck would have been past before got the gloves off and the phone out.

We roll up to Sonoita just as a convoy of 4 SUVs towing 4 other SUVs followed by a 28ft box truck crossed us.. oh joy... this will be a fun to get around. OH! They ALL pulled over into the "rest stop"! Open (mostly) road!
Did I mention its GREEN DOWN HERE?

Pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant... (breakfast!! finally!) and my wife is commenting about all the green.. "we should move down here". There are 3 bikes already there, and 3 more pull in while we're shedding the gear.

After breakfast is on to Nogales with the goal of being able to spot the S River Rd bypass... which is on the NORTH side of the bridge.. no wonder I always overshoot and end up with a u-turn... not this time. We pull off the highway and stop... its a one lane bridge and there is a water truck approaching on the far side. Headsets came in handy to give my wife a heads-up to the stop without a stop sign.

We wiggled along River Rd to Ruby Rd and gassed up at the Pilot gas station. I decide to drop the windshield all the way down to see if I can get more air into the helmet. Of we go and all I'm getting out of the additional airflow is a LOT of helmet noise. Can't ride with the visor down or I melt, can't open it or I go deaf.

So I tap the headset and announce I'm pulling into the Amado rest stop to put the windshield back to its full up position and that she can keep going if she wants and I'll catch up (the whole ride I'm trying to keep it to no more than 5mph over). She responds she'll stop too "for necessities".

Info button on the bike dash says its 95... feels more like 105. And putting your feet out on the highway pegs to catch a breeze on of this infernal 2012 only exposes your legs to the inferno of the radiators. I swear I can feel the added heat all the way up to my armpits.

After taking care of bizness at the rest stop, I pull out one of the water bottle and start trying to pour it on my jeans... it mostly runs off... I discover you have to get denim wet first before it will soak up water.
I'm wearing a pair of riding jeans with kevlar in the knees... it seems to sponge up some of the water.
I pour on the water until I can feel it running down my leg and starting to drip into my boots.

Off we go again... haven't even merged back onto I19 and this feels GOOD! Not just good... this is FANTASTIC! The evaporative cooling is making this "leg" ( ;) ) of the trip down right enjoyable.
I wet my pants and I LIKE IT! ;) :joke:
Maybe getting old won't be so bad after all....
 
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#2 ·
Since you liked that so much - you really should try LDComfort. :thumbup: A bit pricy, but I can attest it is well worth it. Just the helmet liner alone lowered my temp 10°. Or at least it seemed that way. Grampawinger had me try an extra helmet liner he had several years ago. Man - what a difference. I now use it year round. Cool in summer, warm in winter, my ears don't get ripped off when I put my helmet on, and my helmet pads don't stink.

TRUST ME - I was in the government :). Seriously though - it makes a great difference. Not much you can do about the radiator blast furnace though. My left leg gets real toasty. Supposedly the crash bar mounted baker wings helps - haven't tried them yet. But I do have the baker upper and lower wings, they be nice.
 
#5 ·
We ride year round and I don't really notice the HEAT that much from the radiators. I ride with 9" boots,thick socks,and jeans,and my legs never really notice any extreme heat,and I do have driver pegs to stretch out. That's it.:thumbup: Oh and I have the LD helmet liner and it does work well in summer and winter like the other two guys said.We carry a cooler in the trunk and I have water, ice and maybe a Gatorade in it etc.Soak the helmet liner real good in water,and I also carry a small spray bottle in the cooler and spray my helmet liner and that helps also.Every little bit helps.
 
#10 ·
<...wonderful ride report deleted...>

I wet my pants and I LIKE IT! ;) :joke:
Maybe getting old won't be so bad after all....
yeah... :lol:

You'll fit in around here just fine!

So, from reading that, you're south and east of me, me thinks??


When you want to lengthen that ride, head west @ Amado on Arivaca Rd, then take AZ-286 north up to Three Points. East takes you back toward Tucson, west takes you onto the O'odham nation.
 
#11 ·
yeah... :lol:

You'll fit in around here just fine!

So, from reading that, you're south and east of me, me thinks??


When you want to lengthen that ride, head west @ Amado on Arivaca Rd, then take AZ-286 north up to Three Points. East takes you back toward Tucson, west takes you onto the O'odham nation.
tsk tsk Ken. we've PM'd on this...:lol: I'm West of your parents hacienda.
(its OK... first you lose bladder control, then memory). :joke:

We do the "Arivaca Loop" occasionally... I didn't do it this time due to heavy recent rains down there always leaves sand dunes in unpleasant places... I give the traffic about a week to cut some tire ruts through before doing Arivaca Rd.

My wife has it in her head we need to ride west to Sells or Ajo... dunno why.
 
#12 ·
tsk tsk Ken. we've PM'd on this...:lol: I'm West of your parents hacienda.
(its OK... first you lose bladder control, then memory). :joke:
Oh, duh! :lol:

Memory is the second thing that goes; I can't remember the first!

We do the "Arivaca Loop" occasionally... I didn't do it this time due to heavy recent rains down there always leaves sand dunes in unpleasant places... I give the traffic about a week to cut some tire ruts through before doing Arivaca Rd.

My wife has it in her head we need to ride west to Sells or Ajo... dunno why.
Past Sells, it gets real empty out there.

The Tucson-Ajo highway is a pretty nice road, but there's not much out there at all.....

Except the relatively new casino in Why.

Why? I have no idea... :lol:
 
#14 ·
I pull out one of the water bottle and start trying to pour it on my jeans
What I have found is that riding with solid textile riding pants over full LD Comfort tights is cooler than riding with jeans. The reason is that the riding pants protect your legs from the engine/road/ambient heat and the LDC wicks away any sweat you may have inside the pants.
 
#16 ·
Same for the Arivaca loop... sure would be nice to find a bale of $ heading south instead of the stream of bodies heading north.
Only problem is that the money would probably smell like weed, meth, or coke and with my luck a K9 officer would pull me over for a traffic violation and the dog would alert to the smell. :lol:
 
#17 ·
Definitely an area in which to be "packing".
I'd just returned from riding a loop through Three Points, Sasabe, Arravaca, Nogales, etc. when my neighbor, a drug enforcement LEO came over to see where I'd been. When I told him, he said he hoped I was carrying my gun because that whole area was unsafe if you got caught alone by the side of the road. That was in 2004 and I'm pretty sure it has not gotten any safer.

Some advice: My other neighbor worked on the Indian reservations down there for years in counseling and he tells me that the bad guys will bait drivers with a lone person by the side of the road who looks alone and thirsty in a remote area. The driver stops to see if they can help or give some water and then the bad guys step out of the bushes with guns that are lawfully owned and registered and then have a free wallet, car, etc. at your expense. His advice: Don't stop for anyone and if you're inclined to leave water for someone who looks in distress, pull ahead a couple of hundred yards, leave the water, and move on before they walk to get it. Sad times, really. The southwest used to be a lot more neighborly and free.

Nature reserve Sign Signage Text Street sign


Anyway, that area ZZTopped described is so beautiful, especially in the spring or if we get some summer rain and it greens up for a bit as it has recently. I'll be down that way again soon as the weather cools. Kitt Peak needs to be ridden again!
 
#18 ·
Only problem is that the money would probably smell like weed, meth, or coke and with my luck a K9 officer would pull me over for a traffic violation and the dog would alert to the smell. :lol:
Yeah.. not to mention the owners would probably be highly motivated to hunt you down to get it back.
Still... I think I'd find a way to spend it while staying south of the checkpoints... there is a taco stand in Arivaca! :) There's gotta be a backway to the Cow Palace to get around the check point just West of Amado....
 
#20 ·
<...>There's gotta be a backway to the Cow Palace to get around the check point just West of Amado....
There is. Of course, not nearly a good enough road to take a road motorcycle across, sadly.

La Migra knows about it as well.

vintagemxr said:
Kitt Peak needs to be ridden again!
TexasT said:
Sunday?

Hmmm...

Now, my thought was meet up with you guys up around Casa Grande, then take Indian 15 back over to Sells, then a loop up the hill, but I just read something earlier from ADOT that the road up the hill is closed, due to the weather central Pima Co. has been experiencing...

So... :shrug:
 
#21 ·
Heading to Tucson / Benson in the morning. My sister and I are moving my mom back from the mountains. I hope to be back home on Saturday and then I need some downtime so a Sunday ride is out for me.

Brenda's rescheduled hip replacement is Oct 11 so we'll be off the bike for the next few months.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
#22 ·
Heading to Tucson / Benson in the morning. My sister and I are moving my mom back from the mountains. I hope to be back home on Saturday and then I need some downtime so a Sunday ride is out for me.
No problem...

Brenda's rescheduled hip replacement is Oct 11 so we'll be off the bike for the next few months.
Ow! We'll keep her in our thoughts, Brian.

I'm REALLY tied up that weekend...as Jr. is finally making an honest woman out of his long-time GF that next day.

I'm back into ride planning mode for sometime shortly after that, I think.
 
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