Rode to the hardware store.....via Mt Lemmon

It had been a while since I rode my bike anywhere besides work, so I took a little ride up Catalina Hwy.....Only went 8 miles and about 2200 vertical feet up the mountain because I couldn't be gone long, but I took my camera with me and had some fun on the way up and down.....amazing how far I can lean my bike over without dragging any parts

JQ

me jealous?

the road to mt lemmon is fantastic. i think if you ride up to the top, go through summerhaven and then down the back side there is a hardware store in Oracle.....try it next time. then you can loop around the west end of the catalinas and be home in just a little while.
BTW - nice looking bike. good pics. thanks

Wow, beautiful pictures, looks like a nice ride.

JQ,

Love that bike! Are you the original owner ? Looks new for a K75, how many miles on it?

Where is Catalina Hwy? I plan to ride through Arizona this summer and could check it out.

Tasty K. Thanks for the cool pics.

RT RANDY said:

JQ,

Love that bike! Are you the original owner ? Looks new for a K75, how many miles on it?

Where is Catalina Hwy? I plan to ride through Arizona this summer and could check it out.

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Thanks to everyone for the comments. Catalina Hwy is the road that leads from Tucson up to Mt Lemmon. If you go north on Houghton Rd to the far North-east side you'll run into Catalina Hwy. Hang a right and follow it up the mountain. It's in pretty good shape most of the time, but depending on the day you go traffic can slow you down some. Tucson sits at around 2200 ft above sea level and Mt. Lemmon is around 8500-9000 feet I believe, so in the winter people like to go up and see the snow and in the summer people like to go up to cool off. There was a huge fire up there a couple of summers ago and the people of Summerhaven, a resort-style town on Mt Lemmon, were hardest hit. The whole town was almost lost. But they're rebuilding....and the cafe is still open where you can get a great slice of pie Another great road if you visit is the road up to Kitt Peak observatory. If you head up when the visitor's center is open you can also tour the observatory and buy some gifts.

I've never been to the top and down the other side as someone has mentioned. Last time I went to the top was in my Jetta last month. None of us were aware that about 5 miles of road was still under construction and not road-rocket friendly. I had to creep along at 5 mph through badly rutted dirt and gravel. But once we were on smooth pavement again, my GLI, my friend's Audi S4, and my other friend's BMW 325i were free to run and we had a blast. I'm not confident enough in my off-road skills to take my bike through there, although I saw lots of bikes go to the top that day.....

Oh, and thanks for the compliment RT Randy.....I'm actually the 4th owner of this bike. When I bought her she had only 19,400 miles on it. My bike-riding friends and co-workers tell me I'll never find a deal like that again. As a true newbie I didn't want to buy a new motorcycle, but I didn't want a hunk of junk that would constantly require attention. With this bike I didn't spend an arm and a leg, but it still rides and looks like new. Oh, it's also paid for and costs $212 a year to insure!

JQ