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SW US?? 3-4 days in mid March need route suggestions from Phx or Vegas plz

howardifeldman

New member
My partners are I have decided to ship the bikes out to the Southwest for a 4 (+-) day ride in mid-march and would appreciate any suggestions for shouldn't miss roads / routes. We are 100% flexible at this point but have some planning to do in the net week to two.

We are considering starting out of Pheonix, Las Vegas, San Diego or somewhere nearby and are open to either a loop trip or ending up somewhere in California.We had already planned to be out on the west coast in May for a week-long trip so the bikes will stay out there in storage.

We would appreciate any advice or suggestions you may have. We are thinking about 6+- hours per day is good for ride-time. relaxed pace. We are all early 50's and in pretty good shape. Beginners at touring!

Thanks!
Howard
 
Welcome, Howard! Sounds like a wonderful trip! Lots of good sights in the SW.
 
The "must do" trip in that part of the country is The Coronado Trail, highway 191, in southeast Arizona. A hundred miles of great pavement, endless twists, loops and turns and almost NO traffic. Gets my Seal of Approval!

Good luck.
 
+1 on Rt 191 from Morenci to Alpine AZ. Another great ride is from Sedona to Jerome, on to Prescott and finally down into Wickenburg. I would start in Tucson rather than Phoenix if you want to do Rt 191. Keep in mind that getting to the great riding will most likely mean some miles of straight and flat desert riding. Speed limits are pretty high, 65 on many secondary roads and 75 on the interstates. Drop me a PM if you need further help or if you run into trouble on the trip.
 
Arizona Fun

Can't go wrong in Tucson area I think, last time out there middle 80's things might have changed! We used to go out in the desert northeast of Tucson spot a microwave relay tower drove to the base of it look for the next one and head for it made for interesting times.
Two airhead events one near Oracle one north of Phoenix. If you don't ride Airhead's remember they are forgiving people bring beer they will forgive.
IMG_0336.jpgIMG_0337.jpg

The dates of the events are close to mid march, go to Airhead Beemer Club or see the latest airmail magazine to see full write up
 
Several others suggested 191 north of Morenci, AZ. I'd agree, that would be a mighty fine ride. However, there is a small chance in mid-March of late season wintery weather - much of that route is up high - probably 7kft or more.

IMHO - east, northeast, or north of Phoenix - aside from the slab, I-17 to Flagstaff, you actually have to look to find non-scenic roads. Oh yeah - I live in AZ for 20 years, that's why I'm opinionated...

Have fun! Marty
 
Here’s a five-day riding route my brother and I rode last year (2017) in mid-March:

https://goo.gl/maps/97TQDr7sFX12

Total mileage of 1800 miles, and we aimed for 6 hours of riding per day, which left some time for sight-seeing including four national parks - Death Valley, Zion, Grand Canyon (South) and Joshua Tree, plus Mojave Reserve and Glen Canyon dam were cool bonuses. Amazing diverse scenery throughout the loop, not to mention the winding pavement and elevation in Northern Az., alll makes this for memorable riding.
Strongly recommend Palm Springs for a stop, as it may have the nicest March weather in the country. And eliminating the coastal day trip, which was fabulous, the rest of the loop is a comfortable 4 days of riding.

Vegas worked as a convenient starting point - easy to fly to, from pretty much anywhere, and BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas (now Euro Cycle), offers storage options for riders from snowy climes.

Cheers, and enjoy!589EDCE0-A145-4919-943E-03AC6BBAE15A.jpg7C8E5A83-7D33-4E96-859D-11C4EAE78C38.jpg
 
Thank you all for comments!

We are getting close. Bikes picked up by shipper early next week and headed to the Scottsdale bmw dealer. So far we know for sure we are starting out day 1 headed to Vegas and connecting with 2 close friends from home who are joining this trip in a rental car (think support vehicle) at Hoover Dam in the afternoon. That night we will stay in Vegas.

From there we were thinking death valley, then to Palm springs, then back to Vegas. Home from Vegas.

Any suggestions along those lines...sights, stops, food, hotels...??
 
Southwest ride

If you plan on going to Palm Springs continue south to Borrego Springs and the Anza Borrego desert. Beautiful this time of year -- Go up the mountain to Julien for lunch.
 
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