From: Phillip Parsons <parsonspj1934@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Nov 27, 2021 at 6:27 PM
.comSubject: A Special Ride
WEDNESDAY'S RIDE STARTS AT 9:00 AM!
The shadows were long in the winter sun as the six bikes with lone passenger Mary assembled for the ride planned to Pine. Returning riders today were Peter Vander Werff and Gary Knudson. Our leader was Dennis, with Paul at the tail as usual.
It's 96 miles to the Early Bird café at Pine, and in that distance the terrain changes from Sonoran desert to the high mountains, where there are large burn areas, and then to the Mogollon Ridge where pine trees cover the whole area. When we arrived at the café, we noticed there were many people standing around outside. There had been plenty of highway travelers, and this was one of the destinations. The Early Bird had whole groups of people waiting to be served; a situation that has never happened before at that place. I even forgot to take a picture. So, there wasn't a lot to do but move on. Instead we went back to the 260 Cafe at Payson, where there were plenty of customers, but the service and the food are both very good. Our first stop for $3.39 gasoline in Payson was thwarted by empty pumps, and there are lots of people going home tomorrow!
We decided to drive the 188 around Roosevelt lake in the brilliant and pleasant sunshine. Our stop at the Roosevelt Lake Bridge perfectly frames the bikes lined up in the picture. It brought up lots of memories of past rides, and talk about the level of the lake. Today it is 68% of capacity and had been higher after the monsoons. Our trip today was 240 miles with a 2:20 return to Golden Vista after 4:45 hours on the road at average 50.4 mph. It was a really special day.
Wednesday's ride will be to Casa Grande and the Cracker Barrel. IT'S DECEMBER 1, SO THE START TIME CHANGES TO 9:00 AM.
Phil
Sent from my iPhone
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