Blatherings From The Editor

Summer 

(May 2005) 

Spring goes by pretty fast in the desert Southwest.  Just blink and its summer, and summer presents some real obstacles for the motorcyclist riding around down here in SEAT country.  For the snow birds who only come to visit in the relatively cool winter months, the summer heat and our animal/insect population can really bum out a ride.  To be a summer rider in the desert, it takes some serious precautions.

     Foremost, it’s hot, really hot.  Carry lots of water.  Stop and drink water along the way.  Better yet, carry some kind of water bladder so you can drink while you’re on the go.  Drinking water on the go will make a noticeable difference in how you feel at the end of the day.  Running along at warp factor bazillion really pulls the water out of you.  If you don’t have to pee when you stop for gas, you are probably not drinking enough water.  Start your ride early and drink lots of water!

     So you don’t think there’s anything alive out there in the desert?  Just check out the bugs!  There are billions and billions and billions (you get the idea) of bugs crawling, flying and just generally hanging out in the desert.  Butterflies are the messiest.  They leave beautiful colors on your wind screen and body parts, but they really smell and taste like…  Be aware that bugs tend to pile up in your radiator, too.  Your bike needs to keep its “water” right, so check your radiator out once in awhile.  BMW recommends you do not use high pressured water to wash your bike.  For the radiator though, I make an exception.  K bikes tend to run hot and with bugs clogging up the radiator, they will run even hotter.

     That’s not all that lives in the desert and comes out to play in the summer.  Snakes, lizards, rabbits, toads, coyotes, tortoise, javelina, coatimundi, skunks…there are lots of critters out there.  With a powerful set of lights shinning down an Arizona back road at night, the number of eyes along the road watching you go by is a bit unsettling.  Hopefully your “eyes” are brighter and will keep them to the side of the road.  Think they talk about us and their relatives that got squashed?

     Now let’s move up to the really big guys.  Just last week an antelope jumped out in front of us on the Sonoita highway.  We had plenty of room, no problem, but keep in mind that where there’s one, there’s probably two or three more.  Head into central Arizona, the White Mountains or into many of the state and national parks in northern Arizona and the horned, antlered and hoofed critters get even bigger.  Elk in the San Carlos region are monsters, truly world class size elk.  The ones up old Highway 666 (Hwy 191) ain’t much smaller and will walk right out to the road.  They tower over you!

     The northern states tend to think of summer as the riding season.  I believe that winter in the desert Southwest is the best time of year for riding.  A good set of heated grips will cure most cool mornings, and if it gets any colder, just turn up the electrics.  It’s just too bad there are so many places you can’t ride to in the winter because of that white stuff that falls out of the sky.  Deryle and Wanda, still looking for our first jackalope!