The Adventures of Lysol Man, Directions Man, and GPS Man

by Deryle Mehrten 

     After several months of planning and one postponement due to really bad weather, the Adventures of Lysol Man, Directions Man and GPS man began on April 16, 2006 at 8 am.  The idea was to ride the four coasts of Arizona to each of her four corners, documenting the ride like an Iron Butt or the US Four Corners long distance ride.  Something close to 2,000 miles.

     Thomas Palmer, Bryan Seneviratne and I teamed up to do the Four Corners of Arizona ride.  Thomas described us as, “...an Iron butt rider, a sport touring rider and a brand new adventure rider..”  Quite a mix of riding styles. It was difficult to find a comfortable pace as well as interesting stops for smelling the roses along the way.  As it was, one wanted the trip to go on for another day, the other cut it short a day.

     The first night’s stop brought out the personalities right away.  We each had “our way” of packing, taking care of our hygiene and just about everything else.  We were a pretty diverse group that made for some interesting conversation.  Our nicknames pretty much speak for themselves and we earned them!

     The first corner’s stop was Douglas, the Southeastern corner.  An overnight in Alpine, then on to The Four Corners Monument in the Northeastern corner.  The cover picture on this month’s newsletter is us at the Four Corners Monument trying to keep from being blown away.  We had winds of up to 50 mph with gusts above the ridiculous level on this leg.  The dust was thick.  We spent the night in Kayenta.

     The Best Western in Kayenta wasn’t all that we were looking for.  “The WORST part of the ride was up to the 4C's with the wind storm and the night in Kayenta.”  Bryan wrote.  He went on to say, “If you stop in this town do not use the Best Western, it sucks.”  In contrast the Best Western in Saint George, UT was most excellent and got rave reviews from each of us.

     The Northwestern corner was Littlefield, AZ.  It’s located just off the small strip of I-15 that cuts across Arizona between Utah and Nevada.  The town has actually moved and been renamed Beaver Dam – Littlefield, AZ.  Right on the Virgin River.  Go figure.

     The Southwestern corner was San Luis, AZ, right on the border of Arizona and Mexico.  As usual it was hot coming down Arizona’s west coast.  We got a picture at the San Luis Friendship Park and dashed for cooler weather.

     The last night was in Ajo at a small family owned motel/RV park.  The hot tub was just like I remembered it - right on time and most enjoyable.  An easy 230 miles in from Ajo the next morning and the ride was over.      

     A special t-shirt is being designed that will be for sale to any SEAT member who does the Four Corners of Arizona Ride.  Do the four corners, taking pictures at each of the four corners to document the ride, and you too can purchase one of these limited edition shirts.  More information will be posted on the SEAT web site.

     An Arizona County SEAT ride is already in the planning!