Overnight ride to Pinetop

Bill Flannery

 

SEAT participants: Bill Flannery, Eric Gittings (from NH) Darrell Conklin and Mike Shaffer.

 

A last-minute opportunity presented itself to take advantage of ideal/perfect weather for an overnight ride to Pinetop, AZ. So, we took full advantage of the opportunity!

 

Planned routes to/from Pinetop: 

- To Pinetop: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Fr6iW79efZsJPDZm9

- From Pinetop: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fghj43c1XmmY3WWu5

 

Relive Videos: 

- Day One: Pinetop | Relive

- Day Two: Pinetop to Sahuarita | Relive

 

One issue popped up on the ride up to Pinetop: plan was to ride up to Winkleman and then cut over to Superior on Rte 177 then ride over to Globe via Rte 60. Well, unbeknownst to me Rte 60 was completely closed from Superior to Globe. So, we enjoyed a great lunch at the Silver king Smokehouse and Saloon then backtracked to Winkleman and up Rte 77 to Globe. We decided to skip the visit to Coolidge Dam to make certain we'd get to Pinetop well before sunset (which we did). 

While at the Smokehouse Darrell, Eric and I decided to connect our Cardo devices with each other so we could communicate during the ride. Well, the locals and Mike Shaffer were thoroughly enjoying the entertainment we provided trying to troubleshoot and get connected. We certainly looked like fools to our audience talking into and listening to our helmets. We ultimately succeeded to connect but we all broke out in humor at ourselves during the process. Mike video recorded some of the show. We offered Mike cash and an accessory for his new Gold Wing if he would delete the video and promise to never mention it to anyone. However, he refused our blackmail offer... 

 

We visited the Apache Fort Historic Park and Museum along Rte 73 while riding up to Pinetop. It's a very well preserved, interesting park/museum with fascinating history. Well worth a visit and Rte 73 is a wonderful motorcycle road. 

 

We stayed at the Nine Pines Motel in Pinetop which is fine for an evening stay. We also enjoyed a great dinner, refreshments and entertainment at the Lion's Den Bar and Grill which is a very short walk from the motel. 

 

We decided to take the more direct route home from Pinetop and stopped at Lewie's home along the way to pick up our new SEAT gear. Thanks Lewie!

 

Flan