This year we've decided to participate in the annual Route 666 Run in the saddle of our Enfields. Since the 300 mile ride that sports more than 6000 feet elevation change and over thousand curves frequented by sport and sport touring riders, it was no small feat for a 500cc thumper.
Not to mention the fact, that Springerville - the starting/finishing point of the Rt 666 Run - is about 250 miles from our shop in Scottsdale. Getting to the destination means a lot of hill climbing along the 7500ft high Mogollon Rim. This turned out to be a good warm-up for the following day.
The riders descend to the desert floor via hwy 180 in NM and then climbs back to the Arizona White Mountains via Hannagan Meadow at elevation 9,071ft. The ride offers great scenery and a challenging road.
We definitely got a nice crowd to keep up with:
These curves look pretty easy from up-close:
But, if you put them into context...
It was another surprise to our fellow riders that when everybody had to stop for gas in Clifton we only parked our bikes to catch some shade from the 107 degrees.
On the way home to Scottsdale, we chose Hwy 60 through the 2,000ft deep Salt River Canyon
The Enfield negotiated the steep climb with exceptional ease.
By the time we arrived back, our G5 clocked over 5,000 miles in the odo:
The brief statistics of the ride:
Total distance: 798 miles
Longest one day ride: 285 mi
Temperature range: 75-110 degrees
Elevation range: 1,200 - 9,200 ft
Wind: 150-200 mi in strong head wind, 150-200 mi in moderate wind
Speed range: 55-75mph
Best fuel mileage: 80mpg (Springerville, AZ to Alma, NM)
Average fuel mileage: 71.4mpg (high speed, luggage, hills!)
Best of the best:
Snowy mountain tops and thorny cactus in one day in the saddle of a Royal Enfield