• Boondocking Map
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Road Pickle
Menu
  • Boondocking Map
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Home  /  Blog  /  Tucson to Bakersfield: March 30, 2015
motorcycles tucson
10 April 2015

Tucson to Bakersfield: March 30, 2015

Written by Steve Johnson
Blog Leave a Comment

Checked into our hotel in Bakersfield, CA on Monday, March 30, after spending nearly a month in Arizona. Spring time in the nation’s 48th state is a showcase of colors across the Sonoran Desert, with swashes of green, yellow and purple, and dots of red, orange, and white interspersed between Saguaro Cactus and Ocotillo.

Bakersfield, meanwhile, is nestled in California’s great San Joaquin Valley, the agricultural empire responsible for 13% of America’s total produce. It’s flat here, and largely devoid of any of Mother Nature’s floral splendor.

The three weeks we spent in Tucson introduced us to new motorcycling friends Mike & Chris, a German couple who emigrated some 20 years ago, and are now active in the Royal Enfield Club of Southern Arizona. Sash and I were charmed by their old world accent and hospitality. Chris had been following Sash on Facebook for a couple of years since we started Road Pickle. When Chris realized we were headed to her home town for a few weeks, she reached out to Sash and arranged for us to meet. During our stay in Tucson, we were invited to their house for dinner twice, went out for dinner twice more, and rode together on bikes down to Patagonia. The two of them even spent an afternoon together shopping.

During the last week in Tucson, we were reunited with Stephanie Yue, the Vespa Vagabond who’s been making her rounds across North America for almost a year now. We first met her in South Dakota last summer and shared a cabin with her at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. A couple months later, we met again in Las Vegas and shared a hotel room for Las Vegas Bikefest. This time around, we let her take the couch inside our suite here in Tucson.

We invited Steph to Calle Tepa Mexican Grill & Bar in Tucson in exchange for her sharing her road stories of venturing into Baja California, slurping lobster tails with other Bohemian refugees and getting a first-hand education on how bumpy and primitive the roads are. I wasn’t laughing however, quite the contrary, I was in awe of this solitary gal taking a little scooter designed for short-hop sprints to coffee shops over the rocks, potholes, and soft sand of Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

As for local rides around Tucson, Sash and I did the shorter trip to Mission San Xavier Del Bac. I also did the ride over Gates Pass, which I’m told is a popular route for local riders. I already mentioned the afternoon ride to Patagonia. I had also contemplated the ride up to Mt. Lemmon, which is the best riding in Tucson. But I had already done it during Road Pickle 2013, and I was more intrigued in sampling the local craft breweries instead. Stephanie opted to ride Mt. Lemmon, however.

We finally checked out of our hotel in Tucson on March 25 and headed north to Scottsdale to attend Arizona Bike Week. Stephanie actually followed us up there, and for a brief moment, it was like riding together in a pack. We stopped at the place where long time television cowboy Tom Mix met his fate, and later had lunch at this tiny mexican joint in Florence.

Scottsdale, along with the greater Phoenix area, was quite the contrast to Tucson. It’s a huge metropolitan area and it’s competely congested with traffic. Sash spent a couple of days at Bikefest while I stayed away, opting to find coffee shops where I could set up my laptop.

Sash and I left Scottsdale on Sunday, March 29, headed into California on our way to Bakersfield, to spend a couple of weeks visiting her daughter and grandson. Stephanie parted ways by taking a direction east, with an ultimate goal of reaching the farthest tip of Maine by July.

The ride into California was largely along Interstate 10, which is actually a pretty ride during the Spring. Temperatures across the greater Gila River Valley reached only into the upper 90s instead of the 100s it often gets at this time of the year.

Lunch at Taco Mio in Quartzsite proved to be a great choice for their assortment of tacos and homemade salsas.

We spent the evening in Indio, CA, resting our tired bodies and weary minds at a bar inside Fantasy Springs Casino.

The next morning, Sash actually went her own direction into San Diego to meet with famous female motorcyclist, Brittany Morrow, otherwise known as “Road Rash Queen“. Brittany’s story of surviving a nasty motorcycle crash years ago went viral on the Internet. She has since gone on to become an advocate of wearing full riding gear, doing speeches and appearances at various motorcycle events.

I went on to Bakersfield to check into our room. Sash finally joined me the next day.

taco mio quartzsite
Our bikes parked at Taco Mio in Quartzsite, AZ
steve and wallace
steve and wallace
sash and brittany morrow
Sash and Brittany Morrow
sash and karlee cobb
Sash and Karlee Cobb at Arizona Bike Week
sash and grandson
Sash with her grandson in Bakersfield
sash and grumpy mike
Sash with Grumpy Mike in Phoenix.
motorcycles tucson
Our motorcycles parked in downtown Tucson
riding motorcycles arizona
Riding motorcycles through Arizona
arizona motorcycle
Steve on his motorcycle through Arizona
greasewood flat
The money hanging inside Greasewood Flat
biker chick tucson
Sash riding her motorcycle through Tucson
stephanie and sash
Stephanie and Sash enjoy margaritas at Calle Tepa Mexican Street Grill
tom mix monument
tom mix monument motorcycle
tucson tamale company
Sash, Chris, Stephanie, and Mike at Tucson Tamale Co
millers surplus tucson
Sash outside of Millers Surplus Downtown
chris and mike
Chris and Mike invited us to their house for dinner
stephanie
Stephanie rests inside one of the stone cabins at Gates Pass
gates pass cabin
This stone cabin at Gates Pass offers a great view
gates pass overlook
A view of Gates Pass Overlook

Steve Johnson
Connect on Facebook Connect on Twitter Connect on Linkedin

Having first started riding in 1985 on a Kawasaki KZ400, Steve has ridden all across the United States and Canada. He currently travels full time on his Honda ST1300, living wherever he can find a friendly roof. Follow him on, "Motorcycle Philosophy".

 Previous Article Gates Pass, Tucson Motorcycle Ride
Next Article   Bakersfield to Kernville Via Highway 178

Related Posts

  • Married Couples Taking Separate Vacations – Pros and Cons

    August 17, 2019
  • shavano wma colorado

    Our ATC Toy Hauler Has Reached 25,000 Miles

    July 23, 2019
  • atc toy hauler rally

    2019 ATC Toy Hauler Summer Rally – A Success!

    June 10, 2019

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

road pickle

I'm a "Man in Black", one of those guys who goes around dressed in black suits, looking for people who were abducted by UFOs so that we can keep them quiet. Sash and I travel around in this trailer awaiting orders from headquarters for my next assignment. I can't show you the details of my work, but I can show you how I live.

Follow us here on Road Pickle...

how to camp for free

Topics

  • Blog (37)
  • Camping (58)
  • Central (21)
    • Illinois (6)
    • Indiana (5)
    • Iowa (6)
    • Minnesota (3)
    • Missouri (1)
  • Destinations (32)
    • Hikes (3)
    • Museums (7)
    • Parks (9)
    • Roadside Attractions (16)
    • Towns (2)
  • Lodgings (2)
  • Northeast (2)
    • Pennsylvania (2)
  • Pacific (53)
    • California (38)
    • Oregon (11)
    • Washington (4)
  • Restaurants (24)
  • Roads (9)
  • Towns (1)
  • Uncategorized (6)
  • Vlog (6)
  • West (71)
    • Arizona (23)
    • Colorado (6)
    • Idaho (4)
    • Kansas (2)
    • Montana (5)
    • Nebraska (2)
    • Nevada (6)
    • New Mexico (3)
    • North Dakota (2)
    • Oklahoma (1)
    • South Dakota (6)
    • Texas (1)
    • Utah (11)

Recent Comments

  • Adam Denter on Setting Up a 4G LTE Antenna in our RV
  • Steve Johnson on Setting Up a 4G LTE Antenna in our RV
  • David Johnson on Setting Up a 4G LTE Antenna in our RV
  • Cori Mills on Free RV Boondocking in Idaho – Shoshone Falls Road
  • Teresa on Sheep Bridge Road, Utah – Free RV Boondocking
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Us

Social Media

  • Connect on Facebook
  • Connect on Instagram
  • Connect on RSS
  • Connect on YouTube
© Copyright 2014. Theme by BloomPixel.