Lucky 13. That’s what this year’s annual KLR Ride was.
Well, maybe not exactly, as there were all sorts of bikes there this year…though the venerable KLR still made a respectable showing.
My buddy Jon hosts a cool motorcycle ride in the Paulden, Arizona-area very year. It usually attracts a dozen or so local riders and others from around the US. This year I counted 18 riders.
A handful of us got together on Thursday night for dinner and then did a pre-ride on Friday. Jon took us out to Bagdad…and even though we’ve been there probably a dozen times the back way he took us over some side routes that were different and challenging and very nice. There was a fairly deep water crossing, as several steep, rocky climbs but the entire ride was enjoyable. We took the winding pavement roads to get back to meet up with the main group of arriving riders.
On Friday afternoon, the riders start arriving and setting up at the Gunsite Campground. There were some familiar faces, old friends and some new folks. A good mix. Jon and Kayla provided pulled pork tacos and explained the next day’s riding options. Most of us were up late drinking and talking bike stuff around the campfire.
Saturday is all about the ride and this year three different rides were offered. Jon led a group of riders to the Bradshaw Mountains…mainly to Mt. Union. Three riders—Senior on his Gen 2 KLR, Chuck on his pretty Ducati, and Darrel on his Tiger—took a pavement ride up north. I joined local rider Charles and 6 others for a spirited ride to Bagdad through the woods and the Yolo Ranch. I’d ridden that way several times but Charles managed to show us an even different route. I had no idea there were so many different routes hidden within the Prescott National Forest. We had burgers at the Bagdad Diner then two of us headed back via pavement as the others rode the dirt way back to Paulden. I stopped at the classic saloon in Kirkland and had some drinks with my buddy, Doug, who’d never been there before. Good times.
Everyone arrived back to the campground between two and 4 o’clock and commenced to telling stories about the different rides. There were a couple dirt naps, but nothing major.
As usual, Kayla and Jon put on an amazing dinner for us consisting of Todd’s slow cooked ribs, spicy macaroni and cheese, Kayla’s famous potato salad and some other goodies.
Senior came around after dinner and started discussing who would earn the coveted Riders Trophy this year. We all agreed that Jon not only deserved it, but earned it this year. He put together a fantastic Ride that we all enjoyed, he took a Dirt nap or two and he managed to come out unscathed after meeting a dog at speed.
Craig and some others got the campfire going and we were up late laughing and talking about motorcycles and motorcycle rides. And that’s really the main reason I attend these annual rides…the camaraderie.
Note: I’d like to mention that even though there were many people from different backgrounds, I don’t recall politics being discussed at this or previous rides. I couldn’t even guess the politics of some of the guys that were there because we stick to talking about motorcycle-related topics. FWIW.
Everyone packed up on Sunday morning and headed for home.
I know Jon is exhausted from 3 days of riding…but I had to ask him as I was rolling away: “Well, what’s planned for next year?”
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