2016-Motorcycle ride to Bartlett Lake, Az on 12-20-16

 

I wanted to make one last motorcycle ride before the end of the year, so I rented a 2017 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200T Tuesday morning (12-20-16) at the Harley Davidson dealer of Scottsdale and headed to Barlett Lake, which is about 45 mile north-east from the Harley dealer.

Above:  2017 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200T that I rented

Bartlett Lake is in the Tonto National Forest and was created by daming of the Verde River. The views around the lake are spectacular as you can see the surrounding desert mountains and saguaro cactus all over the place.  The weather was fantastic, mostly sunny with a high for the day of 73 in the Phoenix area. A real nice ride, lots of twistys and dips once in the Tonto area.

Above:  A view on the Bartlett Dam Road

Above:  Sign showing the miles to Rattlesnake and SB coves

Above:  Rattlesnake Cove

After I left the Bartlett Lake area I headed further north to Horseshoe Lake, which is about another 20 miles.  But I didn’t get very far as the paved road ended and I didn’t want to ride on the dirt road to Horseshoe Lake, so I turned around and headed back to Cave Creek.

Above:  This is the spot where I turned around due to the pavement ending

Above:  Some twistys and dips on the Bartlett Dam Road on the way back to Cave Creek

In Cave Creek I stopped at Local Jonny's to have a late breakfast of two eggs over easy, three slices of bacon, potatoes, toast and coffee.

Above:  Local Jonny's in Cave Creek, Az

At Local Jonny's I met a guy that had a 2003 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 (100 year Anniversary issue) that he said was his good friend.  He was an older guy (not as old as me though) and he said he’s ridden that bike to Canada, Mexico, New York, to the 50th anniversary of his high school class and just this year to Sturgis.  He rode it all the way to Sturgis, no trailering, a fact of which he was quite proud.

Above:  2003 Harley Davidson Sportster (100 year Anniversary Issue)

After leaving Local Jonny's I stopped by another place by the name of the Roadhouse, which is close to Local Jonny's.  I stopped by The Roadhouse as there were a few bikes there plus a bright red Polaris Slingshot.  

Above:  The Roadhouse in Cave Creek, Az

I talked to the couple that had the Slingshot, the guy said he’d had it only 3 days and it cost $33,000.  

Above:  2016 Polaris Slingshot

A short ride, maybe only about 100 miles, but an excellent day in my humble opinion. I’m glad I got one more ride in before the end of the year. It’s kind of nice just to rent a motorcycle now and then but I think I’d do a lot more road trips if I owned my own bike.  Something to think about for 2017.