Ever since I bought the KLR I had been having big dreams of adventure. The daily grind started wearing on me and the desire to get away grew. I decided to ask my boss for a long weekend over New Year’s to do a mini adventure weekend to Bisbee.

(Side rant: I was really excited about the SPOT I got for x-mas and wanted to try it out but it was recalled before I could activate it! )

I wanted to do my first solo ride, but without the SPOT I didn’t feel confident enough to go out in the dirt alone. Instead I opted to ride dirt with friends to Sonoita and then continue solo on pavement.

I don’t have any pics of the initial dirt section, it was just Box Canyon and Fish Canyon again (man I love those jumps!) Too bad though really, Sean actually came with me this time.

I felt extremely nervous and did the ride even slower than usual, but with no mishaps. When we reached Sonoita, most everyone turned back, but Raven offered to accompany me to Sierra Vista and thought she could even find a dirt route to do it. We spent a while looking for the dirt route and exploring some roads in the area.

I was very proud of my minimalist packjob on this trip, even if my pajamas reeked of exhaust (Note: place clothes in plastic bag within cortech bag)

Eventually we gave up and decided I should try to cross through Ft. Huachuca, but they turned me away for not having a reflective belt and an MSF card. Who knew?

So we had to go the longer way around. Raven rode with me to Elgin and then set off back home. I tried to plug in my GPS but it inexplicably broke. So I set off without it. I’ve been to Bisbee before, just not recently. By this point I have been riding all day and I’m wondering if I’ll make it to my couchsurfing host’s place before dark.

I have to say, riding in those last moments before the sun dips below the horizon are the most magical. The mountains turn purple with orange highlights reflecting the setting sun. As I rode down through the riparian area, the trees were illuminated the most brilliant sea foam green. I wanted to stop and take a picture, but I was racing the sun and it wouldn’t do it justice anyway.

The sun went down just as I reached my destination and my fingertips started to numb from the cold. My host greeted my warmly and informed me he used to have a KLR too! We talked about bikes for a while and then went into town to watch the parade and the Flam Chen performance.

There was a lot of celebrating.

I explored the town a little the next morning and took a few pictures.

For those who don’t know, Bisbee used to be a mining town famous for its copper. Now it’s famous for its hippies and many, many stairs.

The houses are built up onto the mountains.

They have a special aesthetic here. I was joking that in the interest of packing light, I ended up wearing a strange outfit to the party. My green motorcycle garb over a fringed alpaca sweater (it’s colder there). I looked like a Peruvian astronaut. But in Bisbee you don’t have to worry about being criticized for attire like that, you get compliments!

This house is for sale.

This person really loves Hillary.

“B” Mountain

The tunnel back

I took a long wandering route home. I was glad the GPS broke and I could just do my own thing without the electronic voice barking at me to do something more efficient. Riding solo for hours was a very different but highly positive experience.