Alive and well(sorta) in Phoenix, AZ

Today's ride took us from Tucumcari, NM to my sister Mara's house in Phoenix. We left at 5:30 this morning and had beautiful weather for most of the ride. Temps started off at about 70 degrees in Tucumcari but luckily we made the wise decision to wear an extra layer under the jacket, anticipating some cooler temps at elevation. We saw temps in the mid 50's around the Albuquerque area and that had me shivering in the seat of the Breva.

Our route included a lot of interstate highway unfortunately as we had to cover 630 miles or so. Luckily though I-40 through New Mexico is actually very scenic and has great elevation changes with picturesque of mountains. We were about 7,000 feet above sea level.

For those of you have not seen New Mexico you should give it a look...beautiful state.

Up until we got into Arizona the riding was a real pleasure. Once we hit Holbrook on I-40 we decided to get off the interstate and head south on some state highways. We took hwy 77 to hwy 277 to hwy 260 and then to hwy 87, which leads right to Phoenix. These were some really great roads with plenty of curves and elevation changes.

Initially the temps were fine because we were at elevation, mostly in the mid 80s. But as we descended into the valley the temperatures skyrocketed, eventually reaching an uncomfortable 111 degrees!!! But flying down hwy 87 in Phoenix is too cool, feeling like a racetrack with these maniac drivers here, but we did our best to keep up with the flow (wink). The heat is really unbearable here though and made for a tough afternoon of riding.

My sister Mara and her husband Robert have been fantastic hosts, making us an awesome dinner and showing us around their neighborhood and their house. Robert has done a fantastic job of customizing their new house. It was great to see my nephews Aidan and Roman...what cute and very friendly kids!

Tomorrow takes us to Malibu, California and we'll be there a coule days attending the annual Moto Guzzi National rally.

Here are some pics from today....