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The weekend before last, I put together a group if us to go hit the desert on the dirt bikes (heh - I did that once literally).  Our very own Rhino was in visiting town with a dirt bike and a street bike to play.  We decided our destination was Crown King - a rocky 40 some mile climb to a restaurant, then return down the very same trail.

It’s not a hard ride, but certain parts are challenging with a mixed terrain.  In many areas, the view is incredible.  Its also nice because Crown King is at approx. 6000 feet and the temperature is much cooler. 

The talent of the riders varied too.  Chuck and Ken usually checked out within a couple of minutes, leaving Rhino and me in the dust which was terrible that day.  Proof: (note the nose and dirt-stained beard)

Chuck decided to take us on a detour to cut through a parcel of land that his relative owns.  The operative word was ROCKY!  It was actually kind of a fun section to ride in a sadistic kind of way.  It sucked, it was physically demanding, there were large elevation changes, and a wash-out that I stuck my front wheel directly into.  The result was rather comical with me running right off the bike (not falling down) as it disappeared beneath me.

A well-deserved break after exiting my bike:

Ken getting a piece of the rock:

When we got back onto the main route up to Crown King, the pace picked back up.  It takes about two hours to get to the top and about an hour and fifteen minutes to get back down.  Obviously, having the downward momentum of gravity and the fact that the rocks are just speed bumps on the back side makes the return trip a lot quicker.

Our final break before reaching the top:

It’s kind of a cool deal to be able to ride for a couple of hours, physically kill yourself, grab some breakfast or lunch at  hole in the wall restaurant while you are letting the bones and muscles recover a little.  The food is marginal, but after earning an appetite, it tastes pretty damn good.  And besides, it not really about the food but rather the good times:

A bad day on the motorcycles is far better than a good day at work…and I like my job!  But this was a great morning spent with the fellas, our machinery, and the elements.  We made it back to the vehicle without incident and went back home to prepare for our 2-Day street ride looping around Arizona to depart the following morning.

Heh - I’ll let Rhino knock that story out!  ;)