PM-R TV | MotoPat Episode 7: Day 3, Chambers to Morenci, AZ on US 191 by Patrick Murphy-Racey @PMRTV | Uploaded 1 year ago | Updated 16 hours ago
MotoPat Episode 7, Day 3 Chambers AZ to Gilbert, AZ

It’s always the case that great motorcycle rides have a beginning, a middle, and somewhere in the middle part is the Best part of the ride, and then it inevitably ends. As I began day 3’s ride leaving Chambers AZ—I had to go a little East on I40 to reconnect with the 191 headed south from the town of Sanders AZ.

To be honest, heading South from Sanders is pretty,… but not breathtaking. It’s mostly scrub in the high desert and that section of the road is 95% straight with occasional little canyons you get to dive down into and ride out of again. It’s peaceful, pretty, and the miles go by quickly. The 75 miles between Sanders and Springerville goes by in just a little over an hour.

But then things change about 5 miles South of of the 60 and things get a whole lot more interesting. Now I have ridden in all 50 states, I’ve been to Prudhoe Bay some 250 miles North of the Arctic Circle and across Labrador to Happy Valley Goose bay on the other end of this continent too. Now, I’m trying not to build this up too much for you but the next 117 miles are in my top 5 rides — ever…. This was my third time through here in two years and I can’t wait to get back there again. The part I want you to concentrate on is the 117 miles part of this deal.

This is not like running down 129 to Deals’s gap on the Dragon where you grab an adult beverage and turn around and go back the other way. This is hours of fun containing more twisty’s than I bet anyone has ever actually counted. When you finish this video, fire up google maps and plug in Springerville to Morenci and then start zooming in on the route. As you enlarge the map you will see what I’m talking about. This section of 191 is Called the Coronado Trail, named for Francisco Vasquez de Coronado who walked up here from Mexico in 1540. Coronado Trail commemorate his exploration, though as with the national memorial there is no visible trace of the expedition. US 191, is a showcase for the varied and spectacular scenery of eastern Arizona, from the Sonoran Desert grasslands and valleys of the southeast corner, across the steep and heavily wooded White Mountains, down into the more barren lava fields and red plains of the Petrified Forest region and finally into the sandy expanses of the Navajo Indian Reservation.

So, You are zooming up and down in elevation, diving right, then left into long and short sweepers, following the contour of the mountains. It’s exilerating and more fun than I’ve had in a long time. It’s tough to describe the constant high you get running these ridges up and down and all around. Sometimes you are riding the wrong way as you can see the road that you were just on in a series of hairpins that drop you down faster than an elevator.

I can honestly say that all the miles I logged in Utah were great, but I knew I was headed for this section and the wait was all worth it.The section between Chase Creek and Blue Vista is the most spectacular. The video doesn’t show you how gorgeous this section is.

But the best part of this whole ride? Is that there are almost no vehicles on the road. There is no real population anywhere near this section of 191 so you are pretty much by yourself out there gassing up and down the mountains and having a big time. You use every throttle position, every gear, and your butt never gets tired or sore as you never stay in the same part of the seat for more than a few seconds.

Then all of a sudden the landscape changes abruptly and you enter a vast mining area and the twisty are done. The Morenci Mine just goes on and on and you are struck by just how much rock has been moved around for so long.

In the town of Safford, AZ, I take one last look at 191 and turn West on 70 towards Globe and eventually to Gilbert where my bike will once again be parked in my sister-in-law’s garage.

This is the re-entry part of the ride that slowly introduces me to small towns, convenience stores, restaurants. As the population increases, so Dows traffic. I love the town of
Glob eand often choose side streets to cruise the little town a different way each time I ride through.

As you leave Globe, you pick up the 60 again and head into the grater phoenix area and back into the heat and traffic jam. Red-light multiply each mile so when you finally get back to civilization, you can barely move.

Re-entry sucks as it means the ride is over and a plane awaits to take me back home and away from the bike that goes into storage until next time when I can visit again and continue my explorations of the west.

Thanks for watching. Peace be with you!