[ajwood]

I rode my Burgman 300+ miles today, starting from Tucson and heading west to the town of Ajo (au-hoe) which is 175 miles west of Tucson then north to Gila Bend (heela-bend) for liquids, then I-8 east, back to I-10 then Tucson. I took the bike into the Simonize car wash at Golf Links and Kolb Road to have the bugs removed and the bike washed up when I got back.

The interesting part of today's ride was when I was passing through the Barry Goldwater gunnery range when I looked toward the west, to see a huge cloud in Southern California. It looked like an ominous frontal cloud but I realized it was too dark for that and it must be the smoke. It appeared from ground level to about 20,000 feet high and it stretched from San Diego at the southern most band to near Mojave California on its north side.
I hope that these fires, about 200 miles away will be put out soon.

 

[allwalk]

I have my fingers crossed for all those affected by the fire. I hope its out as well.


On another note:
Have you ever looked at your air filter and its location? You might want to have a look where it's situated and keep it in mind the next time your washing your bike.

 

[ajwood]

The washer folks use low pressure water near the intake.

I figure that if the bike can be run at highway speeds in the rain, water injestion shouldn't be a problem just as long as I don't use a high pressure self-service hose on it.

But, thanks for reminding me about the filter. Here in Tucson (2-sawn) if it's not raining 10 times out of the year, it's dusty.

--

The Southern California smoke cloud reached Tucson 2 days after my ride and it made the backdrop view of our mountains a hazy LA replica. We had air quality warnings too, for about 48 hours. No visible ash on our streets though.

 

[Ted White]

AJWOOD:

I'd be interested in your impressions of Ajo (garlic, in Spanish). I understand it was built by Phelps Dodge and the homes are rather well-built, and there's an actual town center. The mine is closed?

I have been to Why,AZ, which is close by. Why am I interested? Well, if it's a well laid out and thoughtfully designed town it might be a good place to live. Plus, it's quite close to Organ Pipe National Monument, and only about an hour and a half drive to the Sea of Cortez, AKA the Gulf of California, AKA, the Pacific Ocean.