Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

What's in Carefree, AZ7 How about the World's largest Sun diallabove left). This is what John Burrus, author, saw on his ride . A S.unday morning ride the coast? By John A. Burrus Photos by Terry Murphy history books, is a native Arizonan th at I kn ew years ago. He claims that hi s fa th er was acq uainted with "Scottie" a nd that the old boy actually had worked the rich Vulture Mine near Wi ckenburg where, despite vigorous search es o f all employees, Scott managed to steal a good bit of the almost pure gold ore. He then supposedly exp lain ed h is newly acquired wealth by inventing the Lost Dutchman 's in places like Phoenix, AZ are and it .keep~ pretty go~ tim e, to? ) Mine story. Lots of people out here just starting to enjoy full days Resld~nttall andscapmg IS strictly would co n sider that kind of suppos· desert wit h saguaro, palo verde , yucca on our two w h ee1ers. W Inter and other pl ants th at will hurt yo u if ing the ba si s for a fist fight. Maybe here is comfortable riding jacket you get too close. At 1500 feet eleva th at makes Weav er's Needle a ll the m ore interest ing to loo k a t from the tion, it 's out of the smog layer th at weather with relativel y cool, den se saddle o f a motorcycle. air that makes a bike run like a Swiss sometimes takes ove r Phoenix, and Bartlett Lak e Road is p aved for watch, even if it more closel y imitated it 's also pretty well o ut of th e worko n ly a bo u t seven miles, and the n ex t a steam generator during the torrid in g class syndrome . seven are so me 6 f the worst, well travArizona summer. A couple of miles th rough Carefree eled dirt road in the state. The governOur desert ro ad s, though , are sadly leads ba ck to Ca ve Creek Road that ment had at o n e time decided to finlacking in one co m mod ity th at gives you just crossed , a nd a ri gh t turn goes ish pavin g th e road, but local fisherm otorcycl ists a specia l rhree-dimento a series of curves that inspir e truly . men go t up a ca m pa ig n th at forced sio n al experience offered only bikes, i m m o dera te ridin g . But Smokey " Big Brother " to change his m ind. a nd not by multi-tracked forms of always seems to be arou nd p u tt in g a Seems th at th e intolera bly rough road transportation. Cu rves. Because of damper on th in gs. St ill, the road di scourages th e power boats and big this, almost any moderately winding offers plenty ofrecreat ion a s it climbs cru iser s th at tend to complicate and clean stretch of pavemen t around toward Camp Creek and th e Contin Phoenix will attract its share of winental Mounta ins. . _ angling . ter sled jockeys. . A bo u t four m iles past th e center of A fast run back up the lake drive, th en left o n Cave Creek Road through One of the local favorites is the Carefree, a mi crowa ve relay tower . Carefree Highway/Cave Creek Road marks a 14 mile road to the right that Carefr ee brings you into the II O-yearcombination around 30 miles north runs into Bartlett Lak e. Pavemen t old pickup truck-cowboy-and-formerfrom th e center of Phoenix on 1-17. ends two miles straig h t past the Bartmining town that the road is named It's not California's Highway I or the lett turnoff, but th e dips and corners after. If you get there at noon or la ter Rock Store that started cafe racer tramake it worthwhile to run to the end, on Sunday, the Horny Toad will be dition , but there is plenty of scenery th en backtrack a n d ca tch the lake open. Before that, the Mining Shaft and th e Horny Toad and Mine Shaft road. For dual purpos e bikes not an d a rna a nd pa deli are do ing busieateries toward the middle of the making th e backtrack, the next 19 ness. Check out the art wo r k i n the Sunday morning loop. miles of dirt ro ad run past th e Seven men' s room at the deli. Once yo u 're headed east on CareSprings cam pi ng area and into Bloody New River Road, right past Cave free H ighway, th e ancient dry lake Basin, a rock hound 's paradise and Creek 's residential area, is a good bed where Phoenix lives seem s to the scene of some cowboy and Indian place to sta rt slowing down for Careripple up into th e New River Mountrouble back around th e beginning of free High wa y. Turn right (west) at the four-way stop to get another look rains, a nd a solo rider on the crest the century. can't help but feel dwarfed. Twelve For street machines, Bartlett Lake a t th e Phoenix dry lake bed . True, it's miles of foothill road gives time Road back toward Carefree has seven repeated scenery but there's no wa y to see it all in only two passes, or even 10 enough for p rivate thoughts before miles of very pleasant twisties and abruptly ending at a four-way stop long, gradual whoops, plus distance for that matter. for Cave Creek Road. - Interstate:-17, 12 miles down th e sho ts of one of Arizona 's most famous Straight ahead two more miles , landmarks. At severa l hi gh points, road, is th e decision point. South back then left on Scottsdale Road takes it's possible to see Four Peaks, Weavo n the interstate gets you home to you to Carefree, a Cadillac cowboy er 's Needle a n d Superstition MounPhoenix with a 100 or 120 odometer town where Frank Lloyd Wright detain all in one look. reading. To add another 50 or 60 signed homes that are fully integrated According to mu ch discussed miles, take the hump over the freewith the boulder strewn slopes, and legend, th e needle is su p posed to cast way, then cu t a hard left into Biscuit where streets are named Elbow Bend, its shadow into the Lost Dutchman's Flat for gas and other amenities. Wampum Wa y, Stage Coach Pass, Mine. The o ld Dutchman, Scott, who Another seven miles down Carefree Long Rifle Road, Easy Street and later had Scottsdale, AZ named after Highway {#74) is 99th Avenue and Mule Train Road. Coyotes forage him and who claimed to have disLake Pleasant Airport. Watching sa ilwithin town limits, reminding incovered th e big gold strike, never plan es and ultralight aircraft th ere habitants of th e o pe n desert just past gave another clue to th e m ine's locacould tak e up the rest of the da y. their neighbor's back yard. And Caretion. Thousands of en trepreneurs have Canyon Ra ceway a mile and a half free boasts what its Chamber of Comnot managed to find i t, but m any still west might also do the same thing on merce claims to be th e largest su nd ia l - - - - fervently believe in its existence, One,., _.. theit scaaLer. baule.days, __ • • • • ••• in the western hemisphere. (I checked, o f the detractors, that ne,::er made the If nei ther does, a short jaunt north While riders in many parts of the country have locked their aluminum stallions away into the barn for the long, hard winter months, those of us fortunate enough to live 18 where's (right) then back west for 22 miles has some not-too-curvy but very nice clear desert road past Lake Pleasant Park and into Morristown, AZ. Morristown used to be a little one horse burg until so mebod y stole the horse. A co m bi na tio n bar, hotel and cu rios shop is th e main building, but don't despair. There is also a perpetual yard sal e. Real de sert buffs can head back northeast from th ere on a 21 mile dirt road to what may be Arizona 's oldest resort, Castle Hot Springs, named after a cowboy who discovered the sp ring feeding a creek (Ca stle Creek, naturally) into what is now th e Carl Pleasant reservoir. Before it mostly burned down five . or so years ago, Castle Hot Springs was a very expen sive resort that boasted a golf course, horseback riding and a dip in one of th e two sp ri ng-fed pools that, reported ly, could cu re arthritis a nd provide tota l rel ax ation. Rumors say th at Ca stl e H ot Springs was a lso a gambling me cca in years gone b y, because o f it s remote location. You still won 't find anything el se for miles arou n d , but despite its isolation a nd rugged ac cess, so me reall y impressive ca rs used to be p arked at the end of th e road. If yo u were not rich, you d idn't plan on spending the night. It was okay , though, for regular pe ople to look around and take p ictures. Today, a ca reta ker and . .h is wife keep the place off-limits to the public. From Morristown back southeast to Phoenix, one encounters bikers headed toward Wickenburg and , beyond the speed trap at Wittmann, a town called Surprise (surprised because it didn 't dry up and become part of the desert - that's the truth) and, of course, Sun City. Watch out. There's nothing more dangerous to a biker than a housewife in a station wagon or a senior citizen driving fo u r to 5,000 pounds of guilded Detroit iron down the boulevard. But that 's another story. Getting home before sundown is advisable, because desert temperatures drop 20 or 30 degrees at n ight in rura l areas, a nd the chill factor becomes very noticeable. The best reason, though, for ending a Sunday ride in the late afternoon has to do with the " crea tive scheduling" factor. A hot meal, a little tinkering with the bike, some proper R &: R around the house; and if a working man is lucky, the . good vibes from a winter ride in the desert.can la st alLthe way into Manday morning. •

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