Arizona: Desert Ice
It seems to be a general principle that the best things are often preceded by hardship, or at least a very unusual level of effort. That’s true whether you’re establishing a new business, forming a new relationship, or riding to a mostly defunct small town made famous again by Pixar animation films. Rolling out from Orange County, CA, is normally a relatively easy (but tedious) slog through a sea of suburban traffic. Being greeted by pouring rain at 5 a.m. wasn’t ideal, but reports indicated my partner Blanca and I would spend around three hours in the deluge before the sun broke through. The reports were wrong, mostly.
The sun showed itself for around 20 minutes in Barstow before diving back into the gray-toblack skies, which repeatedly released sheets of rain. Seeing no other motorcyclists on the road, we were the main topic of conversation among the curious commuters at fuel and hand-warming stops.
All that said, things got really sketchy shortly past Kingman, AZ, in the “home stretch” before our first destination of Seligman. Outside the gas station convenience store where we were momentarily stopped to thaw our hands and body, the rain gave way to snow. Following the tread paths of tractor-trailers was a mixed blessing of having a course drawn through the near-whiteout conditions and being coated in a spray of ice and road debris. Eventually, we made it, and after a couple of attempts, our frozen hands were able to operate the door keypad at the Postcard Motel.
Motorcycles & Gear
Helmet: Klim Krios Pro
Jacket & Pants: Aether Apparel Divide, Klim Artemis
Gloves: Firstgear Ultimate Touring heated, Klim Hardanger heated
Boots: TCX X-Desert, Forma Terra Evo
Luggage: Moto Morini panniers and top case
Comm System: Cardo Packtalk
Cameras: Nikon D810, Sony RX100VI
Where Are We Going?
Even with plan-altering weather patterns in our path, our destinations on this tour were easy to determine by following lines on maps. The towns and cities we passed through begged the larger question of “Where are we going?” collectively, as a society.