GO AZ Motorcycles, Scottsdale, AZ – April 21-23, 2017
by El Presidente
Our annual alien themed tour tooks us back to the original Alien Abduction Tour from 2014 with a few changes. Since we get a bunch of people from out of town to ride this ride, we had a meet & greet the night before departure at The Thumb in Scottsdale. This unique concept was featured on Guy Fieri’s Diner’s, Drive Inns and Dives. You can get race fuel at the gas pumps, run your car through the car wash and enjoy excellent BBQ while you wait!
Friday morning greated us with perfect weather and smiling faces at GO AZ Motorcycles Scottsdale. A group of almost 40 motorcycles showed up for the start. After coffee, bagels and a brief rider’s meeting held by ride chair and vice president Rodney Chew, we were all off in a few groups.
Our route took us up I-17 with a gas stop in Camp Verde. We then continued up to Flagstaff and SR 89 North. A few of us stopped for lunch at the Cameron Trading Post while others beat feet for our destination for the night at the Lake Powell Resorts & Marina. From there groups enjoyed tours of Lower Antelope Canyon, a boat tour of Lake Powell and some adult beverages at the bar. We all then had dinner at the Rainbow Room where the scenic views of the lake were second to none! After dinner, we had a 50/50 drawing. Congratulations to Les Finkel for winning just over $100 in cash.
Day two saw our riders break up into several groups again and headed to our lunch stop at the edge of Area 51 in Rachel, NV. We all had a good time at the Little A’ Le’ Inn taking pictures, eating lunch and shopping for suveniers. After lunch, a few in our group traveled down the dirt road to the gate of the infamous, “alleged” Area 51. After a few clandestine photos, the group left as the spy cameras at the gate followed their every move. Most of the group made their way to the Hooters Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for our stop for the night. We split up into two groups for dinner, one opting to go over to the MGM Grand Hotel for their buffet while the other group stayed at Hooters.
The next morning saw several groups depart on their own to California and the Phoenix Valley. Some of went straight home while a group stayed in Wickenburg for lunch, while another dined in Chloride, AZ just north of Kingman.
Special thanks to the SCMA for making this one of their Traveler’s Award rides, our host, GO AZ Motorcycles of Scottsdale for the hospitality, Les Gullery of the Shamrocks in California that came out to the start just to show support and everyone that came out to make this such a great ride!
Check out Woody Phillip’s blog report of this ride.
