Quote:
Originally Posted by AZRider
I live in Phoenix and have ridden Mt. Lemmon many times and never knew there was a back road down. Could you post some more info about the road, is it all gravel, hard pack, any paved, etc? Thanks.
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Seems to be a favorite. Most folks like coming in from Oracle and heading up. A car can drive the road, switchbacks, rocks etc, nothing real technical. The stretch from oracle to the base of the mountain is boring and bumpy. You might have fun going down then back up.
On the way in from Oracle, you can stop at PepperSauce Cave. It's huge and free. Bring backup lighting, as you could get lost for days in there. It's not maintained really.
But the service road could be done on a street bike I suppose, I have seen 2 up on bigger beemers do it. The smaller bikes haul tail up for fun. Quad etc, can be dangerous due to idiots on weekends.
For those not familiar with Tucson, this next pic is taken from "A" mountain (Tucson), looking sortof Noreast. MT Lemmon is in the range in the background toward the middle top somewhere.
Once you go up and over that range, you will get to this spot below. If you follow that dirt road in the picture, I think it goes to Globe. There are various other roads that can connect up and get you to Oracle as well.
One thing is that you will be going past the Biosphere 2. Spend the $13 and go take the tour. Make sure you go into the basement both for the environmental gear and the other section where you can look into the ocean from the glass windows.
I plan on taking the Bashan up and over fairly soon, and will get more photos. This one is from awhile back with my Husky TR650. Just not as fun on the back roads as my DR200 was, and this Bashan seems even better than the DR.
This photo is just a section of the switchbacks coming down. Standard loose rocks and ruts, tight switchbacks, fairly rough in the corners.
