Featured Super Bowl Sunday In Southern Arizona: Our Pre-game Shindig

Today was Super Bowl Sunday in the U.S. which is nearly a national holiday here. But since the game didn't start until 4:30pm Arizona time and since the weather was glorious, five of us met up for a pre-game ride to the little town of Patagonia and breakfast at the Wagon Wheel Saloon. My Low Rider S is jn the shop for a couple of mods and I'd just ridden my Speed Triple so my H-D Street Glide Special was next in the ride queue. I knew I'd not been on this particular ride for a long while thanks to my bicycle accident just over a year ago and also to COVID, but I was stunned to look back at my calendar and see that the last time I'd done this route was in November of 2019!


The ride to Patagonia is one of my favorites! It's also a favorite of nearly every motorcyclist in Pima County. AZ Road 83 is gloriously twisty and runs through golden hills that remind me of the wine country of northern California. In fact, the town of Sonoita, just 12 miles from Patagonia, is the heart of Arizona's budding Wine Country. Our destination was the Wagon Wheel Saloon in Patagonia. Today was my first time there but Mr. Sandi and my riding buddies had been there during the time that I was laid up and sang its praises.


The weather was gorgeous with brilliant blue cloudless skies, light winds, and cooperative temperatures. It was brisk starting out at 8:30am but my layers included a 7V battery powered heated vest, long johns, and winter gloves all of which kept me toasty warm. On the way home I tucked the vest in my saddlebag and switched to lighter gloves. It was like Baby Bear's porridge all day long---not too hot, not too cold, just right. I checked the temperature when I pulled into the garage and it was a perfect 72ºF.


Of course the big thing during COVID is whether a restaurant has outdoor seating and what their "COVID protocol" is like. Since Mr. Sandi had been to the Wagon Wheel on a couple of COVID-era occasions, I grilled him on what the Wagon Wheel offered and he was right. It was just as safe feeling as our other two COVID-era staples. Excellent outdoor seating and mask requirements of staff at all times and customers when they are indoors. So now there are three great breakfast/lunch destinations available to us on equally great ride routes.




This was our view from the our table on the Wagon Wheel Saloon "patio" looking to the south towards Mexico. Patagonia is just shy of 20 miles from the U.S.-- Mexican border.



Our young waiter was delightful and doted on us endlessly. Evidently he's been the waiter every time that Mr. Sandi and our riding buddies have dined here....and he's been wearing the same short each time as well. We discussed his attire and team choices and his judicious selection of reds and blues. He assured us he puts much thought into his wardrobe and style selections. He even matched his mask to his shorts.


As has been clear in some of my other threads, I'm a big fan of breakfast burritos. So I tried the one at the Wagon Wheel and was not disappointed. It's not much to look at but was absolutely delicious! A spot-on tortilla wrapped around three scrambled eggs, potatoes, and melty cheese. Different meats are available as add-ins (chorizo, ham, or bacon) but I chose the veggie version with spinach and mushrooms. I figured I should balance out my breakfast choice with our Super Bowl nosh later.


Mr. Sandi had first dined (I use the term fairly loosely) at the Wagon Wheel Saloon a few years ago when he went deer hunting with a couple of friends. He described it as "rustic" and "a hunters sort of place". I think both of those descriptions fit pretty well. He also told me I'd be likely to prefer the "patio". He was right on that count, too. But I'd definitely go back and it's definitely got a lot of character and local flavor. They must be doing something right since it has been around since 1937. That's our buddy's 1998 Honda Valkyrie on the left and Mr. Sandi's 2017 H-D Street Glide in the middle. The H-D Road Glide to the right of Mr. Sandi's bike was a guy who rode in by himself. Off to the right another buddy's BMW 1250 GS. No Triumph's in our group on today's ride... but two of the five of us have Triumphs. And another one of today's ride buddys used to have one. That counts, right?


Continued in next post.....

 

The interior of the Wagon Wheel Saloon was a hoot. One of those places where the more you look the more you see. We didn't spend much time inside--blasted COVID--but I snapped a few pics to give a sense of place. Definitely not a chain restaurant!


Yes, that is a stuffed, mounted, and framed coyote to the right of the door.


A nod to their proximity to Mexico, I assume.


This was a room off the main dining area and in between it and the outdoor seating area. There were three tables all set up but no takers. In fact, we only saw one couple eating indoors--they were there when we arrived and gone before we left. I'm sure that restaurant owners in Arizona are even more glad for the blue, dry skies and nice temps than we motorcyclists are. Outdoor dining (along with takeout) is keeping them in business through the pandemic.


Home again and tucked into the garage. We put on a nice 153 miles today. My bike now has just over 2K on it at about 2,175. I guess a bit of a silver lining of COVID is that my vehicles aren't racking up the miles. On second thought, nah. That is not a silver lining.

 

You can give me some polite shite when I start complaining about the 110ºF temperatures that we'll be having here in four or five months, @Oldskool.

 

I wish you guys were here, too, @Ducatitotriumph! It would be great fun to introduce my forum friends to southern Arizona and show you all the great rides we have here.

When I first started riding, Mr. Sandi told me he feels that this area where we live is one of the best places to ride motorcycles in the U.S. Great routes, brilliant blue skies, mostly dry roads, and temperatures that allow riding year-round (as long as you go out early in the morning in the dead of summer). I think he's right.

 

Good point, @Dartplayer. I didn't really think about it as I was more focused on the figure with the sombrero. But your post made me think of something. Wouldn't "paying customer" be redundant? Is someone actually a customer if he or she doesn't pay? Hmmm.... Today's brain-buster.

 

Thanks, @Tiglet! But if I tried to take photos here without clear blue skies, I'd probably have to resort to PhotoShop to add in some gray skies with clouds.

 

@figwold, I have to admit that I was rooting for Kansas City as I really like Patrick Mahomes and am not the biggest Brady fan. But I'm a big Gronk fan so it was awesome to watch him have such a great game! It was interesting to watch Brady teach Mahomes a thing or two, as you said.

 

Yep, @Smilinjack, Brady certainly showed he's still a force to be reckoned with even without Belichik and the Patriots. I do wish the game had been closer and therefore more interesting watch. But it's not all that unusual for Super Bowl games to be lopsided. How did you come to be a Packers fan?? One of our neighbors is a rabid Cheesehead! I grew up in Minnesota and to this day find myself automatically for the Vikings. That hasn't been so productive over the years, though.

 

@steve lovatt
Believe me, steve, I'm always grateful to be able to get out. And that's never been more true that after being off the bikes from last January until August and then having COVID to contend with as well. When we were actually under a stay-at-home "proclamation" from our state governor, I was still unable to ride anyway. Now we can ride but the group size in these photos is the biggest group we'll go out with. Usually there are just three or four of us. And we've only got about three or four places that we feel comfortable riding to. But, as I said, I'm truly grateful that we an get out and ride at all! I hope you can get out soon!!

 

Thanks, @Bikerman. I do feel your (snow) pain having grown up in the Great Midwest (Minnesota). And that's a big part of why I now live in Arizona! I don't do even one snow-related activity. No skiing, snowmobiling, skating, You name it--I don't do it. In fact, the first time I ever went snow skiing I broke my leg. The writing was on the way for me to get the heck out of dodge as soon as I was able.

Glad you continue to enjoy my reports and pics. Hoping to help folks like yourself who are stuck indoors to get in a little vicarious saddle time. And to share some of the Wild Wild West as well.