Ranch Riders – who and what are they?

Ranch Riders, what and who are they? It’s a group of people from the Ranch riding motorcycles, trikes and Can Am’s who love riding, eating and seeing great sights. Usually on Sundays you can hear many of them taking off from the CAC parking lot.

The week of March 28, eight motorcycles and eight trikes/Can Am’s (oh yes and three cars) totaling 31 people traveled over 700 miles in four days. The group was headed up by Dennis and Jody Clayton. They prepared an in-depth itinerary starting from the Ranch to Show Low to Safford to Tombstone then back to the Ranch.

Bikers love twist and turning roads, and the Claytons definitely took the riders on some great roads. One particular road, US-180/US-191, was a very beautiful, scenic road full of twists and turns; in fact, it took a couple of hours to complete the ride. Riding they passed the largest copper mine in AZ stopping at the overlook to observe the trucks carrying copper ore from a distance. The trucks looked like toys; however, one of the tires was on display at the overlook and it measured about 12 feet from the ground to top of the tire. The “toy” trucks were actually gigantic.

Of course, the Claytons also had wonderful and different restaurants scheduled. One example is Wild Dogs in Benson, AZ. At first sight the place was questionable; however, the food was great! All kinds of hot dogs plus other sandwiches, and the owners surprised them with a free pan of delicious brownies.

The Claytons scheduled a tour of the Gammons Gulch Movie set, another great and interesting stop in the middle of nowhere. How the Claytons find these stops is amazing. Oh yes, they did take a few wrong turns; however, one of the observant bikers rescued them and headed them in the correct direction. The Claytons are extremely organized and emailed all participants complete plans to include each restaurant, gas station and hotel, down to distance and maps from each destination. The weather, however, could have been a little warmer, but bikers know to dress in layers, take leathers and rain gear and yes they did have some snow flurries. Although in spite of the chilly weather (actually cold weather), any of the bikers and riders will tell you what a great time they had and how much they appreciated all the work the Claytons did to make this a great trip.

As an unofficial group here at Robson, anyone with a motorcycle/trike/Can Am is invited to join them on their weekly rides. They usually meet at the CAC parking lot on Sundays, weather permitting, from November to about May at 10:30 a.m. with gas tanks full and kickstands up at 10:45. Weekly someone volunteers to lead the ride and determines the rout, restaurant and contacts the restaurant with the number of people stopping for lunch. If you’re interested please email Karen Fuller Augun at [email protected] with your email address, and she will add you to their list and send out an email concerning the upcoming ride.