“Bleisure” is the painful made-up word we marketers have created to describe work trips that morph into pleasure get-aways (business + leisure.) While I hate the word, I love the concept! And as a single woman with wanderlust and ingrained frugality, I’ve been taking advantage of my companies’ trips since 1999.

This time it was beautiful Sedona for a client off-site, and the conference rooms and workshops were gratefully broken up with Pink Jeep off-roading and winery tours, all with great people. No complaints! And when the meetings ended on Thursday afternoon, I switched to the leisure portion of the trip.

Saturday was my day to ride! The weather was ideal, with hot sun and cool breezes. I took a Lyft from my hotel to EagleRider Phoenix. This is by far the largest location of the franchise I’ve ever been to! Hundreds of bikes on display, for rent or purchase, mingled with a growing crowd at 10 am, as it appeared an event would be happening that day.

But I was out on the road as fast as possible. The Sportster I had requested wasn’t available, so I was put on a Dyna Switchback. I haven’t ridden a Harley in several years, so the vibration was a bit shocking… why do people purposefully pay (a lot) to be shaken? It took some getting used to, especially the way the headlamp nacelle (I just googled that) rattled like a tin can. But there were plusses, too – the low center of gravity made the sweeping turns loads of fun, and I could get used to running boards for my feet. Overall, it was pretty comfortable in sixth gear going 80+. 🙂

But this day was not about the bike at all; it was about the ride. Initially I was going to the Grand Canyon, but then discovered that would be too far for my 8-hour rental. So I used MotorcycleRoads.com to initially find a great way to go. My plan was a loop via 87-188-60, but when I got to 188, I realized I was making great time, and after a Harley-licious stop at Jake’s Corner Bar, I continued on to 260 (maps below). Indian reservations, snow on the mesa, and twisties galore. Going over the Salt River Canyon was spectacular! With a couple of side trips, I came in at just over 400 miles over about 7.5 hours. Not a bad way to spend a gorgeous day out west!