California

A collection of 142 posts

Travel Guide

Top 10 Curviest Roads in the U.S.

Motorcycle enthusiasts are on an eternal quest to find an experience the curviest of roads. I decided to look into some choice asphalt spread out over the nation to help you satiate your desire for a compelling ride. In no particular order, and without attempting to say which is the

Destinations

Western Film Museum and Alabama Hills

About three hours north of Hollywood and a million miles from urban life, nestled in the foothills of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, the little town of Lone Pine, California and the nearby Alabama Hills has been the location for hundreds of films, commercials and television shows. Since the early years

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California: A Ride Along the Eastern Sierra

Geoff, this is not good. I can’t see anything!” “Can you see the yellow line down the middle of the road?” “Well, yes.” “That’s all you need to see.” That is a short snippet of bike-to-bike communication my wife Liz and I went through while riding Carson Pass

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Central California: A Study In Contrast

Nature does not always define borders the way humans do. An imaginary line scrawled on some obscure document can define and separate societies, but Earth itself has more dramatic means of doing so. California is a case study in how, just below the surface, the planet resembles a butcher’s

Travel Guide

Explore 8 of the Most Otherworldly Landscapes in the US

If you're a motorcycle enthusiast looking for a journey that feels like it's straight out of a sci-fi movie, you're in for a treat. Across the U.S., there are destinations that boast distinctive flora and fauna, unique geological features, and other outlandish characteristics

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Classic Roads: California's Highway 74

Most visitors to Palm Springs are there for the climate and the golf. But the roads around the desert hideaway are some of America’s most remarkable. If you’re in the area without one, rent or borrow a motorcycle to enjoy the sweet curves, high desert landscape, and mountain

Travel Guide

10 Best Places for a Moto Stargazing Trip in America

The night sky has always fascinated us. Our ancestors saw the constellations and signs from ancient gods in the stars, while our modern knowledge and technology lets us gaze at distant planets—or look for flying saucers. Motorcycles are excellent vehicles for accessing fantastic stargazing spots. But where should you

Classic Roads

Classic Roads: Rim of the World Highway

Assigning such a grandiose title to California’s Highway 18 may smack of Hollywood hyperbole. But with its magnificent vistas and the overlooks toward San Gorgonio Mountain—the highest peak in Southern California—you could be forgiven for thinking you really were riding the rim of the world.

Classic Roads

Classic Roads: CA HWY 120 Tioga Pass Road

This California state highway navigates over the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains and, in the process, bisects Yosemite National Park from west to east. The surrounding landscape features pristine glacial lakes, alpine meadows, glacially carved valleys, granite mountain peaks, spectacular waterfalls, and an abundance of native fauna and flora. There are

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Moto Guzzi to The Quail

The plan had been on the books for a full year. Ride from Los Angeles to the 13th annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel Valley, CA, on Thursday, enjoy the Quail Ride on Friday and the show on Saturday, then ride home Sunday. The plan didn’t include bad weather,

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California: Touring the Dunsmuir-Mt. Shasta Time Portal

“When I first caught sight of Mount Shasta over the braided folds of the Sacramento Valley, my blood turned to wine, and I have not been weary since.” —John Muir, 1874 I met this amazing German chap while touring in Kenya. At a stop on the way to Mombasa, we

Urban Explorer

Riding the Birthplace of California—San Diego, California

San Diego is sometimes called the birthplace of California, as it was where early explorers first landed along the West Coast. The city has been a popular destination ever since. With a bustling downtown area populated with both old and new architecture, San Diego expresses itself with art, cafes, restaurants,

Travel Guide

10 Must-See Attractions along the Pacific Coast Highway

The Pacific Coast of California remains one of the most colorful and enjoyable destinations for motorcyclists. Despite the frequent road closures due to landslides the famous SR 1, also known as the Coast or Hwy 1, never fails to entice. Although SR 1 technically starts much farther south, its real

Destinations

In Pursuit of Wildness: Zion National Park

In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the two bank- and train-robbing bandits sought these red canyons as their hideout from the law. I was mesmerized by Paul Newman and Robert Redford in this modern-day Western, but honestly, the scenery captivated me more. I knew that one day I would

May/Jun '23

Santa Maria Valley, California Shamrock Tour®

You think you know a place, but a simple detour can miraculously reveal some genuine charms you had no idea existed. Since 2000, I’ve been riding past Santa Maria and its neighboring Orcutt on my regular jaunts to northern California, never venturing beyond the gas stations along US 101

Classic Roads

Classic Roads: California Route 299

Route 299 runs east from US 101 in Arcata, CA. Near the coast, temperatures are usually cool and fog is often present, especially in the morning hours. The route has many high-speed, sweeping curves for riders wanting more than just a “relaxing ramble.” Although 299 continues east of Redding, the

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Baja California: Life’s a Beach

Baja California is a gentle introduction to the colorful world of Mexico. Crossing at Tijuana with a vehicle is easy. Too easy, in fact—traffic only slows a little for the open barriers, the wait-go signs that immediately turn green, and the yellow topes (infamously high Mexian speed bumps) before

Travel Guide

10 Unique Summer Motorcycle Trip Destinations in the U.S.

At RoadRUNNER, we are always searching for new routes that take you to historically and socially significant destinations—and offer a fantastic riding experience. Here are 10 destinations to spark your wanderlust this summer. Cody, Wyoming Voted the Best Western Small Town by USA Today, Cody, WY, sits in the

Destinations

The Charming Village of Mendocino, CA

Perched on rugged cliffs above the Pacific Ocean’s crashing waves is the charming village of Mendocino, CA. It’s located some 170 miles north of San Francisco on California’s famously scenic Pacific Coast Highway. The village is part of Mendocino County, which lies between California’s Coastal Range

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In Pursuit of Wildness: The Carrizo Plain National Monument

A sleeping giant lies on the valley floor between the Temblor Range and the Caliente Range. That is where this story begins. In 1857, the strongest earthquake in California’s recorded history ripped through the San Andreas Fault, wrenching the western side of the Carrizo Plain National Monument 31 feet

Travel Guide

5 Great Motorcycle Rides in California

California boasts many fantastic motorcycle-friendly roads. Motorcyclists can enjoy riding year round with mild winters and limited rainfall. Here are five great rides in northern California. You can find the GPS files and map at the bottom of this article. Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1)—San Simeon to Carmel Whether

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Lost Sierra

It was the most exciting newspaper story I’d read in a long time—a group of outdoor enthusiasts had gathered sufficient capital and government support to begin carving 600 miles of multi-use, single-track trails through the Lost Sierra. To me, this was catnip. I already had a friend connected

Destinations

In Pursuit of Wildness: Cabrillo National Monument

The Pacific Ocean is jaw-droppingly beautiful as I ride my motorcycle along Highway 1 from Monterey, CA, toward San Diego. It’s easy to allow your imagination to run free along each curve on this scenic highway, envisioning sailing ships exploring new lands. Albert Einstein said that “imagination is more

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A Thousand Shifts

The strange, quiet noise of travel. When you have nothing but time to think—about the past, about all the good and the bad times, about the things that lie ahead, for now unknown but certainly there, approaching on that smooth ribbon of pavement. I was somewhere between my home

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A U.S. Bucket List on a Budget

Slurping a coffee at Burnout Cafe in Vancouver, Canada, the butterflies in my tummy were doing barrel rolls. This was it! The start of our big ride from Canada to the southern tip of Argentina. With no house to sell and no apartment to rent out while we are gone,