Tours

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Wild Winds Across the Badlands of New Mexico

Rarely do I heed a warning before a long-distance ride. This message, however, is from my nephew Ruben, who is a wildlands firefighter stationed in Silver City, NM. A credible source. His message is, "It's supposed to be very windy across New Mexico, starting tomorrow." He

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Mongolia: In the Footsteps of Genghis Khan

We’re stopped at the top of a hill on the outskirts of Karakorum, the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire. Ahead of us is a vast valley framed by impossibly large mountains that stretch into the distance. From our vantage point, we can see the criss-cross pattern of the

Jul/Aug '22

City Escape: Minneapolis, MN

Minnesota is called the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but this counterclockwise loop from the Twin Cities into Wisconsin follows large and small rivers. You’ll be riding along the mighty Mississippi, the Chippewa River, and the Saint Croix River. Two of these waterways are so big that at certain

Destinations

In Pursuit of Wildness: Death Valley National Park

> Death Valley National Park is the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in America. It’s a summer day and I’m filling up my motorcycle gas tank in Baker, CA, when I asked the gas station attendant how hot it is. I’m a bit surprised when he

Jul/Aug '22 Premium Content

Georgia: The Little Great Country

Canyons like Utah, glaciers on 16,000-foot-high mountains, prairies like Mongolia, and a subtropical coastline—Georgia has it all and much more. Yes, I came because of the great landscape. But already my first day on the bike reveals a flaw in my travel plan. I didn’t include the

Classic Roads

Riding the Cherohala Skyway and Tail of the Dragon

These two classic roads, taken together, offer motorcyclists one of the most challenging days of mountain riding available anywhere. The full 138-mile route starts and ends in Tellico Plains, TN, at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center. From there the road rapidly gains altitude on SR 165. At around the halfway

Classic Roads

Classic Roads: Bluewater Highway & Seawall Boulevard

Any time I can ride alongside an ocean on a motorcycle, I will do it. Make that motorcycle a new Indian Super Chief Limited, and I have a great excuse to spend some time island hopping in south Texas. The perfect combination of cruising and ocean is riding from Surfside

Destinations

Destination: Beaumont, Kansas

A Stay With Ghosts Although it’s considered a ghost town today, Beaumont, located in the rolling grasslands of southeastern Kansas, was a thriving railroad and cattle town in the 19th century. The indigenous prairie bluestem grass was the nutritious fodder used to fatten up cattle before their transport by

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Flaming Gorge With A Hot Date

I have really great friends. They give me stuff—boots, jackets, motorcycles… You know, the usual. A few years ago, two of them invited me on a group motorcycle trip to Europe. It was to be an extreme Alps ride, as in Stelvio Pass and about a dozen others. Then,

Classic Roads

Classic Roads: Into The Keys US 1 in Florida Part 2

We covered the first 250 miles of the 545-mile Floridian stint of US 1 in Part 1: Down from the North [https://www.roadrunner.travel/tours/us-1-in-florida-part-1-down-from-the-north/] . Riding southward from Georgia, we ended our journey in the city of Melbourne. Now, it’s time to cruise along the last 300

Jul/Aug '22 Premium Content

Fayetteville, Arkansas Shamrock Tour®

I grew up in Arkansas, so it’s fitting that I’m heading to the Ozarks for my first Shamrock Tour®. I plan to spend roughly a week in northwest Arkansas, with Fayetteville as my home base. The Bikes, Blues, and BBQ 2021 rally was set to provide plenty of

Destinations

Destination: West Virginia’s Coal Heritage Trail

The story of the southern West Virginia “smokeless” coalfields is a remarkable legacy of working-class culture, industrial might, racial and ethnic diversity, and the creation of a unique and distinctive culture of national significance. The winding Coal Heritage Trail juxtaposes scenes of early West Virginia coal mining against a backdrop

Destinations

37 Years Ago: Route 66 Decertified

June 27, 1985, was historically a rather uneventful Thursday. But it did mark the end of an era for riding and driving Americans. On that day, U.S. Route 66 stopped being Route 66. Without much fanfare, the Mother Road was removed from the U.S. Highway System. The end

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Following The Cherokee Trail of Tears

Missionary Daniel Butrick kept a journal of his travels with the Cherokee People as they were force marched to Indian Territory during the winter of 1838-39. It is one of the saddest episodes in American history, with the depths of despair grippingly described by him in this entry: “… the government

Classic Roads

Classic Roads: Appalachian Byway of Ohio

This 105-mile scenic byway was added to Ohio’s roster of 27 state-designated scenic byways in September 2019. The Appalachian Byway of Ohio follows SR 78 from Clarington to Nelsonville, OH. The region’s natural and cultural heritage are on abundant display throughout the route, and some of its rich

Jul/Aug '22

City Escape: Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ, offers on-road and adventure rides within minimal miles of the city. Tucson is in southern Arizona, between the Santa Catalina and Tucson Mountains. Mount Lemmon, Picture Rocks, Signal Hill, and the Saguaro State Park have cacti-lined roads and plenty of twisties. Incredible landscape changes unfold as you leave

Roundtrip Tour

Adirondacks Roundtrip

The boundaries of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York correspond generally with those of Adirondack State Park. Because they form a separate circular dome, instead of a mountain ridge, the Adirondacks are considered geologically separate from the Appalachians and other mountain systems. The mountains’ billion-year-old rocks were uplifted some

Jul/Aug '22 Premium Content

Racing Thoroughbreds From Tennessee to Kentucky

We are lucky, living in the Nashville area, to have so much spectacular riding within a few hours of our house. Regardless of the type of bike we may be on, there are options to suit. While usually finding ourselves on dual-sport styled bikes capable of off-pavement exploration, we also

Classic Roads

Classic Roads: Kansas’s Flint Hills National Scenic Byway

Destinations

Ohio’s Windy 9—Something for Everyone

Most every rider knows Ohio’s Windy 9. If you don’t for any reason, it’s time to hop in the saddle and zip and zoom over to Ohio. This collection of routes includes some of the best motorcycling roads in the U.S. and it’s something every

Jul/Aug '22

Stories From the Road: That Night in the Pyrenees

It was a dark and stormy night. No, seriously, it was a dark and stormy night. My lady and I had arrived at the end of a month-long motorcycle sojourn through Spain and were doing our best to prolong the experience. We had detoured up into the Pyrenees for one

Jul/Aug '22 Premium Content

A Solitary Quest From Anchorage, AK to Portland, OR

It wasn’t supposed to be a solo trip. A group of three or four of us had decided we’d ride from Anchorage, AK, to Portland, OR, taking advantage of the tour company MotoQuest’s seasonal transporter special offer. By agreeing to ride MotoQuest bikes from Alaska to Oregon,

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Kentucky Adventure Tour: Delayed Gratification

I hear the sharp pop of metal moving. An orange flash falls into the maple tree, getting caught on the handlebar like a makeshift kickstand. The bike has fallen against the tree, settling into it's final resting place. This is a fairly good outcome, as the tree safely

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Scootering in Saigon, 1971

The motor pool for the US embassy was in a middling-sized windowless building, with maybe 20 sedans and a few International-Harvester Scouts, and I was there to get my own wheels. "And what you like, Mr. Salvadori?" the manager, a local hire, asked. Parked by his desk were

Classic Roads

Classic Roads: Texas FM 170

> There are plenty of excellent roads in Texas. The Three Sisters in Hill Country, ocean-view routes by the coast, and rides along the Arkansas and Louisiana borders are all great. But the one that should always be in the same conversation is the farm-to-market road FM 170 from Presidio