Ready to visit the exotic bazaars of Fez and Marrakech? Ride a camel on the dunes of the Sahara Desert? Ride the best roads in Morocco, including the Atlas and Rif mountains? Join Rider Editor-in-Chief Greg Drevenstedt and his brother, Paul, on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour, October 12-21, 2024.

This 10-day tour includes all the sights you always dreamed of visiting in Morocco. This route is for seasoned riders who want to enjoy rolling green hills, the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, and the mysterious sand dunes of the Sahara Desert all on well-maintained paved roads. You’ll explore casbahs, see oases, and have opportunities to buy hand-made rugs, drink mint tea, and ride a camel! In the evenings you’ll dine on delicious Moroccan cuisine like couscous and tagine.

The tour starts and ends in Málaga, Spain, where you’ll spend nights to kick off and conclude the tour. To get to Morocco, you’ll ride along the southern coast of Spain and take a ferry across the Mediterranean Sea.

The IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour is an authentic experience that will leave a lasting impression on you. There is limited space on this tour, so sign up now!

Register for the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour

IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour Facts

• Start / End: Málaga, Spain
• Total Distance: 1,432 miles / 2,306 km
• Daily Mileage: 160-220 miles / 250-350 km
• Riding Season: Autumn
• Total Time: 10 days
• Riding Days: 9 days
• Rest Days: 2 (Erfoud, Fez)
• Breakfast: 9 included breakfasts
• Dinners: 7 included dinners
• Hotel Overnights: 9 nights
• Highlights: Marrakech Djemaa el Fna Square, riding a camel in the Sahara Desert sand dunes, Fez medina tour, Atlas Mountains
• Accommodations: First-class 4- and 5-star hotels plus some Moroccan riads (palace homes converted into exotic boutique hotels). All IMTBike lodgings are hand-picked for their quality of service, local charm, and strategic locations.

IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour Daily Itinerary

• Day 1: Arrival at Málaga
• Day 2: Malaga – Rabat
• Day 3: Rabat – Marrakech
• Day 4: Marrakech – Ouarzazate
• Day 5: Ouarzazate – Todra Canyon – Erfoud
• Day 6: Erfoud rest day
• Day 7: Erfoud – Fez
• Day 8: Fez rest day
• Day 9: Fez – Ceuta
• Day 10: Ceuta – Málaga / Flight home

Read detailed daily itinerary for the Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour

IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour Pricing

Base Price: €3,910 (approx. $USD 4,242)

The base price of every tour is calculated for a single rider on a BMW G 310 R and sharing a double room. Passengers, single-room occupancy, and other BMW models incur additional charges.

Related: IMTBike Southern Spain Andalusia Tour Review

Included in Tour:

• Airport pickup on the first day of the tour
• Overnight accommodations in carefully selected 4- and 5-star hotels and boutique riads
• A delicious evening meal featuring Moroccan specialties
• Complete buffet breakfast every morning
• New model BMW motorcycle fully equipped with three BMW cases
• Tour handbook (normally about 70 pages – very comprehensive) and highlighted map
• Expert multilingual guide on a motorcycle
• Multilingual guide in support vehicle which will carry your luggage, any oversized purchases you make, or even a passenger or two
• Tour souvenirs

Related: IMTBike Essence of Northern Spain Tour Review

Not Included in Tour:

• Air ticket
• Lunches
• Gasoline
• Drinks
• Tolls
• Personal spending
• Tips

Ready for the adventure of a lifetime? Come ride with and get to know Rider Editor-in-Chief Greg Drevenstedt and his brother, Paul, who will be on the tour from beginning to end! Space is limited, so click on the link below to sign up for the tour.

Register for the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour

The post Join Rider EIC Greg Drevenstedt on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour appeared first on Rider Magazine.

In 2021, Steven Goode completed the Great American Deli Schlep, a 75‑day, 15,000‑mile motorcycle ride during which he visited the best Jewish deli in nearly every state and raised funds for MAZON, a Jewish nonprofit that fights hunger in America. You can read Goode’s feature about that ride here. –Ed. 

I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” This is a quote by Susan Sontag and words I ride by.

After completing four major motorcycle trips around our wonderful country, each ranging from 11,000 to 17,000 miles, I told my wife I was done with long‑distance rides. Sort of the same way I’ve told her, many times over, that this was going to be my last motorcycle purchase. Of course, she didn’t believe me. 

So when a riding buddy said we should plan a big trip, I was all in. All I needed was a cause and a theme for the ride.

For a cause, I chose the Parkinson’s Foundation. In 2001, my mother passed away from Parkinson’s disease. A motorcycle trip supporting this cause would be a great way to not only honor her memory but raise money to support finding a cure and providing resources for those afflicted with this terrible disease.  

Although my mother most likely would not have approved of my 60‑day, 16,000‑mile motorcycle trip – she was still a mother after all – she would have been extremely proud of my commitment to this cause. She had a wild side, but she didn’t show it often for fear of encouraging her sons to follow in her path, which we did anyway.

For a theme, we decided to ride the top scenic byways in nearly every state. To help us plan the trip, National Geographic’s Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways (fifth edition) was an invaluable resource that provided descriptions, photos, maps, and interesting facts. 

When I told the Parkinson’s Foundation about my plan, they were immediately supportive and offered to help create public awareness for the trip. An important part of the publicity was social media. I’m in my late 60s, and I didn’t do Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc., so their team handled that for me. They also created logos and designed T‑shirts, banners, and a web page for my blog. Klim supported the ride by providing me with a Latitude Gore‑Tex suit, and Nelson‑Rigg provided some waterproof luggage.

Scan the QR code or click here to make a donation to the Parkinson’s Foundation.

We named the ride The Great American Scenic Byways Tour supporting Parkinson’s Foundation. After reviewing the route and the time necessary to complete the ride, my friend said the trip would require too much time away from work, so he bowed out. Since I had already committed to the Foundation and this was a personal ride on behalf of my mother, I decided to go alone. 

For those of you who are curious how someone plans a 16,000‑mile trip, here are a few guidelines. First, get a map of the United States and put markers next to the places you plan to travel to. Second, using the rough route map, create a spreadsheet with columns for the city in which you begin your day’s ride; the destination city for that day; miles you plan to ride each day; and notes about the route, landmarks, and things to see. Good planning is key for a successful ride, and being organized reduces stress. 

A key element to any trip of this magnitude is planning for unforeseen events. My mantra is “It’s all about Plan B.” On a two‑month trip, there will be at least one unexpected twist pop up. Mine came three days in when my dermatologist called to tell me I had a melanoma on my back and he wanted to surgically remove it as soon as possible. Plan B: I turned the bike around, made a beeline to Chicago, had the surgery, and was back on the road 17 days later. 

The beauty of this ride’s theme was that each scenic byway has its own personality. Like a thumbprint, every byway is unique. Almost everyone I met during the trip asked me, “What is the best scenic byway?” Just like when asked what the best motorcycle is, I answered, “The one I’m riding.” There are good reasons why National Geographic picked each of these byways to include in its guide. Each one gives the rider a special glimpse into the beauty of the region.

For example, the Red River Gorge Scenic Byway in Kentucky took me into forested backcountry, and I was able to get lost in my thoughts in the deep woods. One of the interesting features of this scenic byway is the Nada Tunnel, which is 900 feet long but only 12 feet wide and 13 feet high. There’s a single lane through the mountain, with no lights or painted lines. While pondering how to go through it, I asked some local Harley riders for advice. They said, “Look for a headlight at the end of the tunnel. If you see one, don’t go.” I felt like I was in a Road Runner cartoon.

In Newport, Rhode Island, the scenic 10‑mile Ocean Drive provided a glimpse of how the other half lived during the Gilded Age in the late 1800s. The Vanderbilt, Astors, and Morgans all had their summer homes along this rocky coast. 

Spanning two states, the Talimena National Scenic Byway follows Arkansas Highway 88 and Oklahoma State Highway 1. On the morning I planned to ride it, the forecast said it would be 105 degrees in Dallas, Texas, my next destination. I left at 5 a.m. to arrive in Dallas in time to beat the heat. This early start gave me an opportunity to watch the sunrise over the byway. 

After five days on the road, I could no longer remember where I was the day before, what I had for dinner the night before, or which hotel I stayed in. That’s one of the great things about a two‑month motorcycle trip – getting lost in the journey. Writing a blog forced me to recreate the trip daily so it didn’t become one huge blur, and it also allowed friends, family, and supporters to follow my progress. 

Another benefit of a trip of this scale is all the things I learned along the way. Like a school on wheels, I learned about our United States up close and personal, gaining a new appreciation for each region’s distinct personality and history. After the trip, I had a better understanding of our collective history. Whether it was exploring what life was like on plantations, following the Trail of Tears, or riding the path of Lewis and Clark, I was able to take a long look at our country and how we grew up as a nation, both the good and the bad. 

Every long motorcycle trip has unexpected moments, and one left me speechless and cleaning the mess off my bike for days. Leaving Elko, Nevada, to ride to Idaho, I took State Route 225, a two‑lane road with virtually no traffic. As I was riding north, I noticed something that looked like pinecones on the pavement up ahead. Once I got closer, the “pinecones” began to scurry. As I continued to ride north, they completely covered the road. Then I noticed that the road’s tire tracks were turning red, not asphalt gray. It was an infestation of Mormon crickets, which are about 2 inches long and don’t fly, and I was riding through an invasion of Biblical proportions that went on for 50‑plus miles! 

My original plan was to ride through California’s Death Valley National Park. Just before I left, I received a call from my son. “Dad, did you hear that a 65‑year‑old guy just died in Death Valley? He had two flat tires on his car, and nobody came to his rescue. Are you sure you want to go into Death Valley by yourself, on your motorcycle, with temperatures reaching 115 degrees?” Plan B: Due to the intense heat and time constraints after my unexpected surgery, I opted to bypass California, Oregon, and Washington. 

My favorite scenic byway changed from day to day. When I was on the East Coast, I loved the Rangeley Lakes National Scenic Byway in Maine. Riding the 17.6‑mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge‑Tunnel (U.S. Route 13) in Virginia, which includes a tunnel under the water, from Norfolk to Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge, was spectacular.

Out West, it was U.S. Route 191 (Coronado Trail) in Arizona and State Route 12 in Utah. Beartooth Highway in Wyoming and Montana is a must‑ride. It is hard to choose only one scenic byway because each is special, and every one of them gave me new perspectives on the areas I was traveling through.

People also asked, “How do you pack for such a big trip?” My only advice is to take less than you think you need but all that’s necessary for unforeseen conditions (rain, cold, heat, etc.). You must think through all the variables and prepare a Plan B. If traveling solo, use a satellite tracking device so family and friends know how to find you. 

Long motorcycle trips are not for everyone, but I love not knowing what is on the other side of the hill and feeling the thrill and power of the bike beneath me, experiences that keep me going day after day. I highly recommend checking out National Geographic’s Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways, picking a region, and planning your own adventure. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Take the time to enjoy the sights, sensations, and sinuous curves on America’s rich bounty of scenic byways.

During his Great American Scenic Byways tour, Steven Goode raised nearly $22,000 for the Parkinson’s Foundation. To make a donation, use the QR code above or click here. To read Goode’s blog, visit this page on Facebook. Below you’ll find a complete list of the scenic byways Goode rode on this tour.

See all of Rider‘s touring stories here.

Great American Scenic Byways Tour

• Alabama – Talladega Scenic Drive
• Arkansas – Arkansas Route 7 Scenic Byway
• Arizona – Coronado Trail
• Colorado – Pikes Peak Highway
• Connecticut – Lower Connecticut River Valley (State Route 9)
• Delaware – Delaware Bayshore Byway
• Florida – Panhandle Scenic Drive (State Route 399, U.S. Route 98)
• Georgia – Sea Island
• Idaho – Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway
• Indiana – Ohio River Scenic Byway
• Kansas – Wetlands and Wildlife Scenic Byway
• Kentucky – Red River Gorge Scenic Byway
• Louisiana – Great River Road
• Maine – Rangeley Lakes Scenic Byway
• Maryland – Harriet Tubman Byway
• Massachusetts – Old King’s Highway (Cape Cod)
• Michigan – Copper Country Trail
• Minnesota – Great River Road
• Mississippi – Gulf Coast Scenic Byway/Hospitality Highway
• Missouri – Missouri Ozarks (State Route 19)
• Montana – Beartooth Highway
• Nevada – Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway
• New Hampshire – Kancamagus Scenic Byway
• New Jersey – Delaware River Scenic Byway
• North Carolina – Outer Banks Scenic Byway & Blue Ridge Parkway
• New Mexico – High Road to Taos Scenic Byway
• New York – Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway
• North Dakota – Standing Rock Native American Scenic Byway
• Ohio – Ohio River Scenic Byway
• Oklahoma – Talimena National Scenic Byway
• Pennsylvania – PA Route 6
• Rhode Island – Ocean Drive
• South Carolina – Edisto Island National Scenic Byway
• South Dakota – Native American Scenic Byway
• Tennessee – Cherohala Skyway
• Texas – Canyon Sweep (State Route 207)
• Utah – Scenic Byway 12
• Vermont – Vermont Route 100
• Virginia – Back of the Dragon & Blue Ridge Parkway
• West Virginia – Midland Trail
• Wisconsin – Great River Road
• Wyoming – Beartooth Highway

The post Great American Scenic Byways Tour appeared first on Rider Magazine.

The Upper Delaware River Watershed encompasses thousands of square miles in New York and Pennsylvania, with hundreds of miles of serpentine roads rolling through forests, farmland, small towns, and historic sites. It makes for a superb ride, so I fired up my Kawasaki Vulcan and hit the road to explore it. 

Scan QR code above or click here to view the route on REVER

From West Milford, New Jersey, I rolled north on smooth East Shore Road through state forest land and then along the sparkling shoreline of Greenwood Lake. With the morning sun twinkling through the trees and the cool, fresh air energizing me, I rode through the Black Dirt Region of southern Orange County, New York, a beautiful area of farmland renowned for its rich, black soil.

Cruising through Port Jervis, I wound through the Hawk’s Nest section of State Route 97, which is designated as the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway for 70 miles. This sinuous roadway is cut into the mountainside, offering excellent views of the Delaware River far below.

See all of Rider‘s Northeast U.S. motorcycle rides here.

Leaving the river behind near Pond Eddy, I climbed deeper into the watershed. I’m not religious in the traditional sense, but I love viewing unique churches. Two impressive ones grace the treelined State Route 41: Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church with its white facade and metal domes and the rustic log St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Catholic Church.

From Glen Spey, I weaved through the wooded route to Eldred, where I blasted up scenic State Route 55 to Lake Superior State Park, a good place for a relaxing swim or walkabout. From there, I made a pilgrimage to Bethel, site of the famous 1969 Woodstock music festival where 400,000 people gathered for three days of peace and music. 

No longer the rural field of Max Yasgur’s farm, it is now part of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. This concert venue’s museum honors the 1969 festival, and the original concert field has been preserved. A monument near the stage site memorializes the groups who performed there.

From Bethel, I blasted northwest on country backroads to the impressive Stone Arch Bridge Historical Park and then onto Roscoe for lunch at the Roscoe Diner. Next, I crossed the Beaverkill River, a tributary of the Delaware River. Both the Beaverkill and the Downsville covered bridges are off State Route 206, and riding a motorcycle through these wooden structures is a joy not to be missed.

Downsville is also home to the 15-mile-long, 5,700-acre Pepacton Reservoir on the East Branch of the Delaware River. State Route 30’s twisties follow the reservoir’s shoreline and then the snaking river. With my Vulcan purring and the afternoon sun reflecting off the water, I cruised SR-30 to State Route 17. In Hancock, I dropped my kickstand at the tidy Hancock House Hotel, which has a pub and a restaurant on-site, making it an ideal overnight stop for riders.

The next day, I fired up my Vulcan and savored the crisp air and deep blue sky as I rumbled over the river into Pennsylvania. State Routes 191, 247, and 370 roll through farmland and forest. On SR-370, I spotted a bear crossing the road – not an unusual occurrence in rural Pennsylvania. 

Riding south on State Route 296 to Waymart is one of my favorite roads: smooth with a mix of farmland and forest on both sides. At Waymart, I crossed over U.S. Route 6 – known locally as PA Route 6 – which spans the northern part of the state and offers hundreds of miles of excellent riding opportunities.

At Hawley, I picked up a winding section of PA Route 6 and then followed State Route 590 to Lackawaxen, where SR-590 begins to parallel the Lackawaxen River, another tributary of the Delaware. It was a beautiful day, and I stopped to watch some kayakers on the river. 

Crossing the Lackawaxen River, I stopped to rest at the Delaware Aqueduct, known as the Roebling Bridge, which was built in the mid-1800s and is the oldest existing wire suspension bridge in the U.S. Crossing the river here allows you to continue north or south on the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway. 

New York and Pennsylvania Motorcycle Ride Resources

• Lake Superior State Park
• Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
• Stone Arch Bridge Historical Park
• Hancock House Hotel
• PA Route 6 Alliance

See all of Rider‘s touring stories here.

The post Exploring Backroads on a New York and Pennsylvania Motorcycle Ride appeared first on Rider Magazine.

Take a motorcycle trip of a lifetime with us on the Edelweiss Bike Travel Grand Alps Tour. Join Rider contributing photographer Kevin Wing on this 15-day tour through Austria, Switzerland, France, and Italy. The Alps have some of the best motorcycle roads in the world, and this tour has been carefully created to include beautiful scenery, overnight stays at charming alpine villages and towns, hundreds of hairpin bends, and some of the highest passes in the Alps.

The tour starts in the town of Seefeld in Austria’s state of Tyrol, then heads through Austria, stopping one night in the village of Galtür, and then into Switzerland, with a stop in Andermatt, a village in the Swiss Alps. The tour travels west through Switzerland and into France at Chamonix, a town at the foot of the famous 12,000-feet Aiguille du Midi. In France, the tour circumnavigates the snow-covered mountain of Montblanc with a stop in Briançon, the highest city in France and the second highest in Europe.

After France, you’ll head into Italy with stops in Aosta, Lago Maggiore, Livigno, and Collalbo. The tour spends a rest day in Collalbo in the Dolomites before passing back into Austria to the skiing town of Kaprun. After 15 days of some of the best riding in Europe, the tour concludes back in Seefeld.

Related: Edelweiss Bike Travel ‘Southern Italy Delights and Twisties’ Tour Review

Included in the price of the tour are all overnight stops at comfortable middle-class hotels, breakfast every day, two picnics, 11 dinners, motorcycle rental, third-party liability insurance, a tour information package, tour guides, and a support van for luggage.

Motorcycle rentals available include models from BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, KTM, Suzuki, and Triumph, and pricing for the tour starts at $7,670 for a rider in a double room. Optional upgrades include certain motorcycle models, a single room for $960, the Alps Prep Course for $470, and the Guided City Tour for $460.

Join us on the Edelweiss Grand Alps Tour from July 21 to Aug. 3, 2024. For those who can’t make the first dates, this tour will run again from Sept. 14 to 28. For more information and to reserve your spot on this tour, visit the Edelweiss Bike Travel website.

The post Join Rider Magazine on Edelweiss Grand Alps Tour appeared first on Rider Magazine.

A couple summers ago, I flew to Minneapolis for a CFMOTO press launch and to visit our parent company’s home office. When CFMOTO gave me the key to a 650 ADVentura and let me loose for a day, I made a beeline north to Duluth to pay a visit to my friend Andy Goldfine and tour the Aerostich factory and store.

Related: 2022 CFMOTO Motorcycle Lineup | First Ride Review

Scan QR code above or click here to view the route on REVER

It was a hot, muggy morning when I left the hotel in a northern suburb of Minneapolis and made my way to Interstate 35. The 160-mile ride to Duluth took a little over two hours, and along the way, being in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, I passed countless billboards for fishing boats, fishing lakes, fish camps, and marinas. I also caught the edges of two rainstorms, which cooled me off in my mesh jacket and riding jeans. But as I-35 descended a steep hill toward downtown Duluth, the temperature dropped into the mid‑50s due to the cooling effect of Lake Superior. By the time I pulled into Aerostich’s parking lot, my teeth were chattering.

Andy Goldfine has visited the Rider offices several times over the years, but I’d never been to the Aerostich factory before, so to get a personal tour by none other than Mr. Subjective himself was a real honor. After seeing the factory, Andy gave me the nickel tour of Duluth, and we had lunch at a cozy Italian eatery called Va Bene, where I warmed up with meatball soup and coffee.

Related: Aerostich: The Great American Motorcycle Suit

Before we parted, Andy took pity on me for being cold and gave me an Aerostich waterproof/windproof innershell to wear under my mesh jacket. He also suggested I check out Skyline Parkway, a scenic byway that runs several hundred feet above downtown Duluth and provides excellent views of the city and Lake Superior.

I rode north along the lakeshore to Lester Park, where the Parkway begins on Occidental Boulevard as it goes due north along Amity Creek, ascending 400 feet as it follows and crosses a long cascade of waterfalls. In less than half a mile, the road crosses the creek, and its name becomes Seven Bridges Road. (The Steve Young song “Seven Bridges Road,” which was later covered by the Eagles and Dolly Parton, is about a street in Montgomery, Alabama.) Incidentally, the first bridge on Seven Bridges Road isn’t one of the eponymous seven; it’s designated “Bridge 0.”

Construction of Skyline Parkway began in 1889 along a plateau that was once the gravel shoreline of an ancient glacial lake that predates Lake Superior. Ten years later, a local land developer named Samuel F. Snively began construction of Seven Bridges Road. The original bridges were built in the early 1900s, but nearly all have been rebuilt in the past few decades, and each of the stone arch bridges is a work of civil engineering art.

At the end of Seven Bridges Road, the Parkway takes a sharp left and turns to gravel as it enters the Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve. Several hiking trails branch off from the road, and the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is a popular place to watch raptor migrations.

See all of Rider‘s Midwest U.S. motorcycle rides here.

The Parkway turns to pavement again as it meanders through a residential area. Riders must stay vigilant for the Parkway signs since several turns are required to stay on course. After crossing Chester Creek, the Parkway continues to wind through neighborhoods. Soon the houses on the lakeside of the road disappear, and riders are treated to expansive views of Lake Superior, downtown Duluth, and just across Saint Louis Bay, the neighboring city of Superior, Wisconsin.

After passing Twin Ponds, Skyline Parkway runs along the edge of a golf course, goes over U.S. Route 53, and crosses several creeks before passing through wooded parkland. The scenery and views are pleasant the entire way. I jumped off the Parkway when it crossed
I-35 to get back to Minneapolis, but it continues on the south side of the freeway, winding through the Magney‑Snively Natural Area before ending at Becks Road.

If you plan to visit the Aerostich factory or will pass through Duluth during a Lake Superior Circle Tour or other Minnesota motorcycle ride, I highly recommend adding Skyline Parkway to your itinerary. Due to the icy winters in Duluth, parts of the Skyline Parkway are closed seasonally, so plan accordingly.

Duluth, Minnesota Resources

• Aerostich RiderWearhouse
• Minnesota
• Duluth
• Va Bene
• Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory

See all of Rider‘s Touring stories here.

The post Skyline Parkway Scenic Byway in Duluth, Minnesota | Favorite Ride appeared first on Rider Magazine.

Motorcyclists living in Minnesota experience long winters with plenty of time to think about roads we want to ride. It’s a sweet feeling when spring arrives and the bikes come out of hibernation.

My son, Chad, feels the same way. We kicked off the riding season with an overnight Minnesota motorcycle ride down the Great River Road (U.S. Route 61) on the western bank of the Mississippi River, through what is often referred to as Bluff Country. The area’s complex hilly terrain has been carved out over eons by the Mississippi and other waterways large and small.

Scan QR code above or click here to view the route on REVER

Minnesota’s Great River Road is a popular motorcycle route that offers epic beauty and a chance to visit towns along one of America’s most vital corridors of commerce. Starting in April with the annual “Flood Run” charity ride, thousands of riders thunder up and down these roads and frequent the many small-town bars and restaurants along the way. I’ve been on many of these roads before, and I love riding old favorites and exploring new side routes.

Related: Exploring the Far North: A Northern Minnesota Motorcycle Ride

We left the Twin Cities early on a Saturday morning to beat traffic, and our first stop on this Minnesota motorcycle ride was the town of Hastings, which serves as a gateway to Bluff Country. The Hastings Riverwalk is a relatively new paved trail that connects to a 10-mile walking and biking loop along the Mississippi and Vermillion rivers. You can’t miss the towering Hastings Bridge, various sculptures along the waterfront, and the original footings of the Spiral Bridge, which was built in 1895 and dismantled in 1951.

East of Hastings, we continued south on the Ravenna Trail, one of the great lesser-traveled roads that tracks closely to the Mississippi River. We took the trail to the Prairie Island Indian Reservation and Treasure Island Casino, which boasts a 788-room hotel and Vegas-style casino attracting top entertainers. Resisting the temptation for easy money, we pushed on to rejoin U.S. 61.

Our next stop was Red Wing, a town established in the 1850s to support steamboats moving up the Mississippi River toward vast available farmland. By 1873, Red Wing was a leading wheat producer, but it was eventually surpassed by Minneapolis where larger flour mills were built. Today the town is perhaps best known as the home of legendary boot maker Red Wing Shoes. The downtown St. James Hotel was founded in 1875 and has hosted U.S. presidents, Mark Twain, and other luminaries. Downhill from the hotel is the historic train station, which has old wooden benches and period signage on the walls. I could sit there all day watching the river roll by.

Continuing south, we visited Lake City, which sits on a wide stretch of the Mississippi called Lake Pepin, the birthplace of waterskiing. The lake was once a water highway used by Native Americans, and there are burial mounds and settlement ruins located nearby. Today, you’ll see raw materials being moved in barges and recreationists enjoying themselves in sailboats and ski boats.

Towering above both sides of Lake Pepin are distinctive limestone bluffs and tree-covered rock formations. With such unique scenery, it’s a challenge to keep your eyes on the road ahead. One minute you are feeling the heat from the tarmac and gazing up at high bluffs, and the next you’re ripping through dense maple forests enjoying the cool air and earthy smells. For golf lovers, the Lake Pepin Golf Course has 12 holes laid out atop the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River Valley.

We arrived at the next small town on our route, Reads Landing, just in time for lunch. This was once considered as a potential capital city for Minnesota due to its booming lumber trade and strategic location on the Mississippi and Chippewa rivers. Reads Landing Brewing Company occupies an old red-brick building with an outdoor patio overlooking the river. It has a full menu and was a great place to cool off and relax.

Adding to the Great River Road’s natural beauty is an abundance of birds soaring overhead. The National Eagle Center in Wabasha houses permanently injured bald eagles and provides an opportunity for people to see these majestic creatures up close.

As we continued south, we approached Winona, a vibrant college town that’s home to the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, which is located right on the river and exhibits artwork inspired by water. With a variety of dining and lodging options, recreational opportunities, live music, festivals, and shopping, Winona is a great destination for an overnight stay or weekend getaway.

Southeast of Winona, on County Road 7, is Pickwick Mill, one of the oldest flour mills in Minnesota, built in the mid-1850s. The mill was named by the area’s first postmaster, who was a fan of Charles Dickens and his novel The Pickwick Papers. During the Civil War, it produced 100 barrels of flour per day for the Union army.

See all of Rider‘s Minnesota motorcycle rides here.

After returning to U.S. 61 and riding along the Mississippi to La Crescent, we turned west on the Historic Bluff Country National Scenic Byway (State Route 16). Even away from the river, bluff topography continues with hills and cliffs creating the winding roads we all live for. Through the towns of Hokah, Houston, and Rushford, we paralleled the Root River and the Root River State Trail, a rails-to-trails bike path linking the towns of Houston and Fountain. 

After nearly 50 miles on the byway, we arrived in Lanesboro, an art, entertainment, and recreational hub where we spent the night. We stayed at the historic Hotel Lanesboro, which was built in 1872 from local limestone and is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Formerly a boarding house called Mrs. B’s, it once hosted Buffalo Bill and Doc Powell. The hotel is right on the main street with many good restaurants nearby. We had a tasty dinner at the Pedal Pushers Cafe, a nod to the many bicyclists who ride the state trail. 

My Harley is much louder than Chad’s Royal Enfield, and I felt guilty breaking the morning silence as we headed to the towns of Preston and Harmony. This area is Amish country, and it wasn’t long before we saw our first horse and buggy. Friendly and always good for a wave, the Amish are an interesting subculture. There are about 1,000 Amish in Harmony, and you can take tours to learn more about their way of life and visit shops with baked goods, furniture, and more. 

Seeing a horse with buggy tied up at a local convenience store, I pulled a quick turn to stop and take a picture. Soon two young ladies with bonnets saw me as I attempted to pocket my phone, not wanting to look like a gawking tourist. They wished me a good morning as they untied their horse and climbed aboard to clip-clop down the road. 

See all of Rider‘s Midwest U.S. touring stories here.

Harmony is also home to Niagara Cave, where you can take a tour 200 feet below the surface. It’s well worth it for this mile-long underground hike to see the various rock formations and even a subterranean wedding chapel.

We continued south on U.S. Route 52 to Prosper, a stone’s throw from Iowa, where we headed east and then north on State Route 44 to Caledonia, picking up State Route 76, which has twisties so enjoyable that we rode some sections twice. SR-76 took us north most of the way back to Winona, where we backtracked north on U.S. 61 to Wabasha. We then turned west on State Route 60 and joined a pack of bikers thundering in the same direction. Alongside the road is a lone sentinel, a skeleton biker that’s a reminder to keep the rubber side down.

As we left the river and Bluff Country behind, the terrain flattened out as we made our way to Zumbrota, home of Minnesota’s last remaining functional covered bridge. Spanning the Zumbro River, the 116-feet-long, 15-feet-wide bridge was built in 1869 and looks like a long, red barn. 

We rode northwest to Northfield, where in 1876, Jesse James and the James-Younger gang rode into town to rob the First National Bank. Facing pistols, the bank clerk refused to open the safe and was shot to death. Townsfolk retaliated, resulting in a shootout that killed another resident and a couple of gang members. The gang was pursued for 400 miles over the following weeks, eventually being captured in Madelia, Minnesota. Jesse James escaped, but his luck ran out when he was killed in 1882 by one of his own men hoping to collect a $10,000 reward.

We rode west to Henderson, which sits along the Minnesota River Valley National Scenic Byway, another favorite road. Henderson is an old river town with a historic downtown district that’s a fun place to visit.

Our Minnesota motorcycle ride through Bluff Country and along the Great River Road and other scenic byways gave us a taste of the history, beauty, and variety of southern Minnesota. The roads showcase some of the best riding, relaxing, and motorcycle-friendly places the state has to offer.

See all of Rider‘s touring stories here.

Southern Minnesota Motorcycle Ride Resources

• Minnesota
• Great River Road
• Hastings
• Lake Pepin Golf Course
• Reads Landing Brewing Company
• National Eagle Center
• Winona
• Minnesota Marine Art Museum
• Pickwick Mill
• Lanesboro
• Hotel Lanesboro
• Harmony
• Northfield
• Minnesota River National Scenic Byway

The post Beauty in Bluff Country: A Southern Minnesota Motorcycle Ride appeared first on Rider Magazine.

When a family friend decided to celebrate a milestone birthday in Nashville, our interest was piqued. Being big music fans and suckers for seeing new places, especially those with famously good motorcycling roads, my wife, Cheryl, and I decided to tag along. Others handled the search for accommodations and entertainment opportunities for the trip, so I was left to handle the most important job: securing a motorcycle for some adventuring. 

None of the rental companies in Nashville had a motorcycle that matched my criteria, so I searched the Riders Share peer‑to‑peer rental website and found a BMW F 750 GS. I had never used this kind of rental service before, and after some easy back and forth with the motorcycle’s owners, our rental was secure. The owners even agreed to deliver the bike directly to our lodging for a small fee. All we had to do was pack riding gear. 

Scan QR codes above or click Day #1 or Day #2 to view routes on REVER

After a late‑night arrival in Nashville, we settled into our rental apartment downtown. About noon the following day, a clean, blue GS rolled up. The friendly owners, Madison and Tim, gave me some great local knowledge tips for our first afternoon of riding.

Day 1: Leiper’s Fork and the Natchez Trace Parkway | Tennessee Motorcycle Ride

We did not have time on this trip for the complete 444 miles of the famed Natchez Trace Parkway, but I knew we had to ride part of it. Tim gave me a strategy for seeing some great locations and sampling the parkway in an afternoon of riding. Nashville is a hive of tourist activity, and leaving the metro area went how you would expect. We weaved around party buses and through the dense traffic, finally leaving behind the neon lights, blaring music, and bar‑hopping activity for a Tennessee motorcycle ride through the countryside.

We headed northwest on Interstate 40 through farmland and beside impressive southern mansions, both historic and modern. Our eyes, conditioned by the muted pastel hues of our home state of Arizona, were dazzled by the vibrant greens of the Tennessee landscape. After exiting the freeway at McCrory Lane, perfectly furrowed crops and geometrically mowed estate lawns lined the sweeping corners. On State Route 96, the Natchez Trace Bridge, with its sweeping, whitewashed double arches, grew on the horizon. 

See all of Rider‘s Tennessee touring stories here

A bit more riding brought us to Leiper’s Fork. The quaint village, once a virtually unknown dot on a map, has emerged as a small, thriving arts and entertainment center. It is also near sprawling estates owned by music and entertainment superstars like Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Nicole Kidman.

On the town’s short main street, we dropped a kickstand at the Fox & Locke Restaurant, a historic establishment with a common feature at any bar or restaurant in this neck of the woods: a stage for live performances. Cheryl ordered the classic BLT, and I chose the catfish sandwich – flaky white fish topped with a medley of slaw, grilled onions, and pickles – which was a culinary highlight of our entire vacation.

After a walk by the shops and galleries of the small town, we rode onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. It was almost surreal how the traffic dropped away, the road became smooth, and the terrain morphed into an undulating delight. Mowed grass lined the sweeping corners of the parkway, and wooded thickets added to the texture of the ride. I did not have to slow for traffic once on our way to the Parkway’s northern end, which included riding over the massive bridge that we rode beneath earlier. The entirety of the Natchez Trace is now on my bucket list of rides. 

After exiting the Parkway, we passed another famed local eatery, the Loveless Cafe, but I was too full from lunch to indulge in their legendary biscuits and gravy. We made our way to the Belle Meade Estate and Winery for a brief tour of the historic property before rolling back into Nashville.

We spent the night sampling what has made Nashville famous – music. I doubt there’s a Broadway Street music hall that we did not visit. Night clubs sporting the names of famous country stars teemed with tourists as music blared from every direction. Multi‑leveled bars offered performers on each floor. We opted for the rooftop settings as they tended to be less intense and crowded. Far from a lazy Southern city, Nashville is a frenzy of people and music often referred to as “Nashvegas.”

Day 2: Burning Barns and Bowling Green | Kentucky Motorcycle Ride

With country music still ringing in my ears, I geared up for a solo ride north of Nashville as Cheryl opted to sleep late. I headed northwest toward Ashland City on State Route 12, a smooth and pleasant roll through sweeping corners on a road which lived up to its designation as a state scenic parkway. From Ashland City, I made my way onto State Route 49 on a northeastern path toward Kentucky.

I was fully engulfed in farmland. End‑of‑season cornfields dried in the September sun, and various other crops were green and thriving. An unexpected sight led me to stop and reach for my cellphone. Smoke was wafting from the gables and overhangs of a large red barn. I could not help but think about the short story “Barn Burning” by one of my favorite Southern authors, William Faulkner. Just before I did my civic duty by calling 911, I noticed another barn on the horizon emitting the same white smoke. A quick Google search set me straight. 

It was tobacco curing season, and farmers were drying their crop at 135‑140 degrees with carefully controlled fires within those barns. What was, at first, a concerning sight was now a source of intrigue and education for this Arizona boy. After passing by those smoldering structures, I saw another type of tobacco curing: huge red barns had doors opened wide, and tobacco hung from ceilings. If I hadn’t already done my roadside research, I may have mistaken the tobacco leaves for drying animal hides.

See all of Rider‘s Kentucky touring stories here

The ride through farmland continued as I passed from Tennessee into Kentucky, another tobacco‑producing state. The road carried new signage as Kentucky Route 383. I rolled into Franklin, a historically rich small city with a beautiful brick and stone downtown area, where Johnny Cash and June Carter were married at the First United Methodist Church. There is much to do in Franklin: thoroughbred racing and gaming at The Mint at Kentucky, tours and live dueling reenactments at the Sandford Duncan Inn, and Kentucky’s largest sunflower maze in August at Ruby Branch Farms. Kentucky is famous for its whiskey, and the Dueling Grounds Distillery is on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour.

On my way out of town, I stopped at The Fork In The Road, an art installation of a Paul Bunyan‑sized utensil located at the corner of Bunch and Uls roads. Continuing north on U.S. Route 31W toward Bowling Green, I passed Octagon Hall, an eight‑sided brick home built in 1847 that is now a museum of Civil War artifacts.

Bowling Green is not just a bustling and vibrant Southern city; it is also the only place in the world where Corvettes are made. I rode past and beside several of the sleek Chevys as I made my way through the city, which is also home to the National Corvette Museum. I motored through the attractive Western Kentucky University campus with its white‑columned and red‑brick buildings. The campus also preserves several historic structures like the impressive Felts Log House, which was built by a Revolutionary War veteran around 1810 and relocated to its current location in 1980. 

After WKU, I made my way to the downtown district. The town square is a lively city centerpiece. A garden‑like central park sits in the shadows of historic stone buildings, and a beautiful fountain sits as the heart of the setting. My walk around the city center included several historically significant buildings and memorials. The area is well worth a visit.

The quick route back to Nashville from Bowling Green would be Interstate 65, but where’s the fun in that? I rode U.S. Route 231 south through southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee until I made the southwestern turn onto U.S. Route 31 toward Nashville. It was a nice, relaxing end to my “exposure” of this part of Tennessee and Kentucky. We ended the night back on the streets of Nashville, visiting the famed Ryman Theater, listening to country music, and sampling Tennessee whiskey. 

Nashville, Bowling Green, and the other smaller towns I visited all exuded their own Southern charm. This was my first visit to the area, and it won’t be my last. I plan to ride the entire Natchez Trace Parkway, and the Nashville area will be either the staging location or the end game to that journey.

See all of Rider‘s touring stories here

Tennessee Motorcycle Ride Resources

• Tennessee Tourism
• Tennessee Trails and Byways
• Nashville, TN
• Natchez Trace Parkway
• Belle Meade

Kentucky Motorcycle Ride Resources

• Kentucky Tourism
• Franklin/Simpson County, KY
• Bowling Green, KY
• National Corvette Museum

The post Southern Exposure: A Tennessee and Kentucky Motorcycle Ride appeared first on Rider Magazine.

Route 66, or the Mother Road, is indelibly stitched into the fabric of the American psyche. The iconic road once traced its way for 2,448 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. But it was more than just a long stretch of tarmac. Route 66 became a cultural phenomenon that inspired and piqued the American obsession with travel and adventure. Songs were written about it, quirky and kitschy roadside attractions sprouted beside it, and Americans longed to traverse it. The Mother Road was a main artery crossing the torso of the U.S. through which dreams and possibilities pulsed warm and red.

Related: Get Your Kickstart on Route 66 –
Riding a kickstart-only 1978 Yamaha SR500 from Chicago to Amarillo on the Mother Road

Scan QR code above or click here to view the route on REVER

Yearning to rediscover the road, the towns, and the magic of Route 66’s path through Arizona, I packed up my BMW R 1200 GS and set out. Fittingly, my trek began Nov. 11, the date on which the Mother Road was designated a federal highway in 1926. Arizona claims the longest rideable portion of the original Route 66, and it has a significant number of attractions and bustling historic towns.

Riding from west to east, I began my Mother Road adventure on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation where the Colorado River separates Arizona from Nevada. After a short climb toward the mountains on Boundary Cone Road, I came to an intersection indicating that I was transitioning onto the historic U.S. Route 66. The road became curvier and more interesting, and the jagged rock formations of Arizona’s Black Mountains became more immediate as the road coiled through the rugged terrain.  

Within minutes, I entered the historic mining town of Oatman. In 1915, two miners struck a $10 million gold find. Within a year, the small mining camp grew to a population of 3,500. Recent census figures indicate there are now just over 100 human residents. If you include the dozens of semi-wild burros in the area, that population is much larger.

Oatman is a hotbed of activity during any motorcycle rally on the Colorado River or in Kingman.  However, my BMW was one of only two motorcycles in town on this crisp November morning. I walked the street beneath the weathered wood facades of the various shops and watering holes.

Route 66 north and west of Oatman is a pure delight. The pavement is mostly smooth and intact, and it’s filled with sweeping turns and hairpins, many of which are nicely banked. There are several signs warning motorcyclists to stay aware, and these are best heeded. With the road gradually uncoiling, I made my way toward Kingman, passing several abandoned open-pit mines that dotted the rocky slopes and at least one small operating mine. 

I was ready for a cup of coffee and some gas when I rolled into Kingman, where my father was an art teacher in the local school district before I was born. It is a clean and bustling small city fully embracing its Route 66 roots. I stopped at the colorfully adorned Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner and parked amidst historic cars, trucks, and motorcycles. As I chatted with my server over a hot cup of joe, she talked about the dual nature of the city. We were in the historic downtown district, but just a little ride up Interstate 40 is the modern district with chain hotels, restaurants, and thriving industry. 

After rolling through the industrial zone in the Kingman outskirts, I headed northeast on the longest existing stretch of the Mother Road. Small roadside businesses dotted the path toward Peach Springs, each clearly embracing its Route 66 heritage with appropriate signage and vintage memorabilia. Historic gas stations were particularly interesting. While they no longer pumped fuel, they still oozed with the nostalgia of the road’s heyday. 

After Peach Springs, I rode past three sets of Burma Shave signs with rhyming slogans, reminding me of childhood. As I rolled and swayed through the high grasslands, it was easy to imagine classic cars and motorcycles plying this portion of the route.

Entering Seligman was the most visually nostalgic part of my ride. This small town is a well-preserved tribute to its Route 66 heritage, with every shop, garage, and diner adorned with colorful signage and logos. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small sign for the Route 66 Motoporium. Not expecting much, I threw down my kickstand and walked into the Copper Cart to see what was inside. A bearded man said, “You look like a rider,” and pointed to a room in the back. It was filled with the motorcycles of my youth – both those that I rode and those that I ogled in the pages of motorcycle magazines of the 1960s and ’70s. Vintage Indians, Hondas, Hodakas, and Kawasakis, especially the 2-strokes, brought me back to the enchanting smell of premix laced with single-track dust that was a big part of my teenage life. 

After a lengthy trip down moto-memory lane, it was time for lunch, and the legendary Delgadillo’s Snow Cap diner was just a block away. Juan Delgadillo and his wife, Mary, opened the Snow Cap in 1953, and Juan and his brother Angel formed the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona. The Delgadillo family still owns and runs the historic diner, and I had a fantastic green chili burger and onion rings. 

East of Seligman is a short stretch of the original Route 66 that runs into I-40 just before Ash Fork, and I noticed a few remnants of the Mother Road that are now spurs off the roadway. Beyond Ash Fork, much of Route 66 has been fully replaced with I-40, but there are still several towns that have embraced and preserved their historic Mother Road character.

Williams, just off I-40, was the last town to be bypassed by the interstate, and it still teems with Route 66 charm. The main street is lined with historic stone buildings filled with antique stores, diners, and bars. I motored by one of the more famous watering holes, the Sultana Bar, which was opened in 1912, predating Route 66 by more than a decade.

See all of Rider‘s Arizona motorcycle rides here.

After Williams, I-40 is as attractive as an interstate can be. Views of the San Francisco Peaks tower impressively to the north, and vibrant evergreens line the road. Flagstaff is the largest city on the Arizona portion of Route 66 and is home to my alma mater, Northern Arizona University. The original Route 66 skirted the beautiful campus just to the west and north. 

Flagstaff boasts several original Mother Road attractions, including the historic downtown train station that houses the Flagstaff Visitor Center. On the way out of the city, I rolled past several diners that boast the Route 66 name, but my favorite is Miz Zip’s Route 66 Cafe. Then I felt the magnetic pull toward the Museum Club, an iconic Route 66 watering hole and one of my favorite college hangouts.

See all of Rider‘s Western U.S. motorcycle rides here.

The majority of Route 66 east of Flagstaff has been replaced by I-40. While that is a shame, there is solace in the fact that many of the original attractions of the Mother Road era are still partially or fully intact on the way to the Arizona/New Mexico border. I took the short access road to the ruins of the Twin Arrows Trading Post. Up until very recently, both twin arrows still stood, but the ravages of weather and time toppled one. The trading post was a fixture on Route 66 since its opening in the late 1940s. Just across the freeway looms the new Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort. 

Riding another 30 minutes east on the interstate, I exited at Winslow, which sits on another existing stretch of Route 66. The loop into Winslow is festooned with various Route 66 advertisements. My first stop in town was to look at the impressive red sandstone St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. After snapping a photo at Standin’ on the Corner Park, I saddled up and headed to my lodging for the night, the beautifully restored La Pasada Hotel (see sidebar below). 

After settling into my room, I walked the grounds of the beautiful rail-side resort before sitting with a post-ride cocktail and watching the trains roll by. Later that night, I strolled back into downtown Winslow for some shopping and a chili relleno dinner at the tiny Brown Mug Cafe. An unassuming photo on the wall beside my booth showed a youthful Harrison Ford sitting in the same spot many decades back (he’s an avid motorcyclist, by the way, and also owns a GS!).  

After a great night’s sleep, I had one last stretch to complete my Arizona Route 66 tour. I rode the few miles to Holbrook, which is the last of the original historic towns on my eastward stretch of Route 66 and home to the Wigwam Motel. From Holbrook, it’s another 74 miles on I-40 to the New Mexico border.

I highly recommend riding what you can of any portion of the Mother Road. This Arizona stretch of Route 66 is best ridden from late spring to early fall, as the winters in northern Arizona are cold and snowy. Pack for variable conditions, and enjoy your ride down memory lane.

Arizona Route 66 Motorcycle Ride Resources

• Route 66
• Travel Route 66
• Arizona Tourism
• Oatman
• Kingman
• Seligman
• Williams
• Flagstaff
• Winslow

SIDEBAR: La Posada Hotel

La Posada in Winslow is a crown jewel of the historic Fred Harvey railroad hotel empire. Designed in the 1920s by renowned architect Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, it’s currently a first-class hotel, art gallery, and museum in an expansive garden setting. There is a gourmet restaurant on-site, and downtown Winslow is a short stroll away. The rooms are comfortable and well-appointed in a warm Southwestern motif, and photos of the hundreds of legendary actors and public figures who stayed at La Posada line the hallways. There is even safe designated motorcycle parking in front of the property. For more info, visit the La Posada website.

See all of Rider‘s motorcycle tours here.

The post Arizona Route 66 Motorcycle Ride appeared first on Rider Magazine.

It wasn’t that she was a princess. She had lived and taught on a reservation in northern Ontario where she gutted geese, chopped down trees, and drove on the ice roads. But by her own admission, my partner, Steph, was a sun ‘n’ sand type of vacationer. Riding and wild camping with no electricity was not her idea of a good time. And a hostel? Forget it. So when the opportunity arose for an Alaska motorcycle ride – taking my Suzuki V‑Strom 650 from Niagara Falls to America’s last frontier – my suggestion that she fly to Anchorage and meet me…well, it wasn’t flying. 

But over the weeks – and from over my shoulder – the more she saw of my reading and planning and YouTube videos, the more curious she became.

Related: An Alaskan Motorcycle Adventure How-To

My late June ride across the Canadian prairies and into northern British Columbia had been an adventurous mix of wind and rain and heat so unbearable that I spent a full day in a rundown Saskatchewan hotel to recover in air‑conditioned bliss. But it wasn’t until I reached the Alaska Highway west of Haines Junction, Yukon, that I began to wonder if my riding skills would be up to the task. 

Scan QR code above or click here to view the route on REVER

The entire 200 miles to the Alaskan border was a constantly changing mix of gravel, chipseal, and potholes, with just enough pavement to inspire complacency. Most disconcerting were the unannounced depressions caused by permafrost. Without warning, the bike would simply drop away beneath me, only to come pounding back like an unbroken bronco. Twice I was certain I was going over the handlebars. Almost as unnerving were the lengthwise ridges that attempted to grab my tires and toss me off the road. 

Between the irregular road surface and the wildlife, I was in no danger of nodding off. At one point, I was negotiating a corner on the loose surface when a large moose bolted into my path from the alders on my right. Brakes were almost useless in the gravel. She was so startled that she was still peeing as she charged in front of me, and I admit I checked myself for the same once she had disappeared into the brush. It wasn’t long before I encountered a grizzly and then a caribou on the shoulder, but they at least seemed content to stay put.

The pavement improved measurably near Tok. In Yukon River Camp, where I fueled up for the long ride on the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay – one of the “most dangerous roads in America” – I partnered up with another solo rider for mutual support should the trip go (quite literally) sideways. With no shoulder and with roadsides that often plummet 50 feet to the soggy tundra, one of the greatest dangers of the Dalton is unexpectedly becoming the focus of a search party. But the weather gods smiled on us. A sprinkling of rain the day before had dampened the notoriously blinding dust without creating the slippery, muddy mess I had feared. And I marveled at the midnight sun, which kept temperatures between 35 and 60 degrees. 

After a night of primitive camping – and a surprisingly good meal – in Coldfoot, my riding partner and I spent a full day navigating the dirt and ogling the views: from the omnipresent Trans Alaskan Pipeline to the enormity of the Brooks Mountain Range and Atigun Pass, to the endless sweep of tundra on the North Slope toward the Arctic Ocean. And of course, the muskoxen we encountered as they munched on moss and lichens. Needless to say, high‑fives and a toast were in order two days later when we successfully returned to Fairbanks. This was adventure on a new scale.

Rolling into Anchorage, on the other hand, I was struck by how much the city was like any other. In fact, locals joke that the best part about Anchorage is that in under an hour, you can drive to Alaska. I searched out the House of Harley‑Davidson, which offers riders free camping (including restrooms and showers), and awaited Steph’s arrival.

It was a little discouraging the next morning when her flight brought with it a cold front full of clouds and rain. But I was grateful she had come and determined to make the most of our 10 days together. On the way to Flat Top Mountain for a panorama of the city, we rolled along Cange Street, which doubled as an airport runway. Each home had its own attached hangar, and prop planes were parked on several front lawns. On another city corner, we encountered a moose that casually browsed a willow before sauntering across a driveway and into a backyard.

South of town, the Seward Highway hugged the narrow shore between the steep Chugach Mountains and the churning waters of Turnagain Arm. At Beluga Point, we paused to watch the tidal bore, a daily surge of seawater that can be over 3 feet high and sounds like a freight train. The tides themselves, rising to 35 feet, rival those of the East Coast’s Bay of Fundy. Naturally, we had to visit the nearby Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where injured animals are rehabilitated. It was one place where we were guaranteed to see most of Alaska’s wildlife up close.

Believing that my intrepid partner deserved at least one nice hotel, I had booked a “glacier view” suite in the port of Whittier. This came with the bonus of riding through North America’s longest tunnel, a single‑lane route that runs 2.5 miles under an entire mountain. Besides a fish-processing plant, however, Whittier has only two large buildings, both of which are remnants of World War II: an abandoned military supply post and an apartment building that houses nearly the entire town’s population. Without even a pretense of renovations, the top floor now serves as a hotel.

Our apartment, while clean, was clad in 1960s paneling, and the bathroom was adorned floor‑to‑ceiling in pink tile. Most bizarre was the multitude of safety bars (I counted 10) fastened to the wall in the shower. Steph had started calling it the “Bates Motel,” and I suggested the handles were for grabbing when Norman dropped by. On top of that, not only was the rain incessant and obscured the view of the harbor from our window, but when we asked about the glacier, we were told we’d have to sail 6 miles out of port and around a mountain to get a glimpse. Alaskans also joke that “Everything is sh*ttier in Whittier,” and we just had to laugh. 

However, if our night had been a low point, the next morning was a decided high. Wearing our raingear and carrying a set of hiking poles, we set out to explore Byron Glacier. Dense forests gave way to alder thickets that soon opened to lichen‑dotted boulders. Under a steady rain, we climbed the rugged upper valley where ice lay covered in black silt. Towering high above, the jagged peaks were trimmed in white fondant while sinuous waterfalls tumbled from the sheer cliffs. Ahead, shining and motionless, the bright blue glacier stood before us, a frozen river imperceptibly carving out the valley floor. Dwarfed in this vast, timeless amphitheater, we seemed no more than fleeting specks, and tears welled up in Steph’s eyes. This was travel on a new scale.

After a cozy night in a warm log cabin, we continued to Seward where we joined a day‑long boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park and Resurrection Bay, a rich marine ecosystem with craggy coves, deep fjords, and tiny treed islands. Every wildlife sighting brought a new gasp: Sea lions, otters, puffins, murres, and mountain goats were but a prelude to the humpbacks, fin whales, and orcas. Bald eagles watched us from branches along the shore. 

Most stunning of all was Northwestern Glacier at the head of the fjord. As a million tiny ice chunks bobbed around our boat like warning buoys, we drew ever closer and were overwhelmed by its size and the thunderous calving. The splitting columns sent booming explosions reverberating off the cliffs, followed by great walls of ice crashing into the frigid water. We stood gripped in a hallowed silence.

Arriving in Palmer the following day, we explored the Matanuska Valley, a region with a surprising claim to fame. Particularly fertile soils and summer days with 22 hours of sunlight produce record‑setting vegetables: cabbages bigger than beach balls, carrots the size of small logs, and pumpkins that must be lifted by crane. As one resident told me, “We get just as much sunlight as anywhere else – we just get it all at once.”

Along the Knik River, we were introduced to glamping in a huge canvas tent with a queen‑sized bed, an upholstered chair, and more pillows than a palace. It was a far cry from my bivy sack – and just what Steph had wanted.

Morning was a little brighter as we set off for Homer, a small town on the southwest side of the Kenai Peninsula. Twisting through wooded Cooper Landing and Soldotna, the Sterling Highway turned south and followed the coast along Cook Inlet. From Clam Gulch, we skirted the edge of the cliffs all the way to our destination. When keeping my eyes on the road became impossible, we pulled over and tramped through a field to the precipice, where we could see Sadie Peak across sparkling Kachemak Bay standing in snow‑covered glory high in the equally glorious Chugach Mountains.

The only thing I knew about Homer was that the Salty Dawg Saloon was perched on the end of a spit. As old as the town itself, the diminutive building has served as a school, post office, railway station, and grocery store. In 1957, it became a saloon, and shortly thereafter, as the story goes, a patron who’d grown tired of waiting for his friend stuck a dollar bill to the wall for him to buy a drink if he ever showed up. The ensuing tradition has resulted in every surface being completely papered in dollar bills. Unable to find room for my own bill, I wedged a Loonie (a Canadian dollar coin) into a picture frame and apologized (equally Canadian) to the bartender for my 76‑cent contribution.

Thirty minutes east of Homer, we bounced down a rutted dirt road to our accommodations on the Kilcher Family Homestead. In the early 1940s, professor Yule Kilcher left war‑torn Switzerland to find peace in the wilds of Alaska, where he and his wife built a log cabin and raised eight children. Living a subsistence lifestyle and clearing fields, the family eventually acquired 600 acres, where they continue to live off the land. 

You have undoubtedly heard the music of Jewel, one of the Kilcher grandchildren, and may even have seen episodes of their Discovery Channel series, Alaska: The Last Frontier. One daughter, Stellavera, lives off‑grid in a yurt near the cliffs and converted a garden shed into a surprisingly enchanting Airbnb. Enclosed in clear corrugated roof panels and furnished with a queen bed, heater, and lots of books, the structure – and the outdoor shower – gave us stellar views of Kachemak Bay and the ice‑glazed mountains beyond. It was spectacular.

Before we knew it, we had to return to Anchorage, where I needed to do some scheduled bike maintenance and Steph caught a flight home. The weather had deteriorated the day she arrived, and although it never kept us from the many activities we had planned, we joked that the sun would return the day she left. That is exactly what happened. Under a clear blue sky, I rolled out my bivy again, anticipating the next leg of the journey and happy to have spent 10 days with Steph in a land unlike anything we had ever known. She still loves the beach, of course, but now all she can talk about is when we can go back to Alaska, where wonder is on a new scale.

Alaska Motorcycle Ride Resources

• Alaska Tourism
• Dalton Highway
• House of Harley‑Davidson
• Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
• Kenai Fjords National Park
• Salty Dawg Saloon

See all of Rider‘s touring stories (organized by region and state) here.

The post Alaska Motorcycle Ride: Discovering America’s Last Frontier appeared first on Rider Magazine.

Dubbed the “Mother Road” by John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath and known as “Main Street USA,” U.S. Route 66 will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026. No other road in America had such an impact on growth, migration, transportation, and popular culture. During the Great Depression and the horrific Dust Bowl of the 1930s, Route 66 was a paved pathway to a better life, transporting tens of thousands of people from the heartland to the West.

Right after WWII, my Uncle Don traveled from California to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois, using much of Route 66 and riding a kickstart, air-cooled, single-cylinder AJS. As I pondered my own journey on the Mother Road, it seemed fitting to attempt it on my 1978 Yamaha SR500, which is also an air-cooled, kickstart Single. Over the years, I have owned several Yamahas, but the SR500 has been my preferred ride for its light weight, effortless cornering ability, competent disc brakes, and simple but elegant design. I like it so much, I own two.

For my trip, I chose the one with 30,000 miles on the odometer. Except for upgraded brake hoses, it was bone stock. To get it ready for my Route 66 adventure, I gave it a complete engine and chassis overhaul, as well as a 535cc big bore kit, an oil cooler, and a SuperTrapp exhaust. I retained the stock air box and K&N air filter but re-jetted it as required. The new chain and sprockets were one tooth larger on the countershaft, which lowered cruising rpms and resulted in a mostly vibration-free ride.

Related: 2015 Yamaha SR400 Review | First Ride

The SR500 also has a no-frills CDI ignition system with a strong charging system, allowing me to keep my cellphone and Bluetooth full of juice, and a centerstand, a must-have for daily chain lubrication and fixing flat tires (I had one).

Find out more about the First 100 Miles of Route 66

Since Route 66 starts in Chicago, I transported my bike from my hometown of Merritt Island, Florida, in my Chevy van. The first day of riding started in Chicago rush-hour traffic on the Kennedy Expressway, which was undergoing road construction, but after stop-and-go for two hours in record heat, I was rewarded with the U.S. 66 “Begin” sign at the corner of Adams Street and Michigan Avenue across from The Art Institute of Chicago. Just a few blocks away is the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), and a few blocks farther is the famous Lou Mitchell’s restaurant, which is over 100 years old and served a great breakfast to start my trip.

Aside from the sweltering temperatures and humidity of August, Chicago’s beautiful residential areas and parks made the short trip to the suburbs quite pleasant. The first 100 miles of Route 66 is known as the Heritage Corridor, which also includes towns along the Illinois & Michigan Canal, which connected Lake Michigan to the Illinois River, and Starved Rock State Park. In Cicero, I stopped to see one of Al Capone’s houses. In Berwyn, I checked out the world’s largest laundromat, which is over 13,000 square feet and even has a bird aviary, and I also passed by one of the oldest-operating White Castle restaurants.

Traveling south, I found a neat roadside display in the town of Joliet called Dick’s on 66, an old towing shop decorated with several vintage vehicles and a patch of bricks purportedly from the original Route 66. Across the street is a restored gas pump and ice-cream shop. Joliet is also the home of the state prison and was featured in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers.

In Wilmington, Illinois, I cooled down with a sundae at the Route 66 Creamery and spotted the first of five “giants” I would see on my trip: a Sinclair dinosaur on the roof of G&D Tire Company.

For this trip, I tried to take the oldest sections possible of Route 66, and Illinois had them clearly marked. Some sections of road looked more like abandoned driveways, with weeds growing through cracks in the concrete. My little SR500 was perfect for this kind of duty.

In Towanda is Dead Man’s Curve, a sharp curve that caught many drivers unaware and was the site of numerous accidents from the 1920s to the 1950s. There’s even a preserved series of Burma Shave signs that say: Around the curve / lickety-split / beautiful car / wasn’t it? I had a 25-plus mph headwind for most of that first day, and it felt as if I was riding into a blow drier. My first night was spent at the Ghost Hollow Lodge in Chandlerville, Illinois, where I fortified myself with a dinner of venison and fresh veggies.

On the second day, I stopped in Springfield to cool down with an iced tea at Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill, which also has a museum and gaming room. Just south of Springfield in Carlinville, my fun was interrupted by a flat tire. I had packed tools, tire irons, a portable compressor, and a tube patch kit, but my tube was too badly mangled by the nail. Scott McDaniels of S&S ATV came to the rescue by delivering a new tube (at no charge), a local resident across the street brought me ice water, and the local city hall allowed me to do the work on the north side of their office in the shade on the concrete. It just goes to show how kind strangers can be when you are in a bind.

The repair set me back almost four hours, and I had to bypass many of the Route 66 sights from Carlinville to St. Charles, Missouri, where I stayed with friends. The following day, I unloaded my luggage and backtracked to Granite City, Illinois, to see the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. The mile-long bridge was part of the original Route 66 from 1936 to 1965 and allowed motor vehicles to cross the Mississippi River from Illinois to Missouri. It features a 30-degree turn partway through. I had gone over this bridge in a car as a kid before it was decommissioned in 1968. It is now only open to foot traffic and bicycles.

While in St. Louis, I also went up into the 630-foot Gateway Arch, which was completed in 1965. It is now part of the National Park Service, and with recent remodeling and upgrades, it’s a not-to-miss experience. I also visited the National Museum of Transportation on the west side of St. Louis. This may be one of the best transportation museums in the country and has the only remaining GM Aerotrains. It also has a running Chrysler Turbine Car like the one at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan.

After getting my luggage loaded back on the SR500, my next stop was Times Beach, Missouri. Route 66 used to cross the Meramec River there, and the remnants of the bridge are still there, along with a Route 66 State Park. I met some folks from Europe riding Route 66 on rented Harleys, and they were aghast that I was attempting to make the same trip on my antique bike with no GPS navigation and only an EZ66 guide in my tankbag.

Times Beach was the site of the second largest EPA Superfund site due to a local contractor spraying dioxin on the dirt roads for dust control. All the buildings were bought by the EPA and leveled, and it’s currently considered a ghost town. West of Times Beach is the Meramec Caverns, where I ran into my new European friends again. My bike would do roughly 100 miles per tank of fuel, which coincided with my body’s need to stand up and stretch out a bit and suck down a cold beverage.

I stayed at the KOA in Springfield, Missouri, that night and rented a cabin. I had planned on renting a primitive campsite, but for only about $40 more, I got an air-conditioned cabin, lights, electricity, a mattress, a table, and a TV. It was a bargain!

Along the way in Missouri are a few museums and stops such as a replica 1930s Sinclair station called Gary’s Gay Parita in Ash Grove, Missouri, where the sign reads “Gas Wars” and advertises fuel at 15 cents per gallon. Another sign reads “Kendal, your 2,000 mile oil!” We have certainly come a long way!

Shortly after the Sinclair station on the Old Route 66 trail, I crossed an old truss bridge that crossed over Johnson Creek in Spencer, Missouri. Like the old sections of Route 66 in Illinois, this section looked like an abandoned road going into the backwoods. It was beautiful.

Kansas only has a very short 13-mile section of the Old Route 66 path, and if you take that, you are blessed with crossing one of the few remaining Marsh Arch bridges left in the country – and the only remaining one on Route 66, this one having been built in the early 1900s.

Oklahoma likely has the most Route 66 sites of any state. After the road was decommissioned by the federal government for use as a federal highway, Oklahoma named it State Road 66. It’s easy to follow, although I did manage to miss a sign and ride maybe 50 miles off course. The best Route 66 Museum is in Clinton, Oklahoma. It covers the initial planning and construction of the route, along with different scenes of Americana, a video of the Dust Bowl, and more.

There are more giant statues to be seen as you pass through Oklahoma, including Buck Atom, the 21-foot-tall space cowboy in Tulsa holding a rocket. Tulsa also has a cool park downtown called the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza that has three tall old neon motel signs relocated there from the early days of Route 66. Further south is a Route 66 village with an old train, a gas station, and an oil derrick.

The last section of Route 66 I rode in Oklahoma was a mostly abandoned concrete road that paralleled Interstate 40, but you could tell it was part of the original route. How many mostly abandoned four-lane concrete highways going into nowhere with no traffic do you see? At one point, I thought I was off-track, but then I saw the Texas state sign and the familiar white outlined Route 66 logo painted on the road.

In Texas, much of Route 66 is access highways on either side of the interstate, which worked just fine for my trusty mule since I could travel at more relaxed speeds in the intense heat. Along the way, you pass by the Leaning (water) Tower of Britten in Groom, Texas, and Amarillo gives you the Cadillac Ranch.

After visiting the Cadillac Ranch, I stopped at a KOA, and when I tried to start my bike again, it didn’t fire up. It turned out to be an issue with the ignition system, and despite having the parts from my other SR500 shipped to me to attempt a repair, it didn’t take. I cut my trip short and loaded the bike in the back of a Penske truck and headed back east.

In spite of a flat tire, intense heat and humidity, and an ignition failure, this was the most fun I can recall in most of my life. In retrospect, I should have tried making this trip on a newer bike, but part of the fun was riding a kickstart antique.

If you are considering riding this road, I would suggest waiting until 2026 for the 100-year anniversary since I heard plans in various towns along the way for some centennial events, so it should be even better.

ROUTE 66 RESOURCES:

• National Park Service: Route 66
• Chicago Tourism
• Illinois Tourism
• Heritage Corridor (First 100 Miles of Route 66)
• Missouri Tourism
• Gateway Arch
• Oklahoma Tourism
• Texas Tourism

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