West Motorcycle Rides

Beartooth and Beyond | Favorite Ride

Hell yes! That is the only plausible answer when friends invite you to join them on an eight-day motorcycle ride through the mountains of...

Favorite Ride: Colorado Front Range Figure-8

As we sat in the crimson hue of the Colorado Front Range sunset, the stone walls of the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre echoed with...

Spring Trifecta: A Return to Riding, Concerts, and Baseball

I am not one to repeat most motorcycle rides, and I am certainly not one to revisit my old articles. However, there is a...

Favorite Ride: Jerome to Oatman, Arizona

Historic towns are a lot like vintage motorcycles. Both are more beautiful wearing the rich patina of years and experience. Yes, towns can be...

No Promises of Tomorrow: Three Buddies Chase Sunsets and Dreams

At a rest stop, a lovely young lady walked slowly, allowing her old dog to keep pace. The dog stopped in front of me,...

Beartooth Forever: a Father-Daughter Ride to Yellowstone

Every now and then, you have a day that stands head and shoulders above others. A day when everything goes right, things look and...

Gold Country Highs: Pass Bagging in Nevada and California

Late spring is a great time to do some pass bagging in the Nevada and California gold country. The passes are usually open by...

Riding Washington’s Palouse Region

“The wheat field has...poetry,” Vincent Van Gogh once said. The muse the master painter found in wheat inspired dozens of his works. By the...

Riding Central New Mexico

Astronomy, History and Great Roads I stand over the open side case of my BMW R 1200 GS outside the Black’s Smuggler Winery in Bosque,...

Favorite Ride: Mineral King and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks

The mission was simple: See some scenery, carve some curves and soak up some cool temperatures before the summer heat arrived. Three of us left...

Stage Route to Deadwood: Tracing a Historic Route to the Black Hills

Cheyenne’s population of 60,000 more than doubles during its 10-day Frontier Days rodeo, which took place a week after I arrived. As it happened,...

Palms to Pines to the Pacific on California Route 74

Gassing up in the already-toasty Palm Desert morning sun, it is hard to imagine that I will be riding in the cool, tall pines...

British Columbia’s Beautiful Duffey Lake Loop

If I could only make one ride in British Columbia, the Duffey Lake loop would be it. No other route boasts such diversity: a fjord...

Riding 60 Paved Colorado Passes in Nine Days

Mountain passes are the ultimate expression of motorcycling, where winding roads and magnificent vistas merge to create the supreme riding experience. For me, the...

Riding a Thousand Miles of Arizona Highways

April in the Southwest means perfect temperatures and sunny days, riding in a mesh jacket and Kevlar-lined jeans. With a new (to me) Honda...

Voyage of Re-Discovery in Gold Country and the Sierra Nevada

It was the scent in the air that did it, plucking me out of the Suzuki’s seat and transporting me back to the distant...

Northern Utah Loops

I unfold a Utah map on my outdoor table at the Main Street Deli in Park City’s bustling downtown. After placing my gyro sandwich...

Big Deserts, Small Bike: Riding Death Valley, Mojave and Joshua Tree on a Yamaha XT250

Rolling through Death Valley National Park, I have an eerie feeling that I am being watched. Passing a road sign indicating that I am...

Great American Scenic Byways Tour