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Favorite Rides

Three things that make a perfect ride for me are rural roads, scenic diversity, and a relaxing pace to savor the passing landscape, especially...

Traipsing Across Washington Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

Matt Terry, a riding buddy from Florida, planned to travel out West with his family, and he always trailers his two Ducati Diavel Stradas...

The Lost Sierra: Northern California Motorcycle Ride

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in the October 2004 issue. The phone rings. It’s Werner Wachter calling from Austria. “You vill come to...

North Georgia Triangle Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

My family and I live in Jacksonville, Florida, where midsummer heat and humidity can press down on you like a weight. Looking for a...

Clam Chowder in Connecticut Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

In places where the four seasons are distinct, “off-season” is a familiar term. That’s especially true in my native New England. When the off-season...

Ventura to Santa Barbara California Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

Throughout its 50-year history, Rider’s editorial offices have been based in the vicinity of Ventura County, California, which is northwest of Los Angeles and...

Joshua Tree National Park Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

“It’s the Joshua tree’s struggle that gives it its beauty,” writes Jeannette Walls in her 2005 memoir The Glass Castle. She further contends that...

Route 66 Motorcycle Ride in Oklahoma | Favorite Ride

U.S. Route 66 was established in 1926 and was billed as the shortest, fastest, and most scenic all-weather route connecting Chicago, St. Louis, and...

Skyline Parkway Scenic Byway in Duluth, Minnesota | Favorite Ride

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...

A Scenic Casa Grande, Arizona Motorcycle Ride

Arizona is known for its five Cs – copper, cattle, cotton, citrus, and climate – all of which are represented on the state’s great...

A Scenic (and History-Laden) Southern Utah and Arizona Loop | Favorite Ride

Living at 6,000 feet in Cedar City, Utah, most of my winter riding involves heading south, which offers a quick drop in elevation and...

Small Town Tennessee Motorcycle Loop | Favorite Ride

These days, I’ve become so enthralled by all the great motorcycle roads around the world and on my bucket list that I forget about...

Sonoma Motorcycle Rides, On My Own and With Family | Favorite Ride

This is a tale of two amazing rides. One threads its way through some of Northern California’s beautiful wine, lake, and hill country. The...

Rolling to the January Jam in Rocky Point, Mexico | Favorite Ride

January can be a cruel month for motorcyclists. Even in sunny southern climates, chilly temperatures can make extended rides an exercise in discomfort. That’s...

A New Jersey Backroads Motorcycle Ride in Fall | Favorite Ride

When the leaves tremble with their last days of color and the north winds begin to blow, I want to seize the day and...

Motoring from Denver to Moab | Favorite Ride

Moab, Utah, is an ideal destination for a motorcycle trip. Where else can you find sandstone arches, red‑walled canyons, snow‑capped mountains, scenic byways, two...

The Return of the Moonshine Lunch Run | Favorite Ride

This Favorite Ride doesn’t include a route map because it’s all about a single destination: the corner of 300 Road and 600 Street in...

Arkansas Motorcycle Ride on Crowley’s Ridge | Favorite Ride

Pancake flat. That’s an accurate description for most of Arkansas’ Mississippi River Delta. The delta contains historically interesting and culturally significant places to visit,...

Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail | Favorite Ride

As I reached for the pump handle to fill up at the start of this trip, I suddenly realized my hydration pack wasn’t on...

Florida Motorcycle Ride on Scenic State Road 13 | Favorite Ride

I should warn you: This Florida motorcycle ride doesn’t include challenging hairpin curves or drastic changes in elevation. The Sunshine State has a well-earned...

Seeing Three Utah National Parks on a Motorcycle | Favorite Ride

Utah’s national parks – Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion – are known as the Mighty 5. All feature impressive red rock...

The $10 New Jersey and New York Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

A good ride doesn’t have to be a long one. With only $10’s worth of gas, I set out to see how much fun...

Valley of Fire and Lake Mead in Nevada | Favorite Ride

Johnny Cash sang about fire, murder, heartbreak, and sin, and I think he would have appreciated the symbolism of this ride, given its route....

White Rim Trail on KTM 690 Enduros | Favorite Ride

White Rim Trail – or White Rim Road in national park parlance – is a 100-mile unpaved route that loops around the Island in...

Northeastern Backroads of New Jersey and Pennsylvania | Favorite Ride

Greenery, blue skies, and sunshine were bursting forth upon the land like an invitation from Mother Nature to fire up my machine and go...

Arkansas Highway 16 | Favorite Ride

For motorcyclists, Arkansas Highway 16 is one of the top highways in the Ozarks that has the added virtue of being one of the...

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...

Wolf River Run in Wisconsin | Favorite Ride

The WisconsinHighways.org website’s State Trunk Highways section says: “One of the noticeable idiosyncrasies is the meandering nature of some of Wisconsin’s state highways. Just...

Minnesota Lakes Loop | Favorite Ride

Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes, is ranked 12th among U.S. states in terms of land area but 9th in terms of water within...

Favorite Ride: Vermont Border Run

A few years ago, Rider published my article about riding Vermont Route 100 from south to north, ending at the Haskell Free Library and...

Favorite Rides

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