West U.S.

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...

Favorite Ride: Hawkeye Backroads – Secrets of Eastern Iowa

Iowa is not known as a motorcycling destination but a through state. Motorcyclists travel primarily on the four-lane roads thinking that’s all there is...

An Old Bike and the Sea: A first ride on Highway One

Northern California’s Pacific Coast Highway might be the best use of asphalt anywhere. From expansive ocean views to the west, to often fog-shrouded hilltops...

List of U.S. Motorcycle Tour Operators 2020

With international travel in 2020 looking less certain by the week (and possibly risky, not just health-wise but also with the possibility of becoming...

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 the Rim and the Coronado Trail: Arizona Motorcycle Ride

Surely you’ve seen those whimsical national maps that portray cartoonish graphics to represent each of the 50 states. You know – the ones that...

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...

2019 Indian Scout | Tour Test Review

I knew I’d stumbled onto someplace...different...when I pulled into the packed dirt parking lot of the Nipton Trading Post, and it wasn’t just the...

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...

One Ride, 47 National Parks

Forty-seven national parks, 17,335 miles, 67 days, three flat tires, two forest fires, three boat rides, temps ranging from 31 degrees and sleet to...

Stayin’ Safe: Riding Like Heinz

Improving slow-speed stability can be fun. No, really. More than any other skill, riders tell me they wish they had better low-speed control. And no...

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...

Gila County Loop: A Nice Place to Ride in Winter

I’ve been thinking about writing this story for a few months, but the inspiration for it goes back every winter for 20 years. About...

On-the-Job ADV Training With Bill Dragoo’s DART School

A tiny figure on a Honda CRF250 slowly ascends a rocky slope in the rough country of southeastern Utah. Partway up she veers off...

Favorite Ride: Washington’s Glacier-Fed Jewel

When the need arises for a quick, fun jaunt that includes great food, I point my front wheel north through a landscape that at...

Pendleton Bike Week 2018

Nestled among ranchland and wheat fields in the state’s northeast corner, reviewing the history of Pendleton, Oregon, conjures images of rough-and-tumble rodeo cowboys, Native...

(Mis)Adventures on the Utah Backcountry Discovery Route (BDR)

Our plan was a no-brainer: ride the Utah Backcountry Discovery Route (UTBDR) from Mexican Hat, Utah, to the Idaho border, starting in Santa Barbara,...

Favorite Ride: Melodic Montana

It's with a nod to the late, great music show host Lawrence Welk that I start this ride spanning a couple of Montana's scenic...

The Old Way: Historic U.S. 80 and the Wood Plank Road

Picture a scene in which hearty travelers traverse barren and windswept sand dunes on roads of rough-hewn timbers. I am not talking about some...

Favorite Ride: Bay Area Peaks Trifecta

My Grandpa rode an Indian and I decided to follow suit by purchasing a 2016 Roadmaster. I bought it one rainy January day--a prime time...

Riding For Good at the Quail 2018

The Quail Motorcycle Gathering is among the country's best motorcycle concours events, yet it's not just about hobnobbing on a field of pristine vintage...

The Quail Motorcycle Gathering X

Last May I found myself very happy: all it took was a warm, sunny day in California's Carmel Valley, 350 beautiful motorcycles parked on...

The Final Frontier: How Alaska Stole This British Rider’s Heart

Skirting northeasterly around Denali National Park, I was hit with countless chevrons of snowcapped, glacier-studded mountains in Alaska's Interior. My hunger for wild lands...
2027 Motorcycle Buyers Guide