West U.S.

Motorcycle Touring in Curvy Colorado

Winter Park may not be a name you associate with summer entertainment, but the Colorado town of that name provides it. While skiers and...

Riding Across the Great Divide

Motorcycling along the Continental Divide through Colorado and New Mexico. For years I longed to ride the Continental Divide but had put it off because...

2018 Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster | Tour Test Review

Here at Rider, we have an unofficial motto: "Ride to eat, eat to ride." And I contend that the perfect road food is the...

Visiting Ghostly Towns in Nevada’s Esmeralda County

I like a bit of barely populated desolation—as long as there are roads going through. And Esmeralda is apparently the second-most people-less county in...

Sagebrush and Apple Blossoms: Exploring Washington State’s Desert Country

Nighthawk is one of America’s least frequented border crossings. The postage stamp of officialdom is all but lost within the rolling grasslands, vineyards and...

Ranging Around Reno: A Loop Around Lake Tahoe

The mountain ranges to the south of Reno, Nevada, are a playground full of great rides. Today’s will take me up to Virginia City,...

Expanding Your Horizons: Northern Arizona Loop Ride

Miles of hairpins, 4,000 feet of elevation change, historic towns, monolithic red rocks and vast pine forests all in the span of a 180-mile...

Southwest Express: Winter Touring on Can-Am Spyders

So...do we fly? Or do we ride? Kurt and I were staring at a map of the Southwest, planning a visit to his family in...

Favorite Ride: Nebo Loop Scenic Byway

Some of the best roads I’ve ridden were discovered by accident. The Nebo Loop in Utah is a good example. I found it a...

Sources of Power: Touring Some of California’s Powerplants on an Indian

I always enjoy riding over to Morro Bay...and not just for the pleasure of calamari and chips at Giovanni’s. Coming down the west slope...

Favorite Ride: Scenic Southern Colorado

You’d be hard pressed to find two more picturesque towns anywhere in the Southwest than Durango and Pagosa Springs, Colorado. These southern Colorado hamlets...

Riding the Cascades and the Coast in Oregon

I was headed for the Cascade Range of mountains because of a vague memory of something I had read 30 years ago, about 60...

Favorite Ride: Arizona-New Mexico Loop

Let me tell you about a perspective-changing, paradigm-shifting roll through a spectacular region spanning two great southwestern states. Before you accuse me of hyperbole,...

Washington State Crossing

In getting to points north, east and west here in Washington state, at least a portion of State Route 20 is often included. So I...

Ocean to Desert: Riding Oregon West to East

Coastal prairies, mountain forests, high deserts—Oregon has it all, the perfect venue for a three day, three-border road trip. My ride, a brand-new 2017...

Beating the Haul Road: Alaska’s Dalton Highway

If you’re a Harley rider, you have to ride to Sturgis at least once in your life. For road race fans it’s Austin or...

Riding in the Shadow of Giants: Monument Valley by Motorcycle

There I was—three hours into a wonderful ride that I had made many times over the years. The quickest route from my home near...

Stop and Smell the Roses: Lonely Roads in Oregon and Northern California

How often have you handed out this pearl of wisdom: “stop and smell the roses”? Plenty of times, right? Now the harder question. How...

The Secret Life of a Travel Writer

I'm sitting on a bench in an old graveyard, wooden crosses standing before me, the Pacific Ocean off to my left. In the near...

Zero DSR E-Tour | Tour Test

Ongoing improvements in range, reduced charging time and falling price tags are making electric bikes more appealing to riders seeking convenient and efficient personal...

Favorite Ride: Southeast Arizona’s Wild West

Cowboys and Indians. Miners and ranchers. Army troops and outlaws. Southeast Arizona was overrun with all of these types, and more, in the latter...

Buy & Fly: Boise to Tucson on a Kawasaki KLR650

As a long-time admirer of the popular and versatile Kawasaki KLR650, I bought one last year, but I didn’t follow the normal procedure—I used the...

Honda NC700X DCT ABS | Tour Test Review

Confession time: It may seem like the result of careful planning, but serendipity often plays a big role in our ability to create good...

Adventure in Southern Arizona: Fine Roads in the Old West

Most motorists cross southern Arizona in cruise-controlled oblivion via the super slabs known as Interstates 8 and 10. However, sandwiched between the freeways and...

Favorite Ride: Riding the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway in Northern California

If you have traveled Interstate 5 between Oregon and California, you’ve probably seen one end of the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. Eleven miles south...

2016 Yamaha YZF-R3 | Rider Tour Test

From cliffs high above the Pacific Ocean to the salty mist near the water’s edge, California’s Route 1 along the Big Sur coast seduces...

2016 Honda Africa Twin DCT | Touring Review

Hi-Yo, Silver! We haunt some Nevada ghost towns on a real-world touring test of the 2016 Honda Africa Twin DCT. It’s easy to find yourself...

The Flight of the Wasps: Touring on Vespa Scooters

The Vespa 300 GTS Super scooter is a unique ride. While iconically Italian, its 350-pound weight and 31-inch seat height blurs lines. Is this...

Favorite Ride: Unexpected Serenity in Southern California

Is there any scenic countryside left for motorcyclists in the urban sprawl of Southern California? Actually there is, and it’s surprisingly close to the densely...

Follow the Rivers: Tracing the Headwaters of the Colorado River

Having just retired from a wildfire management position with the Forest Service the previous year, and thus off the hook for working fire pre-suppression...

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October 2026

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